The Family Preservation Lawyers Association...

...does not exist.

Last night I caught a local PBS program, produced by Volusia County PBS affiliate DBCC about foster care issues. I believe it was entitled Crisis in Foster Care. The program was hosted by a very nice (GAL) Guardian ad Litem representative. Her panel consisted of the DCF District Administrator, a circuit court judge, the CEO of the local CBC (Community Based Care) organization, and the local GAL coordinator.

So what was missing? Besides there being no mention during the program of the role or value of defense counsel for parents involved in the system, there was no representative on the panel to represent parents' issues.

Why is that? Most likely, it is because there is no such thing. From the little I know of the legislative committee hearings that considered SB 1088, I doubt that there was any comparable statewide organization to speak for dependency defenders, and that would have been useful to everyone if there had been.

There is no statewide or intra-state organization called the Florida Dependency Defense Lawyers Association to my knowledge. Am I wrong about that? Let me know if I am.

There is no Florida Bar Section devoted to dependency law. There is no Bar Committee devoted to dependency law. There is no board certification available for child dependency law. Am I wrong about any of that? Let me know if I am.

I want to change that. I propose the organization of "The Florida Family Preservation Lawyers Association". If I can get help with it, it would incorporate in the appropriate form to allow it to represent its members in legislative matters.

As a start, we need volunteers to head regional chapters corresponding to the five DCAs that may eventually branch into circuit or county chapters. First things first.

Is anyone interested?