Agenda 01/22/2013 Item #16J3 1/22/2013 Item 16.J.3.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recommendation to approve an increase of one-quarter (.25) Full-time Equivalent (FTE)
in Court Administration for an existing employee.
OBJECTIVE: To change an existing employee's status from .75 FTE to 1.0 FTE within Court
Administration.
CONSIDERATION: The employee currently working in the position, Ms. Groos, works 32 hours per
week as director of the Foster Care Review Panel. The Panel is a statutorily created entity that functions
as a magistrate in dependency cases and conducts the first review of most dependency cases. Ms. Groos is
therefore directly involved in Collier County dependency cases already; but only serves the Panel versus
the Court. Increasing her hours would enable her to assist the Court directly. Her work for the Court
would be a natural extension of her existing Panel duties and the most cost effect method of obtaining the
services described below.
Case Management
• Bring to the Court's attention cases that are over one year old for the Court to review and assess •
why these cases have exceeded the statutory time limits, what is causing them to, and increase
court attention to facilitate a more timely resolution.
• Alert the Court about case details that might not be immediately noticed.For example:
o Parents who have had other children removed from their custody in the past
o Parents who were removed from their parents' custody
o Cases that are being reopened — case was closed with the parents having custody, but
other abuse reports have surfaced
o Inaccuracies of information provided by investigators, case managers, and other persons
that provide information to the Court
• Assist judicial staff with scheduling to avoid unnecessary duplication of court appearances in a
single case.
• Coordinate between delinquency and dependency cases when dependency children
have committed crimes.
Courtroom Management
• Triage families in order to streamline the in-court process:
o Dependency court on most days is packed with parents, very young and older children,
guardians ad litem, attorneys, case managers, family members, etc., and, unfortunately,
no one from DCF or its case management office seem to know which cases warrant
expedited processing through their hearings.
• It's preferable to call cases for which young children are in the Courtroom as
soon as possible.
• Because many of our parents do not work, when there is a parent that does, the
Court attempts to process them through their court proceedings quickly so that
they do not lose their job.
• We provide children with books, toys and coloring books in an attempt to occupy
them while they are waiting for their court case to be called (and to encourage
reading). The bailiffs can't do this on a regular basis because their job is to
maintain everyone's safety in often difficult circumstances — parents being
brought over from Collier County Jail, who act out in court or who are under the
influence of some substance while in court.
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1/22/2013 Item 16.J.3.
o Assist in parents completing the necessary forms that enable the Court to appoint an
attorney for them so that court hearings can proceed timely without waiting for this to be
accomplished.
Data Collection
• Collect and compile data from Collier County's dependency system that will enable the Court to
assess and compare trends in this Court.
• Work with dependency judge to formulate future outcome measures.
• Identify service providers or other persons involved in the cases that are not meeting service
criteria.
• While DCF is primarily responsible for monitoring conformance with federal performance
standards and improving our performance,the court systems have also been charged with some of
this responsibility. Increasing Ms. Groos' hours would enable Collier County's dependency court
to monitor its performance and improve services where needed.
FISCAL IMPACT: The increase in pay associated with the .25 FTE increase is $10,632, including
benefits. Health benefits are already paid on this position since it is greater than half-time (.5). Funding
is already included in the current budget for Court Administration Fund (681) as a long-term employee
retired and was replaced by a new employee at entry level, generating savings within this fund. No
budget amendment is necessary and the General Fund (001) is not impacted.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: This item has been reviewed by the County Attorney's Office, does not
present a legal issue and only requires a majority vote for Board approval—SRT.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT: none
RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of County Commissioners approve the increase of.25 FTE for
the Court Administration's Office Assistant II position.
PREPARED BY: Chuck Rice, Acting Court Administrator
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1/22/2013 Item 16.J.3.
COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Item Number: 16.J.3.
Item Summary: Recommendation to approve an increase of one-quarter (.25) Full-time
Equivalent(FTE) in Court Administration for an existing employee.
Meeting Date: 1/22/2013
Prepared By
Name: LehnhardPat
Title: Operations Coordinator,Transportation Administrati
1/4/2013 10:36:37 AM
Submitted by
Title: Operations Coordinator,Transportation Administrati
Name: LehnhardPat
1/4/2013 10:36:38 AM
Approved By
Name: TeachScott
Title:Deputy County Attorney,County Attorney
Date: 1/9/2013 8:58:15 AM
Name: PryorCheryl
Title: Management/Budget Analyst, Senior,Office of Manag
Date: 1/10/2013 2:48:02 PM
Name: OchsLeo
Title: County Manager
Date: 1/11/2013 11:38:03 AM
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