Bill Text: FL S1748 | 2020 | Regular Session | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Child Welfare

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)

Status: (Failed) 2020-03-14 - Died in Appropriations [S1748 Detail]

Download: Florida-2020-S1748-Comm_Sub.html
       Florida Senate - 2020                             CS for SB 1748
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
       Senators Hutson and Perry
       
       
       
       
       586-03122-20                                          20201748c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to child welfare; amending s. 39.01,
    3         F.S.; revising definitions; amending s. 39.0135, F.S.;
    4         requiring that child support payments be deposited
    5         into specified trust funds; amending s. 39.202, F.S.;
    6         authorizing the Agency for Health Care Administration
    7         to access certain records; amending s. 39.6011, F.S.;
    8         requiring certain documentation in the case plan when
    9         a child is placed in a qualified residential treatment
   10         program; amending s. 39.6221, F.S.; revising the
   11         conditions under which a court determines permanent
   12         guardian placement for a child; amending s. 39.6251,
   13         F.S.; specifying certain facilities that are not
   14         considered a supervised living arrangement; requiring
   15         a supervised living arrangement to be voluntary;
   16         amending s. 61.30, F.S.; providing a presumption for
   17         child support in certain proceedings under ch. 39;
   18         amending s. 409.145, F.S.; requiring certain screening
   19         requirements for residential group home employees;
   20         requiring a written agreement to modify foster care
   21         room and board rates; providing an exception; amending
   22         s. 409.1676, F.S.; revising legislative intent;
   23         revising and providing definitions; revising a
   24         provision requiring the department to contract with
   25         certain entities; revising requirements for lead
   26         agencies, not-for-profit corporations, and local
   27         government entities with which the department is
   28         contracted; deleting a provision authorizing the
   29         department to transfer casework responsibilities for
   30         certain children to specified entities; providing
   31         responsibilities for lead care agencies; providing
   32         placement timeframes for the qualified residential
   33         treatment program; deleting a provision requiring that
   34         certain provisions be implemented to the extent of
   35         available appropriations contained in the annual
   36         General Appropriations Act; amending s. 409.1678,
   37         F.S.; revising a requirement and an authorization for
   38         safe houses; repealing s. 409.1679, F.S., relating to
   39         comprehensive residential group care requirements and
   40         reimbursement; amending s. 409.175, F.S.; revising
   41         definitions; amending ss. 39.301, 39.302, 39.402,
   42         39.501, and 39.6013, F.S.; making technical changes
   43         and conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
   44         providing an effective date.
   45          
   46  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   47  
   48         Section 1. Subsections (11) and (67) of section 39.01,
   49  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   50         39.01 Definitions.—When used in this chapter, unless the
   51  context otherwise requires:
   52         (11) “Case plan” means a document, as described in s.
   53  39.6011, prepared by the department with input from all parties.
   54  The case plan follows the child from the provision of preventive
   55  voluntary services through any dependency, foster care, or
   56  termination of parental rights proceeding or related activity or
   57  process.
   58         (67) “Preventive services” means social services and other
   59  supportive and rehabilitative services provided, either
   60  voluntarily or by court order, to the parent or legal custodian
   61  of the child and to the child or on behalf of the child for the
   62  purpose of averting the removal of the child from the home or
   63  disruption of a family which will or could result in the
   64  placement of a child in foster care. Social services and other
   65  supportive and rehabilitative services shall promote the child’s
   66  developmental needs and need for physical, mental, and emotional
   67  health and a safe, stable, living environment; shall promote
   68  family autonomy; and shall strengthen family life, whenever
   69  possible.
   70         Section 2. Section 39.0135, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   71  read:
   72         39.0135 Federal Grants and Operations and Maintenance Trust
   73  Funds Fund.—The department shall deposit all child support
   74  payments made to the department, equaling the cost of care,
   75  under pursuant to this chapter into the Federal Grants Trust
   76  Fund for Title IV-E eligible children and the Operations and
   77  Maintenance Trust Fund for children ineligible for Title IV-E.
   78  If the child support payment does not equal the cost of care,
   79  the total amount of the payment shall be deposited into the
   80  appropriate trust fund. The purpose of this funding is to care
   81  for children who are committed to the temporary legal custody of
   82  the department.
   83         Section 3. Paragraphs (a) and (h) of subsection (2) of
   84  section 39.202, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   85         39.202 Confidentiality of reports and records in cases of
   86  child abuse or neglect.—
   87         (2) Except as provided in subsection (4), access to such
   88  records, excluding the name of, or other identifying information
   89  with respect to, the reporter which shall be released only as
   90  provided in subsection (5), shall be granted only to the
   91  following persons, officials, and agencies:
   92         (a) Employees, authorized agents, or contract providers of
   93  the department, the Department of Health, the Agency for Persons
   94  with Disabilities, the Agency for Health Care Administration,
   95  the Office of Early Learning, or county agencies responsible for
   96  carrying out:
   97         1. Child or adult protective investigations;
   98         2. Ongoing child or adult protective services;
   99         3. Early intervention and prevention services;
  100         4. Healthy Start services;
  101         5. Licensure or approval of adoptive homes, foster homes,
  102  child care facilities, facilities licensed under chapters 393
  103  and 394 chapter 393, family day care homes, providers who
  104  receive school readiness funding under part VI of chapter 1002,
  105  or other homes used to provide for the care and welfare of
  106  children;
  107         6. Employment screening for employees caregivers in
  108  residential group homes licensed by the department, the Agency
  109  for Persons with Disabilities, or the Agency for Health Care
  110  Administration; or
  111         7. Services for victims of domestic violence when provided
  112  by certified domestic violence centers working at the
  113  department’s request as case consultants or with shared clients.
  114  
  115  Also, employees or agents of the Department of Juvenile Justice
  116  responsible for the provision of services to children, under
  117  pursuant to chapters 984 and 985.
  118         (h) Any appropriate official of the department, the Agency
  119  for Health Care Administration, or the Agency for Persons with
  120  Disabilities who is responsible for:
  121         1. Administration or supervision of the department’s
  122  program for the prevention, investigation, or treatment of child
  123  abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or abuse, neglect, or
  124  exploitation of a vulnerable adult, when carrying out his or her
  125  official function;
  126         2. Taking appropriate administrative action concerning an
  127  employee of the department or the agency who is alleged to have
  128  perpetrated child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or abuse,
  129  neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult; or
  130         3. Employing and continuing employment of personnel of the
  131  department or the agency.
  132         Section 4. Present subsections (6) through (9) of section
  133  39.6011, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (7)
  134  through (10), respectively, and a new subsection (6) is added to
  135  that section, to read:
  136         39.6011 Case plan development.—
  137         (6) When a child is placed in a qualified residential
  138  treatment program, the case plan must include documentation
  139  outlining the most recent assessment for a qualified residential
  140  treatment program, the date of the most recent placement in a
  141  qualified residential treatment program, the treatment or
  142  service needs of the child, and preparation for the child to
  143  return home or be in an out-of-home placement. If a child is
  144  placed in a qualified residential treatment program for longer
  145  than the timeframes described in s. 409.1676, a copy of the
  146  signed approval of such placement by the department must be
  147  included in the case plan.
  148         Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
  149  39.6221, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  150         39.6221 Permanent guardianship of a dependent child.—
  151         (1) If a court determines that reunification or adoption is
  152  not in the best interest of the child, the court may place the
  153  child in a permanent guardianship with a relative or other adult
  154  approved by the court if all of the following conditions are
  155  met:
  156         (a) The child has been in the placement for not less than
  157  the preceding 6 months, or the preceding 3 months if the
  158  caregiver has been named as the successor guardian on the
  159  child’s guardianship assistance agreement.
  160         Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
  161  39.6251, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  162         39.6251 Continuing care for young adults.—
  163         (4)(a) The young adult must reside in a supervised living
  164  environment that is approved by the department or a community
  165  based care lead agency. The young adult shall live
  166  independently, but in an environment in which he or she is
  167  provided supervision, case management, and supportive services
  168  by the department or lead agency. Such an environment must offer
  169  developmentally appropriate freedom and responsibility to
  170  prepare the young adult for adulthood. For the purposes of this
  171  subsection, a supervised living arrangement may include a
  172  licensed foster home, licensed group home, college dormitory,
  173  shared housing, apartment, or another housing arrangement if the
  174  arrangement is approved by the community-based care lead agency
  175  and is acceptable to the young adult. A young adult may continue
  176  to reside with the same licensed foster family or group care
  177  provider with whom he or she was residing at the time he or she
  178  reached the age of 18 years. A supervised living arrangement may
  179  not include detention facilities, forestry camps, training
  180  schools, or any other facility operated primarily for the
  181  detention of children or young adults who are determined to be
  182  delinquent. A young adult may not reside in any setting in which
  183  the young adult is involuntarily placed.
  184         Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
  185  61.30, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (d) is added
  186  to that subsection, to read:
  187         61.30 Child support guidelines; retroactive child support.—
  188         (1)(a) The child support guideline amount as determined by
  189  this section presumptively establishes the amount the trier of
  190  fact shall order as child support in an initial proceeding for
  191  such support or in a proceeding for modification of an existing
  192  order for such support, whether the proceeding arises under this
  193  or another chapter, except as provided in paragraph (d). The
  194  trier of fact may order payment of child support which varies,
  195  plus or minus 5 percent, from the guideline amount, after
  196  considering all relevant factors, including the needs of the
  197  child or children, age, station in life, standard of living, and
  198  the financial status and ability of each parent. The trier of
  199  fact may order payment of child support in an amount which
  200  varies more than 5 percent from such guideline amount only upon
  201  a written finding explaining why ordering payment of such
  202  guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate.
  203  Notwithstanding the variance limitations of this section, the
  204  trier of fact shall order payment of child support which varies
  205  from the guideline amount as provided in paragraph (11)(b)
  206  whenever any of the children are required by court order or
  207  mediation agreement to spend a substantial amount of time with
  208  either parent. This requirement applies to any living
  209  arrangement, whether temporary or permanent.
  210         (d) In a proceeding under chapter 39, if the child is in an
  211  out-of-home placement, the presumptively correct amount of
  212  periodic support is 10 percent of the obligor’s actual or
  213  imputed gross income. The court may deviate from this
  214  presumption as provided in paragraph (a).
  215         Section 8. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) and paragraph
  216  (f) of subsection (4) of section 409.145, Florida Statutes, are
  217  amended, and paragraph (h) is added to subsection (4) of that
  218  section, to read:
  219         409.145 Care of children; quality parenting; “reasonable
  220  and prudent parent” standard.—The child welfare system of the
  221  department shall operate as a coordinated community-based system
  222  of care which empowers all caregivers for children in foster
  223  care to provide quality parenting, including approving or
  224  disapproving a child’s participation in activities based on the
  225  caregiver’s assessment using the “reasonable and prudent parent”
  226  standard.
  227         (2) QUALITY PARENTING.—A child in foster care shall be
  228  placed only with a caregiver who has the ability to care for the
  229  child, is willing to accept responsibility for providing care,
  230  and is willing and able to learn about and be respectful of the
  231  child’s culture, religion and ethnicity, special physical or
  232  psychological needs, any circumstances unique to the child, and
  233  family relationships. The department, the community-based care
  234  lead agency, and other agencies shall provide such caregiver
  235  with all available information necessary to assist the caregiver
  236  in determining whether he or she is able to appropriately care
  237  for a particular child.
  238         (e) Employees of Caregivers employed by residential group
  239  homes.All employees, including persons who do not work directly
  240  with children, of a residential group home must meet the
  241  background screening requirements under s. 39.0138 and the level
  242  2 standards for screening under chapter 435 All caregivers in
  243  residential group homes shall meet the same education, training,
  244  and background and other screening requirements as foster
  245  parents.
  246         (4) FOSTER CARE ROOM AND BOARD RATES.—
  247         (f) Excluding level I family foster homes, the amount of
  248  the monthly foster care room and board rate may be increased
  249  upon agreement among the department, the community-based care
  250  lead agency, and the foster parent.
  251         (h) All room and board rate increases, excluding increases
  252  under paragraph (b), must be outlined in a written agreement
  253  between the department and the community-based care lead agency.
  254         Section 9. Section 409.1676, Florida Statutes, is amended
  255  to read:
  256         409.1676 Comprehensive residential group care services to
  257  children who have extraordinary needs.—
  258         (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide
  259  comprehensive residential group care services, including
  260  residential care, case management, and other services, to
  261  children in the child protection system who have extraordinary
  262  needs. These services are to be provided in a residential group
  263  care setting by a not-for-profit corporation or a local
  264  government entity under a contract with the Department of
  265  Children and Families or by a lead agency as described in s.
  266  409.987. These contracts should be designed to provide an
  267  identified number of children with access to a full array of
  268  services for a fixed price. Further, it is the intent of the
  269  Legislature that the Department of Children and Families and the
  270  Department of Juvenile Justice establish an interagency
  271  agreement by December 1, 2002, which describes respective agency
  272  responsibilities for referral, placement, service provision, and
  273  service coordination for children under the care and supervision
  274  of the department dependent and delinquent youth who are
  275  referred to these residential group care facilities. The
  276  agreement must require interagency collaboration in the
  277  development of terms, conditions, and performance outcomes for
  278  residential group care contracts serving the youth referred who
  279  are under the care and supervision of the department and
  280  delinquent have been adjudicated both dependent and delinquent.
  281         (2) As used in this section, the term:
  282         (a) “Child with extraordinary needs” means a dependent
  283  child who has serious behavioral problems or who has been
  284  determined to be without the options of either reunification
  285  with family or adoption.
  286         (b) “Residential group care” means a living environment for
  287  children who are under the care and supervision of the
  288  department have been adjudicated dependent and are expected to
  289  be in foster care for at least 6 months with 24-hour-awake staff
  290  or live-in group home parents or staff. Each facility must be
  291  appropriately licensed in this state as a residential child
  292  caring agency as defined in s. 409.175(2)(l) and must be
  293  accredited by July 1, 2005. A residential group care facility
  294  serving children having a serious behavioral problem as defined
  295  in this section must have available staff or contract personnel
  296  with the clinical expertise, credentials, and training to
  297  provide services identified in subsection (4).
  298         (c) “Serious behavioral problems” means behaviors of
  299  children who have been assessed by a licensed master’s-level
  300  human-services professional to need at a minimum intensive
  301  services but who do not meet the criteria of s. 394.492(7). A
  302  child with an emotional disturbance as defined in s. 394.492(5)
  303  or (6) may be served in residential group care unless a
  304  determination is made by a mental health professional that such
  305  a setting is inappropriate. A child having a serious behavioral
  306  problem must have been determined in the assessment to have at
  307  least one of the following risk factors:
  308         1. An adjudication of delinquency and be on conditional
  309  release status with the Department of Juvenile Justice.
  310         2. A history of physical aggression or violent behavior
  311  toward self or others, animals, or property within the past
  312  year.
  313         3. A history of setting fires within the past year.
  314         4. A history of multiple episodes of running away from home
  315  or placements within the past year.
  316         5. A history of sexual aggression toward other youth.
  317         (b)“Qualifying assessment” is a department-approved
  318  functional assessment administered by a qualified individual to
  319  recommend or affirm placement in a qualified residential
  320  treatment program.
  321         (c)“Qualified individual” means a trained professional
  322  with experience working with children or adolescents involved in
  323  the child welfare system and who is not employed by the
  324  department or lead agency and has no actual or perceived
  325  conflict of interest with any placement setting or program.
  326         (d)“Qualified residential treatment program” has the same
  327  meaning as provided in 42 U.S.C. s. 672.
  328         (3) The department, in accordance with a specific
  329  appropriation for this program, shall contract with a not-for
  330  profit corporation, a local government entity, or the lead
  331  agency that has been established in accordance with s. 409.987
  332  for the performance of residential group care services described
  333  in this section. A lead agency that is currently providing
  334  residential care may provide this service directly with the
  335  approval of the local community alliance. The department or a
  336  lead agency may contract for more than one site in a county if
  337  that is determined to be the most effective way to achieve the
  338  goals set forth in this section.
  339         (4) The lead agency, the contracted not-for-profit
  340  corporation, or the local government entity is responsible for a
  341  comprehensive assessment, a qualifying assessment, residential
  342  care, transportation, access to behavioral health services,
  343  recreational activities, clothing, supplies, and miscellaneous
  344  expenses associated with caring for these children; for
  345  necessary arrangement for or provision of educational services;
  346  and for assuring necessary and appropriate health and dental
  347  care.
  348         (5) The department may transfer all casework
  349  responsibilities for children served under this program to the
  350  entity that provides this service, including case management and
  351  development and implementation of a case plan in accordance with
  352  current standards for child protection services. When the
  353  department establishes this program in a community that has a
  354  lead agency as described in s. 409.987, the casework
  355  responsibilities must be transferred to the lead agency.
  356         (5)(6) This section does not prohibit any provider of these
  357  services from appropriately billing Medicaid for services
  358  rendered, from contracting with a local school district for
  359  educational services, or from earning federal or local funding
  360  for services provided, as long as two or more funding sources do
  361  not pay for the same specific service that has been provided to
  362  a child.
  363         (6)(7) The lead agency, not-for-profit corporation, or
  364  local government entity has the legal authority for children
  365  served under this program, as provided in chapter 39 or this
  366  chapter, as appropriate, to enroll the child in school, to sign
  367  for a driver license for the child, to cosign loans and
  368  insurance for the child, to sign for medical treatment, and to
  369  authorize other such activities.
  370         (7)For children placed in a qualified residential
  371  treatment program, the lead agency shall:
  372         (a) Ensure each child receives a qualifying assessment no
  373  later than 30 days after placement in the program.
  374         (b) Maintain documentation of a child’s placement as
  375  specified in s. 39.6011(6).
  376         (c) Not place a child in a qualified residential treatment
  377  program for more than 12 consecutive months or 18 nonconsecutive
  378  months, or if the child is under the age of 13 years, for more
  379  than 6 months, whether consecutive or nonconsecutive, without
  380  the signed approval of the department for the continued
  381  placement.
  382         (d)Provide a copy of the qualifying assessment to the
  383  department; the guardian ad litem; and, if the child is a member
  384  of a Medicaid managed care plan, to the plan that is financially
  385  responsible for the child’s care in residential treatment.
  386         (8)Within 60 days after initial placement, the court must
  387  approve or disapprove the placement based on the qualified
  388  assessment, determination, and documentation made by the
  389  qualified evaluator, as well as any other factors the court
  390  deems fit.
  391         (9)(8) The department shall provide technical assistance as
  392  requested and contract management services.
  393         (9) The provisions of this section shall be implemented to
  394  the extent of available appropriations contained in the annual
  395  General Appropriations Act for such purpose.
  396         (10) The department may adopt rules necessary to administer
  397  this section.
  398         Section 10. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
  399  409.1678, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  400         409.1678 Specialized residential options for children who
  401  are victims of commercial sexual exploitation.—
  402         (2) CERTIFICATION OF SAFE HOUSES AND SAFE FOSTER HOMES.—
  403         (c) To be certified, a safe house must hold a license as a
  404  residential child-caring agency, as defined in s. 409.175, and a
  405  safe foster home must hold a license as a family foster home, as
  406  defined in s. 409.175. A safe house or safe foster home must
  407  also:
  408         1. Use strength-based and trauma-informed approaches to
  409  care, to the extent possible and appropriate.
  410         2. Serve exclusively one sex.
  411         3. Group child victims of commercial sexual exploitation by
  412  age or maturity level.
  413         4. If a safe house, care for child victims of commercial
  414  sexual exploitation in a manner that separates those children
  415  from children with other needs. Safe houses and Safe foster
  416  homes may care for other populations if the children who have
  417  not experienced commercial sexual exploitation do not interact
  418  with children who have experienced commercial sexual
  419  exploitation.
  420         5. Have awake staff members on duty 24 hours a day, if a
  421  safe house.
  422         6. Provide appropriate security through facility design,
  423  hardware, technology, staffing, and siting, including, but not
  424  limited to, external video monitoring or door exit alarms, a
  425  high staff-to-client ratio, or being situated in a remote
  426  location that is isolated from major transportation centers and
  427  common trafficking areas.
  428         7. Meet other criteria established by department rule,
  429  which may include, but are not limited to, personnel
  430  qualifications, staffing ratios, and types of services offered.
  431         Section 11. Section 409.1679, Florida Statutes, is
  432  repealed.
  433         Section 12. Paragraphs (l) and (m) of subsection (2) of
  434  section 409.175, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  435         409.175 Licensure of family foster homes, residential
  436  child-caring agencies, and child-placing agencies; public
  437  records exemption.—
  438         (2) As used in this section, the term:
  439         (l) “Residential child-caring agency” means any person,
  440  corporation, or agency, public or private, other than the
  441  child’s parent or legal guardian, that provides staffed 24-hour
  442  care for children in facilities maintained for that purpose,
  443  regardless of whether operated for profit or whether a fee is
  444  charged. Such residential child-caring agencies include, but are
  445  not limited to, maternity homes, runaway shelters, group homes
  446  that are administered by an agency, emergency shelters that are
  447  not in private residences, qualified residential treatment
  448  programs as defined in s. 409.1676, human trafficking safe
  449  houses as defined in s. 409.1678, at-risk homes, and wilderness
  450  camps. Residential child-caring agencies do not include
  451  hospitals, boarding schools, summer or recreation camps, nursing
  452  homes, or facilities operated by a governmental agency for the
  453  training, treatment, or secure care of delinquent youth, or
  454  facilities licensed under s. 393.067 or s. 394.875 or chapter
  455  397.
  456         (m) “Screening” means the act of assessing the background
  457  of personnel or level II through level V family foster homes and
  458  includes, but is not limited to, criminal history checks as
  459  provided in s. 39.0138 and employment history checks as provided
  460  in chapter 435, using the level 2 standards for screening set
  461  forth in that chapter.
  462         Section 13. Paragraph (a) of subsection (14) of section
  463  39.301, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  464         39.301 Initiation of protective investigations.—
  465         (14)(a) If the department or its agent determines that a
  466  child requires immediate or long-term protection through medical
  467  or other health care or homemaker care, day care, protective
  468  supervision, or other services to stabilize the home
  469  environment, including intensive family preservation services
  470  through the Intensive Crisis Counseling Program, such services
  471  shall first be offered for voluntary acceptance unless:
  472         1. There are high-risk factors that may impact the ability
  473  of the parents or legal custodians to exercise judgment. Such
  474  factors may include the parents’ or legal custodians’ young age
  475  or history of substance abuse, mental illness, or domestic
  476  violence; or
  477         2. There is a high likelihood of lack of compliance with
  478  preventive voluntary services, and such noncompliance would
  479  result in the child being unsafe.
  480         Section 14. Paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section
  481  39.302, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  482         39.302 Protective investigations of institutional child
  483  abuse, abandonment, or neglect.—
  484         (7) When an investigation of institutional abuse, neglect,
  485  or abandonment is closed and a person is not identified as a
  486  caregiver responsible for the abuse, neglect, or abandonment
  487  alleged in the report, the fact that the person is named in some
  488  capacity in the report may not be used in any way to adversely
  489  affect the interests of that person. This prohibition applies to
  490  any use of the information in employment screening, licensing,
  491  child placement, adoption, or any other decisions by a private
  492  adoption agency or a state agency or its contracted providers.
  493         (b) Likewise, if a person is employed as a caregiver in a
  494  residential group home licensed under pursuant to s. 409.175 and
  495  is named in any capacity in three or more reports within a 5
  496  year period, the department may review all reports for the
  497  purposes of the employment screening required under s.
  498  409.175(2)(m) pursuant to s. 409.145(2)(e).
  499         Section 15. Subsection (15) of section 39.402, Florida
  500  Statutes, is amended to read:
  501         39.402 Placement in a shelter.—
  502         (15) The department, at the conclusion of the shelter
  503  hearing, shall make available to parents or legal custodians
  504  seeking preventive voluntary services any referral information
  505  necessary for participation in such identified services to allow
  506  the parents or legal custodians to begin the services as soon as
  507  possible. The parents’ or legal custodians’ participation in the
  508  services may not be considered an admission or other
  509  acknowledgment of the allegations in the shelter petition.
  510         Section 16. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
  511  39.501, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  512         39.501 Petition for dependency.—
  513         (3)
  514         (d) The petitioner must state in the petition, if known,
  515  whether:
  516         1. A parent or legal custodian named in the petition has
  517  previously unsuccessfully participated in preventive voluntary
  518  services offered by the department;
  519         2. A parent or legal custodian named in the petition has
  520  participated in mediation and whether a mediation agreement
  521  exists;
  522         3. A parent or legal custodian has rejected the preventive
  523  voluntary services offered by the department;
  524         4. A parent or legal custodian named in the petition has
  525  not fully complied with a safety plan; or
  526         5. The department has determined that preventive voluntary
  527  services are not appropriate for the parent or legal custodian
  528  and the reasons for such determination.
  529  
  530  If the department is the petitioner, it shall provide all safety
  531  plans as defined in s. 39.01 involving the parent or legal
  532  custodian to the court.
  533         Section 17. Subsection (8) of section 39.6013, Florida
  534  Statutes, is amended to read:
  535         39.6013 Case plan amendments.—
  536         (8) Amendments must include service interventions that are
  537  the least intrusive into the life of the parent and child, must
  538  focus on clearly defined objectives, and must provide the most
  539  efficient path to quick reunification or permanent placement
  540  given the circumstances of the case and the child’s need for
  541  safe and proper care. A copy of the amended plan must be
  542  immediately given to the persons identified in s. 39.6011(8)(c)
  543  s. 39.6011(7)(c).
  544         Section 18. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.

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