Florida 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0777 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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3	3	HB 777 2023
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10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to regional counsel representation for 2
16	16	child welfare matters; amending s. 27.511, F.S.; 3
17	17	providing circumstances under which the regional 4
18	18	counsel may represent indigent parents; amending s. 5
19	19	39.301, F.S.; requiring the child protective 6
20	20	investigator to provide specified information relating 7
21	21	to the rights of a parent or legal custodian; 8
22	22	providing an effective date. 9
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24	24	Be It Enacted by the Leg islature of the State of Florida: 11
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26	26	Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (6) of section 13
27	27	27.511, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (e) is added 14
28	28	to that subsection, to read: 15
29	29	27.511 Offices of criminal conflict and civil regional 16
30	30	counsel; legislative intent; qualifications; appointment; 17
31	31	duties.— 18
32	32	(6) 19
33	33	(d) Except as provided in paragraph (e), the regional 20
34	34	counsel may not represent any plaintiff in a civil action 21
35	35	brought under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal 22
36	36	Rules of Civil Procedure, or federal statutes, and may not 23
37	37	represent a petitioner in a rule challenge under chapter 120, 24
38	38	unless specifically authorized by law. 25
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47	47	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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51	51	(e) In child welfare matters, the regional counsel may 26
52	52	provide preventative, prepetition legal representation to 27
53	53	indigent parents who are the subject of child protective 28
54	54	investigations conducted pursuant to s. 39.301. If such matters 29
55	55	are related to the circumstances of the investigation and to the 30
56	56	efforts by the parents to safely maintain the care and custody 31
57	57	of their children, the regional counsel may appear in or 32
58	58	initiate civil actions for such injunctions for protection 33
59	59	against domestic violence, residential tenancies and housing, 34
60	60	and determination of parentage. In prepetition matters, the 35
61	61	regional counsel will de termine, within 5 days of initial 36
62	62	contact by a parent subject to investigation, whether the parent 37
63	63	is indigent using the best available evidence. In determining 38
64	64	indigency, the regional counsel will use the application form 39
65	65	and indigency criteria used by th e clerk of court pursuant to s. 40
66	66	27.52 and the regional counsel will maintain documentation of 41
67	67	the indigency determination in its files. If at any time after 42
68	68	an initial determination of indigency is made, the regional 43
69	69	counsel later determines that a person is not indigent, the 44
70	70	regional counsel will cease to provide representation to the 45
71	71	nonindigent person and will withdraw from any legal action in 46
72	72	which the regional counsel has appeared. 47
73	73	Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) and paragraph 48
74	74	(a) of subsection (10) of section 39.301, Florida Statutes, are 49
75	75	amended to read: 50
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88	88	39.301 Initiation of protective investigations. — 51
89	89	(5)(a) Upon commencing an investigation under this part, 52
90	90	the child protective investigator shall inform any subject of 53
91	91	the investigation of the following: 54
92	92	1. The names of the investigators and identifying 55
93	93	credentials from the department. 56
94	94	2. The purpose of the investigation and how the 57
95	95	information provided by the subject may be used . 58
96	96	3. The right of the parent or legal custodian to obtain 59
97	97	his or her own attorney and if he or she cannot afford an 60
98	98	attorney, the investigator shall inform the parent or legal 61
99	99	custodian that he or she may choose to be represented by the 62
100	100	Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel during 63
101	101	the investigation and the investigator shall provide the contact 64
102	102	information for the local regional counsel office which offers 65
103	103	representation before a petition is filed , if locally available 66
104	104	and ways that the information provided by the subject may be 67
105	105	used. 68
106	106	4. The possible outcomes and services of the department's 69
107	107	response. 70
108	108	5. The right of the parent or legal custodian to be 71
109	109	engaged to the fullest extent possible in determining the nature 72
110	110	of the allegation and the nature of any identified problem and 73
111	111	the remedy. 74
112	112	6. The duty of the parent or legal custodian to report any 75
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121	121	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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125	125	change in the residence or location of the child to the 76
126	126	investigator and that the duty to report continues until the 77
127	127	investigation is closed. 78
128	128	(10)(a) The department's training program f or staff 79
129	129	responsible for responding to reports accepted by the central 80
130	130	abuse hotline must also ensure that child protective responders: 81
131	131	1. Know how to fully inform parents or legal custodians of 82
132	132	their rights and options, including their right to legal co unsel 83
133	133	and the availability to indigent parents or legal custodians the 84
134	134	opportunity to be represented by the Office of Criminal Conflict 85
135	135	and Civil Regional Counsel, if locally available, and the 86
136	136	opportunities for audio or video recording of child protective 87
137	137	responder interviews with parents or legal custodians or 88
138	138	children. 89
139	139	2. Know how and when to use the injunction process under 90
140	140	s. 39.504 or s. 741.30 to remove a perpetrator of domestic 91
141	141	violence from the home as an intervention to protect the child. 92
142	142	3. Know how to explain to the parent, legal custodian, or 93
143	143	person who is alleged to have caused the abuse, neglect, or 94
144	144	abandonment the results of the investigation and to provide 95
145	145	information about his or her right to access confidential 96
146	146	reports in accordance wi th s. 39.202, prior to closing the case. 97
147	147	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 98