Protecting our most precious resource.

• Author: Osman, Edith G.
• Position: Children - Florida - Editorial

Sara was 13 when she was raped by her stepfather, became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Her first appearance in Dade's circuit court was in the dependency division, where she came as an abused child seeking the court's protection and a guardian ad litem. Her second appearance was as a witness in her stepfather's criminal trial. She later appeared in the court's juvenile division, when she was appointed a lawyer for the termination of her parental fights so the child could be adopted. The court appointed another guardian ad litem for the infant.

In another Dade case, two children saw their father murder their mother. They appeared first in dependency court with a guardian ad litem, then in criminal court as witnesses, and finally in family court, when relatives sought to adopt them. They also were represented in probate court to settle their mother's estate.

These cases are extraordinary, but illustrate that children appear in every division of our courts every day, sometimes with representation, and sometimes without. Gone are the times when kids came to court only when they had been caught stealing a bicycle, or as subjects of a custody battle.

The American Bar Association recognized this several years ago with a resolution calling on state and local bars to examine how our justice system treats children. The ABA's Standing Committee on the Unmet Legal Needs of Children found states increasingly focused on improvements to the juvenile justice system and the dependency system, but saw a need to look at how all areas of the system treated children. To date, no state has taken a comprehensive look at children's legal needs in all of our court divisions.

That is precisely the charge I have given The Florida Bar Commission on the Legal Needs of Children: to look at the whole system, discern what we are doing right and where we need to be doing more, and, where appropriate, to make recommendations for change. Some of you may recall that we undertook a similar study 10 years ago, under the leadership of then-President Steve Zack, which made numerous recommendations, many of which have been adopted by the legislature and the courts.

As Florida lawyers we already have much to be proud of in this area. Child advocates--many of them lawyers--are moving our state in the right direction. In recent years we have seen the creation of the Department of Juvenile Justice and the reorganization of the Department of Children and Families, both in response...