CS/HB 279

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the training and certification of child
3welfare personnel; amending s. 402.40, F.S.; revising
4legislative intent; defining the terms "child welfare
5certification," "core competency," "preservice
6curriculum," and "third-party credentialing entity";
7providing required criteria for the approval of
8credentialing entities that develop and administer
9certification programs for persons who provide child
10welfare services; revising the use of the Child Welfare
11Training Trust Fund within the Department of Children and
12Family Services; revising provisions relating to
13preservice curricula; requiring persons who provide child
14welfare services to be certified by a third-party
15credentialing entity; allowing entities to add to or
16augment preservice curriculum; allowing entities to
17contract for training; requiring persons to master core
18competencies; providing for recognition for currently
19certified persons; deleting requirements relating to
20certification and trainer qualifications; deleting
21provisions relating to training academies; amending s.
22402.731, F.S.; authorizing approval of third-party
23credentialing entities; providing an effective date.
24
25Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27     Section 1.  Section 402.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to
28read:
29     402.40  Child welfare training and certification.-
30     (1)  LEGISLATIVE INTENT.-In order to enable the state to
31provide a systematic approach to staff development and training
32for persons providing child welfare services that will meet the
33needs of such staff in their discharge of duties, it is the
34intent of the Legislature that the Department of Children and
35Family Services work in collaboration with the child welfare
36stakeholder community, including department-approved third-party
37credentialing entities, to ensure that staff have the knowledge,
38skills, and abilities necessary to competently provide child
39welfare services establish, maintain, and oversee the operation
40of child welfare training academies in the state. It is the
41intent of the Legislature that each person providing child
42welfare services in this state earns and maintains a
43professional certification from a professional credentialing
44entity that is approved by the Department of Children and Family
45Services. The Legislature further intends that certification the
46staff development and training programs that are established
47will aid in the reduction of poor staff morale and of staff
48turnover, will positively impact on the quality of decisions
49made regarding children and families who require assistance from
50programs providing child welfare services, and will afford
51better quality care of children who must be removed from their
52families.
53     (2)  DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term:
54     (a)  "Child welfare certification" means a professional
55credential awarded by a department-approved third-party
56credentialing entity to individuals demonstrating core
57competency in any child welfare practice area.
58     (b)(a)  "Child welfare services" means any intake,
59protective investigations, preprotective services, protective
60services, foster care, shelter and group care, and adoption and
61related services program, including supportive services and,
62supervision, and legal services, provided to children who are
63alleged to have been abused, abandoned, or neglected, or who are
64at risk of becoming, are alleged to be, or have been found
65dependent pursuant to chapter 39.
66     (c)  "Core competency" means the minimum knowledge, skills,
67and abilities necessary to carry out work responsibilities.
68     (d)(b)  "Person providing child welfare services" means a
69person who has a responsibility for supervisory, legal, direct
70care, or support-related support related work in the provision
71of child welfare services pursuant to chapter 39.
72     (e)  "Preservice curriculum" means the minimum statewide
73training content based upon the core competencies which is made
74available to all persons providing child welfare services.
75     (f)  "Third-party credentialing entity" means a department-
76approved nonprofit organization that has met nationally
77recognized standards for developing and administering
78professional certification programs.
79     (3)  THIRD-PARTY CREDENTIALING ENTITIES CHILD WELFARE
80TRAINING PROGRAM.-The department shall approve one or more
81third-party credentialing entities for the purpose of developing
82and administering child welfare certification programs for
83persons who provide child welfare services. A third-party
84credentialing entity shall request such approval in writing from
85the department. In order to obtain approval, the third-party
86credentialing entity must:
87     (a)  Establish professional requirements and standards that
88applicants must achieve in order to obtain a child welfare
89certification and to maintain such certification.
90     (b)  Develop and apply core competencies and examination
91instruments according to nationally recognized certification and
92psychometric standards.
93     (c)  Maintain a professional code of ethics and a
94disciplinary process that apply to all persons holding child
95welfare certification.
96     (d)  Maintain a database, accessible to the public, of all
97persons holding child welfare certification, including any
98history of ethical violations.
99     (e)  Require annual continuing education for persons
100holding child welfare certification.
101     (f)  Administer a continuing education provider program to
102ensure that only qualified providers offer continuing education
103opportunities for certificateholders establish a program for
104training pursuant to the provisions of this section, and all
105persons providing child welfare services shall be required to
106participate in and successfully complete the program of training
107pertinent to their areas of responsibility.
108     (4)  CHILD WELFARE TRAINING TRUST FUND.-
109     (a)  There is created within the State Treasury a Child
110Welfare Training Trust Fund to be used by the Department of
111Children and Family Services for the purpose of funding the
112professional development a comprehensive system of child welfare
113training, including the securing of consultants to develop the
114system and the developing of child welfare training academies
115that include the participation of persons providing child
116welfare services.
117     (b)  One dollar from every noncriminal traffic infraction
118collected pursuant to s. 318.14(10)(b) or s. 318.18 shall be
119deposited into the Child Welfare Training Trust Fund.
120     (c)  In addition to the funds generated by paragraph (b),
121the trust fund shall receive funds generated from an additional
122fee on birth certificates and dissolution of marriage filings,
123as specified in ss. 382.0255 and 28.101, respectively, and may
124receive funds from any other public or private source.
125     (d)  Funds that are not expended by the end of the budget
126cycle or through a supplemental budget approved by the
127department shall revert to the trust fund.
128     (5)  CORE COMPETENCIES.-
129     (a)  The Department of Children and Family Services shall
130approve establish the core competencies and related preservice
131curricula for a single integrated curriculum that ensures that
132each person delivering child welfare services obtains the
133knowledge, skills, and abilities to competently carry out his or
134her work responsibilities. This curriculum may be a compilation
135of different development efforts based on specific subsets of
136core competencies that are integrated for a comprehensive
137curriculum required in the provision of child welfare services
138in this state.
139     (b)  The identification of these core competencies and
140development of preservice curricula shall be a collaborative
141effort that includes to include professionals who have with
142expertise in child welfare services, department-approved third-
143party credentialing entities, and providers that will be
144affected by the curriculum, including to include, but not be
145limited to, representatives from the community-based care lead
146agencies, sheriffs' offices conducting child protection
147investigations, and child welfare legal services providers.
148     (c)  Community-based care agencies, sheriffs' offices, and
149the department may contract for the delivery of preservice and
150any additional training for persons delivering child welfare
151services if the curriculum satisfies the department-approved
152core competencies. Notwithstanding s. 287.057(3) and (21), the
153department shall competitively solicit and contract for the
154development, validation, and periodic evaluation of the training
155curricula for the established single integrated curriculum. No
156more than one training curriculum may be developed for each
157specific subset of the core competencies.
158     (d)  Department-approved credentialing entities shall, for
159a period of at least 12 months after implementation of the
160third-party child welfare certification programs, grant
161reciprocity and award a child welfare certification to
162individuals who hold current department-issued child welfare
163certification in good standing, at no cost to the department or
164the certificateholder.
165     (6)  ADVANCED TRAINING.-The Department of Children and
166Family Services shall annually examine the advanced training
167that is needed by persons who deliver child welfare services in
168the state. This examination shall address whether the current
169advanced training provided should be continued and shall include
170the development of plans for incorporating any revisions to the
171advanced training determined necessary. This examination shall
172be conducted in collaboration with professionals with expertise
173in child welfare services and providers that will be affected by
174the curriculum, to include, but not be limited to,
175representatives from the community-based care lead agencies,
176sheriffs' offices conducting child protection investigations,
177and child welfare legal services providers.
178     (7)  CERTIFICATION AND TRAINER QUALIFICATIONS.-The
179department shall, in collaboration with the professionals and
180providers described in subsection (5), develop minimum standards
181for a certification process that ensures that participants have
182successfully attained the knowledge, skills, and abilities
183necessary to competently carry out their work responsibilities
184and shall develop minimum standards for trainer qualifications
185which must be required of training academies in the offering of
186the training curricula. Any person providing child welfare
187services shall be required to master the components of the
188curriculum that are particular to that person's work
189responsibilities.
190     (8)  ESTABLISHMENT OF TRAINING ACADEMIES.-The department
191shall establish child welfare training academies as part of a
192comprehensive system of child welfare training. In establishing
193a program of training, the department may contract for the
194operation of one or more training academies to perform one or
195more of the following: to offer one or more of the training
196curricula developed under subsection (5); to administer the
197certification process; to develop, validate, and periodically
198evaluate additional training curricula determined to be
199necessary, including advanced training that is specific to a
200region or contractor, or that meets a particular training need;
201or to offer the additional training curricula. The number,
202location, and timeframe for establishment of training academies
203shall be approved by the Secretary of Children and Family
204Services who shall ensure that the goals for the core
205competencies and the single integrated curriculum, the
206certification process, the trainer qualifications, and the
207additional training needs are addressed. Notwithstanding s.
208287.057(3) and (21), the department shall competitively solicit
209all training academy contracts.
210     (6)(9)  ADOPTION OF RULES.-The Department of Children and
211Family Services shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the
212provisions of this section.
213     Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 402.731, Florida
214Statutes, is amended to read:
215     402.731  Department of Children and Family Services
216certification programs for employees and service providers;
217employment provisions for transition to community-based care.-
218     (1)  The Department of Children and Family Services is
219authorized to approve third-party credentialing entities, as
220defined in s. 402.40, create certification programs for its
221employees and service providers to ensure that only qualified
222employees and service providers provide client services. The
223department is authorized to develop rules that include
224qualifications for certification, including training and testing
225requirements, continuing education requirements for ongoing
226certification, and decertification procedures to be used to
227determine when an individual no longer meets the qualifications
228for certification and to implement the decertification of an
229employee or agent.
230     Section 3.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2011.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.