Long Range Issue #2: Enhance Access to Justice and Court Services

• Court Interpreting Services
• Family Court
• Problem Solving Courts
• Alternative Dispute Resolution

Court Interpreting Services

Florida is a diverse state with many cultures and languages represented, making the availability of interpretation services an integral part of providing services to its residents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 20% of Florida’s residents are foreign-born, compared to the United States’ total of 13%. Also, nearly 30% of Florida’s population age five and older speaks a language other than English at home.

Based on the diverse composition of Florida’s population, thousands of court cases every year require a spoken language interpreter or accommodation for someone with hearing loss, which comprises nearly 4% of Florida’s residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. To ensure every citizen has access, courts must provide interpreting services when necessary. 
Expanding the reach of interpreting services is a goal of the courts system; therefore, ensuring remote or in-person access to interpreters is a priority. Court interpreters are critical to:

• Ensure equal treatment of those who need and do not need interpreting services
• Protect due process rights and fundamental interests
• Ensure Florida’s courts comply with state law and the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Supreme Court of Florida established the Court Interpreter Certification Board to supervise the process of certifying spoken language interpreters – by which qualified persons may become registered and officially designated - and to regulate interpreters’ conduct. The Court Interpreter Certification and Regulation Program works with this board to ensure citizens receive the highest quality of language access as Florida’s courts carry out their responsibilities.

Court Interpreter Orientation Workshop

In spring 2021, the Court Interpreter Certification and Regulation Program held Court Interpreter Orientation Workshops virtually to ensure the safety of all attendees. Participation in the orientation is a prerequisite to becoming an officially designated interpreter. The three official state-level tiers are: certified, language skilled, and provisionally approved. Providing a virtual option was an accidental triumph of accessibility, where potential interpreters could participate without incurring travel-related expenses and were able to maximize their time. With fewer attendees than in-person classes, engaging in interactive elements such as breakout rooms were found to be equally meaningful, as were the networking opportunities, resulting in a successful course. Based on the positive feedback from attendees, the continuation of virtual trainings is being considered for future workshops. For information about orientation dates and interpreter certification, see the court interpreting web page of the Florida Courts website.

Expanding the Reach of Remote Interpreting

During the height of the pandemic, accelerated adaptation touched every corner of daily life. From grocery delivery to remote hearings, access to everyday activities changed rapidly, and after experiencing the impact of the virtual world, it will never be the same. When unemployment rates reached historic highs, many turned to remote work options, and many interpreting jobs shifted to a remote workplace as well. Additional remote interpreters were needed when hearings moved to remote settings, especially in the heavily populated Eleventh and Ninth circuits, creating a symbiotic relationship between those seeking remote interpreting employment and those needing remote access to interpreting services.

Miami-dade County: the Eleventh Judicial Circuit

When you dine at a restaurant in Miami, you are just as likely to find the menu in Spanish as in English because according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 66% of the Miami-Dade County Population over the age of 5 speaks Spanish, and a total of 75% of the population speaks a language other than English. It is no surprise that the Eleventh Judicial Circuit that serves the approximately 2.5 million residents of Miami-Dade County relies heavily on Virtual Remote Interpreting. As is the case across Florida, the Eleventh Circuit judges and court staff are committed to providing the highest level of service to citizens, making Virtual Remote Interpreting a clear solution to bridging language barriers. victims, witnesses, and plaintiffs. Certified court interpreters work from a centralized location and are dispatched to courthouses countywide at a moment’s notice. When the pandemic hit, the Eleventh Circuit saw an immediate need for additional virtual services and, at the direction of the supreme court, implemented Zoom as a tool to create virtual courtrooms.

Court interpreters quickly adapted to Zoom and provided feedback to the judges and circuit court staff, ensuring the technology was utilized to its full potential. They soon discovered that Zoom features, such as the ability to perform simultaneous interpretation in virtual courtrooms, minimized lags and misunderstandings, and ultimately increased case flow.

Orange and Osceola County: the Ninth Judicial Circuit

The Ninth Circuit is exceptionally culturally diverse and has a strong demand for language accessibility through court interpreting. They have been using virtual interpreting for simultaneous services since 2007 and were early adopters of On-Demand Virtual Remote Interpreting as their primary language access option. On-Demand Virtual Interpreting has interpreters on standby, ready to be assigned to a hearing at any time. The Ninth Circuit has made their standby pool of interpreters available to the Eighteenth and Nineteenth circuits when those courts cannot staff an interpreter for a hearing or other court service.

To learn more about how the Ninth Circuit blazed the trail for virtual interpreting services and gained national recognition for their efforts, see this National Center for State Courts publication highlighting state court trends. The Eleventh Circuit began using Virtual Remote Interpreting in February 2019 to provide services to defendants, respondents.

Family Court

Complex, private, and emotional only begin to describe many of the cases tried in family court. Dissolution of marriage, parental rights, child support, and juvenile issues are some of the matters decided. Family court staff and judges must stay educated on and prepared for the various scenarios that may come before them in the courtroom. The Steering Committee on Families and Children in the Court, advisory groups and panels, and court staff statewide work together to address the constant changes in family law. The Steering Committee seeks to keep judges and staff educated and prepared to help ensure family court matters are treated with the care and expertise they need.

Judge Denise Pomponio, Thirteenth Circuit, presiding over virtual Family Court

Steering Committee on Families and Children in the Court

Every two years, the Steering Committee on Families and Children in the Court is directed by administrative order to work on specific issues. For the 2020-22 term, the Committee was charged with several projects, including assessing the crossover between dependency and delinquency, developing a statewide implementation plan for trauma-responsive court practices, and developing emergency preparedness recommendations for family courts in the wake of the pandemic.

Annual Family Court Workshop

As with other significant court-related trainings or conferences, the Steering Committee moved its annual workshop, hosted by the Office of the State Courts Administrator for judges and court staff, to a virtual platform. Typically, the workshop coincides with the Florida Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts’ annual conference; however, this year’s conference was held separately in December 2020.

The annual family court workshop’s virtual format afforded substantially more people the opportunity to attend than usual.  In all, 200 participants enjoyed engaging training regarding delinquency and dependency crossover cases through breakout rooms and interactive activities. Among the workshop’s many successes, Senior Judge Lee E. Haworth was surprised with the William E. Gladstone award during the workshop – showing participants that, with a little bit of ingenuity and resourcefulness, virtual events can maintain the excitement provided by in-person events.

Early Childhood Courts and the Dependency Court Improvement Panel

Early childhood courts are problem-solving dockets addressing the welfare of children under three years old. The state has 27 early childhood courts whose primary goals are to:

• Improve child safety and well-being
• Heal trauma and repair the parent/child relationship
• Promote timely permanency
• Stop the intergenerational cycle of maltreatment

In November 2019, the supreme court adopted Early Childhood Court Best Practice Standards. The standards were developed by the Dependency Court Improvement Panel, supported by the Steering Committee, and are aligned with the Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards. Early Childhood Courts statewide are currently working to implement the standards. The Office of the State Courts Administrator held a statewide virtual all-sites meeting in April 2021 where all of the Early Childhood Court teams received standard implementation training and guidance.  This was the fourth Early Childhood Court all-sites meeting since the statewide implementation in 2015; however, due to the pandemic, it was the first time this meeting was held virtually.

During the height of the pandemic, virtual hearings in Early Childhood Courts occurred more often than in-person hearings, which proved helpful for engagement and made it easier for parents to attend the monthly court hearings. Although there were higher engagement rates for hearings, visitation became a significant obstacle during the pandemic. The Panel hosted a webinar on navigating parental visits during the pandemic, including how to host virtual visitations, and relayed best practices for ensuring the safety of all parties. Although there were fewer entries into Early Childhood Courts during the pandemic, they consistently showed increased parent-child reunification and reduced time to permanency. For more complete statistics, see the Early Childhood Courts web page.

Domestic Violence Advisory Group

The Domestic Violence Advisory Group responded to the pandemic by becoming even more productive and continuing to provide education in new ways through the digital landscape. In addition to updating the Domestic Violence Benchbook, the Advisory Group created or provided:

• Three new online training modules 
• Two judicial regional training programs 
• One additional regional training program for court staff 
• Two judicial webinars 
• Three webinars on strangulation prevention

The regional trainings are typically held in person but were switched to video conference-based sessions with a maximum of 25 participants for each of the two sessions. Reducing the number of participants in the training helped the judges who were teaching better facilitate the interactive elements such as breakout rooms and polls. The engagement levels were as high as in-person engagement levels, and new and experienced judges alike learned from the class.

In addition to the regional training, the Advisory Group hosted various webinars including one featuring an international coercive control expert. A recording of the webinar can be accessed on YouTube. Additional domestic violence webinars for continuing judicial education credits can be found on the domestic violence web page of the Florida Courts website.

Delinquency Advisory Group

During FY 2020-21, the Delinquency Advisory Group focused on updating the Florida Delinquency Benchbook to keep up with the ever-changing requirements of family law. Working with the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Advisory Group also continued to provide case law updates and legislative updates. In collaboration with the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Advisory Group created an e-training module with accompanying materials regarding the trending topic of differential warrants as well. For additional information about differential warrants, see the Differential Warrant Playbook.

Problem-solving Courts

Problem-solving courts address the root causes of justice system involvement through specialized dockets, multidisciplinary teams, and a non-adversarial approach. They focus on providing evidence-based treatment to participants through the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team at the direction of a judge. Participants must reach milestones and goals, guided by a continuum of individualized treatment services that identify and meet the unique needs of each participant.

Steering Committee on Problem-solving Courts

In 2018, the Florida Supreme Court created the Steering Committee on Problem-Solving Courts to address the needs of court-engaged individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders through differentiated case management principles and other evidence-based and emerging best practices. The Court charged the Steering Committee with developing best practice standards for certain problem-solving courts and finalizing the problem-solving court certification program. professionalism and successful implementation of best practices.

In August 2020, the Steering Committee was reestablished by administrative order for a term ending June 2022. Their main charges include expanding the development of best practice standards and implementing and expanding the problem-solving court certification program to include additional problem-solving courts. The new standards and guidelines are currently being aligned for consistency with the Florida Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards, which are now under revision by the Steering Committee. The goal of the problem-solving court certification program is to ensure that Florida’s problem-solving courts maintain fidelity to best practices to enhance program operations and improve participant outcomes. In addition, the certification program will recognize problem-solving courts for their professionalism and successful implementation of best practices.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

For over 40 years, Florida’s residents have been using alternative dispute resolution to resolve cases with the help of a neutral party such as a mediator, instead of seeking judicial action. The Dispute Resolution Center is committed to certifying, supporting, and disciplining mediators and other neutrals statewide. Through live, virtual, and pre-recorded trainings, the Center regulates and maintains the certifications of neutrals such as mediators, arbitrators, and parenting and elder care coordinators. The Center has certified nearly 6,000 mediators and can attribute an increase in certifications to various policies and innovations effectuated by the pandemic.

Fifth Circuit mediators and staff in November 2019

Education and Outreach

In 2020, being agile in providing services ceased to be a coveted skill used on occasion and became a necessary tool used constantly across the judicial branch. Just before the onset of the pandemic, the Dispute Resolution Center scheduled its annual conference for alternative dispute resolution professionals, which provides continuing education and additional training for mediators statewide.  When meeting in person was not an option, the team successfully used deft planning to pivot to an internet­based webinar-style platform on short notice. The conference experienced minor technical difficulties, but none proved insurmountable, as it was the largest conference by attendance yet and served to prepare the Dispute Resolution Center for 2021.

Susan Marvin, former Dispute Resolution Center Chief, receiving the Sharon Press Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution Award

Although an in-person conference was planned for 2021, alternate preparations were also made in the event a shift to an online platform became necessary. Those alternate plans were executed with aplomb. Applying lessons learned from the 2020 conference, including providing a method to log in ahead of the event and learn the mechanics of the webinar platform before the meetings went live, helped avoid many technical issues from interrupting the event. The 2021 conference was the second largest by attendance, with approximately 1,100 participants seeking further education and mediator training.

The 2020 and 2021 conferences were champions of accessibility. The Dispute Resolution Center reduced the webinar cost, passed the savings on to the attendees and the virtual nature of the event allowed mediators who could not travel to participate in the enriching event. Along with other policies, these digital events helped 731 mediators — a record number — become certified in FY 2020-21.

The virtual conference generated considerable positive feedback from participants, with varying opinions about whether it should be in-person or online in the future. The Dispute Resolution Center is open to all feedback and is considering all potential options for delivery moving forward.

Success During the Pandemic

To become certified initially, mediators must complete between 24 to 40 hours of training depending on the certification. Mediators must also complete 16 hours of continuing mediator education every two years to maintain certification. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, mediators also had a mentorship requirement, but an administrative order issued by the chief justice waived this requirement temporarily. This waiver of mentorship removed a significant obstacle for mediators during the pandemic, allowing a record number of mediators to become certified during FY 2020-21.

The chief justice’s initial pandemic administrative order on mediator certification requirements has been amended several times to adapt to the changing environment. Some of the amendments have become permanent policy for the Dispute Resolution Center and have made it easier to become a skilled certified mediator.

One such fixed policy change allows potential certified mediators to complete the mandatory, certified mediation training online or in-person.

Another lasting policy change maintains the status of pre-recorded webinars, such as those available on the Florida Courts YouTube page, as valid training that counts toward the 16-hour continuing mediator education requirement.

Together, these revised policies and the mentorship waiver have made becoming a mediator more achievable.

Through the many steps the Dispute Resolution Center has taken to improve the accessibility of mediator certification, including creating the How to Become a Certified Mediator Guide that leads potential mediators through the certification process and the extensive digital training, mediators can now become certified more easily and without financial strain.

Looking Ahead

At the end of the fiscal year, a new neutral designation officially arrived in the form of eldercaring coordinators. Eldercare coordination as a judicial alternative in Florida resulted from a collaboration between the Association for Conflict Resolution and the Florida Chapter of the Association of Conflict and Conciliation Courts.

In the coming year, the Center will focus on the implementation of eldercare coordination statewide. Florida’s leadership in creating a standardized eldercaring coordinator designation has encouraged other states to begin programs, using our state as the blueprint.

In overcoming daunting obstacles during the pandemic, the Dispute Resolution Center acknowledges that many of the changes implemented during FY 2020-21 are here to stay, because they make mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes more accessible and effective.