Bill Text: FL S1360 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Child Welfare

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-07 - Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/HB 1079 [S1360 Detail]

Download: Florida-2018-S1360-Introduced.html

---

       Florida Senate - 2018                                    SB 1360
       
       
        
       By Senator Broxson
       
       
       
       
       
       1-00990A-18                                           20181360__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to child welfare; amending s. 39.0138,
    3         F.S.; authorizing the Department of Children and
    4         Families to grant an exemption from a fingerprinting
    5         requirement to certain household members who are being
    6         considered for placement of a child; requiring the
    7         department to adopt rules; revising offenses that
    8         prohibit the department from placing a child with the
    9         offender; amending s. 409.175, F.S.; defining the term
   10         “severe disability”; authorizing the department to
   11         grant an exemption from a fingerprinting requirement
   12         to certain household members who have a severe
   13         disability and for purposes of licensure as a licensed
   14         family foster home, child-placing agency, or
   15         residential child-caring agency; amending s. 409.991,
   16         F.S.; redefining the term “proportion of children in
   17         care” to include children whose families are receiving
   18         support services; revising the equity allocation of
   19         core services funds; revising the equity allocation
   20         model for the allocation of new core services funds;
   21         providing an effective date.
   22          
   23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   24  
   25         Section 1. Subsections (1), (2), and (3) of section
   26  39.0138, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   27         39.0138 Criminal history and other records checks; limit on
   28  placement of a child.—
   29         (1)(a) The department shall conduct a records check through
   30  the State Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS)
   31  and a local and statewide criminal history records check on all
   32  persons, including parents, being considered by the department
   33  for placement of a child under this chapter, including all
   34  nonrelative placement decisions, and all members of the
   35  household, 12 years of age and older, of the person being
   36  considered. For purposes of this section, a criminal history
   37  records check may include, but is not limited to, submission of
   38  fingerprints to the Department of Law Enforcement for processing
   39  and forwarding to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for state
   40  and national criminal history information, and local criminal
   41  records checks through local law enforcement agencies of all
   42  household members 18 years of age and older and other visitors
   43  to the home. An out-of-state criminal history records check must
   44  be initiated for any person 18 years of age or older who resided
   45  in another state if that state allows the release of such
   46  records. The department shall establish by rule standards for
   47  evaluating any information contained in the automated system
   48  relating to a person who must be screened for purposes of making
   49  a placement decision.
   50         (b) The department may grant an exemption from a
   51  fingerprinting requirement to a household member with a
   52  physical, developmental, or cognitive limitation or severe
   53  disability that prevents him or her from being fingerprinted.
   54  Before such exemption is granted, the department or its designee
   55  shall consider the severity of the household member’s limitation
   56  or disability and whether the exemption may compromise the
   57  safety and well-being of a child placed in the home. The
   58  department may require documentation of such limitation or
   59  disability. The department shall adopt rules necessary to
   60  administer this paragraph.
   61         (2) The department may not place a child with a person
   62  other than a parent if the criminal history records check
   63  reveals that the person has been convicted of any felony that
   64  falls within any of the following categories:
   65         (a) Child abuse, abandonment, or neglect;
   66         (b) Domestic violence;
   67         (c) Child pornography or other felony in which a child was
   68  a victim of the offense; or
   69         (d) Homicide or, sexual battery, or other felony involving
   70  violence, other than felony assault or felony battery when an
   71  adult was the victim of the assault or battery.
   72         (3) The department may not place a child with a person
   73  other than a parent if the criminal history records check
   74  reveals that the person has, within the previous 5 years, been
   75  convicted of a felony that falls within any of the following
   76  categories:
   77         (a) Assault;
   78         (b) Battery; or
   79         (c) A drug-related offense; or
   80         (d) An offense involving violence.
   81         Section 2. Present paragraphs (l) and (m) of subsection (2)
   82  of section 409.175, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
   83  paragraphs (m) and (n), respectively, a new paragraph (l) is
   84  added to that subsection, and paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of
   85  that section is amended, to read:
   86         409.175 Licensure of family foster homes, residential
   87  child-caring agencies, and child-placing agencies; public
   88  records exemption.—
   89         (2) As used in this section, the term:
   90         (l) “Severe disability” means a physical, developmental, or
   91  cognitive limitation that prevents an individual from being
   92  fingerprinted.
   93         (6)(a) An application for a license shall be made on forms
   94  provided, and in the manner prescribed, by the department. The
   95  department shall make a determination as to the good moral
   96  character of the applicant based upon screening. The department
   97  may grant an exemption from a fingerprinting requirement to a
   98  household member who has a severe disability pursuant to s.
   99  39.0138(1)(b).
  100         Section 3. Section 409.991, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  101  read:
  102         409.991 Allocation of funds for community-based care lead
  103  agencies.—
  104         (1) As used in this section, the term:
  105         (a) “Core services funds” means all funds allocated to
  106  community-based care lead agencies operating under contract with
  107  the department pursuant to s. 409.987, with the following
  108  exceptions:
  109         1. Funds appropriated for independent living;
  110         2. Funds appropriated for maintenance adoption subsidies;
  111         3. Funds allocated by the department for protective
  112  investigations training;
  113         4. Nonrecurring funds;
  114         5. Designated mental health wrap-around services funds; and
  115         6. Funds for special projects for a designated community
  116  based care lead agency.
  117         (b) “Equity allocation model” means an allocation model
  118  that uses the following factors:
  119         1. Proportion of the child population;
  120         2. Proportion of child abuse hotline workload; and
  121         3. Proportion of children in care.
  122         (c) “Proportion of child population” means the proportion
  123  of children up to 18 years of age during the previous calendar
  124  year in the geographic area served by the community-based care
  125  lead agency.
  126         (d) “Proportion of child abuse hotline workload” means the
  127  weighted average of the following subcomponents:
  128         1. The average number of initial and additional child abuse
  129  reports received during the month for the most recent 12 months
  130  based on child protective investigations trend reports as
  131  determined by the department. This subcomponent shall be
  132  weighted as 20 percent of the factor.
  133         2. The average count of children in investigations in the
  134  most recent 12 months based on child protective investigations
  135  trend reports as determined by the department. This subcomponent
  136  shall be weighted as 40 percent of the factor.
  137         3. The average count of children in investigations with a
  138  most serious finding of verified abuse in the most recent 12
  139  months based on child protective investigations trend reports as
  140  determined by the department. This subcomponent shall be
  141  weighted as 40 percent of the factor.
  142         (e) “Proportion of children in care” means the proportion
  143  of the number of children whose families are receiving support
  144  services, the number of children in care receiving in-home
  145  services, and the number of entries of children into in out-of
  146  home care with a case management overlay during the most recent
  147  12-month period. This subcomponent shall be weighted as follows:
  148         1. Fifty Sixty percent shall be based on children in out
  149  of-home care.
  150         2. Thirty Forty percent shall be based on children in in
  151  home care.
  152         3. Twenty percent shall be based on children whose families
  153  are receiving support services.
  154         (2) The equity allocation of core services funds shall be
  155  calculated based on the following weights:
  156         (a) Proportion of the child population shall be weighted as
  157  5 percent of the total;
  158         (b) Proportion of child abuse hotline workload shall be
  159  weighted as 35 15 percent of the total; and
  160         (c) Proportion of children in care shall be weighted as 60
  161  80 percent of the total.
  162         (3) Beginning in the 2015-2016 state fiscal year, 100
  163  percent of the recurring core services funding for each
  164  community-based care lead agency shall be based on the prior
  165  year recurring base of core services funds.
  166         (4) Unless otherwise specified in the General
  167  Appropriations Act, any new core services funds shall be
  168  allocated based on the equity allocation model to community
  169  based care lead agencies that are funded below their equitable
  170  share. Funds allocated pursuant to this subsection shall be
  171  weighted based on each community-based care lead agency’s
  172  relative proportion of the total amount of funding below the
  173  equitable share as follows:
  174         (a) Seventy Twenty percent of new funding shall be
  175  allocated among all community-based care lead agencies.
  176         (b) Thirty Eighty percent of new funding shall be allocated
  177  among community-based care lead agencies that are funded below
  178  their equitable share. Funds allocated pursuant to this
  179  paragraph shall be weighted based on each community-based care
  180  lead agency’s relative proportion of the total amount of funding
  181  below the equitable share.
  182         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.