(b) The Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office shall, within available resources, have oversight responsibilities for and provide technical assistance to all guardian ad litem and attorney ad litem offices located within the judicial circuits.1. The office shall identify the resources required to implement methods of collecting, reporting, and tracking reliable and consistent case data.
2. The office shall review the current guardian ad litem offices in Florida and other states.
3. The office, in consultation with local guardian ad litem offices, shall develop statewide performance measures and standards.
4. The office shall develop and maintain a guardian ad litem training program, which must be updated regularly.
5. The office shall review the various methods of funding guardian ad litem offices, maximize the use of those funding sources to the extent possible, and review the kinds of services being provided by circuit guardian ad litem offices.
6. The office shall determine the feasibility or desirability of new concepts of organization, administration, financing, or service delivery designed to preserve the civil and constitutional rights and fulfill other needs of dependent children.
7. The office shall ensure that each child has an attorney assigned to his or her case and, within available resources, is represented using multidisciplinary teams that may include volunteers, pro bono attorneys, social workers, and mentors.
8. The office shall provide oversight and technical assistance to attorneys ad litem, including, but not limited to, all of the following:a. Develop an attorney ad litem training program in collaboration with dependency court stakeholders, including, but not limited to, dependency judges, representatives from legal aid providing attorney ad litem representation, and an attorney ad litem appointed from a registry maintained by the chief judge. The training program must be updated regularly with or without convening the stakeholders group.
b. Offer consultation and technical assistance to chief judges in maintaining attorney registries for the selection of attorneys ad litem.
c. Assist with recruitment, training, and mentoring of attorneys ad litem as needed.
9. In an effort to promote normalcy and establish trust between a guardian ad litem and a child alleged to be abused, abandoned, or neglected under this chapter, a guardian ad litem may transport a child. However, a guardian ad litem may not be required by a guardian ad litem circuit office or ordered by a court to transport a child.
10. The office shall submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court an interim report describing the progress of the office in meeting the goals as described in this section. The office shall submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court a proposed plan including alternatives for meeting the state’s guardian ad litem and attorney ad litem needs. This plan may include recommendations for less than the entire state, may include a phase-in system, and shall include estimates of the cost of each of the alternatives. Each year the office shall provide a status report and provide further recommendations to address the need for guardian ad litem representation and related issues.