Dennis Moore, executive director of Florida's statewide Guardian ad Litem office, told the Senate appropriations subcommittee that the office has achieved a guardian for every child in the state's dependency system for the first time, but faces retention and vacancy problems that require salary adjustments.

Moore said guardians and staff represented more than 31,500 children in the dependency system last year and that pro bono and volunteer advocates contributed nearly 200,000 hours and drove over 1 million miles to visit children and attend hearings. He said those volunteers are the backbone of the program.

To address staff turnover and recruitment challenges, Moore requested raising senior attorney salaries to $70,000 and managing attorneys to $80,000, a package he said would total $455,000, including $375,000 in general revenue and approximately $77,000 available from federal Title IV-E funds. He also said child-advocate-manager turnover had risen and that additional measures were needed to prevent staffing losses.

Moore answered senators' questions about vacancies and turnover rates and said additional funding would support the office’s ability to provide counsel and advocacy consistent with statutory best practices.

No appropriation votes were taken during the meeting.