DCF’s Juvenile Incompetent to Proceed (JITP) Evaluator List
DCF is responsible for maintaining a list of mental health experts who have completed the appropriate training to conduct forensic evaluations for juveniles with competency at issue or mental illnesses. This list is not a list of experts under contract with Court Administration, but it shows which experts statewide have completed the training suggested in F.S. 985.19. While the list below shows evaluators that serve the circuit of their location, DCF advised OSCA that all evaluators listed are qualified to serve any circuit. If you select an expert who is not under contract with the Twelfth Circuit’s Court Administration office, you must contact the expert to ensure that he/she will perform the work at the same rate that we pay and that he/she will enter into a professional services agreement with Court Administration.
Review the list of experts contracted with Court Administration
For competency evaluations related to an intellectual disability or autism, the court must order the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) to examine the child. Evaluators on the Department’s list cannot diagnose an intellectual disability or autism for the purpose of competency evaluations, as only APD appointed evaluators can do so per statute.