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Goals Set For Child Dependency Efforts

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The Associated Press

Published: September 16, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - Improving home studies, staff training and children's attendance at hearings are some of the common goals that officials across Florida have set for enhancing child dependency procedures.

Judges, lawyers, law enforcement officers, social workers and others involved in dependency proceedings submitted action plans that were released Friday. They set goals for making improvements in each of Florida's 20 judicial circuits.

Department of Children & Families Secretary Bob Butterworth asked for the plans during a Dependency Court Improvement Summit held in Orlando Sept. 5-7.

Butterworth said everyone will be required 'to work harder, better and smarter for our children and their families.'

Other common goals in the plans are to improve adoption and reunification of children with their parents, provide transportation to court for children and parents, enhance searches for relatives and offer incentives and advancement for employees.
Improving home studies is one of the most frequently mentioned goals. Suggestions include looking into giving investigators responsibility over home study content.

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