The Children's Issues Committee is a part of the Family Law Section specifically designated to serve the community where members review current Florida statutes and recommend changes or action plans that will impact children involved in family law litigation. The Children's Issues Committee members are currently examining cases involving high conflict litigation. Specifically, the members of the subcommittee are looking at methods and suggestions for drafting highly detailed parenting plans for initial or modification actions. The intent is to provide practitioners with tools to avoid subsequent and ongoing contemptuous litigation, and modification actions regarding timesharing schedules. Approximately twenty (20%) percent of pending litigation in Florida Courts are considered "High Conflict" due to the substantial litigation involved. How can the practitioner draft an effective parenting plan, which will reduce the need for continuous litigation and impact to the children of our State? The Webinar will include the perspective of seasoned litigators and members of the judiciary to examine such question.

Second, the Committee looks to address concerns arising from issues with the Florida statute 61.130001. Since the establishment of the Relocation statute, practitioners have dealt with clients attempting to push the boundaries beyond the pale. As many litigants understand, when relocation is pending, the number of miles will determine whether litigation is required prior to the desired move, so moving up to 49.99 miles from the last residence where a timesharing order was entered may or may not trigger litigation. Accordingly, our members are reviewing the statute to determine if a glitch that mandates revision. The Committee works closely with the Legislation Committee to determine if new legislation is needed to address such a need.

Another exciting and timely project for the Committee is exploring parenting styles and technology that may impact children. So often practitioners are called to negotiate how the other parents handle technology to supervise their children or interfere with the parenting style of the other, or worse, track or stalk the other parent. App programs, like "Find Friends", that track or locate users may provide parents with some level of peace of mind to know where their teenage child may be, however it may be misused to provide unprecedented access to the other parent's whereabouts under the guise of parental supervision. The members will explore other technologies such as iCloud sharing or other group sharing apps such as "GroupMe" that allow multiple users to review and respond to messages at once that lend to oversharing details and overexposure of young children. Here the challenge presented is how to balance the technology available to ensure the teen has boarded the correct bus or reached home with the privacy of the parent with whom the child is or will be.

These are only a few of the many actions the members of the Children's Issues Committee are diligently working on. If you are interested is any of these topics or believe you have an idea for a pressing need in this area, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or my co-chair, Sonja Jean at [email protected] to advise.