Whereas, the Family Preservation Act, 1998 Fla. Laws ch. 98-403, effective October 1, 1998, amends Chapter 39, Florida Statutes, and requires the court to appoint counsel to provide representation for indigent parents or legal guardians at dependency shelter hearings, see, e.g. §39.013, Fla. Stat.; and

Whereas, Interim Administrative Order No. 5.0100 provides for the procedures for appointment of counsel for parents or guardians at dependency shelter hearings; and

Whereas, the Florida Legislature, in the 1998 legislative session, appropriated $3.5 million dollars to the State of Florida Justice Administrative Commission for allocation and distribution to the judicial circuits of the State of Florida for payment of court appointed counsel representing indigent parents in child dependency cases for fiscal year 1998-99;

Whereas, projections for attorneys' fees for indigent parents' representation are based on an analysis of dependency petition filings for all counties of the Eighth Judicial Circuit and as a result of those projections, the Eighth Judicial Circuit, through Alachua County, was allocated $84,200 for such payments;

It is therefore ORDERED as follows:

The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners shall receive the allocation for the Eighth Judicial Circuit and shall disburse the funds quarterly to each of the other counties of the circuit based on each county's expenditure for court appointed attorneys' fees for such attorneys appointed in dependency cases.

ORDERED on January 21st, 1999.

/s/ ROBERT P. CATES, CHIEF JUDGE