Whereas, chapter 39, Florida Statutes, mandates that children involved in dependency cases are to be provided with permanency within one year of being removed from their homes; and

Whereas, the management of dependency cases is paramount in the Eighth Judicial Circuit; and

Whereas, the Clerks of Court of the Eighth Judicial Circuit maintain electronic databases for juvenile dependency cases, and

Whereas, by establishing and using docket codes on dependency cases, the judiciary and court staff can better manage dependency cases and retrieve case information, which, in turn, will improve the timeliness of providing dependent children with permanency. It is therefore

ORDERED

1. Clerks of Court and the Administrative Office of the Court have developed uniform event, placement and docket codes which electronically label pleadings, orders, events, placements or other activities for juvenile dependency cases.

2. Attorneys for litigants and or parties in a juvenile dependency case are directed to include the appropriate event, placement, or docket code for each document the attorney creates before submitting that document to the court for filing. The event, placement or docket code shall be placed immediately to the right of the title of the document being filed or on a separate cover sheet for that document.

3. Clerks of Court in the Eighth Judicial Circuit shall enter the uniform event, placement, and docket codes for all pleadings, orders, events, placements or other activities into a court accessible juvenile dependency electronic database.

4. Placement codes must be used when there are changes in the placement of a child following a hearing. If there is no change in the child's placement after a hearing, then the use of a placement of a code for the resulting order from that hearing is not necessary.

5. The Administrative Office of the Court shall maintain both a complete list of event, placement, and other docket codes as amended from time to time and a shorter event, placement, and docket code list for easy reference by attorneys. In addition, the lists of codes are available at on the web at www.circuit8.org.

ORDERED on June 19, 2003.
 

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STAN R. MORRIS, CHIEF JUDGE