IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE. Part II
The Juvenile Court Rules Committee has filed a petition proposing "fast track" amendments to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure in response to the 2006 Florida Legislature's amendment of various Florida Statutes. The Committee proposes amending the following eight existing rules and seven existing forms: rule 8.240 (Computation, Continuance, Extension, and Enlargement of Time); rule 8.250 (Examinations, Evaluations, and Treatment); rule 8.257 (General Magistrates); rule 8.305 (Shelter Petition, Hearing, and Order); rule 8.330 (Adjudicatory Hearings); rule 8.400 (Case Plans); rule 8.410 (Approval of Case Plans); rule 8.415 (Judicial Review of Dependency Cases); form 8.929 (Detention Order); form 8.947 (Disposition Order Delinquency); form 8.950 (Restitution Order); form 8.951 (Motion for Juvenile Sexual Offender Placement); form 8.961 (Shelter Order); form 8.966 (Adjudication Order Dependency); and form 8.970 (Order on Judicial Review). The Committee further proposes the adoption of the following three new rules and two new forms: rule 8.420 (Case Plan Amendments); rule 8.425 (Permanency Hearings); rule 8.430 (Modification of Permanency Order); form 8.975 (Order Authorizing Child to Enter into Residential Leasehold Before the Child's 18th Birthday); and form 8.976 (Proposed Relative Placement). The proposals were published by The Florida Bar in the November 1, 2006, edition of The Florida Bar News and comments were invited. No comments were received.
Having considered the petition, court adopt the Committee's proposals with one addition and one alteration to the proposed amendments as set forth below.
Court amend rule 8.240 to establish time limitations on proceedings to establish a permanent placement for a child in the dependency system and to list the only permissible circumstances under which the juvenile court may grant continuances in the proceedings. Court do this by the addition of a new subdivision (d)(4) to list the exceptions to time limitations and the amendment of renamed subdivision (d)(5), which was previously numbered (d)(4). However, court add the word "reasonable" to the beginning of subdivision (d)(4)(D) such that the subdivision states: "Reasonable periods of delay necessary to accomplish notice of the hearing to the parent or legal guardian."
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