In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Corrected Opinion

CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedMarch 26, 2015
DocketSC15-150
StatusPublished

This text of In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Corrected Opinion (In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Corrected Opinion) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Corrected Opinion, (Fla. 2015).

Opinion

Supreme Court of Florida ____________

No. SC15-150 ____________

IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE.

[February 19, 2015] CORRECTED OPINION

PER CURIAM.

The Florida Bar’s Juvenile Court Rules Committee (Committee) has filed a

“fast-track” out-of-cycle report proposing amendments to the Florida Rules of

Juvenile Procedure intended to implement recent legislation. See Fla. R. Jud.

Admin. 2.140(e). We have jurisdiction1 and adopt the amendments as proposed.

The Committee proposes amendments to existing rules 8.305 (Shelter

Petition, Hearing, and Order); 8.310 (Dependency Petitions); 8.350 (Placement of

Child into Residential Treatment Center After Adjudication of Dependency); 8.355

(Administration of Psychotropic Medication to a Child in Shelter Care or in Foster

Care When Parental Consent Has Not Been Obtained); 8.415 (Judicial Review of

1. Art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. Dependency Cases); and existing forms 8.960 (Shelter Petition); 8.961 (Shelter

Order); 8.970 (Order on Judicial Review); 8.973A (Order on Judicial Review for

Child Age 17 or Older); 8.973B (Order on Judicial Review); 8.973C (Order on

Judicial Review for Young Adults in Extended Foster Care). The Committee also

proposes new rule 8.231 (Providing Counsel to Dependent Children With Special

Needs). The majority of the proposals implement statutory changes,2 which

became effective July 1, 2014.3

The Board of Governors of The Florida Bar unanimously approved the

proposals. The Committee did not publish its proposals before filing them with the

Court.

After considering the proposed amendments and reviewing the relevant

legislation, we amend the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure as proposed by the

Committee. The more significant amendments make the following changes to the

rules.

2. See ch. 2014-166, § 1, Laws of Fla. (amending § 39.701(3)(a), Fla. Stat.); ch. 2014-224, §§ 12, 13, 17, Laws of Fla. (amending §§ 39.402(8)(h), (9); 39.501(3)(d); 39.701(2)(c), (3)(a), Fla. Stat.); ch. 2014-227, § 1, Laws of Fla. (creating § 39.01305, Fla. Stat.).

3. See ch. 2014-166, § 6, Laws of Fla.; ch. 2014-224, § 62, Laws of Fla.; ch. 2014-227, § 2, Laws of Fla.

-2- New rule 8.231 (Providing Counsel to Dependent Children With Special

Needs) provides the procedure for appointing counsel for a dependent child with

certain special needs. See ch. 2014-227, § 1, Laws of Fla. (creating section

39.01305, Fla. Stat.). Subdivision (a) (Duty of Court) of the rule provides the

procedure the court must use for appointing an attorney to represent a dependent

child with special needs. Subdivision (b) (Determination of Dependent Child of

Special Needs) sets out the statutory requirements for determining a dependent

child is a child of special needs. Subdivision (c) (Duties of Attorney) provides the

duties of the appointed attorney. The amendments to rules 8.350 (Placement of

Children into Residential Treatment Center After Adjudication of Dependency),

and 8.355 (Administration of Psychotropic Medication to a Child in Shelter Care

or in Foster Care When Parental Consent Has Not Been Obtained) require the court

to appoint an attorney for a dependent child subject to proceedings under those

rules, in accordance with the procedures in new rule 8.231.

The amendments to subdivisions (a) (Shelter Petition) and (c) (Shelter

Order) of rule 8.305 (Shelter Petition, Hearing, and Order), and forms 8.960

(Shelter Petition) and 8.961 (Shelter Order) are in response to statutory

requirements concerning placing siblings together when sheltering them in out-of-

home care unless it is not in the best interest of each child to be placed together,

-3- and providing sibling visitation when siblings cannot be placed together. See ch.

2014-224, § 12, Laws of Fla. (amending §§ 39.402(8)(h), (9); Fla. Stat.).

The amendment to rule 8.310(a) (Dependency Petitions; Contents) adds

information concerning safety planning offered to the child’s parents or legal

custodians to the list of things that must be described in a dependency petition.

See ch. 2014-224, § 13, Laws of Fla. (amending § 39.501(3)(d), Fla. Stat.).

The amendment to subdivision (b) (Scheduling Hearings) of rule 8.415

(Judicial Review of Dependency Cases) requires the order removing the disability

of nonage of the child to remove disabilities of nonage “pursuant to sections

743.044, 743.045, 743.046, and 743.047, Florida Statutes, as well as any other

disabilities of nonage that the court finds to be in the child’s best interest to

remove.” See chs. 2014-166, § 1; 2014-224, § 17, Laws of Fla. (amending §

39.701(3)(a), Fla. Stat). The amendment to subdivision (f)(1) (Court Action) of

rule 8.415 requires the court to “determine the frequency, kind, and duration of

contacts among siblings who have been separated during placement, as well as any

efforts undertaken to reunite separated siblings, if doing so is in the best interest of

each child.” See ch. 2014-224, § 17, Laws of Fla. (amending § 39.701(2)(c), Fla.

Stat.). The form orders on judicial review are amended to conform to the

amendment to subdivision (f)(1).

-4- Accordingly, the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure are amended as

reflected in the appendix to this opinion. New language is indicated by

underscoring; deletions are indicated by struck-through type. The amendments

shall take effect immediately upon the release of this opinion. Because the

amendments were not published for comment prior to their adoption, interested

persons shall have sixty days from the date of this opinion in which to file

comments with the Court.4

It is so ordered.

LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY, POLSTON, and PERRY, JJ., concur.

4. All comments must be filed with the Court on or before April 20, 2015, with a certificate of service verifying that a copy has been served on the Committee Chair, Deborah Schroth, 921 N. Davis Street, Suite 360B, Jacksonville, FL 32209-6817, Deborah_schroth@dcf.state.fl.us, and on the Bar Staff Liaison to the Committee, Gregory Zhelesnik, 651 E. Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300, gzhelesnik@flabar.org, as well as a separate request for oral argument if the person filing the comment wishes to participate in oral argument, which may be scheduled in this case. The Committee Chair has until May 12, 2015, to file a response to any comments filed with the Court. If filed by an attorney in good standing with The Florida Bar, the comment must be electronically filed via the Portal in accordance with In re Electronic Filing in the Supreme Court of Florida via the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC13-7 (Feb. 18, 2013). If filed by a non-lawyer or a lawyer not licensed to practice in Florida, the comment must be electronically filed via e-mail in accordance with In re Mandatory Submission of Electronic Copies of Documents, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC04-84 (Sept. 13, 2004). Electronically filed documents must be submitted in Microsoft Word 97 or higher. Any person unable to submit a comment electronically must mail or hand-deliver the originally signed comment to the Florida Supreme Court, Office of the Clerk, 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1927; no additional copies are required or will be accepted.

-5- THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS.

Original Proceedings – Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure

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