Bill Text: FL S7078 | 2015 | Regular Session | Engrossed
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Child Welfare
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Passed) 2015-05-22 - Chapter No. 2015-79 [S7078 Detail]
Download: Florida-2015-S7078-Engrossed.html
Bill Title: Child Welfare
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Passed) 2015-05-22 - Chapter No. 2015-79 [S7078 Detail]
Download: Florida-2015-S7078-Engrossed.html
CS for SB 7078 First Engrossed
20157078e1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to child welfare; amending s. 39.2015,
3 F.S.; authorizing critical incident rapid response
4 teams to review cases of child deaths occurring during
5 an open investigation; requiring the advisory
6 committee to meet quarterly and submit quarterly
7 reports; amending s. 39.3068, F.S.; requiring case
8 staffing when medical neglect is substantiated;
9 amending s. 125.901, F.S.; revising the schedule for a
10 county’s governing body to submit a general election
11 ballot question on whether to retain a children’s
12 services district with voter-approved taxing
13 authority; amending s. 383.402, F.S.; requiring an
14 epidemiological child abuse death assessment and
15 prevention system; providing intent for the operation
16 of and interaction between the state and local death
17 review committees; limiting members of the state
18 committee to terms of 2 years, not to exceed three
19 consecutive terms; requiring the committee to elect a
20 chairperson and authorizing specified duties of the
21 chairperson; providing for per diem and reimbursement
22 of expenses; specifying duties of the state committee;
23 deleting obsolete provisions; providing for the
24 convening of county or multicounty local review
25 committees and support by the county health department
26 directors; specifying membership and duties of local
27 review committees; requiring the state review
28 committee to submit an annual statistical report to
29 the Governor and the Legislature; identifying the
30 required content for the report; specifying that
31 certain responsibilities of the Department of Children
32 and Families are to be administered at the regional
33 level, rather than at the district level; amending s.
34 402.301, F.S.; requiring personnel of specified
35 membership organizations to meet background screening
36 requirements; amending s. 402.302, F.S.; adding
37 personnel of specified membership organizations to the
38 definition of the term child care personnel; amending
39 s. 409.977, F.S.; authorizing Medicaid managed care
40 specialty plans to serve specified children; amending
41 s. 409.986, F.S.; revising legislative intent to
42 require community-based care lead agencies to give
43 priority to the use of evidence-based and trauma
44 informed services; amending s. 409.988; requiring lead
45 agencies to give priority to the use of evidence-based
46 and trauma-informed services; amending s. 435.02,
47 F.S.; redefining a term; amending s. 1006.061, F.S.;
48 requiring each district school board, charter school,
49 and certain private schools to post in each school a
50 poster with specified information; providing criteria
51 for the poster; requiring the Department of Education
52 to develop and publish a sample notice on its Internet
53 website; providing an effective date.
54
55 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
56
57 Section 1. Subsections (2) and (11) of section 39.2015,
58 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
59 39.2015 Critical incident rapid response team.—
60 (2) An immediate onsite investigation conducted by a
61 critical incident rapid response team is required for all child
62 deaths reported to the department if the child or another child
63 in his or her family was the subject of a verified report of
64 suspected abuse or neglect during the previous 12 months. The
65 secretary may direct an immediate investigation for other cases
66 involving death or serious injury to a child, including, but not
67 limited to, a death or serious injury occurring during an open
68 investigation.
69 (11) The secretary shall appoint an advisory committee made
70 up of experts in child protection and child welfare, including
71 the Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection under the
72 Department of Health, a representative from the institute
73 established pursuant to s. 1004.615, an expert in organizational
74 management, and an attorney with experience in child welfare, to
75 conduct an independent review of investigative reports from the
76 critical incident rapid response teams and to make
77 recommendations to improve policies and practices related to
78 child protection and child welfare services. The advisory
79 committee shall meet at least once each quarter and By October 1
80 of each year, the advisory committee shall submit quarterly
81 reports a report to the secretary which include includes
82 findings and recommendations. The secretary shall submit each
83 the report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
84 Speaker of the House of Representatives.
85 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 39.3068, Florida
86 Statutes, is amended to read:
87 39.3068 Reports of medical neglect.—
88 (3) The child shall be evaluated by the child protection
89 team as soon as practicable. If After receipt of the report from
90 the child protection team reports that medical neglect is
91 substantiated, the department shall convene a case staffing
92 which shall be attended, at a minimum, by the child protective
93 investigator; department legal staff; and representatives from
94 the child protection team that evaluated the child, Children’s
95 Medical Services, the Agency for Health Care Administration, the
96 community-based care lead agency, and any providers of services
97 to the child. However, the Agency for Health Care Administration
98 is not required to attend the staffing if the child is not
99 Medicaid eligible. The staffing shall consider, at a minimum,
100 available services, given the family’s eligibility for services;
101 services that are effective in addressing conditions leading to
102 medical neglect allegations; and services that would enable the
103 child to safely remain at home. Any services that are available
104 and effective shall be provided.
105 Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 125.901, Florida
106 Statutes, is amended to read:
107 125.901 Children’s services; independent special district;
108 council; powers, duties, and functions; public records
109 exemption.—
110 (4)(a) Any district created pursuant to this section may be
111 dissolved by a special act of the Legislature, or the county
112 governing body may by ordinance dissolve the district subject to
113 the approval of the electorate.
114 (b)1.a. Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the governing body
115 of the county shall submit the question of retention or
116 dissolution of a district with voter-approved taxing authority
117 to the electorate in the general election according to the
118 following schedule:
119 (I) For a district in existence on July 1, 2010, and
120 serving a county with a population of 400,000 or fewer persons
121 as of that date............................................2014.
122 (II) For a district in existence on July 1, 2010, and
123 serving a county with a population of more than 400,000 but
124 fewer than 2 million persons as of
125 that date..................................................2016.
126 (II)(III) For a district in existence on July 1, 2010, and
127 serving a county with a population of 2 million or more persons
128 as of that date............................................2020.
129 b. A referendum by the electorate on or after July 1, 2010,
130 creating a new district with taxing authority may specify that
131 the district is not subject to reauthorization or may specify
132 the number of years for which the initial authorization shall
133 remain effective. If the referendum does not prescribe terms of
134 reauthorization, the governing body of the county shall submit
135 the question of retention or dissolution of the district to the
136 electorate in the general election 12 years after the initial
137 authorization.
138 2. The governing body of the district may specify, and
139 submit to the governing body of the county no later than 9
140 months before the scheduled election, that the district is not
141 subsequently subject to reauthorization or may specify the
142 number of years for which a reauthorization under this paragraph
143 shall remain effective. If the governing body of the district
144 makes such specification and submission, the governing body of
145 the county shall include that information in the question
146 submitted to the electorate. If the governing body of the
147 district does not specify and submit such information, the
148 governing body of the county shall resubmit the question of
149 reauthorization to the electorate every 12 years after the year
150 prescribed in subparagraph 1. The governing body of the district
151 may recommend to the governing body of the county language for
152 the question submitted to the electorate.
153 3. Nothing in this paragraph limits the authority to
154 dissolve a district as provided under paragraph (a).
155 4. Nothing in this paragraph precludes the governing body
156 of a district from requesting that the governing body of the
157 county submit the question of retention or dissolution of a
158 district with voter-approved taxing authority to the electorate
159 at a date earlier than the year prescribed in subparagraph 1. If
160 the governing body of the county accepts the request and submits
161 the question to the electorate, the governing body satisfies the
162 requirement of that subparagraph.
163
164 If any district is dissolved pursuant to this subsection, each
165 county must first obligate itself to assume the debts,
166 liabilities, contracts, and outstanding obligations of the
167 district within the total millage available to the county
168 governing body for all county and municipal purposes as provided
169 for under s. 9, Art. VII of the State Constitution. Any district
170 may also be dissolved pursuant to s. part VII of chapter 189.
171 Section 4. Section 383.402, Florida Statutes, is amended to
172 read:
173 383.402 Child abuse death review; State Child Abuse Death
174 Review Committee; local child abuse death review committees.—
175 (1) INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature to
176 establish a statewide multidisciplinary, multiagency,
177 epidemiological child abuse death assessment and prevention
178 system that consists of state and local review committees. The
179 state and local review committees shall review the facts and
180 circumstances of all deaths of children from birth to through
181 age 18 which occur in this state and are reported to the central
182 abuse hotline of the Department of Children and Families. The
183 state and local review committees shall work cooperatively. The
184 primary function of the state review committee is to provide
185 direction and leadership for the review system and to analyze
186 data and recommendations from local review committees to
187 identify issues and trends and to recommend statewide action.
188 The primary function of the local review committees is to
189 conduct individual case reviews of deaths, generate information,
190 make recommendations, and implement improvements at the local
191 level. Each case The purpose of the review must use a data
192 based, epidemiological approach shall be to:
193 (a) Achieve a greater understanding of the causes and
194 contributing factors of deaths resulting from child abuse.
195 (b) Whenever possible, develop a communitywide approach to
196 address such causes cases and contributing factors.
197 (c) Identify any gaps, deficiencies, or problems in the
198 delivery of services to children and their families by public
199 and private agencies which may be related to deaths that are the
200 result of child abuse.
201 (d) Recommend Make and implement recommendations for
202 changes in law, rules, and policies at the state and local
203 levels, as well as develop practice standards that support the
204 safe and healthy development of children and reduce preventable
205 child abuse deaths.
206 (e) Implement approved recommendations, to the extent
207 possible.
208 (2) STATE CHILD ABUSE DEATH REVIEW COMMITTEE.—
209 (a) Membership.—
210 1. The State Child Abuse Death Review Committee is
211 established within the Department of Health and shall consist of
212 a representative of the Department of Health, appointed by the
213 State Surgeon General, who shall serve as the state committee
214 coordinator. The head of each of the following agencies or
215 organizations shall also appoint a representative to the state
216 committee:
217 a.1. The Department of Legal Affairs.
218 b.2. The Department of Children and Families.
219 c.3. The Department of Law Enforcement.
220 d.4. The Department of Education.
221 e.5. The Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Inc.
222 f.6. The Florida Medical Examiners Commission, whose
223 representative must be a forensic pathologist.
224 2.(b) In addition, the State Surgeon General shall appoint
225 the following members to the state committee, based on
226 recommendations from the Department of Health and the agencies
227 listed in subparagraph 1. paragraph (a), and ensuring that the
228 committee represents the regional, gender, and ethnic diversity
229 of the state to the greatest extent possible:
230 a.1. The Department of Health Statewide Child Protection
231 Team Medical Director for Child Protection.
232 b.2. A public health nurse.
233 c.3. A mental health professional who treats children or
234 adolescents.
235 d.4. An employee of the Department of Children and Families
236 who supervises family services counselors and who has at least 5
237 years of experience in child protective investigations.
238 e.5. The medical director of a child protection team.
239 f.6. A member of a child advocacy organization.
240 g.7. A social worker who has experience in working with
241 victims and perpetrators of child abuse.
242 h.8. A person trained as a paraprofessional in patient
243 resources who is employed in a child abuse prevention program.
244 i.9. A law enforcement officer who has at least 5 years of
245 experience in children’s issues.
246 j.10. A representative of the Florida Coalition Against
247 Domestic Violence.
248 k.11. A representative from a private provider of programs
249 on preventing child abuse and neglect.
250 l. A substance abuse treatment professional.
251 3. The members of the state committee shall be appointed to
252 staggered terms not to exceed 2 years each, as determined by the
253 State Surgeon General. Members may be appointed to no more than
254 three consecutive terms. The state committee shall elect a
255 chairperson from among its members to serve for a 2-year term,
256 and the chairperson may appoint ad hoc committees as necessary
257 to carry out the duties of the committee.
258 4. Members of the state committee shall serve without
259 compensation but may receive reimbursement for per diem and
260 travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as
261 provided in s. 112.061 and to the extent that funds are
262 available.
263 (b)(3) Duties.—The State Child Abuse Death Review Committee
264 shall:
265 1.(a) Develop a system for collecting data from local
266 committees on deaths that are reported to the central abuse
267 hotline the result of child abuse. The system must include a
268 protocol for the uniform collection of data statewide, which
269 must, at a minimum, use the National Child Death Review Case
270 Reporting System administered by the National Center for the
271 Review and Prevention of Child Deaths uses existing data
272 collection systems to the greatest extent possible.
273 2.(b) Provide training to cooperating agencies,
274 individuals, and local child abuse death review committees on
275 the use of the child abuse death data system.
276 (c) Prepare an annual statistical report on the incidence
277 and causes of death resulting from reported child abuse in the
278 state during the prior calendar year. The state committee shall
279 submit a copy of the report by October 1 of each year to the
280 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
281 House of Representatives. The report must include
282 recommendations for state and local action, including specific
283 policy, procedural, regulatory, or statutory changes, and any
284 other recommended preventive action.
285 3.(d) Provide training to local child abuse death review
286 committee members on the dynamics and impact of domestic
287 violence, substance abuse, or mental health disorders when there
288 is a co-occurrence of child abuse. Training must shall be
289 provided by the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the
290 Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association, and the Florida
291 Council for Community Mental Health in each entity’s respective
292 area of expertise.
293 4.(e) Develop statewide uniform guidelines, standards, and
294 protocols, including a protocol for standardized data
295 collection, and reporting, for local child abuse death review
296 committees, and provide training and technical assistance to
297 local committees.
298 5.(f) Develop statewide uniform guidelines for reviewing
299 deaths that are the result of child abuse, including guidelines
300 to be used by law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, medical
301 examiners, health care practitioners, health care facilities,
302 and social service agencies.
303 6.(g) Study the adequacy of laws, rules, training, and
304 services to determine what changes are needed to decrease the
305 incidence of child abuse deaths and develop strategies and
306 recruit partners to implement these changes.
307 7.(h) Provide consultation on individual cases to local
308 committees upon request.
309 8.(i) Educate the public regarding the provisions of
310 chapter 99-168, Laws of Florida, the incidence and causes of
311 child abuse death, and ways by which such deaths may be
312 prevented.
313 9.(j) Promote continuing education for professionals who
314 investigate, treat, and prevent child abuse or neglect.
315 10.(k) Recommend, when appropriate, the review of the death
316 certificate of a child who died as a result of abuse or neglect.
317 (4) The members of the state committee shall be appointed
318 to staggered terms of office which may not exceed 2 years, as
319 determined by the State Surgeon General. Members are eligible
320 for reappointment. The state committee shall elect a chairperson
321 from among its members to serve for a 2-year term, and the
322 chairperson may appoint ad hoc committees as necessary to carry
323 out the duties of the committee.
324 (5) Members of the state committee shall serve without
325 compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and
326 travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as
327 provided in s. 112.061 and to the extent that funds are
328 available.
329 (3)(6) LOCAL CHILD ABUSE DEATH REVIEW COMMITTEES.—At the
330 direction of the State Surgeon General, a county or multicounty
331 child abuse death review committee shall be convened and
332 supported by the county health department directors the director
333 of each county health department, or the directors of two or
334 more county health departments by agreement, may convene and
335 support a county or multicounty child abuse death review
336 committee in accordance with the protocols established by the
337 State Child Abuse Death Review Committee.
338 (a) Membership.—Each local child abuse death review
339 committee must include local representatives from:
340 1. The state attorney’s office. a local state attorney, or
341 his or her designee, and
342 2. The medical examiner’s office.
343 3. The local Department of Children and Families child
344 protective investigations unit.
345 4. The Department of Health child protection team.
346 5. The community-based care lead agency.
347 6. State, county, or local law enforcement agencies.
348 7. The school district.
349 8. A mental health treatment provider.
350 9. A certified domestic violence center.
351 10. A substance abuse treatment provider.
352 11. Any other members that are determined by guidelines
353 developed by the State Child Abuse Death Review Committee.
354
355 To the extent possible, individuals from these organizations or
356 entities who, in a professional capacity, dealt with a child
357 whose death is verified as caused by abuse or neglect, or with
358 the family of the child, shall attend any meetings where the
359 child’s case is reviewed. The members of a local committee shall
360 be appointed to 2-year terms and may be reappointed. The local
361 committee shall elect a chairperson from among its members.
362 Members shall serve without compensation but may receive are
363 entitled to reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses
364 incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in s.
365 112.061 and to the extent that funds are available.
366 (b)(7) Duties.—Each local child abuse death review
367 committee shall:
368 1.(a) Assist the state committee in collecting data on
369 deaths that are the result of child abuse, in accordance with
370 the protocol established by the state committee. The local
371 committee shall complete, to the fullest extent possible, the
372 individual case report in the National Child Death Review Case
373 Reporting System.
374 2.(b) Submit written reports as required by at the
375 direction of the state committee. The reports must include:
376 a. Nonidentifying information from on individual cases.
377 b. Identification of any problems with the data system
378 uncovered through the review process and the committee’s
379 recommendations for system improvements and needed resources,
380 training, and information dissemination, where gaps or
381 deficiencies may exist. and
382 c. All the steps taken by the local committee and private
383 and public agencies to implement necessary changes and improve
384 the coordination of services and reviews.
385 3.(c) Submit all records requested by the state committee
386 at the conclusion of its review of a death resulting from child
387 abuse.
388 4.(d) Abide by the standards and protocols developed by the
389 state committee.
390 5.(e) On a case-by-case basis, request that the state
391 committee review the data of a particular case.
392 (4) ANNUAL STATISTICAL REPORT.—The state committee shall
393 prepare and submit a comprehensive statistical report by October
394 1 of each year to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
395 the Speaker of the House of Representatives which includes data,
396 trends, analysis, findings, and recommendations for state and
397 local action regarding deaths from child abuse. Data must be
398 presented on an individual calendar year basis and in the
399 context of a multiyear trend. At a minimum, the report must
400 include:
401 (a) Descriptive statistics, including demographic
402 information regarding victims and caregivers, and the causes and
403 nature of deaths.
404 (b) A detailed statistical analysis of the incidence and
405 causes of deaths.
406 (c) Specific issues identified within current policy,
407 procedure, rule, or statute and recommendations to address those
408 issues from both the state and local committees.
409 (d) Other recommendations to prevent deaths from child
410 abuse based on an analysis of the data presented in the report.
411 (5)(8) ACCESS TO AND USE OF RECORDS.—
412 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the chairperson of the
413 State Child Abuse Death Review Committee, or the chairperson of
414 a local committee, shall be provided with access to any
415 information or records that pertain to a child whose death is
416 being reviewed by the committee and that are necessary for the
417 committee to carry out its duties, including information or
418 records that pertain to the child’s family, as follows:
419 1.(a) Patient records in the possession of a public or
420 private provider of medical, dental, or mental health care,
421 including, but not limited to, a facility licensed under chapter
422 393, chapter 394, or chapter 395, or a health care practitioner
423 as defined in s. 456.001. Providers may charge a fee for copies
424 not to exceed 50 cents per page for paper records and $1 per
425 fiche for microfiche records.
426 2.(b) Information or records of any state agency or
427 political subdivision which might assist a committee in
428 reviewing a child’s death, including, but not limited to,
429 information or records of the Department of Children and
430 Families, the Department of Health, the Department of Education,
431 or the Department of Juvenile Justice.
432 (b)(9) The State Child Abuse Death Review Committee or a
433 local committee shall have access to all information of a law
434 enforcement agency which is not the subject of an active
435 investigation and which pertains to the review of the death of a
436 child. A committee may not disclose any information that is not
437 subject to public disclosure by the law enforcement agency, and
438 active criminal intelligence information or criminal
439 investigative information, as defined in s. 119.011(3), may not
440 be made available for review or access under this section.
441 (c)(10) The state committee and any local committee may
442 share with each other any relevant information that pertains to
443 the review of the death of a child.
444 (d)(11) A member of the state committee or a local
445 committee may not contact, interview, or obtain information by
446 request or subpoena directly from a member of a deceased child’s
447 family as part of a committee’s review of a child abuse death,
448 except that if a committee member is also a public officer or
449 state employee, that member may contact, interview, or obtain
450 information from a member of the deceased child’s family, if
451 necessary, as part of the committee’s review. A member of the
452 deceased child’s family may voluntarily provide records or
453 information to the state committee or a local committee.
454 (e)(12) The chairperson of the State Child Abuse Death
455 Review Committee may require the production of records by
456 requesting a subpoena, through the Department of Legal Affairs,
457 in any county of the state. Such subpoena is effective
458 throughout the state and may be served by any sheriff. Failure
459 to obey the subpoena is punishable as provided by law.
460 (f)(13) This section does not authorize the members of the
461 state committee or any local committee to have access to any
462 grand jury proceedings.
463 (g)(14) A person who has attended a meeting of the state
464 committee or a local committee or who has otherwise participated
465 in activities authorized by this section may not be permitted or
466 required to testify in any civil, criminal, or administrative
467 proceeding as to any records or information produced or
468 presented to a committee during meetings or other activities
469 authorized by this section. However, this subsection does not
470 prevent any person who testifies before the committee or who is
471 a member of the committee from testifying as to matters
472 otherwise within his or her knowledge. An organization,
473 institution, committee member, or other person who furnishes
474 information, data, reports, or records to the state committee or
475 a local committee is not liable for damages to any person and is
476 not subject to any other civil, criminal, or administrative
477 recourse. This subsection does not apply to any person who
478 admits to committing a crime.
479 (6)(15) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RESPONSIBILITIES.—
480 (a) The Department of Health shall administer the funds
481 appropriated to operate the review committees and may apply for
482 grants and accept donations.
483 (b)(16) To the extent that funds are available, the
484 Department of Health may hire staff or consultants to assist a
485 review committee in performing its duties. Funds may also be
486 used to reimburse reasonable expenses of the staff and
487 consultants for the state committee and the local committees.
488 (c)(17) For the purpose of carrying out the
489 responsibilities assigned to the State Child Abuse Death Review
490 Committee and the local review committees, the State Surgeon
491 General may substitute an existing entity whose function and
492 organization includes include the function and organization of
493 the committees established by this section.
494 (7)(18) DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
495 RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each regional managing director district
496 administrator of the Department of Children and Families must
497 appoint a child abuse death review coordinator for the region
498 district. The coordinator must have knowledge and expertise in
499 the area of child abuse and neglect. The coordinator’s general
500 responsibilities include:
501 (a) Coordinating with the local child abuse death review
502 committee.
503 (b) Ensuring the appropriate implementation of the child
504 abuse death review process and all regional district activities
505 related to the review of child abuse deaths.
506 (c) Working with the committee to ensure that the reviews
507 are thorough and that all issues are appropriately addressed.
508 (d) Maintaining a system of logging child abuse deaths
509 covered by this procedure and tracking cases during the child
510 abuse death review process.
511 (e) Conducting or arranging for a Florida Safe Families
512 Network Abuse Hotline Information System (FAHIS) record check on
513 all child abuse deaths covered by this procedure to determine
514 whether there were any prior reports concerning the child or
515 concerning any siblings, other children, or adults in the home.
516 (f) Coordinating child abuse death review activities, as
517 needed, with individuals in the community and the Department of
518 Health.
519 (g) Notifying the regional managing director district
520 administrator, the Secretary of Children and Families, the
521 Department of Health Deputy Secretary for Health and Deputy
522 State Health Officer for Children’s Medical Services, and the
523 Department of Health Child Abuse Death Review Coordinator of all
524 child abuse deaths meeting criteria for review as specified in
525 this section within 1 working day after case closure verifying
526 the child’s death was due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment.
527 (h) Ensuring that all critical issues identified by the
528 local child abuse death review committee are brought to the
529 attention of the regional managing director district
530 administrator and the Secretary of Children and Families.
531 (i) Providing technical assistance to the local child abuse
532 death review committee during the review of any child abuse
533 death.
534 Section 5. Subsection (6) of section 402.301, Florida
535 Statutes, is amended to read:
536 402.301 Child care facilities; legislative intent and
537 declaration of purpose and policy.—It is the legislative intent
538 to protect the health, safety, and well-being of the children of
539 the state and to promote their emotional and intellectual
540 development and care. Toward that end:
541 (6) It is further the intent that membership organizations
542 affiliated with national organizations which do not provide
543 child care, whose primary purpose is providing activities that
544 contribute to the development of good character or good
545 sportsmanship or to the education or cultural development of
546 minors in this state, which charge only a nominal annual
547 membership fee, which are not for profit, and which are
548 certified by their national associations as being in compliance
549 with the association’s minimum standards and procedures shall
550 not be considered child care facilities and therefore, their
551 personnel shall not be required to be screened. However, all
552 personnel as defined in s. 402.302 of such membership
553 organizations shall meet background screening requirements
554 through the department pursuant to ss. 402.305 and 402.3055.
555 Section 6. Subsection (3) of section 402.302, Florida
556 Statutes, is amended to read:
557 402.302 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
558 (3) “Child care personnel” means all owners, operators,
559 employees, and volunteers working in a child care facility. The
560 term does not include persons who work in a child care facility
561 after hours when children are not present or parents of children
562 in a child care facility. For purposes of screening, the term
563 includes any member, over the age of 12 years, of a child care
564 facility operator’s family, or person, over the age of 12 years,
565 residing with a child care facility operator if the child care
566 facility is located in or adjacent to the home of the operator
567 or if the family member of, or person residing with, the child
568 care facility operator has any direct contact with the children
569 in the facility during its hours of operation. Members of the
570 operator’s family or persons residing with the operator who are
571 between the ages of 12 years and 18 years are not required to be
572 fingerprinted but must be screened for delinquency records. For
573 purposes of screening, the term also includes persons who work
574 in child care programs that provide care for children 15 hours
575 or more each week in public or nonpublic schools, family day
576 care homes, membership organizations under s. 402.301, or
577 programs otherwise exempted under s. 402.316. The term does not
578 include public or nonpublic school personnel who are providing
579 care during regular school hours, or after hours for activities
580 related to a school’s program for grades kindergarten through
581 12. A volunteer who assists on an intermittent basis for less
582 than 10 hours per month is not included in the term “personnel”
583 for the purposes of screening and training if a person who meets
584 the screening requirement of s. 402.305(2) is always present and
585 has the volunteer in his or her line of sight. Students who
586 observe and participate in a child care facility as a part of
587 their required coursework are not considered child care
588 personnel, provided such observation and participation are on an
589 intermittent basis and a person who meets the screening
590 requirement of s. 402.305(2) is always present and has the
591 student in his or her line of sight.
592 Section 7. Subsection (5) is added to section 409.977,
593 Florida Statutes, to read:
594 409.977 Enrollment.—
595 (5) Specialty plans serving children in the care and
596 custody of the department may serve such children as long as
597 they remain in care, including those remaining in extended
598 foster care pursuant to s. 39.6251, or are in subsidized
599 adoption and continue to be eligible for Medicaid pursuant to s.
600 409.903.
601 Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
602 409.986, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
603 409.986 Legislative findings and intent; child protection
604 and child welfare outcomes; definitions.—
605 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
606 (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department
607 of Children and Families provide child protection and child
608 welfare services to children through contracting with community
609 based care lead agencies. The community-based lead agencies
610 shall give priority to the use of services that are evidence
611 based and trauma-informed. Counties that provide children and
612 family services with at least 40 licensed residential group care
613 beds by July 1, 2003, and that provide at least $2 million
614 annually in county general revenue funds to supplement foster
615 and family care services shall continue to contract directly
616 with the state. It is the further intent of the Legislature that
617 communities have responsibility for and participate in ensuring
618 safety, permanence, and well-being for all children in the
619 state.
620 Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 409.988, Florida
621 Statutes, is amended to read:
622 409.988 Lead agency duties; general provisions.—
623 (3) SERVICES.—A lead agency must provide serve dependent
624 children with through services that are supported by research or
625 that are recognized as best practices in the best child welfare
626 field practices. The agency shall give priority to the use of
627 services that are evidence-based and trauma-informed and may
628 also provide other innovative services, including, but not
629 limited to, family-centered and, cognitive-behavioral, trauma
630 informed interventions designed to mitigate out-of-home
631 placements.
632 Section 10. Subsection (5) of section 435.02, Florida
633 Statutes, is amended to read:
634 435.02 Definitions.—For the purposes of this chapter, the
635 term:
636 (5) “Specified agency” means the Department of Health, the
637 Department of Children and Families, the Division of Vocational
638 Rehabilitation within the Department of Education, the Agency
639 for Health Care Administration, the Department of Elderly
640 Affairs, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Agency for
641 Persons with Disabilities, and local licensing agencies approved
642 pursuant to s. 402.307, when these agencies are conducting state
643 and national criminal history background screening on persons
644 who work with children or persons who are elderly or disabled.
645 Section 11. Section 1006.061, Florida Statutes, is amended
646 to read:
647 1006.061 Child abuse, abandonment, and neglect policy.—Each
648 district school board, charter school, and private school that
649 accepts scholarship students under s. 1002.39 or s. 1002.395
650 shall:
651 (1) Post in a prominent place in each school a notice that,
652 pursuant to chapter 39, all employees and agents of the district
653 school board, charter school, or private school have an
654 affirmative duty to report all actual or suspected cases of
655 child abuse, abandonment, or neglect; have immunity from
656 liability if they report such cases in good faith; and have a
657 duty to comply with child protective investigations and all
658 other provisions of law relating to child abuse, abandonment,
659 and neglect. The notice shall also include the statewide toll
660 free telephone number of the central abuse hotline.
661 (2) Post in a prominent place at each school site and on
662 each school’s Internet website, if available, the policies and
663 procedures for reporting alleged misconduct by instructional
664 personnel or school administrators which affects the health,
665 safety, or welfare of a student; the contact person to whom the
666 report is made; and the penalties imposed on instructional
667 personnel or school administrators who fail to report suspected
668 or actual child abuse or alleged misconduct by other
669 instructional personnel or school administrators.
670 (3) Require the principal of the charter school or private
671 school, or the district school superintendent, or the
672 superintendent’s designee, at the request of the Department of
673 Children and Families, to act as a liaison to the Department of
674 Children and Families and the child protection team, as defined
675 in s. 39.01, when in a case of suspected child abuse,
676 abandonment, or neglect or an unlawful sexual offense involving
677 a child the case is referred to such a team; except that this
678 does not relieve or restrict the Department of Children and
679 Families from discharging its duty and responsibility under the
680 law to investigate and report every suspected or actual case of
681 child abuse, abandonment, or neglect or unlawful sexual offense
682 involving a child.
683 (4)(a) Post in a prominent place in a clearly visible
684 location and public area of the school which is readily
685 accessible to and widely used by students a sign in English and
686 Spanish that contains:
687 1. The statewide toll-free telephone number of the central
688 abuse hotline as provided in chapter 39;
689 2. Instructions to call 911 for emergencies; and
690 3. Directions for accessing the Department of Children and
691 Families Internet website for more information on reporting
692 abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
693 (b) The information in paragraph (a) must be put on at
694 least one poster in each school, on a sheet that measures at
695 least 11 inches by 17 inches, produced in large print, and
696 placed at student eye level for easy viewing.
697
698 The Department of Education shall develop, and publish on the
699 department’s Internet website, sample notices suitable for
700 posting in accordance with subsections (1), and (2), and (4).
701 Section 12. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.
