Miami's New Children's Courthouse Becoming Reality

MIAMI (CBS4) – There were plenty of VIPS, including the newly appointed secretary of the Department of Children and Families, who attended Tuesday morning's groundbreaking of the future Children's Courthouse in Miami.

Florida's secretary of DCF, David Wilkins, joined Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez, Chief Judge Joel H. Brown and other court and county leaders with hard hats and shovels for the ceremonial groundbreaking.

The new courthouse is the result of a joint, 10-year collaboration between Miami-Dade County and the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, and a shared vision to improve conditions for the children and families who appear in our courts.

The new Children's Courthouse, which will go up at 112 NW 3rd Street, will replace the aging and undersized Juvenile Justice Center currently located at NW 27th Avenue and 33rd Street. Among its many distinguishing features, the new Children's Courthouse will be one of the few facilities in the nation to house all court partners as well as support agencies for the Juvenile Justice Community.

The facility will be approximately 375,000 square feet, with the capacity to house 18 courtrooms and judges' chambers, court administration, the Clerk of Courts, State Attorney's and Public Defender's Offices, as well as support agencies such as the Guardian Ad Litem Program, Corrections, and Miami-Dade Police Court Liaison personnel. The building is projected to open sometime in 2013 or 2014.