FCPIO is a federally recognized tax-exempt educational nonprofit corporation organized in 2007 to promote discussion among Florida's court public information officers (PIOs). All Florida state court divisions were directed to appoint PIOs by the Chief Justice following a 2002 report on emergency preparedness prepared by an advisory committee created after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. FCPIO meets regularly to discuss emerging developments in court and media relations with a special focus on Florida's uniquely broad public records and public meetings laws and court rules.
Consistent with its status as a tax-exempt nonprofit corporation, FCPIO works on its own and with other nonprofit organizations and governmental bodies to advance the ongoing dialogue among courts, media, and the public. FCPIO is the direct outgrowth of a state court PIO educational conference held in 2005 at the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee and funded by a grant from The Florida Bar Foundation. The 2005 conference was held in cooperation with the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Courts and Media at the National Judicial College and the Conference of Court Public Information Officers.
The mission of FCPIO is to promote professional education of Florida’s court public information officers, to encourage their professionalism, to promote and encourage the use of best practices and ethical behavior by its members, and to serve the communities in which their courts dispense justice.
President: Molly Justice, Seventh Judicial Circuit Executive Director: Craig Waters, Florida Supreme Court |
