Florida Senate - 2014                             CS for SB 1666
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Appropriations; and Children, Families, and
       Elder Affairs; and Senators Sobel and Gibson
       
       
       
       
       576-04540-14                                          20141666c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to child welfare; amending s. 20.19,
    3         F.S.; requiring the Secretary of Children and Families
    4         to appoint an Assistant Secretary for Child Welfare;
    5         providing qualifications and responsibilities;
    6         amending s. 39.001, F.S.; revising the purposes of ch.
    7         39, F.S.; requiring the department to provide for
    8         certain services for medically complex children;
    9         amending s. 39.01, F.S.; providing, revising, and
   10         deleting definitions; amending s. 39.013, F.S.;
   11         clarifying responsibilities of the department in
   12         dependency proceedings; amending s. 39.201, F.S.;
   13         requiring alleged incidents of juvenile sexual abuse
   14         involving specified children to be reported to the
   15         department’s central abuse hotline; requiring the
   16         department to provide specified information on an
   17         investigation of child sexual abuse to the court;
   18         creating s. 39.2015, F.S.; requiring the department to
   19         conduct specified investigations using critical
   20         incident rapid response teams; providing requirements
   21         for such investigations and for team membership;
   22         authorizing team access to specified information;
   23         requiring the cooperation of specified agencies and
   24         organizations; providing for reimbursement of team
   25         members; requiring the team to provide an
   26         investigation report; requiring the secretary to
   27         develop guidelines for investigations and provide team
   28         member training; requiring the secretary to appoint an
   29         advisory committee; requiring the committee to submit
   30         a report to the secretary; requiring the secretary to
   31         submit such report to the Governor and the Legislature
   32         by a specified date; creating s. 39.2022, F.S.;
   33         providing legislative intent; requiring the department
   34         to publish specified information on its website
   35         regarding the death of a child reported to the central
   36         abuse hotline; amending s. 39.301, F.S.; requiring the
   37         use of safety plans in child protection investigations
   38         in cases of present or impending danger; providing
   39         requirements for implementation of a safety plan;
   40         providing conditions for filing a petition for
   41         dependency; amending s. 39.303, F.S.; requiring
   42         physician involvement when a child protection team
   43         evaluates a report of medical neglect of a medically
   44         complex child; creating s. 39.3068, F.S.; providing
   45         requirements for investigating medical neglect;
   46         providing duties of the department; amending s.
   47         39.307, F.S.; requiring the department to assist the
   48         family, child, and caregiver in receiving services
   49         upon a report alleging juvenile sexual abuse or
   50         inappropriate sexual behavior; requiring the
   51         department to maintain specified records; requiring
   52         child sexual abuse to be taken into account in
   53         placement consideration; requiring the department to
   54         monitor the occurrence of child sexual abuse and
   55         related services; amending s. 39.402, F.S.; requiring
   56         the department to make a reasonable effort to keep
   57         siblings together when they are placed in out-of-home
   58         care under certain circumstances; providing for
   59         sibling visitation under certain conditions; amending
   60         s. 39.501, F.S.; requiring compliance with a safety
   61         plan to be considered when deciding a petition for
   62         dependency; amending s. 39.504, F.S.; authorizing the
   63         court to order a person to comply with a safety plan
   64         that is implemented in an injunction; amending s.
   65         39.5085, F.S.; revising legislative intent;
   66         authorizing placement of a child with a nonrelative
   67         caregiver and financial assistance for such
   68         nonrelative caregiver through the Relative Caregiver
   69         Program under certain circumstances; amending s.
   70         39.604, F.S.; requiring certain children to attend a
   71         licensed early education or child care program;
   72         requiring the inclusion of attendance at a licensed
   73         early education or child care program in a child’s
   74         safety plan; amending s. 39.701, F.S.; requiring the
   75         court to consider contact among siblings in judicial
   76         reviews; authorizing the court to remove specified
   77         disabilities of nonage at judicial reviews; amending
   78         s. 39.802, F.S.; removing department authorization to
   79         sign a petition for termination of parental rights;
   80         amending s. 39.806, F.S.; providing additional grounds
   81         for termination of parental rights; amending s.
   82         63.212, F.S.; revising advertising requirements for
   83         adoption services; requiring a person who places an
   84         advertisement for adoption services to provide
   85         specified information; deleting a criminal penalty for
   86         knowingly publishing or assisting in the publication
   87         of an advertisement that violates specified
   88         provisions; amending s. 383.402, F.S.; requiring state
   89         and local review committees to review all child deaths
   90         that are reported to the department’s central abuse
   91         hotline; revising the membership of the State Child
   92         Abuse Death Review Committee; revising the due date
   93         for and contents of a report; requiring the State
   94         Child Abuse Death Review Committee to provide training
   95         to local child abuse death review committees; amending
   96         s. 402.40, F.S.; requiring a third-party credentialing
   97         entity to establish an advisory committee; authorizing
   98         the department to approve certification of
   99         specializations; creating s. 402.402, F.S.; defining
  100         terms; providing preferences for education and work
  101         experience for child protection and child welfare
  102         personnel; requiring a report; providing training
  103         requirements for department attorneys; creating s.
  104         402.403, F.S.; establishing a tuition exemption
  105         program for child protection and child welfare
  106         personnel; providing eligibility requirements;
  107         creating s. 402.404, F.S.; establishing a student loan
  108         forgiveness program for child protection and child
  109         welfare personnel; providing eligibility requirements;
  110         authorizing community-based care lead agencies to
  111         provide student loan forgiveness under certain
  112         circumstances; amending s. 409.165, F.S.; enhancing
  113         provision of care to medically complex children;
  114         amending s. 409.967, F.S.; revising standards for
  115         Medicaid managed care plan accountability with respect
  116         to services for dependent children and their parents;
  117         amending s. 409.972, F.S.; exempting certain Medicaid
  118         recipients from mandatory enrollment in managed care
  119         plans; providing a directive to the Division of Law
  120         Revision and Information; creating part V of ch. 409,
  121         F.S.; creating s. 409.986, F.S.; providing legislative
  122         findings and intent; providing child protection and
  123         child welfare outcome goals; defining terms; creating
  124         s. 409.987, F.S.; providing for department procurement
  125         of community-based care lead agencies; providing
  126         requirements for contracting as a lead agency;
  127         creating s. 409.988, F.S.; providing duties of a
  128         community-based care lead agency; providing licensure
  129         requirements for a lead agency; specifying services
  130         provided by a lead agency; providing conditions for an
  131         agency or provider to act as a child’s guardian;
  132         creating s. 409.990, F.S.; providing general funding
  133         provisions for lead agencies; providing for a matching
  134         grant program and the maximum amount of funds that may
  135         be awarded; requiring the department to develop and
  136         implement a community-based care risk pool initiative;
  137         providing requirements for the risk pool;
  138         transferring, renumbering, and amending s. 409.16713,
  139         F.S.; transferring provisions relating to the
  140         allocation of funds for community-based care lead
  141         agencies; conforming a cross-reference; creating s.
  142         409.992, F.S.; providing requirements for community
  143         based care lead agency expenditures; creating s.
  144         409.993, F.S.; providing legislative findings;
  145         providing for lead agency and subcontractor liability;
  146         providing limitations on damages; transferring,
  147         renumbering, and amending s. 409.1675, F.S.;
  148         transferring provisions relating to receivership from
  149         community-based providers to lead agencies; conforming
  150         cross-references and terminology; creating s. 409.996,
  151         F.S.; providing duties of the department relating to
  152         community-based care and lead agencies; creating s.
  153         409.997, F.S.; providing outcome goals for the
  154         department and specified entities with respect to the
  155         delivery of child welfare services; requiring the
  156         department to maintain an accountability system;
  157         requiring a report to the Governor and the
  158         Legislature; requiring the department to establish a
  159         technical advisory panel; requiring the department to
  160         make the results of the accountability system public;
  161         requiring a report to the Governor and the Legislature
  162         by a specified date; creating s. 827.10, F.S.;
  163         providing definitions; establishing the criminal
  164         offense of unlawful desertion of a child; providing
  165         criminal penalties; providing exceptions; amending s.
  166         985.04, F.S.; conforming terminology; creating s.
  167         1004.615, F.S.; establishing the Florida Institute for
  168         Child Welfare; providing purpose, duties, and
  169         responsibilities of the institute; requiring the
  170         institute to contract and work with specified
  171         entities; providing for the administration of the
  172         institute; requiring reports to the Governor and the
  173         Legislature by specified dates; amending s. 1009.25,
  174         F.S.; exempting specified child protective
  175         investigators and child protective investigation
  176         supervisors from certain tuition and fee requirements;
  177         repealing s. 402.401, F.S., relating to child welfare
  178         worker student loan forgiveness; repealing s.
  179         409.1671, F.S., relating to outsourcing of foster care
  180         and related services; repealing s. 409.16715, F.S.,
  181         relating to certain therapy for foster children;
  182         repealing s. 409.16745, F.S., relating to the
  183         community partnership matching grant program;
  184         repealing s. 1004.61, F.S., relating to a partnership
  185         between the Department of Children and Families and
  186         state universities; amending ss. 39.201, 39.302,
  187         39.524, 316.613, 409.1676, 409.1677, 409.1678,
  188         409.906, 409.912, 409.91211, 420.628, and 960.065,
  189         F.S.; conforming cross-references; providing effective
  190         dates.
  191          
  192  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
  193  
  194         Section 1. Present subsections (3) through (5) of section
  195  20.19, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (4)
  196  through (6), respectively, subsection (2) of that section is
  197  amended, and a new subsection (3) is added to that section, to
  198  read:
  199         20.19 Department of Children and Families.—There is created
  200  a Department of Children and Families.
  201         (2) SECRETARY OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES; DEPUTY SECRETARY.—
  202         (a) The head of the department is the Secretary of Children
  203  and Families. The secretary is appointed by the Governor,
  204  subject to confirmation by the Senate. The secretary serves at
  205  the pleasure of the Governor.
  206         (b) The secretary shall appoint a deputy secretary who
  207  shall act in the absence of the secretary. The deputy secretary
  208  is directly responsible to the secretary, performs such duties
  209  as are assigned by the secretary, and serves at the pleasure of
  210  the secretary.
  211         (3) ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.—
  212         (a) Child welfare.
  213         1. The secretary shall appoint an Assistant Secretary for
  214  Child Welfare to lead the department in carrying out its duties
  215  and responsibilities for child protection and child welfare. The
  216  assistant secretary shall serve at the pleasure of the
  217  secretary.
  218         2. The assistant secretary must have at least 7 years of
  219  experience working in organizations that deliver child
  220  protective or child welfare services.
  221         (b) Substance abuse and mental health.
  222         (c)1. The secretary shall appoint an Assistant Secretary
  223  for Substance Abuse and Mental Health. The assistant secretary
  224  shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary and must have
  225  expertise in both areas of responsibility.
  226         2. The secretary shall appoint a Director for Substance
  227  Abuse and Mental Health who has the requisite expertise and
  228  experience to head the state’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health
  229  Program Office.
  230         Section 2. Paragraphs (b), (c), (g), and (k) of subsection
  231  (1) of section 39.001, Florida Statutes, are amended, paragraphs
  232  (o) and (p) are added to that subsection, present paragraphs (f)
  233  through (h) of subsection (3) are redesignated as paragraphs (g)
  234  through (i), respectively, a new paragraph (f) is added to that
  235  subsection, present subsections (4) through (11) are renumbered
  236  as subsections (5) through (12), respectively, a new subsection
  237  (4) is added to that section, and paragraph (c) of present
  238  subsection (8) and paragraph (b) of present subsection (10) of
  239  that section are amended, to read:
  240         39.001 Purposes and intent; personnel standards and
  241  screening.—
  242         (1) PURPOSES OF CHAPTER.—The purposes of this chapter are:
  243         (b) To recognize that most families desire to be competent
  244  caregivers and providers for their children and that children
  245  achieve their greatest potential when families are able to
  246  support and nurture the growth and development of their
  247  children. Therefore, the Legislature finds that policies and
  248  procedures that provide for prevention and intervention through
  249  the department’s child protection system should be based on the
  250  following principles:
  251         1. The health and safety of the children served shall be of
  252  paramount concern.
  253         2. The prevention and intervention should engage families
  254  in constructive, supportive, and nonadversarial relationships.
  255         3. The prevention and intervention should intrude as little
  256  as possible into the life of the family, be focused on clearly
  257  defined objectives, and keep the safety of the child or children
  258  as the paramount concern take the most parsimonious path to
  259  remedy a family’s problems.
  260         4. The prevention and intervention should be based upon
  261  outcome evaluation results that demonstrate success in
  262  protecting children and supporting families.
  263         (c) To provide a child protection system that reflects a
  264  partnership between the department, other agencies, the courts,
  265  law enforcement agencies, service providers, and local
  266  communities.
  267         (g) To ensure that the parent or legal custodian from whose
  268  custody the child has been taken assists the department to the
  269  fullest extent possible in locating relatives suitable to serve
  270  as caregivers for the child and provides all medical and
  271  educational information, or consent for access thereto, needed
  272  to help the child.
  273         (k) To make every possible effort, if when two or more
  274  children who are in the care or under the supervision of the
  275  department are siblings, to place the siblings in the same home;
  276  and in the event of permanent placement of the siblings, to
  277  place them in the same adoptive home or, if the siblings are
  278  separated while under the care or supervision of the department
  279  or in a permanent placement, to keep them in contact with each
  280  other.
  281         (o) To preserve and strengthen families who are caring for
  282  medically complex children.
  283         (p) To provide protective investigations that are conducted
  284  by trained persons in a complete and fair manner, that are
  285  promptly concluded, and that consider the purposes of this
  286  subsection and the general protections provided by law relating
  287  to child welfare.
  288         (3) GENERAL PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN.—It is a purpose of
  289  the Legislature that the children of this state be provided with
  290  the following protections:
  291         (f) Access to sufficient supports and services for
  292  medically complex children to allow them to remain in the least
  293  restrictive and most nurturing environment, which includes
  294  services in an amount and scope comparable to those services the
  295  child would receive in out-of-home care placement.
  296         (4) SERVICES FOR MEDICALLY COMPLEX CHILDREN.—The department
  297  shall maintain a program of family-centered services and
  298  supports for medically complex children. The purpose of the
  299  program is to prevent abuse and neglect of medically complex
  300  children while enhancing the capacity of families to provide for
  301  their children’s needs. Program services must include outreach,
  302  early intervention, and the provision of other supports and
  303  services to meet the child’s needs. The department shall
  304  collaborate with all relevant state and local agencies to
  305  provide needed services.
  306         (9)(8) OFFICE OF ADOPTION AND CHILD PROTECTION.—
  307         (c) The office is authorized and directed to:
  308         1. Oversee the preparation and implementation of the state
  309  plan established under subsection (10) (9) and revise and update
  310  the state plan as necessary.
  311         2. Provide for or make available continuing professional
  312  education and training in the prevention of child abuse and
  313  neglect.
  314         3. Work to secure funding in the form of appropriations,
  315  gifts, and grants from the state, the Federal Government, and
  316  other public and private sources in order to ensure that
  317  sufficient funds are available for the promotion of adoption,
  318  support of adoptive families, and child abuse prevention
  319  efforts.
  320         4. Make recommendations pertaining to agreements or
  321  contracts for the establishment and development of:
  322         a. Programs and services for the promotion of adoption,
  323  support of adoptive families, and prevention of child abuse and
  324  neglect.
  325         b. Training programs for the prevention of child abuse and
  326  neglect.
  327         c. Multidisciplinary and discipline-specific training
  328  programs for professionals with responsibilities affecting
  329  children, young adults, and families.
  330         d. Efforts to promote adoption.
  331         e. Postadoptive services to support adoptive families.
  332         5. Monitor, evaluate, and review the development and
  333  quality of local and statewide services and programs for the
  334  promotion of adoption, support of adoptive families, and
  335  prevention of child abuse and neglect and shall publish and
  336  distribute an annual report of its findings on or before January
  337  1 of each year to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of
  338  Representatives, the President of the Senate, the head of each
  339  state agency affected by the report, and the appropriate
  340  substantive committees of the Legislature. The report shall
  341  include:
  342         a. A summary of the activities of the office.
  343         b. A summary of the adoption data collected and reported to
  344  the federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting
  345  System (AFCARS) and the federal Administration for Children and
  346  Families.
  347         c. A summary of the child abuse prevention data collected
  348  and reported to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System
  349  (NCANDS) and the federal Administration for Children and
  350  Families.
  351         d. A summary detailing the timeliness of the adoption
  352  process for children adopted from within the child welfare
  353  system.
  354         e. Recommendations, by state agency, for the further
  355  development and improvement of services and programs for the
  356  promotion of adoption, support of adoptive families, and
  357  prevention of child abuse and neglect.
  358         f. Budget requests, adoption promotion and support needs,
  359  and child abuse prevention program needs by state agency.
  360         6. Work with the direct-support organization established
  361  under s. 39.0011 to receive financial assistance.
  362         (11)(10) FUNDING AND SUBSEQUENT PLANS.—
  363         (b) The office and the other agencies and organizations
  364  listed in paragraph (10)(a) (9)(a) shall readdress the state
  365  plan and make necessary revisions every 5 years, at a minimum.
  366  Such revisions shall be submitted to the Speaker of the House of
  367  Representatives and the President of the Senate no later than
  368  June 30 of each year divisible by 5. At least biennially, the
  369  office shall review the state plan and make any necessary
  370  revisions based on changing needs and program evaluation
  371  results. An annual progress report shall be submitted to update
  372  the state plan in the years between the 5-year intervals. In
  373  order to avoid duplication of effort, these required plans may
  374  be made a part of or merged with other plans required by either
  375  the state or Federal Government, so long as the portions of the
  376  other state or Federal Government plan that constitute the state
  377  plan for the promotion of adoption, support of adoptive
  378  families, and prevention of child abuse, abandonment, and
  379  neglect are clearly identified as such and are provided to the
  380  Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the
  381  Senate as required under this section above.
  382         Section 3. Present subsections (59) through (65) of section
  383  39.01, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (60)
  384  through (66), respectively, present subsections (67) through
  385  (69) are redesignated as subsections (68) through (70),
  386  respectively, present subsections (70) through (76) are
  387  redesignated as subsections (72) through (78), respectively, new
  388  subsections (31), (41), (59), (67), and (71) are added to that
  389  section, and subsections (7), (14), (18), (22), (26), and (27)
  390  and present subsections (28) through (41), (59), and (65) of
  391  that section are amended, to read:
  392         39.01 Definitions.—When used in this chapter, unless the
  393  context otherwise requires:
  394         (7) “Alleged juvenile sexual offender” means:
  395         (a) A child 12 years of age or younger who is alleged to
  396  have committed a violation of chapter 794, chapter 796, chapter
  397  800, s. 827.071, or s. 847.0133; or
  398         (b) A child who is alleged to have committed any violation
  399  of law or delinquent act involving juvenile sexual abuse.
  400  “Juvenile sexual abuse” means any sexual behavior which occurs
  401  without consent, without equality, or as a result of coercion.
  402  For purposes of this subsection paragraph, the following
  403  definitions apply:
  404         (a)1. “Coercion” means the exploitation of authority or the
  405  use of bribes, threats of force, or intimidation to gain
  406  cooperation or compliance.
  407         (b)2. “Equality” means two participants operating with the
  408  same level of power in a relationship, neither being controlled
  409  nor coerced by the other.
  410         (c)3. “Consent” means an agreement, including all of the
  411  following:
  412         1.a. Understanding what is proposed based on age, maturity,
  413  developmental level, functioning, and experience.
  414         2.b. Knowledge of societal standards for what is being
  415  proposed.
  416         3.c. Awareness of potential consequences and alternatives.
  417         4.d. Assumption that agreement or disagreement will be
  418  accepted equally.
  419         5.e. Voluntary decision.
  420         6.f. Mental competence.
  421  
  422  Juvenile sexual offender behavior ranges from noncontact sexual
  423  behavior such as making obscene phone calls, exhibitionism,
  424  voyeurism, and the showing or taking of lewd photographs to
  425  varying degrees of direct sexual contact, such as frottage,
  426  fondling, digital penetration, rape, fellatio, sodomy, and
  427  various other sexually aggressive acts.
  428         (14) “Child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual
  429  behavior” means a child who is 12 years of age or younger and
  430  who has been found by the department or the court to have
  431  committed an inappropriate sexual act.
  432         (18) “Comprehensive assessment” or “assessment” means the
  433  gathering of information for the evaluation of a child’s and
  434  caregiver’s physical, psychiatric, psychological, or mental
  435  health; developmental delays or challenges; and, educational,
  436  vocational, and social condition and family environment as they
  437  relate to the child’s and caregiver’s need for rehabilitative
  438  and treatment services, including substance abuse treatment
  439  services, mental health services, developmental services,
  440  literacy services, medical services, family services, and other
  441  specialized services, as appropriate.
  442         (22) “Diligent efforts by a parent” means a course of
  443  conduct which results in a meaningful change in the behavior of
  444  a parent that reduces reduction in risk to the child in the
  445  child’s home to the extent that would allow the child may to be
  446  safely placed permanently back in the home as set forth in the
  447  case plan.
  448         (26) “District” means any one of the 15 service districts
  449  of the department established pursuant to s. 20.19.
  450         (27) “District administrator” means the chief operating
  451  officer of each service district of the department as defined in
  452  s. 20.19(5) and, where appropriate, includes any district
  453  administrator whose service district falls within the boundaries
  454  of a judicial circuit.
  455         (26)(28) “Expedited termination of parental rights” means
  456  proceedings wherein a case plan with the goal of reunification
  457  is not being offered.
  458         (27)(29) “False report” means a report of abuse, neglect,
  459  or abandonment of a child to the central abuse hotline, which
  460  report is maliciously made for the purpose of:
  461         (a) Harassing, embarrassing, or harming another person;
  462         (b) Personal financial gain for the reporting person;
  463         (c) Acquiring custody of a child; or
  464         (d) Personal benefit for the reporting person in any other
  465  private dispute involving a child.
  466  
  467  The term “false report” does not include a report of abuse,
  468  neglect, or abandonment of a child made in good faith to the
  469  central abuse hotline.
  470         (28)(30) “Family” means a collective body of persons,
  471  consisting of a child and a parent, legal custodian, or adult
  472  relative, in which:
  473         (a) The persons reside in the same house or living unit; or
  474         (b) The parent, legal custodian, or adult relative has a
  475  legal responsibility by blood, marriage, or court order to
  476  support or care for the child.
  477         (29)(31) “Foster care” means care provided a child in a
  478  foster family or boarding home, group home, agency boarding
  479  home, child care institution, or any combination thereof.
  480         (30)(32) “Harm” to a child’s health or welfare can occur
  481  when any person:
  482         (a) Inflicts or allows to be inflicted upon the child
  483  physical, mental, or emotional injury. In determining whether
  484  harm has occurred, the following factors must be considered in
  485  evaluating any physical, mental, or emotional injury to a child:
  486  the age of the child; any prior history of injuries to the
  487  child; the location of the injury on the body of the child; the
  488  multiplicity of the injury; and the type of trauma inflicted.
  489  Such injury includes, but is not limited to:
  490         1. Willful acts that produce the following specific
  491  injuries:
  492         a. Sprains, dislocations, or cartilage damage.
  493         b. Bone or skull fractures.
  494         c. Brain or spinal cord damage.
  495         d. Intracranial hemorrhage or injury to other internal
  496  organs.
  497         e. Asphyxiation, suffocation, or drowning.
  498         f. Injury resulting from the use of a deadly weapon.
  499         g. Burns or scalding.
  500         h. Cuts, lacerations, punctures, or bites.
  501         i. Permanent or temporary disfigurement.
  502         j. Permanent or temporary loss or impairment of a body part
  503  or function.
  504  
  505  As used in this subparagraph, the term “willful” refers to the
  506  intent to perform an action, not to the intent to achieve a
  507  result or to cause an injury.
  508         2. Purposely giving a child poison, alcohol, drugs, or
  509  other substances that substantially affect the child’s behavior,
  510  motor coordination, or judgment or that result in sickness or
  511  internal injury. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term
  512  “drugs” means prescription drugs not prescribed for the child or
  513  not administered as prescribed, and controlled substances as
  514  outlined in Schedule I or Schedule II of s. 893.03.
  515         3. Leaving a child without adult supervision or arrangement
  516  appropriate for the child’s age or mental or physical condition,
  517  so that the child is unable to care for the child’s own needs or
  518  another’s basic needs or is unable to exercise good judgment in
  519  responding to any kind of physical or emotional crisis.
  520         4. Inappropriate or excessively harsh disciplinary action
  521  that is likely to result in physical injury, mental injury as
  522  defined in this section, or emotional injury. The significance
  523  of any injury must be evaluated in light of the following
  524  factors: the age of the child; any prior history of injuries to
  525  the child; the location of the injury on the body of the child;
  526  the multiplicity of the injury; and the type of trauma
  527  inflicted. Corporal discipline may be considered excessive or
  528  abusive when it results in any of the following or other similar
  529  injuries:
  530         a. Sprains, dislocations, or cartilage damage.
  531         b. Bone or skull fractures.
  532         c. Brain or spinal cord damage.
  533         d. Intracranial hemorrhage or injury to other internal
  534  organs.
  535         e. Asphyxiation, suffocation, or drowning.
  536         f. Injury resulting from the use of a deadly weapon.
  537         g. Burns or scalding.
  538         h. Cuts, lacerations, punctures, or bites.
  539         i. Permanent or temporary disfigurement.
  540         j. Permanent or temporary loss or impairment of a body part
  541  or function.
  542         k. Significant bruises or welts.
  543         (b) Commits, or allows to be committed, sexual battery, as
  544  defined in chapter 794, or lewd or lascivious acts, as defined
  545  in chapter 800, against the child.
  546         (c) Allows, encourages, or forces the sexual exploitation
  547  of a child, which includes allowing, encouraging, or forcing a
  548  child to:
  549         1. Solicit for or engage in prostitution; or
  550         2. Engage in a sexual performance, as defined by chapter
  551  827.
  552         (d) Exploits a child, or allows a child to be exploited, as
  553  provided in s. 450.151.
  554         (e) Abandons the child. Within the context of the
  555  definition of “harm,” the term “abandoned the child” or
  556  “abandonment of the child” means a situation in which the parent
  557  or legal custodian of a child or, in the absence of a parent or
  558  legal custodian, the caregiver, while being able, has made no
  559  significant contribution to the child’s care and maintenance or
  560  has failed to establish or maintain a substantial and positive
  561  relationship with the child, or both. For purposes of this
  562  paragraph, “establish or maintain a substantial and positive
  563  relationship” includes, but is not limited to, frequent and
  564  regular contact with the child through frequent and regular
  565  visitation or frequent and regular communication to or with the
  566  child, and the exercise of parental rights and responsibilities.
  567  Marginal efforts and incidental or token visits or
  568  communications are not sufficient to establish or maintain a
  569  substantial and positive relationship with a child. The term
  570  “abandoned” does not include a surrendered newborn infant as
  571  described in s. 383.50, a child in need of services as defined
  572  in chapter 984, or a family in need of services as defined in
  573  chapter 984. The incarceration, repeated incarceration, or
  574  extended incarceration of a parent, legal custodian, or
  575  caregiver responsible for a child’s welfare may support a
  576  finding of abandonment.
  577         (f) Neglects the child. Within the context of the
  578  definition of “harm,” the term “neglects the child” means that
  579  the parent or other person responsible for the child’s welfare
  580  fails to supply the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter,
  581  or health care, although financially able to do so or although
  582  offered financial or other means to do so. However, a parent or
  583  legal custodian who, by reason of the legitimate practice of
  584  religious beliefs, does not provide specified medical treatment
  585  for a child may not be considered abusive or neglectful for that
  586  reason alone, but such an exception does not:
  587         1. Eliminate the requirement that such a case be reported
  588  to the department;
  589         2. Prevent the department from investigating such a case;
  590  or
  591         3. Preclude a court from ordering, when the health of the
  592  child requires it, the provision of medical services by a
  593  physician, as defined in this section, or treatment by a duly
  594  accredited practitioner who relies solely on spiritual means for
  595  healing in accordance with the tenets and practices of a well
  596  recognized church or religious organization.
  597         (g) Exposes a child to a controlled substance or alcohol.
  598  Exposure to a controlled substance or alcohol is established by:
  599         1. A test, administered at birth, which indicated that the
  600  child’s blood, urine, or meconium contained any amount of
  601  alcohol or a controlled substance or metabolites of such
  602  substances, the presence of which was not the result of medical
  603  treatment administered to the mother or the newborn infant; or
  604         2. Evidence of extensive, abusive, and chronic use of a
  605  controlled substance or alcohol by a parent when the child is
  606  demonstrably adversely affected by such usage.
  607  
  608  As used in this paragraph, the term “controlled substance” means
  609  prescription drugs not prescribed for the parent or not
  610  administered as prescribed and controlled substances as outlined
  611  in Schedule I or Schedule II of s. 893.03.
  612         (h) Uses mechanical devices, unreasonable restraints, or
  613  extended periods of isolation to control a child.
  614         (i) Engages in violent behavior that demonstrates a wanton
  615  disregard for the presence of a child and could reasonably
  616  result in serious injury to the child.
  617         (j) Negligently fails to protect a child in his or her care
  618  from inflicted physical, mental, or sexual injury caused by the
  619  acts of another.
  620         (k) Has allowed a child’s sibling to die as a result of
  621  abuse, abandonment, or neglect.
  622         (l) Makes the child unavailable for the purpose of impeding
  623  or avoiding a protective investigation unless the court
  624  determines that the parent, legal custodian, or caregiver was
  625  fleeing from a situation involving domestic violence.
  626         (31) “Impending danger” means a situation in which family
  627  behaviors, attitudes, motives, emotions, or situations pose a
  628  threat that may not be currently active but that can be
  629  anticipated to become active and to have severe effects on a
  630  child at any time.
  631         (32)(33) “Institutional child abuse or neglect” means
  632  situations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect in which
  633  the person allegedly perpetrating the child abuse or neglect is
  634  an employee of a private school, public or private day care
  635  center, residential home, institution, facility, or agency or
  636  any other person at such institution responsible for the child’s
  637  care as defined in subsection (47).
  638         (33)(34) “Judge” means the circuit judge exercising
  639  jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter.
  640         (34)(35) “Legal custody” means a legal status created by a
  641  court which vests in a custodian of the person or guardian,
  642  whether an agency or an individual, the right to have physical
  643  custody of the child and the right and duty to protect, nurture,
  644  guide, and discipline the child and to provide him or her with
  645  food, shelter, education, and ordinary medical, dental,
  646  psychiatric, and psychological care.
  647         (35)(36) “Licensed child-caring agency” means a person,
  648  society, association, or agency licensed by the department to
  649  care for, receive, and board children.
  650         (36)(37) “Licensed child-placing agency” means a person,
  651  society, association, or institution licensed by the department
  652  to care for, receive, or board children and to place children in
  653  a licensed child-caring institution or a foster or adoptive
  654  home.
  655         (37)(38) “Licensed health care professional” means a
  656  physician licensed under chapter 458, an osteopathic physician
  657  licensed under chapter 459, a nurse licensed under part I of
  658  chapter 464, a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or
  659  chapter 459, or a dentist licensed under chapter 466.
  660         (38)(39) “Likely to injure oneself” means that, as
  661  evidenced by violent or other actively self-destructive
  662  behavior, it is more likely than not that within a 24-hour
  663  period the child will attempt to commit suicide or inflict
  664  serious bodily harm on himself or herself.
  665         (39)(40) “Likely to injure others” means that it is more
  666  likely than not that within a 24-hour period the child will
  667  inflict serious and unjustified bodily harm on another person.
  668         (40)(41) “Mediation” means a process whereby a neutral
  669  third person called a mediator acts to encourage and facilitate
  670  the resolution of a dispute between two or more parties. It is
  671  an informal and nonadversarial process with the objective of
  672  helping the disputing parties reach a mutually acceptable and
  673  voluntary agreement. The role of the mediator includes, but is
  674  not limited to, assisting the parties in identifying issues,
  675  fostering joint problem solving, and exploring settlement
  676  alternatives.
  677         (41) “Medical neglect” means the failure to provide or the
  678  failure to allow needed care as recommended by a health care
  679  practitioner for a physical injury, illness, medical condition,
  680  or impairment, or the failure to seek timely and appropriate
  681  medical care for a serious health problem that a reasonable
  682  person would have recognized as requiring professional medical
  683  attention. Medical neglect does not occur if the parent or legal
  684  guardian of the child has made reasonable attempts to obtain
  685  necessary health care services or the immediate health condition
  686  giving rise to the allegation of neglect is a known and expected
  687  complication of the child’s diagnosis or treatment and:
  688         (a) The recommended care offers limited net benefit to the
  689  child and the morbidity or other side effects of the treatment
  690  may be considered to be greater than the anticipated benefit; or
  691         (b) The parent or legal guardian received conflicting
  692  medical recommendations for treatment from multiple
  693  practitioners and did not follow all recommendations.
  694         (59) “Present danger” means a significant and clearly
  695  observable family condition that is occurring at the current
  696  moment and is already endangering or threatening to endanger the
  697  child. Present danger threats are conspicuous and require that
  698  an immediate protective action be taken to ensure the child’s
  699  safety.
  700         (60)(59) “Preventive services” means social services and
  701  other supportive and rehabilitative services provided to the
  702  parent or legal custodian of the child and to the child for the
  703  purpose of averting the removal of the child from the home or
  704  disruption of a family which will or could result in the
  705  placement of a child in foster care. Social services and other
  706  supportive and rehabilitative services shall promote the child’s
  707  developmental needs and need for physical, mental, and emotional
  708  health and a safe, stable, living environment;, shall promote
  709  family autonomy;, and shall strengthen family life, whenever
  710  possible.
  711         (66)(65) “Reunification services” means social services and
  712  other supportive and rehabilitative services provided to the
  713  parent of the child, to the child, and, where appropriate, to
  714  the relative placement, nonrelative placement, or foster parents
  715  of the child, for the purpose of enabling a child who has been
  716  placed in out-of-home care to safely return to his or her parent
  717  at the earliest possible time. The health and safety of the
  718  child shall be the paramount goal of social services and other
  719  supportive and rehabilitative services. The services shall
  720  promote the child’s need for physical, developmental, mental,
  721  and emotional health and a safe, stable, living environment;,
  722  shall promote family autonomy;, and shall strengthen family
  723  life, whenever possible.
  724         (67) “Safety plan” means a plan created to control present
  725  or impending danger using the least intrusive means appropriate
  726  to protect a child when a parent, caregiver, or legal custodian
  727  is unavailable, unwilling, or unable to do so.
  728         (71) “Sibling” means:
  729         (a) A child who shares a birth parent or legal parent with
  730  one or more other children; or
  731         (b) A child who has lived together in a family with one or
  732  more other children whom he or she identifies as siblings.
  733         Section 4. Subsection (12) is added to section 39.013,
  734  Florida Statutes, to read:
  735         39.013 Procedures and jurisdiction; right to counsel.—
  736         (12) The department shall be represented by counsel in each
  737  dependency proceeding. Through its attorneys, the department
  738  shall make recommendations to the court on issues before the
  739  court and may support its recommendations through testimony and
  740  other evidence by its own employees, employees of sheriff’s
  741  offices providing child protection services, employees of its
  742  contractors, employees of its contractor’s subcontractors, or
  743  from any other relevant source.
  744         Section 5. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
  745  39.201, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  746         39.201 Mandatory reports of child abuse, abandonment, or
  747  neglect; mandatory reports of death; central abuse hotline.—
  748         (2)
  749         (c) Reports involving a known or suspected juvenile sexual
  750  abuse offender or a child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual
  751  behavior shall be made and received by the department. An
  752  alleged incident of juvenile sexual abuse involving a child who
  753  is in the custody of or protective supervision of the department
  754  shall be reported to the department’s central abuse hotline.
  755         1. The department shall determine the age of the alleged
  756  offender, if known.
  757         2. If the alleged offender is 12 years of age or younger,
  758  The central abuse hotline shall immediately electronically
  759  transfer the report or call to the county sheriff’s office. The
  760  department shall conduct an assessment and assist the family in
  761  receiving appropriate services pursuant to s. 39.307, and send a
  762  written report of the allegation to the appropriate county
  763  sheriff’s office within 48 hours after the initial report is
  764  made to the central abuse hotline.
  765         2. The department shall ensure that the facts and results
  766  of any investigation of child sexual abuse involving a child in
  767  the custody of or under the protective supervision of the
  768  department are made known to the court at the next hearing or
  769  included in the next report to the court concerning the child.
  770         3. If the alleged offender is 13 years of age or older, the
  771  central abuse hotline shall immediately electronically transfer
  772  the report or call to the appropriate county sheriff’s office
  773  and send a written report to the appropriate county sheriff’s
  774  office within 48 hours after the initial report to the central
  775  abuse hotline.
  776         Section 6. Effective January 1, 2015, section 39.2015,
  777  Florida Statutes, is created to read:
  778         39.2015 Critical incident rapid response team.—
  779         (1) As part of the department’s quality assurance program,
  780  the department shall provide an immediate multiagency
  781  investigation of certain child deaths or other serious
  782  incidents. The purpose of such investigation is to identify root
  783  causes and rapidly determine the need to change policies and
  784  practices related to child protection and child welfare.
  785         (2) An immediate onsite investigation conducted by a
  786  critical incident rapid response team is required for all child
  787  deaths reported to the department if the child or another child
  788  in his or her family was the subject of a verified report of
  789  suspected abuse or neglect during the previous 12 months. The
  790  secretary may direct an immediate investigation for other cases
  791  involving serious injury to a child.
  792         (3) Each investigation shall be conducted by a multiagency
  793  team of at least five professionals with expertise in child
  794  protection, child welfare, and organizational management. The
  795  team may consist of employees of the department, community-based
  796  care lead agencies, Children’s Medical Services, and community
  797  based care provider organizations; faculty from the institute
  798  consisting of public and private universities offering degrees
  799  in social work established pursuant to s. 1004.615; or any other
  800  person with the required expertise. The majority of the team
  801  must reside in judicial circuits outside the location of the
  802  incident. The secretary shall appoint a team leader for each
  803  group assigned to an investigation.
  804         (4) An investigation shall be initiated as soon as
  805  possible, but not later than 2 business days after the case is
  806  reported to the department. A preliminary report on each case
  807  shall be provided to the secretary no later than 30 days after
  808  the investigation begins.
  809         (5) Each member of the team is authorized to access all
  810  information in the case file.
  811         (6) All employees of the department or other state agencies
  812  and all personnel from community-based care lead agencies and
  813  community-based care lead agency subcontractors must cooperate
  814  with the investigation by participating in interviews and timely
  815  responding to any requests for information. The members of the
  816  team may only access the records and information of contracted
  817  provider organizations which are available to the department by
  818  law.
  819         (7) The secretary shall develop cooperative agreements with
  820  other entities and organizations as necessary to facilitate the
  821  work of the team.
  822         (8) The members of the team may be reimbursed by the
  823  department for per diem, mileage, and other reasonable expenses
  824  as provided in s. 112.061. The department may also reimburse the
  825  team member’s employer for the associated salary and benefits
  826  during the time the team member is fulfilling the duties
  827  required under this section.
  828         (9) Upon completion of the investigation, the department
  829  shall make the team’s final report, excluding any confidential
  830  information, available on its website.
  831         (10) The secretary, in conjunction with the institute
  832  established pursuant to s. 1004.615, shall develop guidelines
  833  for investigations conducted by critical incident rapid response
  834  teams and provide training to team members. Such guidelines must
  835  direct the teams in the conduct of a root-cause analysis that
  836  identifies, classifies, and attributes responsibility for both
  837  direct and latent causes for the death or other incident,
  838  including organizational factors, preconditions, and specific
  839  acts or omissions resulting from either error or a violation of
  840  procedures.
  841         (11) The secretary shall appoint an advisory committee made
  842  up of experts in child protection and child welfare, including
  843  the Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection under the
  844  Department of Health, to conduct an independent review of
  845  investigative reports from the critical incident rapid response
  846  teams and make recommendations to improve policies and practices
  847  related to child protection and child welfare services. By
  848  October 1 of each year, the advisory committee shall submit a
  849  report to the secretary that includes findings and
  850  recommendations. The secretary shall submit the report to the
  851  Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
  852  House of Representatives.
  853         Section 7. Section 39.2022, Florida Statutes, is created to
  854  read:
  855         39.2022 Public disclosure of reported child deaths.—
  856         (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide prompt
  857  disclosure of the basic facts of all deaths of children from
  858  birth through 18 years of age which occur in this state and
  859  which are reported to the department’s central abuse hotline.
  860  Disclosure shall be posted on the department’s public website.
  861  This section does not limit the public access to records under
  862  any other provision of law.
  863         (2) Notwithstanding s. 39.202, if a child death is reported
  864  to the central abuse hotline, the department shall post on its
  865  website all of the following:
  866         (a) The date of the child’s death.
  867         (b) Any allegations of the cause of death or the
  868  preliminary cause of death, and the verified cause of death, if
  869  known.
  870         (c) The county where the child resided.
  871         (d) The name of the community-based care lead agency, case
  872  management agency, or out-of-home licensing agency involved with
  873  the child, family, or licensed caregiver, if applicable.
  874         (e)Whether the child has been the subject of any prior
  875  verified reports to the department’s central abuse hotline.
  876         Section 8. Subsections (9) and (14) of section 39.301,
  877  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  878         39.301 Initiation of protective investigations.—
  879         (9)(a) For each report received from the central abuse
  880  hotline and accepted for investigation, the department or the
  881  sheriff providing child protective investigative services under
  882  s. 39.3065, shall perform the following child protective
  883  investigation activities to determine child safety:
  884         1. Conduct a review of all relevant, available information
  885  specific to the child and family and alleged maltreatment;
  886  family child welfare history; local, state, and federal criminal
  887  records checks; and requests for law enforcement assistance
  888  provided by the abuse hotline. Based on a review of available
  889  information, including the allegations in the current report, a
  890  determination shall be made as to whether immediate consultation
  891  should occur with law enforcement, the child protection team, a
  892  domestic violence shelter or advocate, or a substance abuse or
  893  mental health professional. Such consultations should include
  894  discussion as to whether a joint response is necessary and
  895  feasible. A determination shall be made as to whether the person
  896  making the report should be contacted before the face-to-face
  897  interviews with the child and family members.
  898         2. Conduct face-to-face interviews with the child; other
  899  siblings, if any; and the parents, legal custodians, or
  900  caregivers.
  901         3. Assess the child’s residence, including a determination
  902  of the composition of the family and household, including the
  903  name, address, date of birth, social security number, sex, and
  904  race of each child named in the report; any siblings or other
  905  children in the same household or in the care of the same
  906  adults; the parents, legal custodians, or caregivers; and any
  907  other adults in the same household.
  908         4. Determine whether there is any indication that any child
  909  in the family or household has been abused, abandoned, or
  910  neglected; the nature and extent of present or prior injuries,
  911  abuse, or neglect, and any evidence thereof; and a determination
  912  as to the person or persons apparently responsible for the
  913  abuse, abandonment, or neglect, including the name, address,
  914  date of birth, social security number, sex, and race of each
  915  such person.
  916         5. Complete assessment of immediate child safety for each
  917  child based on available records, interviews, and observations
  918  with all persons named in subparagraph 2. and appropriate
  919  collateral contacts, which may include other professionals. The
  920  department’s child protection investigators are hereby
  921  designated a criminal justice agency for the purpose of
  922  accessing criminal justice information to be used for enforcing
  923  this state’s laws concerning the crimes of child abuse,
  924  abandonment, and neglect. This information shall be used solely
  925  for purposes supporting the detection, apprehension,
  926  prosecution, pretrial release, posttrial release, or
  927  rehabilitation of criminal offenders or persons accused of the
  928  crimes of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect and may not be
  929  further disseminated or used for any other purpose.
  930         6. Document the present and impending dangers to each child
  931  based on the identification of inadequate protective capacity
  932  through utilization of a standardized safety assessment
  933  instrument. If present or impending danger is identified, the
  934  child protective investigator must implement a safety plan or
  935  take the child into custody. If present danger is identified and
  936  the child is not removed, the child protective investigator
  937  shall create and implement a safety plan before leaving the home
  938  or the location where there is present danger. If impending
  939  danger is identified, the child protective investigator shall
  940  create and implement a safety plan as soon as necessary to
  941  protect the safety of the child. The child protective
  942  investigator may modify the safety plan if he or she identifies
  943  additional impending danger.
  944         a. If the child protective investigator implements a safety
  945  plan, the plan must be specific, sufficient, feasible, and
  946  sustainable in response to the realities of the present or
  947  impending danger. A safety plan may be an in-home plan or an
  948  out-of-home plan, or a combination of both. A safety plan may
  949  not rely solely on promissory commitments by the parent,
  950  caregiver, or legal custodian who is currently not able to
  951  protect the child or on services that are not available or will
  952  not result in the safety of the child. A safety plan may not be
  953  implemented if for any reason the parents, guardian, or legal
  954  custodian lacks the capacity or ability to comply with the plan.
  955  If the department is not able to develop a plan that is
  956  specific, sufficient, feasible, and sustainable, the department
  957  shall file a shelter petition. A child protective investigator
  958  shall implement separate safety plans for the perpetrator of
  959  domestic violence and the parent who is a victim of domestic
  960  violence as defined in s. 741.28. If the perpetrator of domestic
  961  violence is not the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the
  962  child, the child protective investigator shall seek issuance of
  963  an injunction authorized by s. 39.504 to implement a safety plan
  964  for the perpetrator and impose any other conditions to protect
  965  the child. The safety plan for the parent who is a victim of
  966  domestic violence may not be shared with the perpetrator. If any
  967  party to a safety plan fails to comply with the safety plan
  968  resulting in the child being unsafe, the department shall file a
  969  shelter petition.
  970         b. The child protective investigator shall collaborate with
  971  the community-based care lead agency in the development of the
  972  safety plan as necessary to ensure that the safety plan is
  973  specific, sufficient, feasible, and sustainable. The child
  974  protective investigator shall identify services necessary for
  975  the successful implementation of the safety plan. The child
  976  protective investigator and the community-based care lead agency
  977  shall mobilize service resources to assist all parties in
  978  complying with the safety plan. The community-based care lead
  979  agency shall prioritize safety plan services to families who
  980  have multiple risk factors, including, but not limited to, two
  981  or more of the following:
  982         (I) The parent or legal custodian is of young age;
  983         (II) The parent or legal custodian, or an adult currently
  984  living in or frequently visiting the home, has a history of
  985  substance abuse, mental illness, or domestic violence;
  986         (III) The parent or legal custodian, or an adult currently
  987  living in or frequently visiting the home, has been previously
  988  found to have physically or sexually abused a child;
  989         (IV) The parent or legal custodian or an adult currently
  990  living in or frequently visiting the home has been the subject
  991  of multiple allegations by reputable reports of abuse or
  992  neglect;
  993         (V) The child is physically or developmentally disabled; or
  994         (VI) The child is 3 years of age or younger.
  995         c. The child protective investigator shall monitor the
  996  implementation of the plan to ensure the child’s safety until
  997  the case is transferred to the lead agency at which time the
  998  lead agency shall monitor the implementation.
  999         (b) Upon completion of the immediate safety assessment, the
 1000  department shall determine the additional activities necessary
 1001  to assess impending dangers, if any, and close the
 1002  investigation.
 1003         (b)(c) For each report received from the central abuse
 1004  hotline, the department or the sheriff providing child
 1005  protective investigative services under s. 39.3065, shall
 1006  determine the protective, treatment, and ameliorative services
 1007  necessary to safeguard and ensure the child’s safety and well
 1008  being and development, and cause the delivery of those services
 1009  through the early intervention of the department or its agent.
 1010  As applicable, child protective investigators must inform
 1011  parents and caregivers how and when to use the injunction
 1012  process under s. 741.30 to remove a perpetrator of domestic
 1013  violence from the home as an intervention to protect the child.
 1014         1. If the department or the sheriff providing child
 1015  protective investigative services determines that the interests
 1016  of the child and the public will be best served by providing the
 1017  child care or other treatment voluntarily accepted by the child
 1018  and the parents or legal custodians, the parent or legal
 1019  custodian and child may be referred for such care, case
 1020  management, or other community resources.
 1021         2. If the department or the sheriff providing child
 1022  protective investigative services determines that the child is
 1023  in need of protection and supervision, the department may file a
 1024  petition for dependency.
 1025         3. If a petition for dependency is not being filed by the
 1026  department, the person or agency originating the report shall be
 1027  advised of the right to file a petition pursuant to this part.
 1028         4. At the close of an investigation, the department or the
 1029  sheriff providing child protective services shall provide to the
 1030  person who is alleged to have caused the abuse, neglect, or
 1031  abandonment and the parent or legal custodian a summary of
 1032  findings from the investigation and provide information about
 1033  their right to access confidential reports in accordance with s.
 1034  39.202.
 1035         (14)(a) If the department or its agent determines that a
 1036  child requires immediate or long-term protection through:
 1037         1. medical or other health care; or
 1038         2. homemaker care, day care, protective supervision, or
 1039  other services to stabilize the home environment, including
 1040  intensive family preservation services through the Intensive
 1041  Crisis Counseling Program, such services shall first be offered
 1042  for voluntary acceptance unless:
 1043         1. There are high-risk factors that may impact the ability
 1044  of the parents or legal custodians to exercise judgment. Such
 1045  factors may include the parents’ or legal custodians’ young age
 1046  or history of substance abuse, mental illness, or domestic
 1047  violence; or
 1048         2. There is a high likelihood of lack of compliance with
 1049  voluntary services, and such noncompliance would result in the
 1050  child being unsafe.
 1051         (b) The parents or legal custodians shall be informed of
 1052  the right to refuse services, as well as the responsibility of
 1053  the department to protect the child regardless of the acceptance
 1054  or refusal of services. If the services are refused, a
 1055  collateral contact shall include a relative, if the protective
 1056  investigator has knowledge of and the ability to contact a
 1057  relative. If the services are refused and the department deems
 1058  that the child’s need for protection so requires services, the
 1059  department shall take the child into protective custody or
 1060  petition the court as provided in this chapter. At any time
 1061  after the commencement of a protective investigation, a relative
 1062  may submit in writing to the protective investigator or case
 1063  manager a request to receive notification of all proceedings and
 1064  hearings in accordance with s. 39.502. The request shall include
 1065  the relative’s name, address, and phone number and the
 1066  relative’s relationship to the child. The protective
 1067  investigator or case manager shall forward such request to the
 1068  attorney for the department. The failure to provide notice to
 1069  either a relative who requests it pursuant to this subsection or
 1070  to a relative who is providing out-of-home care for a child may
 1071  not result in any previous action of the court at any stage or
 1072  proceeding in dependency or termination of parental rights under
 1073  any part of this chapter being set aside, reversed, modified, or
 1074  in any way changed absent a finding by the court that a change
 1075  is required in the child’s best interests.
 1076         (c) The department, in consultation with the judiciary,
 1077  shall adopt by rule:
 1078         1. Criteria that are factors requiring that the department
 1079  take the child into custody, petition the court as provided in
 1080  this chapter, or, if the child is not taken into custody or a
 1081  petition is not filed with the court, conduct an administrative
 1082  review. Such factors must include, but are not limited to,
 1083  noncompliance with a safety plan or the case plan developed by
 1084  the department, and the family under this chapter, and prior
 1085  abuse reports with findings that involve the child, the child’s
 1086  sibling, or the child’s caregiver.
 1087         2. Requirements that if after an administrative review the
 1088  department determines not to take the child into custody or
 1089  petition the court, the department shall document the reason for
 1090  its decision in writing and include it in the investigative
 1091  file. For all cases that were accepted by the local law
 1092  enforcement agency for criminal investigation pursuant to
 1093  subsection (2), the department must include in the file written
 1094  documentation that the administrative review included input from
 1095  law enforcement. In addition, for all cases that must be
 1096  referred to child protection teams pursuant to s. 39.303(2) and
 1097  (3), the file must include written documentation that the
 1098  administrative review included the results of the team’s
 1099  evaluation. Factors that must be included in the development of
 1100  the rule include noncompliance with the case plan developed by
 1101  the department, or its agent, and the family under this chapter
 1102  and prior abuse reports with findings that involve the child or
 1103  caregiver.
 1104         Section 9. Section 39.303, Florida Statutes, is amended to
 1105  read:
 1106         39.303 Child protection teams; services; eligible cases.
 1107  The Children’s Medical Services Program in the Department of
 1108  Health shall develop, maintain, and coordinate the services of
 1109  one or more multidisciplinary child protection teams in each of
 1110  the service districts of the Department of Children and Families
 1111  Family Services. Such teams may be composed of appropriate
 1112  representatives of school districts and appropriate health,
 1113  mental health, social service, legal service, and law
 1114  enforcement agencies. The Legislature finds that optimal
 1115  coordination of child protection teams and sexual abuse
 1116  treatment programs requires collaboration between The Department
 1117  of Health and the Department of Children and Families Family
 1118  Services. The two departments shall maintain an interagency
 1119  agreement that establishes protocols for oversight and
 1120  operations of child protection teams and sexual abuse treatment
 1121  programs. The State Surgeon General and the Deputy Secretary for
 1122  Children’s Medical Services, in consultation with the Secretary
 1123  of Children and Families Family Services, shall maintain the
 1124  responsibility for the screening, employment, and, if necessary,
 1125  the termination of child protection team medical directors, at
 1126  headquarters and in the 15 districts. Child protection team
 1127  medical directors shall be responsible for oversight of the
 1128  teams in the districts.
 1129         (1) The Department of Health shall use utilize and convene
 1130  the teams to supplement the assessment and protective
 1131  supervision activities of the family safety and preservation
 1132  program of the Department of Children and Families Family
 1133  Services. Nothing in This section does not shall be construed to
 1134  remove or reduce the duty and responsibility of any person to
 1135  report pursuant to this chapter all suspected or actual cases of
 1136  child abuse, abandonment, or neglect or sexual abuse of a child.
 1137  The role of the teams shall be to support activities of the
 1138  program and to provide services deemed by the teams to be
 1139  necessary and appropriate to abused, abandoned, and neglected
 1140  children upon referral. The specialized diagnostic assessment,
 1141  evaluation, coordination, consultation, and other supportive
 1142  services that a child protection team shall be capable of
 1143  providing include, but are not limited to, the following:
 1144         (a) Medical diagnosis and evaluation services, including
 1145  provision or interpretation of X rays and laboratory tests, and
 1146  related services, as needed, and documentation of related
 1147  findings relative thereto.
 1148         (b) Telephone consultation services in emergencies and in
 1149  other situations.
 1150         (c) Medical evaluation related to abuse, abandonment, or
 1151  neglect, as defined by policy or rule of the Department of
 1152  Health.
 1153         (d) Such psychological and psychiatric diagnosis and
 1154  evaluation services for the child or the child’s parent or
 1155  parents, legal custodian or custodians, or other caregivers, or
 1156  any other individual involved in a child abuse, abandonment, or
 1157  neglect case, as the team may determine to be needed.
 1158         (e) Expert medical, psychological, and related professional
 1159  testimony in court cases.
 1160         (f) Case staffings to develop treatment plans for children
 1161  whose cases have been referred to the team. A child protection
 1162  team may provide consultation with respect to a child who is
 1163  alleged or is shown to be abused, abandoned, or neglected, which
 1164  consultation shall be provided at the request of a
 1165  representative of the family safety and preservation program or
 1166  at the request of any other professional involved with a child
 1167  or the child’s parent or parents, legal custodian or custodians,
 1168  or other caregivers. In every such child protection team case
 1169  staffing, consultation, or staff activity involving a child, a
 1170  family safety and preservation program representative shall
 1171  attend and participate.
 1172         (g) Case service coordination and assistance, including the
 1173  location of services available from other public and private
 1174  agencies in the community.
 1175         (h) Such training services for program and other employees
 1176  of the Department of Children and Families Family Services,
 1177  employees of the Department of Health, and other medical
 1178  professionals as is deemed appropriate to enable them to develop
 1179  and maintain their professional skills and abilities in handling
 1180  child abuse, abandonment, and neglect cases.
 1181         (i) Educational and community awareness campaigns on child
 1182  abuse, abandonment, and neglect in an effort to enable citizens
 1183  more successfully to prevent, identify, and treat child abuse,
 1184  abandonment, and neglect in the community.
 1185         (j) Child protection team assessments that include, as
 1186  appropriate, medical evaluations, medical consultations, family
 1187  psychosocial interviews, specialized clinical interviews, or
 1188  forensic interviews.
 1189  
 1190  All medical personnel participating on a child protection team
 1191  must successfully complete the required child protection team
 1192  training curriculum as set forth in protocols determined by the
 1193  Deputy Secretary for Children’s Medical Services and the
 1194  Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection. A child
 1195  protection team that is evaluating a report of medical neglect
 1196  and assessing the health care needs of a medically complex child
 1197  shall consult with a physician who has experience in treating
 1198  children with the same condition.
 1199         (2) The child abuse, abandonment, and neglect reports that
 1200  must be referred by the department to child protection teams of
 1201  the Department of Health for an assessment and other appropriate
 1202  available support services as set forth in subsection (1) must
 1203  include cases involving:
 1204         (a) Injuries to the head, bruises to the neck or head,
 1205  burns, or fractures in a child of any age.
 1206         (b) Bruises anywhere on a child 5 years of age or under.
 1207         (c) Any report alleging sexual abuse of a child.
 1208         (d) Any sexually transmitted disease in a prepubescent
 1209  child.
 1210         (e) Reported malnutrition of a child and failure of a child
 1211  to thrive.
 1212         (f) Reported medical neglect of a child.
 1213         (g) Any family in which one or more children have been
 1214  pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital or other health care
 1215  facility, or have been injured and later died, as a result of
 1216  suspected abuse, abandonment, or neglect, when any sibling or
 1217  other child remains in the home.
 1218         (h) Symptoms of serious emotional problems in a child when
 1219  emotional or other abuse, abandonment, or neglect is suspected.
 1220         (3) All abuse and neglect cases transmitted for
 1221  investigation to a district by the hotline must be
 1222  simultaneously transmitted to the Department of Health child
 1223  protection team for review. For the purpose of determining
 1224  whether face-to-face medical evaluation by a child protection
 1225  team is necessary, all cases transmitted to the child protection
 1226  team which meet the criteria in subsection (2) must be timely
 1227  reviewed by:
 1228         (a) A physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459
 1229  who holds board certification in pediatrics and is a member of a
 1230  child protection team;
 1231         (b) A physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459
 1232  who holds board certification in a specialty other than
 1233  pediatrics, who may complete the review only when working under
 1234  the direction of a physician licensed under chapter 458 or
 1235  chapter 459 who holds board certification in pediatrics and is a
 1236  member of a child protection team;
 1237         (c) An advanced registered nurse practitioner licensed
 1238  under chapter 464 who has a specialty speciality in pediatrics
 1239  or family medicine and is a member of a child protection team;
 1240         (d) A physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or
 1241  chapter 459, who may complete the review only when working under
 1242  the supervision of a physician licensed under chapter 458 or
 1243  chapter 459 who holds board certification in pediatrics and is a
 1244  member of a child protection team; or
 1245         (e) A registered nurse licensed under chapter 464, who may
 1246  complete the review only when working under the direct
 1247  supervision of a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter
 1248  459 who holds certification in pediatrics and is a member of a
 1249  child protection team.
 1250         (4) A face-to-face medical evaluation by a child protection
 1251  team is not necessary when:
 1252         (a) The child was examined for the alleged abuse or neglect
 1253  by a physician who is not a member of the child protection team,
 1254  and a consultation between the child protection team board
 1255  certified pediatrician, advanced registered nurse practitioner,
 1256  physician assistant working under the supervision of a child
 1257  protection team board-certified pediatrician, or registered
 1258  nurse working under the direct supervision of a child protection
 1259  team board-certified pediatrician, and the examining physician
 1260  concludes that a further medical evaluation is unnecessary;
 1261         (b) The child protective investigator, with supervisory
 1262  approval, has determined, after conducting a child safety
 1263  assessment, that there are no indications of injuries as
 1264  described in paragraphs (2)(a)-(h) as reported; or
 1265         (c) The child protection team board-certified pediatrician,
 1266  as authorized in subsection (3), determines that a medical
 1267  evaluation is not required.
 1268  
 1269  Notwithstanding paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), a child protection
 1270  team pediatrician, as authorized in subsection (3), may
 1271  determine that a face-to-face medical evaluation is necessary.
 1272         (5) In all instances in which a child protection team is
 1273  providing certain services to abused, abandoned, or neglected
 1274  children, other offices and units of the Department of Health,
 1275  and offices and units of the Department of Children and Families
 1276  Family Services, shall avoid duplicating the provision of those
 1277  services.
 1278         (6) The Department of Health child protection team quality
 1279  assurance program and the Family Safety Program Office of the
 1280  Department of Children and Families Family Services’ Family
 1281  Safety Program Office quality assurance program shall
 1282  collaborate to ensure referrals and responses to child abuse,
 1283  abandonment, and neglect reports are appropriate. Each quality
 1284  assurance program shall include a review of records in which
 1285  there are no findings of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, and the
 1286  findings of these reviews shall be included in each department’s
 1287  quality assurance reports.
 1288         Section 10. Section 39.3068, Florida Statutes, is created
 1289  to read:
 1290         39.3068 Reports of medical neglect.—
 1291         (1) Upon receiving a report alleging medical neglect, the
 1292  department or sheriff’s office shall assign the case to a child
 1293  protective investigator who has specialized training in
 1294  addressing medical neglect or working with medically complex
 1295  children if such investigator is available. If a child
 1296  protective investigator with specialized training is not
 1297  available, the child protective investigator shall consult with
 1298  department staff with such expertise.
 1299         (2) The child protective investigator who has interacted
 1300  with the child and the child’s family shall promptly contact and
 1301  provide information to the child protection team. The child
 1302  protection team shall assist the child protective investigator
 1303  in identifying immediate responses to address the medical needs
 1304  of the child with the priority of maintaining the child in the
 1305  home if the parents will be able to meet the needs of the child
 1306  with additional services. The child protective investigator and
 1307  the child protection team must use a family-centered approach to
 1308  assess the capacity of the family to meet those needs. A family
 1309  centered approach is intended to increase independence on the
 1310  part of the family, accessibility to programs and services
 1311  within the community, and collaboration between families and
 1312  their service providers. The ethnic, cultural, economic, racial,
 1313  social, and religious diversity of families must be respected
 1314  and considered in the development and provision of services.
 1315         (3) The child shall be evaluated by the child protection
 1316  team as soon as practicable. After receipt of the report from
 1317  the child protection team, the department shall convene a case
 1318  staffing which shall be attended, at a minimum, by the child
 1319  protective investigator; department legal staff; and
 1320  representatives from the child protection team that evaluated
 1321  the child, Children’s Medical Services, the Agency for Health
 1322  Care Administration, the community-based care lead agency, and
 1323  any providers of services to the child. However, the Agency for
 1324  Health Care Administration is not required to attend the
 1325  staffing if the child is not Medicaid eligible. The staffing
 1326  shall consider, at a minimum, available services, given the
 1327  family’s eligibility for services; services that are effective
 1328  in addressing conditions leading to medical neglect allegations;
 1329  and services that would enable the child to safely remain at
 1330  home. Any services that are available and effective shall be
 1331  provided.
 1332         Section 11. Section 39.307, Florida Statutes, is amended to
 1333  read:
 1334         39.307 Reports of child-on-child sexual abuse.—
 1335         (1) Upon receiving a report alleging juvenile sexual abuse
 1336  or inappropriate sexual behavior as defined in s. 39.01(7), the
 1337  department shall assist the family, child, and caregiver in
 1338  receiving appropriate services to address the allegations of the
 1339  report.
 1340         (a) The department shall ensure that information describing
 1341  the child’s history of child sexual abuse is included in the
 1342  child’s electronic record. This record must also include
 1343  information describing the services the child has received as a
 1344  result of his or her involvement with child sexual abuse.
 1345         (b) Placement decisions for a child who has been involved
 1346  with child sexual abuse must include consideration of the needs
 1347  of the child and any other children in the placement.
 1348         (c) The department shall monitor the occurrence of child
 1349  sexual abuse and the provision of services to children involved
 1350  in child sexual abuse, juvenile sexual abuse, or who have
 1351  displayed inappropriate sexual behavior.
 1352         (2) The department, contracted sheriff’s office providing
 1353  protective investigation services, or contracted case management
 1354  personnel responsible for providing services, at a minimum,
 1355  shall adhere to the following procedures:
 1356         (a) The purpose of the response to a report alleging
 1357  juvenile sexual abuse behavior or inappropriate sexual behavior
 1358  shall be explained to the caregiver.
 1359         1. The purpose of the response shall be explained in a
 1360  manner consistent with legislative purpose and intent provided
 1361  in this chapter.
 1362         2. The name and office telephone number of the person
 1363  responding shall be provided to the caregiver of the alleged
 1364  abuser juvenile sexual offender or child who has exhibited
 1365  inappropriate sexual behavior and the victim’s caregiver.
 1366         3. The possible consequences of the department’s response,
 1367  including outcomes and services, shall be explained to the
 1368  caregiver of the alleged abuser juvenile sexual offender or
 1369  child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior and the
 1370  victim’s caregiver.
 1371         (b) The caregiver of the alleged abuser juvenile sexual
 1372  offender or child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual
 1373  behavior and the victim’s caregiver shall be involved to the
 1374  fullest extent possible in determining the nature of the sexual
 1375  behavior concerns and the nature of any problem or risk to other
 1376  children.
 1377         (c) The assessment of risk and the perceived treatment
 1378  needs of the alleged abuser juvenile sexual offender or child
 1379  who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior, the victim, and
 1380  respective caregivers shall be conducted by the district staff,
 1381  the child protection team of the Department of Health, and other
 1382  providers under contract with the department to provide services
 1383  to the caregiver of the alleged offender, the victim, and the
 1384  victim’s caregiver.
 1385         (d) The assessment shall be conducted in a manner that is
 1386  sensitive to the social, economic, and cultural environment of
 1387  the family.
 1388         (e) If necessary, the child protection team of the
 1389  Department of Health shall conduct a physical examination of the
 1390  victim, which is sufficient to meet forensic requirements.
 1391         (f) Based on the information obtained from the alleged
 1392  abuser juvenile sexual offender or child who has exhibited
 1393  inappropriate sexual behavior, his or her caregiver, the victim,
 1394  and the victim’s caregiver, an assessment of service and
 1395  treatment needs must be completed and, if needed, a case plan
 1396  developed within 30 days.
 1397         (g) The department shall classify the outcome of the report
 1398  as follows:
 1399         1. Report closed. Services were not offered because the
 1400  department determined that there was no basis for intervention.
 1401         2. Services accepted by alleged abuser juvenile sexual
 1402  offender. Services were offered to the alleged abuser juvenile
 1403  sexual offender or child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual
 1404  behavior and accepted by the caregiver.
 1405         3. Report closed. Services were offered to the alleged
 1406  abuser juvenile sexual offender or child who has exhibited
 1407  inappropriate sexual behavior, but were rejected by the
 1408  caregiver.
 1409         4. Notification to law enforcement. The risk to the
 1410  victim’s safety and well-being cannot be reduced by the
 1411  provision of services or the caregiver rejected services, and
 1412  notification of the alleged delinquent act or violation of law
 1413  to the appropriate law enforcement agency was initiated.
 1414         5. Services accepted by victim. Services were offered to
 1415  the victim and accepted by the caregiver.
 1416         6. Report closed. Services were offered to the victim but
 1417  were rejected by the caregiver.
 1418         (3) If services have been accepted by the alleged abuser
 1419  juvenile sexual offender or child who has exhibited
 1420  inappropriate sexual behavior, the victim, and respective
 1421  caregivers, the department shall designate a case manager and
 1422  develop a specific case plan.
 1423         (a) Upon receipt of the plan, the caregiver shall indicate
 1424  its acceptance of the plan in writing.
 1425         (b) The case manager shall periodically review the progress
 1426  toward achieving the objectives of the plan in order to:
 1427         1. Make adjustments to the plan or take additional action
 1428  as provided in this part; or
 1429         2. Terminate the case if indicated by successful or
 1430  substantial achievement of the objectives of the plan.
 1431         (4) Services provided to the alleged abuser juvenile sexual
 1432  offender or child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual
 1433  behavior, the victim, and respective caregivers or family must
 1434  be voluntary and of necessary duration.
 1435         (5) If the family or caregiver of the alleged abuser
 1436  juvenile sexual offender or child who has exhibited
 1437  inappropriate sexual behavior fails to adequately participate or
 1438  allow for the adequate participation of the child in the
 1439  services or treatment delineated in the case plan, the case
 1440  manager may recommend that the department:
 1441         (a) Close the case;
 1442         (b) Refer the case to mediation or arbitration, if
 1443  available; or
 1444         (c) Notify the appropriate law enforcement agency of
 1445  failure to comply.
 1446         (6) At any time, as a result of additional information,
 1447  findings of facts, or changing conditions, the department may
 1448  pursue a child protective investigation as provided in this
 1449  chapter.
 1450         (7) The department may adopt is authorized to develop rules
 1451  and other policy directives necessary to administer implement
 1452  the provisions of this section.
 1453         Section 12. Paragraph (h) of subsection (8) and subsection
 1454  (9) of section 39.402, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 1455         39.402 Placement in a shelter.—
 1456         (8)
 1457         (h) The order for placement of a child in shelter care must
 1458  identify the parties present at the hearing and must contain
 1459  written findings:
 1460         1. That placement in shelter care is necessary based on the
 1461  criteria in subsections (1) and (2).
 1462         2. That placement in shelter care is in the best interest
 1463  of the child.
 1464         3. That continuation of the child in the home is contrary
 1465  to the welfare of the child because the home situation presents
 1466  a substantial and immediate danger to the child’s physical,
 1467  mental, or emotional health or safety which cannot be mitigated
 1468  by the provision of preventive services.
 1469         4. That based upon the allegations of the petition for
 1470  placement in shelter care, there is probable cause to believe
 1471  that the child is dependent or that the court needs additional
 1472  time, which may not exceed 72 hours, in which to obtain and
 1473  review documents pertaining to the family in order to
 1474  appropriately determine the risk to the child.
 1475         5. That the department has made reasonable efforts to
 1476  prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the
 1477  home. A finding of reasonable effort by the department to
 1478  prevent or eliminate the need for removal may be made and the
 1479  department is deemed to have made reasonable efforts to prevent
 1480  or eliminate the need for removal if:
 1481         a. The first contact of the department with the family
 1482  occurs during an emergency;
 1483         b. The appraisal of the home situation by the department
 1484  indicates that the home situation presents a substantial and
 1485  immediate danger to the child’s physical, mental, or emotional
 1486  health or safety which cannot be mitigated by the provision of
 1487  preventive services;
 1488         c. The child cannot safely remain at home, either because
 1489  there are no preventive services that can ensure the health and
 1490  safety of the child or because, even with appropriate and
 1491  available services being provided, the health and safety of the
 1492  child cannot be ensured; or
 1493         d. The parent or legal custodian is alleged to have
 1494  committed any of the acts listed as grounds for expedited
 1495  termination of parental rights in s. 39.806(1)(f)-(i).
 1496         6. That the department has made reasonable efforts to keep
 1497  siblings together if they are removed and placed in out-of-home
 1498  care unless such placement is not in the best interest of each
 1499  child. Reasonable efforts shall include short-term placement in
 1500  a group home with the ability to accommodate sibling groups if
 1501  such a placement is available. The department shall report to
 1502  the court its efforts to place siblings together unless the
 1503  court finds that such placement is not in the best interest of a
 1504  child or his or her sibling.
 1505         7.6. That the court notified the parents, relatives that
 1506  are providing out-of-home care for the child, or legal
 1507  custodians of the time, date, and location of the next
 1508  dependency hearing and of the importance of the active
 1509  participation of the parents, relatives that are providing out
 1510  of-home care for the child, or legal custodians in all
 1511  proceedings and hearings.
 1512         8.7. That the court notified the parents or legal
 1513  custodians of their right to counsel to represent them at the
 1514  shelter hearing and at each subsequent hearing or proceeding,
 1515  and the right of the parents to appointed counsel, pursuant to
 1516  the procedures set forth in s. 39.013.
 1517         9.8. That the court notified relatives who are providing
 1518  out-of-home care for a child as a result of the shelter petition
 1519  being granted that they have the right to attend all subsequent
 1520  hearings, to submit reports to the court, and to speak to the
 1521  court regarding the child, if they so desire.
 1522         (9)(a) At any shelter hearing, the department shall provide
 1523  to the court a recommendation for scheduled contact between the
 1524  child and parents, if appropriate. The court shall determine
 1525  visitation rights absent a clear and convincing showing that
 1526  visitation is not in the best interest of the child. Any order
 1527  for visitation or other contact must conform to the provisions
 1528  of s. 39.0139. If visitation is ordered but will not commence
 1529  within 72 hours of the shelter hearing, the department shall
 1530  provide justification to the court.
 1531         (b) If siblings who are removed from the home cannot be
 1532  placed together, the department shall provide to the court a
 1533  recommendation for frequent visitation or other ongoing
 1534  interaction between the siblings unless this interaction would
 1535  be contrary to a sibling’s safety or well-being. If visitation
 1536  among siblings is ordered but will not commence within 72 hours
 1537  after the shelter hearing, the department shall provide
 1538  justification to the court for the delay.
 1539         Section 13. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
 1540  39.501, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 1541         39.501 Petition for dependency.—
 1542         (3)
 1543         (d) The petitioner must state in the petition, if known,
 1544  whether:
 1545         1. A parent or legal custodian named in the petition has
 1546  previously unsuccessfully participated in voluntary services
 1547  offered by the department;
 1548         2. A parent or legal custodian named in the petition has
 1549  participated in mediation and whether a mediation agreement
 1550  exists;
 1551         3. A parent or legal custodian has rejected the voluntary
 1552  services offered by the department;
 1553         4. A parent or legal custodian named in the petition has
 1554  not fully complied with a safety plan; or
 1555         5.4. The department has determined that voluntary services
 1556  are not appropriate for the parent or legal custodian and the
 1557  reasons for such determination.
 1558  
 1559  If the department is the petitioner, it shall provide all safety
 1560  plans as defined in s. 39.01 involving the parent or legal
 1561  custodian to the court.
 1562         Section 14. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
 1563  39.504, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 1564         39.504 Injunction pending disposition of petition;
 1565  penalty.—
 1566         (4) If an injunction is issued under this section, the
 1567  primary purpose of the injunction must be to protect and promote
 1568  the best interests of the child, taking the preservation of the
 1569  child’s immediate family into consideration.
 1570         (a) The injunction applies to the alleged or actual
 1571  offender in a case of child abuse or acts of domestic violence.
 1572  The conditions of the injunction shall be determined by the
 1573  court, which may include ordering the alleged or actual offender
 1574  to:
 1575         1. Refrain from further abuse or acts of domestic violence.
 1576         2. Participate in a specialized treatment program.
 1577         3. Limit contact or communication with the child victim,
 1578  other children in the home, or any other child.
 1579         4. Refrain from contacting the child at home, school, work,
 1580  or wherever the child may be found.
 1581         5. Have limited or supervised visitation with the child.
 1582         6. Vacate the home in which the child resides.
 1583         7. Comply with the terms of a safety plan implemented in
 1584  the injunction pursuant to s. 39.301.
 1585         Section 15. Section 39.5085, Florida Statutes, is amended
 1586  to read:
 1587         39.5085 Relative Caregiver Program.—
 1588         (1) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
 1589  section to:
 1590         (a) Provide for the establishment of procedures and
 1591  protocols that serve to advance the continued safety of children
 1592  by acknowledging the valued resource uniquely available through
 1593  grandparents, and relatives of children, and specified
 1594  nonrelatives of children pursuant to subparagraph (2)(a)3.
 1595         (b) Recognize family relationships in which a grandparent
 1596  or other relative is the head of a household that includes a
 1597  child otherwise at risk of foster care placement.
 1598         (c) Enhance family preservation and stability by
 1599  recognizing that most children in such placements with
 1600  grandparents and other relatives do not need intensive
 1601  supervision of the placement by the courts or by the department.
 1602         (d) Recognize that permanency in the best interests of the
 1603  child can be achieved through a variety of permanency options,
 1604  including permanent guardianship under s. 39.6221 if the
 1605  guardian is a relative, by permanent placement with a fit and
 1606  willing relative under s. 39.6231, by a relative, guardianship
 1607  under chapter 744, or adoption, by providing additional
 1608  placement options and incentives that will achieve permanency
 1609  and stability for many children who are otherwise at risk of
 1610  foster care placement because of abuse, abandonment, or neglect,
 1611  but who may successfully be able to be placed by the dependency
 1612  court in the care of such relatives.
 1613         (e) Reserve the limited casework and supervisory resources
 1614  of the courts and the department for those cases in which
 1615  children do not have the option for safe, stable care within the
 1616  family.
 1617         (f) Recognize that a child may have a close relationship
 1618  with a person who is not a blood relative or a relative by
 1619  marriage and that such person should be eligible for financial
 1620  assistance under this section if he or she is able and willing
 1621  to care for the child and provide a safe, stable home
 1622  environment.
 1623         (2)(a) The Department of Children and Families Family
 1624  Services shall establish and operate the Relative Caregiver
 1625  Program pursuant to eligibility guidelines established in this
 1626  section as further implemented by rule of the department. The
 1627  Relative Caregiver Program shall, within the limits of available
 1628  funding, provide financial assistance to:
 1629         1. Relatives who are within the fifth degree by blood or
 1630  marriage to the parent or stepparent of a child and who are
 1631  caring full-time for that dependent child in the role of
 1632  substitute parent as a result of a court’s determination of
 1633  child abuse, neglect, or abandonment and subsequent placement
 1634  with the relative under this chapter.
 1635         2. Relatives who are within the fifth degree by blood or
 1636  marriage to the parent or stepparent of a child and who are
 1637  caring full-time for that dependent child, and a dependent half
 1638  brother or half-sister of that dependent child, in the role of
 1639  substitute parent as a result of a court’s determination of
 1640  child abuse, neglect, or abandonment and subsequent placement
 1641  with the relative under this chapter.
 1642         3. Nonrelatives who are willing to assume custody and care
 1643  of a dependent child in the role of substitute parent as a
 1644  result of a court’s determination of child abuse, neglect, or
 1645  abandonment and subsequent placement with the nonrelative
 1646  caregiver under this chapter. The court must find that a
 1647  proposed placement under this subparagraph is in the best
 1648  interest of the child.
 1649  
 1650  The placement may be court-ordered temporary legal custody to
 1651  the relative or nonrelative under protective supervision of the
 1652  department pursuant to s. 39.521(1)(b)3., or court-ordered
 1653  placement in the home of a relative or nonrelative as a
 1654  permanency option under s. 39.6221 or s. 39.6231 or under former
 1655  s. 39.622 if the placement was made before July 1, 2006. The
 1656  Relative Caregiver Program shall offer financial assistance to
 1657  caregivers who are relatives and who would be unable to serve in
 1658  that capacity without the relative caregiver payment because of
 1659  financial burden, thus exposing the child to the trauma of
 1660  placement in a shelter or in foster care.
 1661         (b) Caregivers who are relatives and who receive assistance
 1662  under this section must be capable, as determined by a home
 1663  study, of providing a physically safe environment and a stable,
 1664  supportive home for the children under their care, and must
 1665  assure that the children’s well-being is met, including, but not
 1666  limited to, the provision of immunizations, education, and
 1667  mental health services as needed.
 1668         (c) Relatives or nonrelatives who qualify for and
 1669  participate in the Relative Caregiver Program are not required
 1670  to meet foster care licensing requirements under s. 409.175.
 1671         (d) Relatives or nonrelatives who are caring for children
 1672  placed with them by the court pursuant to this chapter shall
 1673  receive a special monthly relative caregiver benefit established
 1674  by rule of the department. The amount of the special benefit
 1675  payment shall be based on the child’s age within a payment
 1676  schedule established by rule of the department and subject to
 1677  availability of funding. The statewide average monthly rate for
 1678  children judicially placed with relatives or nonrelatives who
 1679  are not licensed as foster homes may not exceed 82 percent of
 1680  the statewide average foster care rate, and nor may the cost of
 1681  providing the assistance described in this section to any
 1682  relative caregiver may not exceed the cost of providing out-of
 1683  home care in emergency shelter or foster care.
 1684         (e) Children receiving cash benefits under this section are
 1685  not eligible to simultaneously receive WAGES cash benefits under
 1686  chapter 414.
 1687         (f) Within available funding, the Relative Caregiver
 1688  Program shall provide relative caregivers with family support
 1689  and preservation services, flexible funds in accordance with s.
 1690  409.165, school readiness, and other available services in order
 1691  to support the child’s safety, growth, and healthy development.
 1692  Children living with relative caregivers who are receiving
 1693  assistance under this section shall be eligible for Medicaid
 1694  coverage.
 1695         (g) The department may use appropriate available state,
 1696  federal, and private funds to operate the Relative Caregiver
 1697  Program. The department may develop liaison functions to be
 1698  available to relatives or nonrelatives who care for children
 1699  pursuant to this chapter to ensure placement stability in
 1700  extended family settings.
 1701         Section 16. Subsections (3) and (4) of section 39.604,
 1702  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 1703         39.604 Rilya Wilson Act; short title; legislative intent;
 1704  requirements; attendance and reporting responsibilities.—
 1705         (3) REQUIREMENTS.—A child from birth to the age of who is
 1706  age 3 years to school entry, under court-ordered court ordered
 1707  protective supervision or in the custody of the Family Safety
 1708  Program Office of the Department of Children and Families Family
 1709  Services or a community-based lead agency, and enrolled in a
 1710  licensed early education or child care program must attend be
 1711  enrolled to participate in the program 5 days a week.
 1712  Notwithstanding the requirements of s. 39.202, the Department of
 1713  Children and Families Family Services must notify operators of
 1714  the licensed early education or child care program, subject to
 1715  the reporting requirements of this act, of the enrollment of any
 1716  child from birth to the age of age 3 years to school entry,
 1717  under court-ordered court ordered protective supervision or in
 1718  the custody of the Family Safety Program Office of the
 1719  Department of Children and Families Family Services or a
 1720  community-based lead agency. When a child is enrolled in an
 1721  early education or child care program regulated by the
 1722  department, the child’s attendance in the program must be a
 1723  required action in the safety plan or the case plan developed
 1724  for the a child pursuant to this chapter who is enrolled in a
 1725  licensed early education or child care program must contain the
 1726  participation in this program as a required action. An exemption
 1727  to participating in the licensed early education or child care
 1728  program 5 days a week may be granted by the court.
 1729         (4) ATTENDANCE AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—
 1730         (a) A child enrolled in a licensed early education or child
 1731  care program who meets the requirements of subsection (3) may
 1732  not be withdrawn from the program without the prior written
 1733  approval of the Family Safety Program Office of the Department
 1734  of Children and Families Family Services or the community-based
 1735  lead agency.
 1736         (b)1. If a child covered by this section is absent from the
 1737  program on a day when he or she is supposed to be present, the
 1738  person with whom the child resides must report the absence to
 1739  the program by the end of the business day. If the person with
 1740  whom the child resides, whether the parent or caregiver, fails
 1741  to timely report the absence, the absence is considered to be
 1742  unexcused. The program shall report any unexcused absence or
 1743  seven consecutive excused absences of a child who is enrolled in
 1744  the program and covered by this act to the local designated
 1745  staff of the Family Safety Program Office of the Department of
 1746  Children and Families Family Services or the community-based
 1747  lead agency by the end of the business day following the
 1748  unexcused absence or seventh consecutive excused absence.
 1749         2. The department or community-based lead agency shall
 1750  conduct a site visit to the residence of the child upon
 1751  receiving a report of two consecutive unexcused absences or
 1752  seven consecutive excused absences.
 1753         3. If the site visit results in a determination that the
 1754  child is missing, the department or community-based lead agency
 1755  shall report the child as missing to a law enforcement agency
 1756  and proceed with the necessary actions to locate the child
 1757  pursuant to procedures for locating missing children.
 1758         4. If the site visit results in a determination that the
 1759  child is not missing, the parent or caregiver shall be notified
 1760  that failure to ensure that the child attends the licensed early
 1761  education or child care program is a violation of the safety
 1762  plan or the case plan. If more than two site visits are
 1763  conducted pursuant to this subsection, staff shall initiate
 1764  action to notify the court of the parent or caregiver’s
 1765  noncompliance with the case plan.
 1766         Section 17. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) and paragraph
 1767  (a) of subsection (3) of section 39.701, Florida Statutes, are
 1768  amended to read:
 1769         39.701 Judicial review.—
 1770         (2) REVIEW HEARINGS FOR CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN 18 YEARS OF
 1771  AGE.—
 1772         (c) Review determinations.—The court and any citizen review
 1773  panel shall take into consideration the information contained in
 1774  the social services study and investigation and all medical,
 1775  psychological, and educational records that support the terms of
 1776  the case plan; testimony by the social services agency, the
 1777  parent, the foster parent or legal custodian, the guardian ad
 1778  litem or surrogate parent for educational decisionmaking if one
 1779  has been appointed for the child, and any other person deemed
 1780  appropriate; and any relevant and material evidence submitted to
 1781  the court, including written and oral reports to the extent of
 1782  their probative value. These reports and evidence may be
 1783  received by the court in its effort to determine the action to
 1784  be taken with regard to the child and may be relied upon to the
 1785  extent of their probative value, even though not competent in an
 1786  adjudicatory hearing. In its deliberations, the court and any
 1787  citizen review panel shall seek to determine:
 1788         1. If the parent was advised of the right to receive
 1789  assistance from any person or social service agency in the
 1790  preparation of the case plan.
 1791         2. If the parent has been advised of the right to have
 1792  counsel present at the judicial review or citizen review
 1793  hearings. If not so advised, the court or citizen review panel
 1794  shall advise the parent of such right.
 1795         3. If a guardian ad litem needs to be appointed for the
 1796  child in a case in which a guardian ad litem has not previously
 1797  been appointed or if there is a need to continue a guardian ad
 1798  litem in a case in which a guardian ad litem has been appointed.
 1799         4. Who holds the rights to make educational decisions for
 1800  the child. If appropriate, the court may refer the child to the
 1801  district school superintendent for appointment of a surrogate
 1802  parent or may itself appoint a surrogate parent under the
 1803  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and s. 39.0016.
 1804         5. The compliance or lack of compliance of all parties with
 1805  applicable items of the case plan, including the parents’
 1806  compliance with child support orders.
 1807         6. The compliance or lack of compliance with a visitation
 1808  contract between the parent and the social service agency for
 1809  contact with the child, including the frequency, duration, and
 1810  results of the parent-child visitation and the reason for any
 1811  noncompliance.
 1812         7. The frequency, kind, and duration of contacts among
 1813  siblings who have been separated during placement, as well as
 1814  any efforts undertaken to reunite separated siblings if doing so
 1815  is in the best interest of the child.
 1816         8.7. The compliance or lack of compliance of the parent in
 1817  meeting specified financial obligations pertaining to the care
 1818  of the child, including the reason for failure to comply, if
 1819  applicable such is the case.
 1820         9.8. Whether the child is receiving safe and proper care
 1821  according to s. 39.6012, including, but not limited to, the
 1822  appropriateness of the child’s current placement, including
 1823  whether the child is in a setting that is as family-like and as
 1824  close to the parent’s home as possible, consistent with the
 1825  child’s best interests and special needs, and including
 1826  maintaining stability in the child’s educational placement, as
 1827  documented by assurances from the community-based care provider
 1828  that:
 1829         a. The placement of the child takes into account the
 1830  appropriateness of the current educational setting and the
 1831  proximity to the school in which the child is enrolled at the
 1832  time of placement.
 1833         b. The community-based care agency has coordinated with
 1834  appropriate local educational agencies to ensure that the child
 1835  remains in the school in which the child is enrolled at the time
 1836  of placement.
 1837         10.9. A projected date likely for the child’s return home
 1838  or other permanent placement.
 1839         11.10. When appropriate, the basis for the unwillingness or
 1840  inability of the parent to become a party to a case plan. The
 1841  court and the citizen review panel shall determine if the
 1842  efforts of the social service agency to secure party
 1843  participation in a case plan were sufficient.
 1844         12.11. For a child who has reached 13 years of age but is
 1845  not yet 18 years of age, the adequacy of the child’s preparation
 1846  for adulthood and independent living.
 1847         13.12. If amendments to the case plan are required.
 1848  Amendments to the case plan must be made under s. 39.6013.
 1849         (3) REVIEW HEARINGS FOR CHILDREN 17 YEARS OF AGE.—
 1850         (a) In addition to the review and report required under
 1851  paragraphs (1)(a) and (2)(a), respectively, the court shall hold
 1852  a judicial review hearing within 90 days after a child’s 17th
 1853  birthday. The court shall also issue an order, separate from the
 1854  order on judicial review, that the disability of nonage of the
 1855  child has been removed pursuant to ss. 743.044, 743.045, and
 1856  743.046, and for any of these disabilities that the court finds
 1857  is in the child’s best interest to remove. The court s. 743.045
 1858  and shall continue to hold timely judicial review hearings. If
 1859  necessary, the court may review the status of the child more
 1860  frequently during the year before the child’s 18th birthday. At
 1861  each review hearing held under this subsection, in addition to
 1862  any information or report provided to the court by the foster
 1863  parent, legal custodian, or guardian ad litem, the child shall
 1864  be given the opportunity to address the court with any
 1865  information relevant to the child’s best interest, particularly
 1866  in relation to independent living transition services. The
 1867  department shall include in the social study report for judicial
 1868  review written verification that the child has:
 1869         1. A current Medicaid card and all necessary information
 1870  concerning the Medicaid program sufficient to prepare the child
 1871  to apply for coverage upon reaching the age of 18, if such
 1872  application is appropriate.
 1873         2. A certified copy of the child’s birth certificate and,
 1874  if the child does not have a valid driver license, a Florida
 1875  identification card issued under s. 322.051.
 1876         3. A social security card and information relating to
 1877  social security insurance benefits if the child is eligible for
 1878  those benefits. If the child has received such benefits and they
 1879  are being held in trust for the child, a full accounting of
 1880  these funds must be provided and the child must be informed as
 1881  to how to access those funds.
 1882         4. All relevant information related to the Road-to
 1883  Independence Program, including, but not limited to, eligibility
 1884  requirements, information on participation, and assistance in
 1885  gaining admission to the program. If the child is eligible for
 1886  the Road-to-Independence Program, he or she must be advised that
 1887  he or she may continue to reside with the licensed family home
 1888  or group care provider with whom the child was residing at the
 1889  time the child attained his or her 18th birthday, in another
 1890  licensed family home, or with a group care provider arranged by
 1891  the department.
 1892         5. An open bank account or the identification necessary to
 1893  open a bank account and to acquire essential banking and
 1894  budgeting skills.
 1895         6. Information on public assistance and how to apply for
 1896  public assistance.
 1897         7. A clear understanding of where he or she will be living
 1898  on his or her 18th birthday, how living expenses will be paid,
 1899  and the educational program or school in which he or she will be
 1900  enrolled.
 1901         8. Information related to the ability of the child to
 1902  remain in care until he or she reaches 21 years of age under s.
 1903  39.013.
 1904         9. A letter providing the dates that the child is under the
 1905  jurisdiction of the court.
 1906         10. A letter stating that the child is in compliance with
 1907  financial aid documentation requirements.
 1908         11. The child’s educational records.
 1909         12. The child’s entire health and mental health records.
 1910         13. The process for accessing his or her case file.
 1911         14. A statement encouraging the child to attend all
 1912  judicial review hearings occurring after the child’s 17th
 1913  birthday.
 1914         Section 18. Subsection (2) of section 39.802, Florida
 1915  Statutes, is amended to read:
 1916         39.802 Petition for termination of parental rights; filing;
 1917  elements.—
 1918         (2) The form of the petition is governed by the Florida
 1919  Rules of Juvenile Procedure. The petition must be in writing and
 1920  signed by the petitioner or, if the department is the
 1921  petitioner, by an employee of the department, under oath stating
 1922  the petitioner’s good faith in filing the petition.
 1923         Section 19. Paragraphs (e), (f), and (h) of subsection (1)
 1924  of section 39.806, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph
 1925  (n) is added to that subsection, to read:
 1926         39.806 Grounds for termination of parental rights.—
 1927         (1) Grounds for the termination of parental rights may be
 1928  established under any of the following circumstances:
 1929         (e) When a child has been adjudicated dependent, a case
 1930  plan has been filed with the court, and:
 1931         1. The child continues to be abused, neglected, or
 1932  abandoned by the parent or parents. The failure of the parent or
 1933  parents to substantially comply with the case plan for a period
 1934  of 12 months after an adjudication of the child as a dependent
 1935  child or the child’s placement into shelter care, whichever
 1936  occurs first, constitutes evidence of continuing abuse, neglect,
 1937  or abandonment unless the failure to substantially comply with
 1938  the case plan was due to the parent’s lack of financial
 1939  resources or to the failure of the department to make reasonable
 1940  efforts to reunify the parent and child. The 12-month period
 1941  begins to run only after the child’s placement into shelter care
 1942  or the entry of a disposition order placing the custody of the
 1943  child with the department or a person other than the parent and
 1944  the court’s approval of a case plan having the goal of
 1945  reunification with the parent, whichever occurs first; or
 1946         2. The parent or parents have materially breached the case
 1947  plan. Time is of the essence for permanency of children in the
 1948  dependency system. In order to prove the parent or parents have
 1949  materially breached the case plan, the court must find by clear
 1950  and convincing evidence that the parent or parents are unlikely
 1951  or unable to substantially comply with the case plan before time
 1952  to comply with the case plan expires.
 1953         3. The child has been in care for any 12 of the last 22
 1954  months and the parents have not substantially complied with the
 1955  case plan so as to permit reunification under s. 39.522(2)
 1956  unless the failure to substantially comply with the case plan
 1957  was due to the parent’s lack of financial resources or to the
 1958  failure of the department to make reasonable efforts to reunify
 1959  the parent and child.
 1960         (f) The parent or parents engaged in egregious conduct or
 1961  had the opportunity and capability to prevent and knowingly
 1962  failed to prevent egregious conduct that threatens the life,
 1963  safety, or physical, mental, or emotional health of the child or
 1964  the child’s sibling. Proof of a nexus between egregious conduct
 1965  to a child and the potential harm to the child’s sibling is not
 1966  required.
 1967         1. As used in this subsection, the term “sibling” means
 1968  another child who resides with or is cared for by the parent or
 1969  parents regardless of whether the child is related legally or by
 1970  consanguinity.
 1971         2. As used in this subsection, the term “egregious conduct”
 1972  means abuse, abandonment, neglect, or any other conduct that is
 1973  deplorable, flagrant, or outrageous by a normal standard of
 1974  conduct. Egregious conduct may include an act or omission that
 1975  occurred only once but was of such intensity, magnitude, or
 1976  severity as to endanger the life of the child.
 1977         (h) The parent or parents have committed the murder,
 1978  manslaughter, aiding or abetting the murder, or conspiracy or
 1979  solicitation to murder the other parent or another child, or a
 1980  felony battery that resulted in serious bodily injury to the
 1981  child or to another child. Proof of a nexus between the murder,
 1982  manslaughter, aiding or abetting the murder, or conspiracy or
 1983  solicitation to murder the other parent or another child, or a
 1984  felony battery to a child and the potential harm to a child or
 1985  another child is not required.
 1986         (n) The parent is convicted of an offense that requires the
 1987  parent to register as a sexual predator under s. 775.21.
 1988         Section 20. Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) and subsection
 1989  (8) of section 63.212, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 1990         63.212 Prohibited acts; penalties for violation.—
 1991         (1) It is unlawful for any person:
 1992         (g) Except an adoption entity, to place an advertisement
 1993  advertise or offer to the public, in any way, by any medium
 1994  whatever that a minor is available for adoption or that a minor
 1995  is sought for adoption; and, further, it is unlawful for any
 1996  person purchasing advertising space or purchasing broadcast time
 1997  to advertise adoption services to fail to include in any
 1998  publication publish or fail to include in the broadcast for any
 1999  such advertisement the or assist an unlicensed person or entity
 2000  in publishing or broadcasting any such advertisement without
 2001  including a Florida license number of the adoption entity agency
 2002  or the Florida Bar number of the attorney placing the
 2003  advertisement.
 2004         1. Only a person who is an attorney licensed to practice
 2005  law in this state or an adoption entity licensed under the laws
 2006  of this state may place a paid advertisement or paid listing of
 2007  the person’s telephone number, on the person’s own behalf, in a
 2008  telephone directory that:
 2009         a. A child is offered or wanted for adoption; or
 2010         b. The person is able to place, locate, or receive a child
 2011  for adoption.
 2012         2. A person who publishes a telephone directory that is
 2013  distributed in this state:
 2014         a. shall include, at the beginning of any classified
 2015  heading for adoption and adoption services, a statement that
 2016  informs directory users that only attorneys licensed to practice
 2017  law in this state and licensed adoption entities may legally
 2018  provide adoption services under state law.
 2019         3.b.A person who places may publish an advertisement
 2020  described in subparagraph 1. in a the telephone directory must
 2021  include only if the advertisement contains the following
 2022  information:
 2023         a.(I) For an attorney licensed to practice law in this
 2024  state, the person’s Florida Bar number.
 2025         b.(II) For a child-placing child placing agency licensed
 2026  under the laws of this state, the number on the person’s
 2027  adoption entity license.
 2028         (8) Unless otherwise indicated, a person who willfully and
 2029  with criminal intent violates any provision of this section,
 2030  excluding paragraph (1)(g), commits a felony of the third
 2031  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.
 2032  775.084. A person who willfully and with criminal intent
 2033  violates paragraph (1)(g) commits a misdemeanor of the second
 2034  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.083; and each day of
 2035  continuing violation shall be considered a separate offense. In
 2036  addition, any person who knowingly publishes or assists with the
 2037  publication of any advertisement or other publication which
 2038  violates the requirements of paragraph (1)(g) commits a
 2039  misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
 2040  775.083, and may be required to pay a fine of up to $150 per day
 2041  for each day of continuing violation.
 2042         Section 21. Subsection (1), paragraph (b) of subsection
 2043  (2), and paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (3) of section
 2044  383.402, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 2045         383.402 Child abuse death review; State Child Abuse Death
 2046  Review Committee; local child abuse death review committees.—
 2047         (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a
 2048  statewide multidisciplinary, multiagency child abuse death
 2049  assessment and prevention system that consists of state and
 2050  local review committees. The state and local review committees
 2051  shall review the facts and circumstances of all deaths of
 2052  children from birth through age 18 which occur in this state and
 2053  are reported to the central abuse hotline of the Department of
 2054  Children and Families as the result of verified child abuse or
 2055  neglect. The purpose of the review shall be to:
 2056         (a) Achieve a greater understanding of the causes and
 2057  contributing factors of deaths resulting from child abuse.
 2058         (b) Whenever possible, develop a communitywide approach to
 2059  address such cases and contributing factors.
 2060         (c) Identify any gaps, deficiencies, or problems in the
 2061  delivery of services to children and their families by public
 2062  and private agencies which may be related to deaths that are the
 2063  result of child abuse.
 2064         (d) Make and implement recommendations for changes in law,
 2065  rules, and policies, as well as develop practice standards that
 2066  support the safe and healthy development of children and reduce
 2067  preventable child abuse deaths.
 2068         (2)
 2069         (b) In addition, the State Surgeon General shall appoint
 2070  the following members to the state committee, based on
 2071  recommendations from the Department of Health and the agencies
 2072  listed in paragraph (a), and ensuring that the committee
 2073  represents the regional, gender, and ethnic diversity of the
 2074  state to the greatest extent possible:
 2075         1. The Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection A
 2076  board-certified pediatrician.
 2077         2. A public health nurse.
 2078         3. A mental health professional who treats children or
 2079  adolescents.
 2080         4. An employee of the Department of Children and Families
 2081  Family Services who supervises family services counselors and
 2082  who has at least 5 years of experience in child protective
 2083  investigations.
 2084         5. The medical director of a child protection team.
 2085         6. A member of a child advocacy organization.
 2086         7. A social worker who has experience in working with
 2087  victims and perpetrators of child abuse.
 2088         8. A person trained as a paraprofessional in patient
 2089  resources who is employed in a child abuse prevention program.
 2090         9. A law enforcement officer who has at least 5 years of
 2091  experience in children’s issues.
 2092         10. A representative of the Florida Coalition Against
 2093  Domestic Violence.
 2094         11. A representative from a private provider of programs on
 2095  preventing child abuse and neglect.
 2096         (3) The State Child Abuse Death Review Committee shall:
 2097         (c) Prepare an annual statistical report on the incidence
 2098  and causes of death resulting from reported child abuse in the
 2099  state during the prior calendar year. The state committee shall
 2100  submit a copy of the report by October 1 December 31 of each
 2101  year to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
 2102  Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report must include
 2103  recommendations to the Department of Children and Families
 2104  regarding for state and local action, including specific policy
 2105  and, procedural changes to the child protection and child
 2106  welfare system and, regulatory, or statutory changes, and any
 2107  other recommended preventive action.
 2108         (d) Provide training to Encourage and assist in developing
 2109  the local child abuse death review committee members on the
 2110  dynamics and impact of domestic violence, substance abuse, or
 2111  mental health disorders when there is a co-occurrence of child
 2112  abuse committees. Training shall be provided by the Florida
 2113  Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Florida Alcohol and
 2114  Drug Abuse Association, and the Florida Council for Community
 2115  Mental Health in each entity’s respective area of expertise.
 2116         Section 22. Subsection (5) of section 402.40, Florida
 2117  Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (g) is added to subsection
 2118  (3) of that section, to read:
 2119         402.40 Child welfare training and certification.—
 2120         (3) THIRD-PARTY CREDENTIALING ENTITIES.—The department
 2121  shall approve one or more third-party credentialing entities for
 2122  the purpose of developing and administering child welfare
 2123  certification programs for persons who provide child welfare
 2124  services. A third-party credentialing entity shall request such
 2125  approval in writing from the department. In order to obtain
 2126  approval, the third-party credentialing entity must:
 2127         (g) Maintain an advisory committee, including
 2128  representatives from each region of the department, each
 2129  sheriff’s office providing child protective services, and each
 2130  community-based care lead agency, who shall be appointed by the
 2131  organization they represent. The third-party credentialing
 2132  entity may appoint additional members to the advisory committee.
 2133         (5) CORE COMPETENCIES AND SPECIALIZATIONS.—
 2134         (a) The Department of Children and Families Family Services
 2135  shall approve the core competencies and related preservice
 2136  curricula that ensures that each person delivering child welfare
 2137  services obtains the knowledge, skills, and abilities to
 2138  competently carry out his or her work responsibilities.
 2139         (b) The identification of these core competencies and
 2140  development of preservice curricula shall be a collaborative
 2141  effort that includes professionals who have expertise in child
 2142  welfare services, department-approved third-party credentialing
 2143  entities, and providers that will be affected by the curriculum,
 2144  including, but not limited to, representatives from the
 2145  community-based care lead agencies, the Florida Coalition
 2146  Against Domestic Violence, the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse
 2147  Association, the Florida Council for Community Mental Health,
 2148  sheriffs’ offices conducting child protection investigations,
 2149  and child welfare legal services providers.
 2150         (c) Community-based care agencies, sheriffs’ offices, and
 2151  the department may contract for the delivery of preservice and
 2152  any additional training for persons delivering child welfare
 2153  services if the curriculum satisfies the department-approved
 2154  core competencies.
 2155         (d) The department may also approve certifications
 2156  involving specializations in serving specific populations or in
 2157  skills relevant to child protection to be awarded to persons
 2158  delivering child welfare services by a third-party credentialing
 2159  entity approved pursuant to subsection (3).
 2160         (e)(d) Department-approved credentialing entities shall,
 2161  for a period of at least 12 months after implementation of the
 2162  third-party child welfare certification programs, grant
 2163  reciprocity and award a child welfare certification to
 2164  individuals who hold current department-issued child welfare
 2165  certification in good standing, at no cost to the department or
 2166  the certificateholder.
 2167         Section 23. Section 402.402, Florida Statutes, is created
 2168  to read:
 2169         402.402 Child protection and child welfare personnel;
 2170  attorneys employed by the department.—
 2171         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
 2172         (a) “Child protection and child welfare personnel” includes
 2173  child protective investigators and child protective
 2174  investigation supervisors employed by the department and case
 2175  managers and case manager supervisors employed by a community
 2176  based care lead agency or a subcontractor of a community-based
 2177  care lead agency.
 2178         (b) “Human services-related field” means psychology,
 2179  sociology, counseling, special education, human development,
 2180  child development, family development, marriage and family
 2181  therapy, and nursing.
 2182         (2) CHILD PROTECTIVE INVESTIGATION PROFESSIONAL STAFF
 2183  REQUIREMENTS.—The department is responsible for recruitment of
 2184  qualified professional staff to serve as child protective
 2185  investigators and child protective investigation supervisors.
 2186  The department shall make every effort to recruit and hire
 2187  persons qualified by their education and experience to perform
 2188  social work functions. The department’s efforts shall be guided
 2189  by the goal that by July 1, 2019, at least half of all child
 2190  protective investigators and supervisors will have a bachelor’s
 2191  degree or a master’s degree in social work from a college or
 2192  university social work program accredited by the Council on
 2193  Social Work Education. The department, in collaboration with the
 2194  lead agencies, subcontracted provider organizations, the Florida
 2195  Institute for Child Welfare created pursuant to s. 1004.615, and
 2196  other partners in the child welfare system, shall develop a
 2197  protocol for screening candidates for child protective positions
 2198  which reflects the preferences specified in paragraphs (a)-(f).
 2199  The following persons shall be given preference in the
 2200  recruitment of qualified professional staff, but the preferences
 2201  serve only as guidance and do not limit the department’s
 2202  discretion to select the best available candidates:
 2203         (a)Child protective investigators with bachelor’s degrees
 2204  in social work and child protective investigation supervisors
 2205  with master’s degrees in social work from a college or
 2206  university social work program accredited by the Council on
 2207  Social Work Education.
 2208         (b) Child protective investigators and supervisors with
 2209  baccalaureate or master’s degrees in a human service-related
 2210  field such as counseling, sociology, special education, human
 2211  development, child development, family development, marriage and
 2212  family therapy, and nursing.
 2213         (c) Child protective investigators and supervisors with
 2214  work experience demonstrating critical thinking skills, formal
 2215  assessment processes, communication skills, problem solving, and
 2216  empathy.
 2217         (d) Child protective investigators and supervisors with a
 2218  combination of work and volunteer experience in public service
 2219  fields, especially those related to children’s services.
 2220         (e) Child protective investigators and supervisors with a
 2221  commitment to helping children and families, a capacity to work
 2222  as part of a team, and an interest in continuous development of
 2223  skills and knowledge.
 2224         (f)Child protective investigators and supervisors with
 2225  personal strength and resilience to manage competing demands and
 2226  handle workplace stresses.
 2227         (3) REPORT.—By each October 1, the department shall submit
 2228  a report on the educational qualifications, turnover, and
 2229  working conditions of the child protective investigators and
 2230  supervisors to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
 2231  the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
 2232         (4) ATTORNEYS EMPLOYED BY THE DEPARTMENT TO HANDLE CHILD
 2233  WELFARE CASES.—Attorneys hired on or after July 1, 2014, whose
 2234  primary responsibility is representing the department in child
 2235  welfare cases shall, within the first 6 months of employment,
 2236  receive training in:
 2237         (a)The dependency court process, including the attorney’s
 2238  role in preparing and reviewing documents prepared for
 2239  dependency court for accuracy and completeness;
 2240         (b)Preparing and presenting child welfare cases, including
 2241  at least 1 week shadowing an experienced children’s legal
 2242  services attorney preparing and presenting cases;
 2243         (c)Safety assessment, safety decisionmaking tools, and
 2244  safety plans;
 2245         (d)Developing information presented by investigators and
 2246  case managers to support decisionmaking in the best interest of
 2247  children; and
 2248         (e)The experiences and techniques of case managers and
 2249  investigators, including shadowing an experienced child
 2250  protective investigator and an experienced case manager for at
 2251  least 8 hours.
 2252         Section 24. Section 402.403, Florida Statutes, is created
 2253  to read:
 2254         402.403 Child Protection and Child Welfare Personnel
 2255  Tuition Exemption Program.—
 2256         (1) There is established within the department the Child
 2257  Protection and Child Welfare Personnel Tuition Exemption Program
 2258  for the purpose of recruiting and retaining high-performing
 2259  individuals who are employed as child protection and child
 2260  welfare personnel as defined in s. 402.402 and who do not
 2261  possess a master’s degree in social work or a certificate in an
 2262  area related to child welfare.
 2263         (2) Child protection and child welfare personnel who meet
 2264  the requirements specified in subsection (3) are exempt from the
 2265  payment of tuition and fees at a state university.
 2266         (3) The department may approve child protection and child
 2267  welfare personnel for the tuition and fee exemption if such
 2268  personnel:
 2269         (a) Are employed as child protection and child welfare
 2270  personnel and are determined by their employers to perform at a
 2271  high level as established by their personnel evaluations; and
 2272         (b) Are accepted in a graduate-level social work program or
 2273  a certificate program related to child welfare which is
 2274  accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
 2275         (4)Child protection and child welfare personnel who meet
 2276  the requirements specified in subsection (3) may enroll for up
 2277  to 6 credit hours of courses per term.
 2278         (5) Child protection and child welfare personnel who are
 2279  accepted into a graduate-level social work program or a
 2280  certificate program related to child welfare which is accredited
 2281  by the Council on Social Work Education shall take courses
 2282  associated with the degree or certificate program online if such
 2283  courses are offered online.
 2284         (6) All child protection and child welfare personnel who
 2285  participate in the tuition exemption program established under
 2286  this section must remain employed by the department, a state
 2287  agency, or a contracted provider for 5 years after completion of
 2288  a graduate level social work program. If employment ends before
 2289  the 5-year period, the benefit shall be repaid according to a
 2290  pro rata calculation based on the number of years of service.
 2291         Section 25. Section 402.404, Florida Statutes, is created
 2292  to read:
 2293         402.404 Child Protection and Child Welfare Personnel
 2294  Student Loan Forgiveness Program.—
 2295         (1) There is established within the department the Child
 2296  Protection and Child Welfare Personnel Student Loan Forgiveness
 2297  Program. The purpose of the program is to increase employment
 2298  and retention of high-performing individuals who have either a
 2299  bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree in social work and work
 2300  in child protection or child welfare for the department, a
 2301  community-based care lead agency, or a community-based care
 2302  subcontractor by making payments toward loans received by
 2303  students from federal or state programs or commercial lending
 2304  institutions for the support of prior postsecondary study in
 2305  accredited social work programs.
 2306         (2) To be eligible for the program, a candidate must:
 2307         (a) Be employed by the department as a child protective
 2308  investigator or a child protective investigation supervisor or
 2309  be employed by a community-based care lead agency or
 2310  subcontractor as a case manager or case manager supervisor;
 2311         (b) Be determined by the department or his or her employer
 2312  to have a high level of performance based on his or her personal
 2313  evaluation; and
 2314         (c) Have graduated from an accredited social work program
 2315  with either a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree in social
 2316  work.
 2317         (3) Only loans to pay the costs of tuition, books, fees,
 2318  and living expenses shall be covered.
 2319         (4) The department or lead agency may make loan payments of
 2320  up to $3,000 each year for up to 4 years on behalf of selected
 2321  graduates of an accredited social work program from the funds
 2322  appropriated for this purpose. All payments are contingent upon
 2323  continued proof of employment and shall be made directly to the
 2324  holder of the loan.
 2325         (5) A student who receives a tuition exemption pursuant to
 2326  s. 402.403 is not eligible to participate in the Child
 2327  Protection and Child Welfare Personnel Student Loan Forgiveness
 2328  Program.
 2329         (6) All child protection and child welfare personnel who
 2330  participate in the student loan forgiveness program established
 2331  under this section must remain employed by the department, a
 2332  state agency, or a contracted provider for 5 years after
 2333  completion of a graduate level social work program. If
 2334  employment ends before the 5-year period, the benefit shall be
 2335  repaid according to a pro rata calculation based on the number
 2336  of years of service.
 2337         (7) The department shall prioritize funds appropriated for
 2338  this purpose to regions with high-average caseloads and low
 2339  workforce-retention rates.
 2340         Section 26. Section 409.165, Florida Statutes, is amended
 2341  to read:
 2342         409.165 Alternate care for children.—
 2343         (1) Within funds appropriated, the department shall
 2344  establish and supervise a program of emergency shelters, runaway
 2345  shelters, foster homes, group homes, agency-operated group
 2346  treatment homes, nonpsychiatric residential group care
 2347  facilities, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, and
 2348  other appropriate facilities to provide shelter and care for
 2349  dependent children who must be placed away from their families.
 2350  The department, in accordance with outcome established goals
 2351  established in s. 409.986, shall contract for the provision of
 2352  such shelter and care by counties, municipalities, nonprofit
 2353  corporations, and other entities capable of providing needed
 2354  services if:
 2355         (a) The services so provided comply with all department
 2356  standards, policies, and procedures are available;
 2357         (b) The services can be so provided at a reasonable cost
 2358  are more cost-effective than those provided by the department;
 2359  and
 2360         (c) Unless otherwise provided by law, such providers of
 2361  shelter and care are licensed by the department.
 2362  
 2363  It is the legislative intent that the
 2364         (2) Funds appropriated for the alternate care of children
 2365  as described in this section may be used to meet the needs of
 2366  children in their own homes or those of relatives if the
 2367  children can be safely served in such settings their own homes,
 2368  or the homes of relatives, and the expenditure of funds in such
 2369  manner is equal to or less than the cost of out-of-home
 2370  placement calculated by the department to be an eventual cost
 2371  savings over placement of children.
 2372         (3)(2) The department shall may cooperate with all child
 2373  service institutions or agencies within the state which meet the
 2374  department’s standards in order to maintain a comprehensive,
 2375  coordinated, and inclusive system for promoting and protecting
 2376  the well-being of children, consistent with the goals
 2377  established in s. 409.986 rules for proper care and supervision
 2378  prescribed by the department for the well-being of children.
 2379         (a) The department shall work with the Department of Health
 2380  in the development, use, and monitoring of medical foster homes
 2381  for medically complex children.
 2382         (b) The department shall collaborate with all relevant
 2383  state and local agencies to provide such supports and services
 2384  as may be necessary to maintain medically complex children in
 2385  the least restrictive and most nurturing environment.
 2386         (4)(3) With the written consent of parents, custodians, or
 2387  guardians, or in accordance with those provisions in chapter 39
 2388  that relate to dependent children, the department, under rules
 2389  properly adopted, may place a child:
 2390         (a) With a relative;
 2391         (b) With an adult nonrelative approved by the court for
 2392  long-term custody;
 2393         (c) With a person who is considering the adoption of a
 2394  child in the manner provided for by law;
 2395         (d) When limited, except as provided in paragraph (b), to
 2396  temporary emergency situations, with a responsible adult
 2397  approved by the court;
 2398         (e) With a person or family approved by the department to
 2399  serve as a medical foster home;
 2400         (f)(e) With a person or agency licensed by the department
 2401  in accordance with s. 409.175; or
 2402         (g)(f) In a subsidized independent living situation,
 2403  subject to the provisions of s. 409.1451(4)(c),
 2404  
 2405  under such conditions as are determined to be for the best
 2406  interests or the welfare of the child. Any child placed in an
 2407  institution or in a family home by the department or its agency
 2408  may be removed by the department or its agency, and such other
 2409  disposition may be made as is for the best interest of the
 2410  child, including transfer of the child to another institution,
 2411  another home, or the home of the child. Expenditure of funds
 2412  appropriated for out-of-home care can be used to meet the needs
 2413  of a child in the child’s own home or the home of a relative if
 2414  the child can be safely served in the child’s own home or that
 2415  of a relative if placement can be avoided by the expenditure of
 2416  such funds, and if the expenditure of such funds in this manner
 2417  is equal to or less than the cost of out-of-home placement
 2418  calculated by the department to be a potential cost savings.
 2419         Section 27. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
 2420  409.967, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 2421         409.967 Managed care plan accountability.—
 2422         (2) The agency shall establish such contract requirements
 2423  as are necessary for the operation of the statewide managed care
 2424  program. In addition to any other provisions the agency may deem
 2425  necessary, the contract must require:
 2426         (c) Access.—
 2427         1. The agency shall establish specific standards for the
 2428  number, type, and regional distribution of providers in managed
 2429  care plan networks to ensure access to care for both adults and
 2430  children. Each plan must maintain a regionwide network of
 2431  providers in sufficient numbers to meet the access standards for
 2432  specific medical services for all recipients enrolled in the
 2433  plan. The exclusive use of mail-order pharmacies may not be
 2434  sufficient to meet network access standards. Consistent with the
 2435  standards established by the agency, provider networks may
 2436  include providers located outside the region. A plan may
 2437  contract with a new hospital facility before the date the
 2438  hospital becomes operational if the hospital has commenced
 2439  construction, will be licensed and operational by January 1,
 2440  2013, and a final order has issued in any civil or
 2441  administrative challenge. Each plan shall establish and maintain
 2442  an accurate and complete electronic database of contracted
 2443  providers, including information about licensure or
 2444  registration, locations and hours of operation, specialty
 2445  credentials and other certifications, specific performance
 2446  indicators, and such other information as the agency deems
 2447  necessary. The database must be available online to both the
 2448  agency and the public and have the capability to compare the
 2449  availability of providers to network adequacy standards and to
 2450  accept and display feedback from each provider’s patients. Each
 2451  plan shall submit quarterly reports to the agency identifying
 2452  the number of enrollees assigned to each primary care provider.
 2453         2. Each managed care plan must publish any prescribed drug
 2454  formulary or preferred drug list on the plan’s website in a
 2455  manner that is accessible to and searchable by enrollees and
 2456  providers. The plan must update the list within 24 hours after
 2457  making a change. Each plan must ensure that the prior
 2458  authorization process for prescribed drugs is readily accessible
 2459  to health care providers, including posting appropriate contact
 2460  information on its website and providing timely responses to
 2461  providers. For Medicaid recipients diagnosed with hemophilia who
 2462  have been prescribed anti-hemophilic-factor replacement
 2463  products, the agency shall provide for those products and
 2464  hemophilia overlay services through the agency’s hemophilia
 2465  disease management program.
 2466         3. Managed care plans, and their fiscal agents or
 2467  intermediaries, must accept prior authorization requests for any
 2468  service electronically.
 2469         4. Managed care plans serving children in the care and
 2470  custody of the Department of Children and Families or serving
 2471  parents of such children must maintain complete medical, dental,
 2472  and behavioral health information and provide such information
 2473  to the department for inclusion in the state’s child welfare
 2474  data system. Using such documentation, the agency and the
 2475  department shall determine the plan’s compliance with standards
 2476  for access to medical, dental, and behavioral health services;
 2477  the use of psychotropic medications; and followup on all
 2478  medically necessary services recommended as a result of early
 2479  and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment.
 2480         Section 28. Paragraph (f) is added to subsection (2) of
 2481  section 409.972, Florida Statutes, to read:
 2482         409.972 Mandatory and voluntary enrollment.—
 2483         (2) The following Medicaid-eligible persons are exempt from
 2484  mandatory managed care enrollment required by s. 409.965, and
 2485  may voluntarily choose to participate in the managed medical
 2486  assistance program:
 2487         (f) Medicaid recipients residing in a group home facility
 2488  licensed under chapter 393.
 2489         Section 29. The Division of Law Revision and Information is
 2490  directed to create part V of chapter 409, Florida Statutes,
 2491  consisting of ss. 409.986-409.997, to be entitled “Community
 2492  based Child Welfare.”
 2493         Section 30. Section 409.986, Florida Statutes, is created
 2494  to read:
 2495         409.986 Legislative findings and intent; child protection
 2496  and child welfare outcomes; definitions.—
 2497         (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
 2498         (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department
 2499  of Children and Families provide child protection and child
 2500  welfare services to children through contracting with community
 2501  based care lead agencies. Counties that provide children and
 2502  family services with at least 40 licensed residential group care
 2503  beds by July 1, 2003, and that provide at least $2 million
 2504  annually in county general revenue funds to supplement foster
 2505  and family care services shall continue to contract directly
 2506  with the state. It is the further intent of the Legislature that
 2507  communities have responsibility for and participate in ensuring
 2508  safety, permanence, and well-being for all children in the
 2509  state.
 2510         (b) The Legislature finds that when private entities assume
 2511  responsibility for the care of children in the child protection
 2512  and child welfare system, comprehensive oversight of the
 2513  programmatic, administrative, and fiscal operation of those
 2514  entities is essential. The Legislature further finds that the
 2515  appropriate care of children is ultimately the responsibility of
 2516  the state and that outsourcing such care does not relieve the
 2517  state of its responsibility to ensure that appropriate care is
 2518  provided.
 2519         (2) CHILD PROTECTION AND CHILD WELFARE OUTCOMES.—It is the
 2520  goal of the department to protect the best interest of children
 2521  by achieving the following outcomes in conjunction with the
 2522  community-based care lead agency, community-based
 2523  subcontractors, and the community alliance:
 2524         (a) Children are first and foremost protected from abuse
 2525  and neglect.
 2526         (b) Children are safely maintained in their homes, if
 2527  possible and appropriate.
 2528         (c) Services are provided to protect children and prevent
 2529  their removal from their home.
 2530         (d) Children have permanency and stability in their living
 2531  arrangements.
 2532         (e) Family relationships and connections are preserved for
 2533  children.
 2534         (f) Families have enhanced capacity to provide for their
 2535  children’s needs.
 2536         (g) Children receive appropriate services to meet their
 2537  educational needs.
 2538         (h) Children receive services to meet their physical and
 2539  mental health needs.
 2540         (i) Children develop the capacity for independent living
 2541  and competence as an adult.
 2542         (3) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this part, except as otherwise
 2543  provided, the term:
 2544         (a) “Care” means services of any kind which are designed to
 2545  facilitate a child remaining safely in his or her own home,
 2546  returning safely to his or her own home if he or she is removed
 2547  from the home, or obtaining an alternative permanent home if he
 2548  or she cannot remain at home or be returned home. The term
 2549  includes, but is not be limited to, prevention, diversion, and
 2550  related services.
 2551         (b) “Child” or “children” has the same meaning as provided
 2552  in s. 39.01.
 2553         (c) “Community alliance” or “alliance” means the group of
 2554  stakeholders, community leaders, client representatives, and
 2555  funders of human services established pursuant to s. 20.19(5) to
 2556  provide a focal point for community participation and oversight
 2557  of community-based services.
 2558         (d) “Community-based care lead agency” or “lead agency”
 2559  means a single entity with which the department has a contract
 2560  for the provision of care for children in the child protection
 2561  and child welfare system in a community that is no smaller than
 2562  a county and no larger than two contiguous judicial circuits.
 2563  The secretary of the department may authorize more than one
 2564  eligible lead agency within a single county if doing so will
 2565  result in more effective delivery of services to children.
 2566         (e) “Related services” includes, but is not limited to,
 2567  family preservation, independent living, emergency shelter,
 2568  residential group care, foster care, therapeutic foster care,
 2569  intensive residential treatment, foster care supervision, case
 2570  management, coordination of mental health services,
 2571  postplacement supervision, permanent foster care, and family
 2572  reunification.
 2573         Section 31. Section 409.987, Florida Statutes, is created
 2574  to read:
 2575         409.987 Lead agency procurement.—
 2576         (1) Community-based care lead agencies shall be procured by
 2577  the department through a competitive process as required under
 2578  chapter 287.
 2579         (2) The department shall produce a schedule for the
 2580  procurement of community-based care lead agencies and provide
 2581  the schedule to the community alliances established pursuant to
 2582  s. 20.19(5) and post the schedule on the department’s website.
 2583         (3) Notwithstanding s. 287.057, the department shall use 5
 2584  year contracts with lead agencies.
 2585         (4) In order to serve as a lead agency, an entity must:
 2586         (a) Be organized as a Florida corporation or a governmental
 2587  entity.
 2588         (b) Be governed by a board of directors or a board
 2589  committee composed of board members. The membership of the board
 2590  of directors or board committee must be described in the bylaws
 2591  or articles of incorporation of each lead agency, which must
 2592  provide that at least 75 percent of the membership of the board
 2593  of directors or board committee must consist of persons residing
 2594  in this state, and at least 51 percent of the state residents on
 2595  the board of directors must reside within the service area of
 2596  the lead agency. However, for procurements of lead agency
 2597  contracts initiated on or after July 1, 2014:
 2598         1. At least 75 percent of the membership of the board of
 2599  directors must consist of persons residing in this state, and at
 2600  least 51 percent of the membership of the board of directors
 2601  must consist of persons residing within the service area of the
 2602  lead agency. If a board committee governs the lead agency, 100
 2603  percent of its membership must consist of persons residing
 2604  within the service area of the lead agency.
 2605         2. The powers of the board of directors or board committee
 2606  include, are not limited to, approving the lead agency’s budget
 2607  and setting the lead agency’s operational policy and procedures.
 2608  A board of directors must additionally have the power to hire
 2609  the lead agency’s executive director, unless a board committee
 2610  governs the lead agency, in which case the board committee must
 2611  have the power to confirm the selection of the lead agency’s
 2612  executive director.
 2613         (c) Demonstrate financial responsibility through an
 2614  organized plan for regular fiscal audits and the posting of a
 2615  performance bond.
 2616         (5) The department’s procurement team procuring any lead
 2617  agencies’ contracts must include individuals from the community
 2618  alliance in the area to be served under the contract. All
 2619  meetings at which vendors make presentations to or negotiate
 2620  with the procurement team shall be held in the area to be served
 2621  by the contract.
 2622         Section 32. Section 409.988, Florida Statutes, is created
 2623  to read:
 2624         409.988 Lead agency duties; general provisions.—
 2625         (1) DUTIES.—A lead agency:
 2626         (a) Shall serve all children referred as a result of a
 2627  report of abuse, neglect, or abandonment to the department’s
 2628  central abuse hotline, including, but not limited to, children
 2629  who are the subject of verified reports and children who are not
 2630  the subject of verified reports but who are at moderate to
 2631  extremely high risk of abuse, neglect, or abandonment, as
 2632  determined using the department’s risk assessment instrument,
 2633  regardless of the level of funding allocated to the lead agency
 2634  by the state if all related funding is transferred. The lead
 2635  agency may also serve children who have not been the subject of
 2636  reports of abuse, neglect, or abandonment, but who are at risk
 2637  of abuse, neglect, or abandonment, to prevent their entry into
 2638  the child protection and child welfare system.
 2639         (b) Shall provide accurate and timely information necessary
 2640  for oversight by the department pursuant to the child welfare
 2641  results-oriented accountability system required by s. 409.997.
 2642         (c) Shall follow the financial guidelines developed by the
 2643  department and provide for a regular independent auditing of its
 2644  financial activities. Such financial information shall be
 2645  provided to the community alliance established under s.
 2646  20.19(5).
 2647         (d) Shall post on its website the current budget for the
 2648  lead agency, including the Internal Revenue Service Form 990 for
 2649  the agency’s chief executive officer, chief financial officer,
 2650  and chief operating officer, or their equivalents.
 2651         (e) Shall prepare all judicial reviews, case plans, and
 2652  other reports necessary for court hearings for dependent
 2653  children, except those related to the investigation of a
 2654  referral from the department’s child abuse hotline, and shall
 2655  submit these documents timely to the department’s attorneys for
 2656  review, any necessary revision, and filing with the court. The
 2657  lead agency shall make the necessary staff available to
 2658  department attorneys for preparation for dependency proceedings,
 2659  and shall provide testimony and other evidence required for
 2660  dependency court proceedings in coordination with the
 2661  department’s attorneys. This duty does not include the
 2662  preparation of legal pleadings or other legal documents, which
 2663  remain the responsibility of the department.
 2664         (f) Shall ensure that all individuals providing care for
 2665  dependent children receive appropriate training and meet the
 2666  minimum employment standards established by the department.
 2667         (g) Shall maintain eligibility to receive all available
 2668  federal child welfare funds.
 2669         (h) Shall maintain written agreements with Healthy Families
 2670  Florida lead entities in its service area pursuant to s. 409.153
 2671  to promote cooperative planning for the provision of prevention
 2672  and intervention services.
 2673         (i) Shall comply with federal and state statutory
 2674  requirements and agency rules in the provision of contractual
 2675  services.
 2676         (j) May subcontract for the provision of services required
 2677  by the contract with the lead agency and the department;
 2678  however, the subcontracts must specify how the provider will
 2679  contribute to the lead agency meeting the performance standards
 2680  established pursuant to the child welfare results-oriented
 2681  accountability system required by s. 409.997. The lead agency
 2682  shall directly provide no more than 35 percent of all child
 2683  welfare services provided.
 2684         (k) Shall post on its website by the 15th day of each month
 2685  at a minimum the information contained in subparagraphs 1.-4.
 2686  for the preceding calendar month regarding its case management
 2687  services. The following information shall be reported by each
 2688  individual subcontracted case management provider, by the lead
 2689  agency, if the lead agency provides case management services,
 2690  and in total for all case management services subcontracted or
 2691  directly provided by the lead agency:
 2692         1. The average caseload of case managers, including only
 2693  filled positions;
 2694         2. The turnover rate for case managers and case management
 2695  supervisors for the previous 12 months;
 2696         3. The percentage of required home visits completed; and
 2697         4. Performance on outcome measures required pursuant to s.
 2698  409.997 for the previous 12 months.
 2699         (2) LICENSURE.—
 2700         (a) A lead agency must be licensed as a child-caring or
 2701  child-placing agency by the department under this chapter.
 2702         (b) Each foster home, therapeutic foster home, emergency
 2703  shelter, or other placement facility operated by the lead agency
 2704  must be licensed by the department under chapter 402 or this
 2705  chapter.
 2706         (c) Substitute care providers who are licensed under s.
 2707  409.175 and who have contracted with a lead agency are also
 2708  authorized to provide registered or licensed family day care
 2709  under s. 402.313 if such care is consistent with federal law and
 2710  if the home has met the requirements of s. 402.313.
 2711         (d) In order to eliminate or reduce the number of duplicate
 2712  inspections by various program offices, the department shall
 2713  coordinate inspections required for licensure of agencies under
 2714  this subsection.
 2715         (e) The department may adopt rules to administer this
 2716  subsection.
 2717         (3) SERVICES.—A lead agency must serve dependent children
 2718  through services that are supported by research or are best
 2719  child welfare practices. The agency may also provide innovative
 2720  services, including, but not limited to, family-centered,
 2721  cognitive-behavioral, trauma-informed interventions designed to
 2722  mitigate out-of-home placements.
 2723         (4) LEAD AGENCY ACTING AS GUARDIAN.—
 2724         (a) If a lead agency or other provider has accepted case
 2725  management responsibilities for a child who is sheltered or
 2726  found to be dependent and who is assigned to the care of the
 2727  lead agency or other provider, the agency or provider may act as
 2728  the child’s guardian for the purpose of registering the child in
 2729  school if a parent or guardian of the child is unavailable and
 2730  his or her whereabouts cannot reasonably be ascertained.
 2731         (b) The lead agency or other provider may also seek
 2732  emergency medical attention for the child, but only if a parent
 2733  or guardian of the child is unavailable, the parent or
 2734  guardian’s whereabouts cannot reasonably be ascertained, and a
 2735  court order for such emergency medical services cannot be
 2736  obtained because of the severity of the emergency or because it
 2737  is after normal working hours.
 2738         (c) A lead agency or other provider may not consent to
 2739  sterilization, abortion, or termination of life support.
 2740         (d) If a child’s parents’ rights have been terminated, the
 2741  lead agency shall act as guardian of the child in all
 2742  circumstances.
 2743         Section 33. Section 409.990, Florida Statutes, is created
 2744  to read:
 2745         409.990 Funding for lead agencies.—A contract established
 2746  between the department and a lead agency must be funded by a
 2747  grant of general revenue, other applicable state funds, or
 2748  applicable federal funding sources.
 2749         (1) The method of payment for a fixed-price contract with a
 2750  lead agency must provide for a 2-month advance payment at the
 2751  beginning of each fiscal year and equal monthly payments
 2752  thereafter.
 2753         (2) Notwithstanding s. 215.425, all documented federal
 2754  funds earned for the current fiscal year by the department and
 2755  lead agencies which exceed the amount appropriated by the
 2756  Legislature shall be distributed to all entities that
 2757  contributed to the excess earnings based on a schedule and
 2758  methodology developed by the department and approved by the
 2759  Executive Office of the Governor.
 2760         (a) Distribution shall be pro rata, based on total
 2761  earnings, and shall be made only to those entities that
 2762  contributed to excess earnings.
 2763         (b) Excess earnings of lead agencies shall be used only in
 2764  the service district in which they were earned.
 2765         (c) Additional state funds appropriated by the Legislature
 2766  for lead agencies or made available pursuant to the budgetary
 2767  amendment process described in s. 216.177 shall be transferred
 2768  to the lead agencies.
 2769         (d) The department shall amend a lead agency’s contract to
 2770  permit expenditure of the funds.
 2771         (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
 2772  the amount of the annual contract for a lead agency may be
 2773  increased by excess federal funds earned in accordance with s.
 2774  216.181(11).
 2775         (4) Each contract with a lead agency shall provide for the
 2776  payment by the department to the lead agency of a reasonable
 2777  administrative cost in addition to funding for the provision of
 2778  services.
 2779         (5) A lead agency may carry forward documented unexpended
 2780  state funds from one fiscal year to the next; however, the
 2781  cumulative amount carried forward may not exceed 8 percent of
 2782  the total contract. Any unexpended state funds in excess of that
 2783  percentage must be returned to the department.
 2784         (a) The funds carried forward may not be used in any way
 2785  that would create increased recurring future obligations, and
 2786  such funds may not be used for any type of program or service
 2787  that is not currently authorized by the existing contract with
 2788  the department.
 2789         (b) Expenditures of funds carried forward must be
 2790  separately reported to the department.
 2791         (c) Any unexpended funds that remain at the end of the
 2792  contract period shall be returned to the department.
 2793         (d) Funds carried forward may be retained through any
 2794  contract renewals and any new procurements as long as the same
 2795  lead agency is retained by the department.
 2796         (6) It is the intent of the Legislature to improve services
 2797  and local participation in community-based care initiatives by
 2798  fostering community support and providing enhanced prevention
 2799  and in-home services, thereby reducing the risk otherwise faced
 2800  by lead agencies. A community partnership matching grant program
 2801  is established and shall be operated by the department to
 2802  encourage local participation in community-based care for
 2803  children in the child welfare system. A children’s services
 2804  council or another local entity that makes a financial
 2805  commitment to a community-based care lead agency may be eligible
 2806  for a matching grant. The total amount of the local contribution
 2807  may be matched on a one-to-one basis up to a maximum annual
 2808  amount of $500,000 per lead agency. Awarded matching grant funds
 2809  may be used for any prevention or in-home services that can be
 2810  reasonably expected to reduce the number of children entering
 2811  the child welfare system. Funding available for the matching
 2812  grant program is subject to legislative appropriation of
 2813  nonrecurring funds provided for this purpose.
 2814         (7)(a) The department, in consultation with the Florida
 2815  Coalition for Children, Inc., shall develop and implement a
 2816  community-based care risk pool initiative to mitigate the
 2817  financial risk to eligible lead agencies. This initiative must
 2818  include:
 2819         1. A risk pool application and protocol developed by the
 2820  department which outlines submission criteria, including, but
 2821  not limited to, financial and program management, descriptive
 2822  data requirements, and timeframes for submission of
 2823  applications. Requests for funding from risk pool applicants
 2824  must be based on relevant and verifiable service trends and
 2825  changes that have occurred during the current fiscal year. The
 2826  application must confirm that expenditure of approved risk pool
 2827  funds by the lead agency will be completed within the current
 2828  fiscal year.
 2829         2. A risk pool peer review committee, appointed by the
 2830  secretary and consisting of department staff and representatives
 2831  from at least three nonapplicant lead agencies, which reviews
 2832  and assesses all risk pool applications. Upon completion of each
 2833  application review, the peer review committee shall report its
 2834  findings and recommendations to the secretary, providing, at a
 2835  minimum, the following information:
 2836         a. Justification for the specific funding amount required
 2837  by the risk pool applicant based on the current year’s service
 2838  trend data, including validation that the applicant’s financial
 2839  need was caused by circumstances beyond the control of the lead
 2840  agency management;
 2841         b. Verification that the proposed use of risk pool funds
 2842  meets at least one of the purposes specified in paragraph (c);
 2843  and
 2844         c. Evidence of technical assistance provided in an effort
 2845  to avoid the need to access the risk pool and recommendations
 2846  for technical assistance to the lead agency to ensure that risk
 2847  pool funds are expended effectively and that the agency’s need
 2848  for future risk pool funding is diminished.
 2849         (b) Upon approval by the secretary of a risk pool
 2850  application, the department may request funds from the risk pool
 2851  in accordance with s. 216.181(6)(a).
 2852         (c) The purposes for which the community-based care risk
 2853  pool shall be used include:
 2854         1. Significant changes in the number or composition of
 2855  clients eligible to receive services.
 2856         2. Significant changes in the services that are eligible
 2857  for reimbursement.
 2858         3. Continuity of care in the event of failure,
 2859  discontinuance of service, or financial misconduct by a lead
 2860  agency.
 2861         4. Significant changes in the mix of available funds.
 2862         (d) The department may also request in its annual
 2863  legislative budget request, and the Governor may recommend, that
 2864  the funding necessary to effect paragraph (c) be appropriated to
 2865  the department. In addition, the department may request the
 2866  allocation of funds from the community-based care risk pool in
 2867  accordance with s. 216.181(6)(a). Funds from the pool may be
 2868  used to match available federal dollars.
 2869         1. Such funds shall constitute partial security for
 2870  contract performance by lead agencies and shall be used to
 2871  offset the need for a performance bond.
 2872         2. The department may separately require a bond to mitigate
 2873  the financial consequences of potential acts of malfeasance or
 2874  misfeasance or criminal violations by the service provider.
 2875         Section 34. Section 409.16713, Florida Statutes, is
 2876  transferred and renumbered as section 409.991, Florida Statutes,
 2877  and paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of that section is amended,
 2878  to read:
 2879         409.991 409.16713 Allocation of funds for community-based
 2880  care lead agencies.—
 2881         (1) As used in this section, the term:
 2882         (a) “Core services funding” means all funds allocated to
 2883  community-based care lead agencies operating under contract with
 2884  the department pursuant to s. 409.987 s. 409.1671, with the
 2885  following exceptions:
 2886         1. Funds appropriated for independent living;
 2887         2. Funds appropriated for maintenance adoption subsidies;
 2888         3. Funds allocated by the department for protective
 2889  investigations training;
 2890         4. Nonrecurring funds;
 2891         5. Designated mental health wrap-around services funds; and
 2892         6. Funds for special projects for a designated community
 2893  based care lead agency.
 2894         Section 35. Section 409.992, Florida Statutes, is created
 2895  to read:
 2896         409.992 Lead agency expenditures.—
 2897         (1) The procurement of commodities or contractual services
 2898  by lead agencies shall be governed by the financial guidelines
 2899  developed by the department and must comply with applicable
 2900  state and federal law and follow good business practices.
 2901  Pursuant to s. 11.45, the Auditor General may provide technical
 2902  advice in the development of the financial guidelines.
 2903         (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
 2904  community-based care lead agency may make expenditures for staff
 2905  cellular telephone allowances, contracts requiring deferred
 2906  payments and maintenance agreements, security deposits for
 2907  office leases, related agency professional membership dues other
 2908  than personal professional membership dues, promotional
 2909  materials, and grant writing services. Expenditures for food and
 2910  refreshments, other than those provided to clients in the care
 2911  of the agency or to foster parents, adoptive parents, and
 2912  caseworkers during training sessions, are not allowable.
 2913         (3) A lead community-based care agency and its
 2914  subcontractors are exempt from state travel policies as provided
 2915  in s. 112.061(3)(a) for their travel expenses incurred in order
 2916  to comply with the requirements of this section.
 2917         Section 36. Section 409.993, Florida Statutes, is created
 2918  to read:
 2919         409.993 Lead agencies and subcontractor liability.—
 2920         (1) FINDINGS.—
 2921         (a) The Legislature finds that the state has traditionally
 2922  provided foster care services to children who are the
 2923  responsibility of the state. As such, foster children have not
 2924  had the right to recover for injuries beyond the limitations
 2925  specified in s. 768.28. The Legislature has determined that
 2926  foster care and related services should be outsourced pursuant
 2927  to this section and that the provision of such services is of
 2928  paramount importance to the state. The purpose of such
 2929  outsourcing is to increase the level of safety, security, and
 2930  stability of children who are or become the responsibility of
 2931  the state. One of the components necessary to secure a safe and
 2932  stable environment for such children is the requirement that
 2933  private providers maintain liability insurance. As such,
 2934  insurance needs to be available and remain available to
 2935  nongovernmental foster care and related services providers
 2936  without the resources of such providers being significantly
 2937  reduced by the cost of maintaining such insurance.
 2938         (b) The Legislature further finds that, by requiring the
 2939  following minimum levels of insurance, children in outsourced
 2940  foster care and related services will gain increased protection
 2941  and rights of recovery in the event of injury than currently
 2942  provided in s. 768.28.
 2943         (2) LEAD AGENCY LIABILITY.—
 2944         (a) Other than an entity to which s. 768.28 applies, an
 2945  eligible community-based care lead agency, or its employees or
 2946  officers, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), shall,
 2947  as a part of its contract, obtain a minimum of $1 million per
 2948  occurrence with a policy period aggregate limit of $3 million in
 2949  general liability insurance coverage. The lead agency must also
 2950  require that staff who transport client children and families in
 2951  their personal automobiles in order to carry out their job
 2952  responsibilities obtain minimum bodily injury liability
 2953  insurance in the amount of $100,000 per person per any one
 2954  automobile accident, and subject to such limits for each person,
 2955  $300,000 for all damages resulting from any one automobile
 2956  accident, on their personal automobiles. In lieu of personal
 2957  motor vehicle insurance, the lead agency’s casualty, liability,
 2958  or motor vehicle insurance carrier may provide nonowned
 2959  automobile liability coverage. This insurance provides liability
 2960  insurance for an automobile that the lead agency uses in
 2961  connection with the lead agency’s business but does not own,
 2962  lease, rent, or borrow. This coverage includes an automobile
 2963  owned by an employee of the lead agency or a member of the
 2964  employee’s household but only while the automobile is used in
 2965  connection with the lead agency’s business. The nonowned
 2966  automobile coverage for the lead agency applies as excess
 2967  coverage over any other collectible insurance. The personal
 2968  automobile policy for the employee of the lead agency shall be
 2969  primary insurance, and the nonowned automobile coverage of the
 2970  lead agency acts as excess insurance to the primary insurance.
 2971  The lead agency shall provide a minimum limit of $1 million in
 2972  nonowned automobile coverage. In a tort action brought against
 2973  such a lead agency or employee, net economic damages shall be
 2974  limited to $2 million per liability claim and $200,000 per
 2975  automobile claim, including, but not limited to, past and future
 2976  medical expenses, wage loss, and loss of earning capacity,
 2977  offset by any collateral source payment paid or payable. In any
 2978  tort action brought against a lead agency, noneconomic damages
 2979  shall be limited to $400,000 per claim. A claims bill may be
 2980  brought on behalf of a claimant pursuant to s. 768.28 for any
 2981  amount exceeding the limits specified in this paragraph. Any
 2982  offset of collateral source payments made as of the date of the
 2983  settlement or judgment shall be in accordance with s. 768.76.
 2984  The lead agency is not liable in tort for the acts or omissions
 2985  of its subcontractors or the officers, agents, or employees of
 2986  its subcontractors.
 2987         (b) The liability of a lead agency described in this
 2988  section shall be exclusive and in place of all other liability
 2989  of such lead agency. The same immunities from liability enjoyed
 2990  by such lead agencies shall extend to each employee of the lead
 2991  agency if he or she is acting in furtherance of the lead
 2992  agency’s business, including the transportation of clients
 2993  served, as described in this subsection, in privately owned
 2994  vehicles. Such immunities are not applicable to a lead agency or
 2995  an employee who acts in a culpably negligent manner or with
 2996  willful and wanton disregard or unprovoked physical aggression
 2997  if such acts result in injury or death or such acts proximately
 2998  cause such injury or death. Such immunities are not applicable
 2999  to employees of the same lead agency when each is operating in
 3000  the furtherance of the agency’s business, but they are assigned
 3001  primarily to unrelated work within private or public employment.
 3002  The same immunity provisions enjoyed by a lead agency also apply
 3003  to any sole proprietor, partner, corporate officer or director,
 3004  supervisor, or other person who, in the course and scope of his
 3005  or her duties, acts in a managerial or policymaking capacity and
 3006  the conduct that caused the alleged injury arose within the
 3007  course and scope of those managerial or policymaking duties. As
 3008  used in this subsection and subsection (3), the term “culpably
 3009  negligent manner” means reckless indifference or grossly
 3010  careless disregard of human life.
 3011         (3) SUBCONTRACTOR LIABILITY.—
 3012         (a) A subcontractor of an eligible community-based care
 3013  lead agency that is a direct provider of foster care and related
 3014  services to children and families, and its employees or
 3015  officers, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), must,
 3016  as a part of its contract, obtain a minimum of $1 million per
 3017  occurrence with a policy period aggregate limit of $3 million in
 3018  general liability insurance coverage. The subcontractor of a
 3019  lead agency must also require that staff who transport client
 3020  children and families in their personal automobiles in order to
 3021  carry out their job responsibilities obtain minimum bodily
 3022  injury liability insurance in the amount of $100,000 per person
 3023  in any one automobile accident, and subject to such limits for
 3024  each person, $300,000 for all damages resulting from any one
 3025  automobile accident, on their personal automobiles. In lieu of
 3026  personal motor vehicle insurance, the subcontractor’s casualty,
 3027  liability, or motor vehicle insurance carrier may provide
 3028  nonowned automobile liability coverage. This insurance provides
 3029  liability insurance for automobiles that the subcontractor uses
 3030  in connection with the subcontractor’s business but does not
 3031  own, lease, rent, or borrow. This coverage includes automobiles
 3032  owned by the employees of the subcontractor or a member of the
 3033  employee’s household but only while the automobiles are used in
 3034  connection with the subcontractor’s business. The nonowned
 3035  automobile coverage for the subcontractor applies as excess
 3036  coverage over any other collectible insurance. The personal
 3037  automobile policy for the employee of the subcontractor shall be
 3038  primary insurance, and the nonowned automobile coverage of the
 3039  subcontractor acts as excess insurance to the primary insurance.
 3040  The subcontractor shall provide a minimum limit of $1 million in
 3041  nonowned automobile coverage. In a tort action brought against
 3042  such subcontractor or employee, net economic damages shall be
 3043  limited to $2 million per liability claim and $200,000 per
 3044  automobile claim, including, but not limited to, past and future
 3045  medical expenses, wage loss, and loss of earning capacity,
 3046  offset by any collateral source payment paid or payable. In a
 3047  tort action brought against such subcontractor, noneconomic
 3048  damages shall be limited to $400,000 per claim. A claims bill
 3049  may be brought on behalf of a claimant pursuant to s. 768.28 for
 3050  any amount exceeding the limits specified in this paragraph. Any
 3051  offset of collateral source payments made as of the date of the
 3052  settlement or judgment shall be in accordance with s. 768.76.
 3053         (b) The liability of a subcontractor of a lead agency that
 3054  is a direct provider of foster care and related services as
 3055  described in this section is exclusive and in place of all other
 3056  liability of such provider. The same immunities from liability
 3057  enjoyed by such subcontractor provider extend to each employee
 3058  of the subcontractor when such employee is acting in furtherance
 3059  of the subcontractor’s business, including the transportation of
 3060  clients served, as described in this subsection, in privately
 3061  owned vehicles. Such immunities are not applicable to a
 3062  subcontractor or an employee who acts in a culpably negligent
 3063  manner or with willful and wanton disregard or unprovoked
 3064  physical aggression if such acts result in injury or death or if
 3065  such acts proximately cause such injury or death. Such
 3066  immunities are not applicable to employees of the same
 3067  subcontractor who are operating in the furtherance of the
 3068  subcontractor’s business but are assigned primarily to unrelated
 3069  works within private or public employment. The same immunity
 3070  provisions enjoyed by a subcontractor also apply to any sole
 3071  proprietor, partner, corporate officer or director, supervisor,
 3072  or other person who, in the course and scope of his or her
 3073  duties, acts in a managerial or policymaking capacity and the
 3074  conduct that caused the alleged injury arose within the course
 3075  and scope of those managerial or policymaking duties.
 3076         (4) LIMITATIONS ON DAMAGES.—The Legislature is cognizant of
 3077  the increasing costs of goods and services each year and
 3078  recognizes that fixing a set amount of compensation has the
 3079  effect of a reduction in compensation each year. Accordingly,
 3080  the conditional limitations on damages in this section shall be
 3081  increased at the rate of 5 percent each year, prorated from July
 3082  1, 2014, to the date at which damages subject to such
 3083  limitations are awarded by final judgment or settlement.
 3084         Section 37. Section 409.1675, Florida Statutes, is
 3085  transferred, renumbered as section 409.994, Florida Statutes,
 3086  and amended to read:
 3087         409.994 409.1675Lead Community-based care lead agencies
 3088  providers; receivership.—
 3089         (1) The Department of Children and Families Family Services
 3090  may petition a court of competent jurisdiction for the
 3091  appointment of a receiver for a lead community-based care lead
 3092  agency provider established pursuant to s. 409.987 if s.
 3093  409.1671 when any of the following conditions exist:
 3094         (a) The lead agency community-based provider is operating
 3095  without a license as a child-placing agency.
 3096         (b) The lead agency community-based provider has given less
 3097  than 120 days’ notice of its intent to cease operations, and
 3098  arrangements have not been made for another lead agency
 3099  community-based provider or for the department to continue the
 3100  uninterrupted provision of services.
 3101         (c) The department determines that conditions exist in the
 3102  lead agency community-based provider which present an imminent
 3103  danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the dependent
 3104  children under that agency’s provider’s care or supervision.
 3105  Whenever possible, the department shall make a reasonable effort
 3106  to facilitate the continued operation of the program.
 3107         (d) The lead agency community-based provider cannot meet
 3108  its current financial obligations to its employees, contractors,
 3109  or foster parents. Issuance of bad checks or the existence of
 3110  delinquent obligations for payment of salaries, utilities, or
 3111  invoices for essential services or commodities shall constitute
 3112  prima facie evidence that the lead agency community-based
 3113  provider lacks the financial ability to meet its financial
 3114  obligations.
 3115         (2)(a) The petition for receivership shall take precedence
 3116  over other court business unless the court determines that some
 3117  other pending proceeding, having statutory precedence, has
 3118  priority.
 3119         (b) A hearing shall be conducted within 5 days after the
 3120  filing of the petition, at which time interested parties shall
 3121  have the opportunity to present evidence as to whether a
 3122  receiver should be appointed. The department shall give
 3123  reasonable notice of the hearing on the petition to the lead
 3124  agency community-based provider.
 3125         (c) The court shall grant the petition upon finding that
 3126  one or more of the conditions in subsection (1) exists and the
 3127  continued existence of the condition or conditions jeopardizes
 3128  the health, safety, or welfare of dependent children. A receiver
 3129  may be appointed ex parte when the court determines that one or
 3130  more of the conditions in subsection (1) exists. After such
 3131  finding, the court may appoint any person, including an employee
 3132  of the department who is qualified by education, training, or
 3133  experience to carry out the duties of the receiver pursuant to
 3134  this section, except that the court may shall not appoint any
 3135  member of the governing board or any officer of the lead agency
 3136  community-based provider. The receiver may be selected from a
 3137  list of persons qualified to act as receivers which is developed
 3138  by the department and presented to the court with each petition
 3139  of receivership.
 3140         (d) A receiver may be appointed for up to 90 days, and the
 3141  department may petition the court for additional 30-day
 3142  extensions. Sixty days after appointment of a receiver and every
 3143  30 days thereafter until the receivership is terminated, the
 3144  department shall submit to the court an assessment of the lead
 3145  agency’s community-based provider’s ability to ensure the
 3146  health, safety, and welfare of the dependent children under its
 3147  supervision.
 3148         (3) The receiver shall take such steps as are reasonably
 3149  necessary to ensure the continued health, safety, and welfare of
 3150  the dependent children under the supervision of the lead agency
 3151  community-based provider and shall exercise those powers and
 3152  perform those duties set out by the court, including, but not
 3153  limited to:
 3154         (a) Taking such action as is reasonably necessary to
 3155  protect or conserve the assets or property of the lead agency
 3156  community-based provider. The receiver may use the assets and
 3157  property and any proceeds from any transfer thereof only in the
 3158  performance of the powers and duties provided set forth in this
 3159  section and by order of the court.
 3160         (b) Using the assets of the lead agency community-based
 3161  provider in the provision of care and services to dependent
 3162  children.
 3163         (c) Entering into contracts and hiring agents and employees
 3164  to carry out the powers and duties of the receiver under this
 3165  section.
 3166         (d) Having full power to direct, manage, hire, and
 3167  discharge employees of the lead agency community-based provider.
 3168  The receiver shall hire and pay new employees at the rate of
 3169  compensation, including benefits, approved by the court.
 3170         (e) Honoring all leases, mortgages, and contractual
 3171  obligations of the lead agency community-based provider, but
 3172  only to the extent of payments that become due during the period
 3173  of the receivership.
 3174         (4)(a) The receiver shall deposit funds received in a
 3175  separate account and shall use this account for all
 3176  disbursements.
 3177         (b) A payment to the receiver of any sum owing to the lead
 3178  agency community-based provider shall discharge any obligation
 3179  to the provider to the extent of the payment.
 3180         (5) A receiver may petition the court for temporary relief
 3181  from obligations entered into by the lead agency community-based
 3182  provider if the rent, price, or rate of interest required to be
 3183  paid under the agreement was substantially in excess of a
 3184  reasonable rent, price, or rate of interest at the time the
 3185  contract was entered into, or if any material provision of the
 3186  agreement was unreasonable when compared to contracts negotiated
 3187  under similar conditions. Any relief in this form provided by
 3188  the court shall be limited to the life of the receivership,
 3189  unless otherwise determined by the court.
 3190         (6) The court shall set the compensation of the receiver,
 3191  which shall be considered a necessary expense of a receivership
 3192  and may grant to the receiver such other authority necessary to
 3193  ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the children served.
 3194         (7) A receiver may be held liable in a personal capacity
 3195  only for the receiver’s own gross negligence, intentional acts,
 3196  or breaches of fiduciary duty. This section may shall not be
 3197  interpreted to be a waiver of sovereign immunity should the
 3198  department be appointed receiver.
 3199         (8) If the receiver is not the department, the court may
 3200  require a receiver to post a bond to ensure the faithful
 3201  performance of these duties.
 3202         (9) The court may terminate a receivership when:
 3203         (a) The court determines that the receivership is no longer
 3204  necessary because the conditions that gave rise to the
 3205  receivership no longer exist; or
 3206         (b) The department has entered into a contract with a new
 3207  lead agency community-based provider pursuant to s. 409.987 s.
 3208  409.1671, and that contractor is ready and able to assume the
 3209  duties of the previous lead agency provider.
 3210         (10) Within 30 days after the termination, unless this time
 3211  period is extended by the court, the receiver shall give the
 3212  court a complete accounting of all property of which the
 3213  receiver has taken possession, of all funds collected and
 3214  disbursed, and of the expenses of the receivership.
 3215         (11) Nothing in This section does not shall be construed to
 3216  relieve any employee of the lead agency community-based provider
 3217  placed in receivership of any civil or criminal liability
 3218  incurred, or any duty imposed by law, by reason of acts or
 3219  omissions of the employee before prior to the appointment of a
 3220  receiver, and; nor shall anything contained in this section does
 3221  not be construed to suspend during the receivership any
 3222  obligation of the employee for payment of taxes or other
 3223  operating or maintenance expenses of the lead agency community
 3224  based provider or for the payment of mortgages or liens. The
 3225  lead agency community-based provider shall retain the right to
 3226  sell or mortgage any facility under receivership, subject to the
 3227  prior approval of the court that ordered the receivership.
 3228         Section 38. Section 409.996, Florida Statutes, is created
 3229  to read:
 3230         409.996 Duties of the Department of Children and Families.
 3231  The department shall contract for the delivery, administration,
 3232  or management of care for children in the child protection and
 3233  child welfare system. In doing so, the department retains
 3234  responsibility for the quality of contracted services and
 3235  programs and shall ensure that services are delivered in
 3236  accordance with applicable federal and state statutes and
 3237  regulations.
 3238         (1) The department shall enter into contracts with lead
 3239  agencies for the performance of the duties by the lead agencies
 3240  pursuant to s. 409.988. At a minimum, the contracts must:
 3241         (a) Provide for the services needed to accomplish the
 3242  duties established in s. 409.988 and provide information to the
 3243  department which is necessary to meet the requirements for a
 3244  quality assurance program pursuant to subsection (18) and the
 3245  child welfare results-oriented accountability system pursuant to
 3246  s. 409.997.
 3247         (b) Provide for graduated penalties for failure to comply
 3248  with contract terms. Such penalties may include financial
 3249  penalties, enhanced monitoring and reporting, corrective action
 3250  plans, and early termination of contracts or other appropriate
 3251  action to ensure contract compliance.
 3252         (c) Ensure that the lead agency shall furnish current and
 3253  accurate information on its activities in all cases in client
 3254  case records in the state’s statewide automated child welfare
 3255  information system.
 3256         (d) Specify the procedures to be used by the parties to
 3257  resolve differences in interpreting the contract or to resolve
 3258  disputes as to the adequacy of the parties’ compliance with
 3259  their respective obligations under the contract.
 3260         (2) The department must adopt written policies and
 3261  procedures for monitoring the contract for delivery of services
 3262  by lead agencies which must be posted on the department’s
 3263  website. These policies and procedures must, at a minimum,
 3264  address the evaluation of fiscal accountability and program
 3265  operations, including provider achievement of performance
 3266  standards, provider monitoring of subcontractors, and timely
 3267  followup of corrective actions for significant monitoring
 3268  findings related to providers and subcontractors. These policies
 3269  and procedures must also include provisions for reducing the
 3270  duplication of the department’s program monitoring activities
 3271  both internally and with other agencies, to the extent possible.
 3272  The department’s written procedures must ensure that the written
 3273  findings, conclusions, and recommendations from monitoring the
 3274  contract for services of lead agencies are communicated to the
 3275  director of the provider agency and the community alliance as
 3276  expeditiously as possible.
 3277         (3) The department shall receive federal and state funds as
 3278  appropriated for the operation of the child welfare system,
 3279  transmit these funds to the lead agencies as agreed to in the
 3280  contract, and provide information on its website of the
 3281  distribution of the federal funds. The department retains
 3282  responsibility for the appropriate spending of these funds. The
 3283  department shall monitor lead agencies to assess compliance with
 3284  the financial guidelines established pursuant to s. 409.992 and
 3285  other applicable state and federal laws.
 3286         (4) The department shall provide technical assistance and
 3287  consultation to lead agencies in the provision of care to
 3288  children in the child protection and child welfare system.
 3289         (5) The department retains the responsibility for the
 3290  review, approval or denial, and issuances of all foster home
 3291  licenses.
 3292         (6) The department shall process all applications submitted
 3293  by lead agencies for the Interstate Compact on the Placement of
 3294  Children and the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical
 3295  Assistance.
 3296         (7) The department shall assist lead agencies with access
 3297  to and coordination with other service programs within the
 3298  department.
 3299         (8) The department shall determine Medicaid eligibility for
 3300  all referred children and shall coordinate services with the
 3301  Agency for Health Care Administration.
 3302         (9) The department shall develop, in cooperation with the
 3303  lead agencies, a third-party credentialing entity approved
 3304  pursuant to s. 402.40(3), and the Florida Institute for Child
 3305  Welfare established pursuant to s. 1004.615, a standardized
 3306  competency-based curriculum for certification training for child
 3307  protection staff.
 3308         (10) The department shall maintain the statewide adoptions
 3309  website and provide information and training to the lead
 3310  agencies relating to the website.
 3311         (11) The department shall provide training and assistance
 3312  to lead agencies regarding the responsibility of lead agencies
 3313  relating to children receiving supplemental security income,
 3314  social security, railroad retirement, or veterans’ benefits.
 3315         (12) With the assistance of a lead agency, the department
 3316  shall develop and implement statewide and local interagency
 3317  agreements needed to coordinate services for children and
 3318  parents involved in the child welfare system who are also
 3319  involved with the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the
 3320  Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Education, the
 3321  Department of Health, and other governmental organizations that
 3322  share responsibilities for children or parents in the child
 3323  welfare system.
 3324         (13) With the assistance of a lead agency, the department
 3325  shall develop and implement a working agreement between the lead
 3326  agency and the substance abuse and mental health managing entity
 3327  to integrate services and supports for children and parents
 3328  serviced in the child welfare system.
 3329         (14) The department shall work with the Agency for Health
 3330  Care Administration to provide each Medicaid-eligible child with
 3331  early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment,
 3332  including 72-hour screening, periodic child health checkups, and
 3333  prescribed followup for ordered services, including, but not
 3334  limited to, medical, dental, and vision care.
 3335         (15) The department shall assist lead agencies in
 3336  developing an array of services in compliance with the Title IV
 3337  E waiver and shall monitor the provision of such services.
 3338         (16) The department shall provide a mechanism to allow lead
 3339  agencies to request a waiver of department policies and
 3340  procedures that create inefficiencies or inhibit the performance
 3341  of the lead agency’s duties.
 3342         (17) The department shall directly or through contract
 3343  provide attorneys to prepare and present cases in dependency
 3344  court and shall ensure that the court is provided with adequate
 3345  information for informed decisionmaking in dependency cases,
 3346  including a face sheet for each case which lists the names and
 3347  contact information for any child protective investigator, child
 3348  protective investigation supervisor, case manager, and case
 3349  manager supervisor, and the regional department official
 3350  responsible for the lead agency contract. The department shall
 3351  provide to the court the case information and recommendations
 3352  provided by the lead agency or subcontractor. For the Sixth
 3353  Judicial Circuit, the department shall contract with the state
 3354  attorney for the provision of these services.
 3355         (18) The department, in consultation with lead agencies,
 3356  shall establish a quality assurance program for contracted
 3357  services to dependent children. The quality assurance program
 3358  shall be based on standards established by federal and state law
 3359  and national accrediting organizations.
 3360         (a) The department must evaluate each lead agency under
 3361  contract at least annually. These evaluations shall cover the
 3362  programmatic, operational, and fiscal operations of the lead
 3363  agency and must be consistent with the child welfare results
 3364  oriented accountability system required by s. 409.997. The
 3365  department must consult with dependency judges in the circuit or
 3366  circuits served by the lead agency on the performance of the
 3367  lead agency.
 3368         (b) The department and each lead agency shall monitor out
 3369  of-home placements, including the extent to which sibling groups
 3370  are placed together or provisions to provide visitation and
 3371  other contacts if siblings are separated. The data shall
 3372  identify reasons for sibling separation. Information related to
 3373  sibling placement shall be incorporated into the results
 3374  oriented accountability system required pursuant to s. 409.997
 3375  and in the evaluation of the outcome specified in s.
 3376  409.986(2)(e). The information related to sibling placement
 3377  shall also be made available to the institute established
 3378  pursuant s. 1004.615 for use in assessing the performance of
 3379  child welfare services in relation to the outcome specified in
 3380  s. 409.986(2)(e).
 3381         (c)The department shall, to the extent possible, use
 3382  independent financial audits provided by the lead agency to
 3383  eliminate or reduce the ongoing contract and administrative
 3384  reviews conducted by the department. If the department
 3385  determines that such independent financial audits are
 3386  inadequate, other audits, as necessary, may be conducted by the
 3387  department. This paragraph does not abrogate the requirements of
 3388  s. 215.97.
 3389         (d) The department may suggest additional items to be
 3390  included in such independent financial audits to meet the
 3391  department’s needs.
 3392         (e) The department may outsource programmatic,
 3393  administrative, or fiscal monitoring oversight of lead agencies.
 3394         (f) A lead agency must assure that all subcontractors are
 3395  subject to the same quality assurance activities as the lead
 3396  agency.
 3397         (19) The department and its attorneys have the
 3398  responsibility to ensure that the court is fully informed about
 3399  issues before it, to make recommendations to the court, and to
 3400  present competent evidence, including testimony by the
 3401  department’s employees, contractors, and subcontractors, as well
 3402  as other individuals, to support all recommendations made to the
 3403  court. The department’s attorneys shall coordinate lead agency
 3404  or subcontractor staff to ensure that dependency cases are
 3405  presented appropriately to the court, giving consideration to
 3406  the information developed by the case manager and direction to
 3407  the case manager if more information is needed.
 3408         (20) The department, in consultation with lead agencies,
 3409  shall develop a dispute resolution process so that disagreements
 3410  between legal staff, investigators, and case management staff
 3411  can be resolved in the best interest of the child in question
 3412  before court appearances regarding that child.
 3413         (21) The department shall periodically, and before
 3414  procuring a lead agency, solicit comments and recommendations
 3415  from the community alliance established in s. 20.19(5), any
 3416  other community groups, or public hearings. The recommendations
 3417  must include, but are not limited to:
 3418         (a) The current and past performance of a lead agency.
 3419         (b) The relationship between a lead agency and its
 3420  community partners.
 3421         (c) Any local conditions or service needs in child
 3422  protection and child welfare.
 3423         Section 39. Effective January 1, 2015, section 409.997,
 3424  Florida Statutes, is created to read:
 3425         409.997 Child welfare results-oriented accountability
 3426  system.—
 3427         (1) The department, the community-based care lead agencies,
 3428  and the lead agencies’ subcontractors share the responsibility
 3429  for achieving the outcome goals specified in s. 409.986(2).
 3430         (2) In order to assess the achievement of the outcome goals
 3431  specified in s. 409.986(2), the department shall maintain a
 3432  comprehensive, results-oriented accountability system that
 3433  monitors the use of resources, the quality and amount of
 3434  services provided, and child and family outcomes through data
 3435  analysis, research review, evaluation, and quality improvement.
 3436  The system shall provide information about individual entities’
 3437  performance as well as the performance of groups of entities
 3438  working together as an integrated system of care on a local,
 3439  regional, and statewide basis. The department shall issue a
 3440  request for information for the accountability system to
 3441  identify system development and implementation approaches,
 3442  technical and operational solutions, timeframes for
 3443  implementation, pricing and costs, and implementation
 3444  considerations; assess respondents’ experience in providing
 3445  similar systems and interest in providing the accountability
 3446  system; and generate any other information determined by the
 3447  department to be useful in establishing the system. The
 3448  department shall provide a report to the Governor, the President
 3449  of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
 3450  by February 1, 2015, summarizing the responses and providing the
 3451  department’s recommendations regarding procurement and
 3452  implementation of the system. In maintaining the accountability
 3453  system, the department shall:
 3454         (a) Identify valid and reliable outcome measures for each
 3455  of the goals specified in this subsection. The outcome data set
 3456  must consist of a limited number of understandable measures
 3457  using available data to quantify outcomes as children move
 3458  through the system of care. Such measures may aggregate multiple
 3459  variables that affect the overall achievement of the outcome
 3460  goals. Valid and reliable measures must be based on adequate
 3461  sample sizes, be gathered over suitable time periods, and
 3462  reflect authentic rather than spurious results, and may not be
 3463  susceptible to manipulation.
 3464         (b) Implement a monitoring system to track the identified
 3465  outcome measures on a statewide, regional, and provider-specific
 3466  basis. The monitoring system must identify trends and chart
 3467  progress toward achievement of the goals specified s.
 3468  409.986(2). The requirements of the monitoring system may be
 3469  incorporated into the quality assurance program required under
 3470  s. 409.996(18). The monitoring system shall track the placement
 3471  of siblings in the child welfare system, including the extent to
 3472  which siblings are placed together and, if the siblings are not
 3473  placed together, the efforts to maintain the relationship
 3474  between siblings through face-to-face visitation and written and
 3475  electronic contact.
 3476         (c) Develop and maintain an analytical system that builds
 3477  on the outcomes monitoring system to assess the statistical
 3478  validity of observed associations between child welfare
 3479  interventions and the measured outcomes. The analysis must use
 3480  quantitative methods to adjust for variations in demographic or
 3481  other conditions. The analysis must include longitudinal studies
 3482  to evaluate longer-term outcomes such as continued safety,
 3483  family permanence, and transition to self-sufficiency. The
 3484  analysis may also include qualitative research methods to
 3485  provide insight into statistical patterns.
 3486         (d) Develop and maintain a program of research review to
 3487  identify interventions that are supported by evidence as
 3488  causally linked to improved outcomes.
 3489         (e) Support an ongoing process of evaluation to determine
 3490  the efficacy and effectiveness of various interventions.
 3491  Efficacy evaluation is intended to determine the validity of a
 3492  causal relationship between an intervention and an outcome.
 3493  Effectiveness evaluation is intended to determine the extent to
 3494  which the results can be generalized.
 3495         (f) Develop and maintain an inclusive, interactive, and
 3496  evidence-supported program of quality improvement which promotes
 3497  individual skill building as well as organizational learning.
 3498         (g) Develop and implement a method for making the results
 3499  of the accountability system transparent for all parties
 3500  involved in the child welfare system as well as policymakers and
 3501  the public. The presentation of the results shall provide a
 3502  comprehensible, visual report card for the state and each
 3503  community-based care region, indicating the current status
 3504  relative to each goal and trends in that status over time. The
 3505  presentation shall identify and report outcome measures that
 3506  assess the performance of the department, the community-based
 3507  care lead agency, and the lead agency’s subcontractors working
 3508  together as an integrated system of care.
 3509         (3) The department shall establish a technical advisory
 3510  panel consisting of representatives from the Florida Institute
 3511  for Child Welfare established in s. 1004.615, lead agencies,
 3512  community-based care providers, other contract providers,
 3513  community alliances, and family representatives. The President
 3514  of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
 3515  shall each appoint a member to serve as a legislative liaison to
 3516  the panel. The technical advisory panel shall advise the
 3517  department on meeting the requirements of this section.
 3518         (4) The accountability system may not rank or compare
 3519  performance among community-based care regions unless adequate
 3520  and specific adjustments are adopted that account for the
 3521  diversity in regions’ demographics, resources, and other
 3522  relevant characteristics.
 3523         (5) The results of the accountability system must provide
 3524  the basis for performance incentives if funds for such payments
 3525  are made available through the General Appropriations Act.
 3526         (6) At least quarterly, the department shall make the
 3527  results of the accountability system available to the public
 3528  through publication on its website. The website must allow for
 3529  custom searches of the performance data.
 3530         (7) By October 1 of each year, the department shall submit
 3531  a report on the statewide and individual community-based care
 3532  lead agency results for child protection and child welfare
 3533  systems. The department shall use the accountability system and
 3534  consult with the community alliance and the chief judge or
 3535  judges in the community-based care service area to prepare the
 3536  report. The report shall be submitted to the Governor, the
 3537  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
 3538  Representatives.
 3539         Section 40. Section 827.10, Florida Statutes, is created to
 3540  read:
 3541         827.10 Unlawful desertion of a child.—
 3542         (1) As used in this section, the term:
 3543         (a) “Care” means support and services necessary to maintain
 3544  the child’s physical and mental health, including, but not
 3545  limited to, food, nutrition, clothing, shelter, supervision,
 3546  medicine, and medical services that a prudent person would
 3547  consider essential for the well-being of the child.
 3548         (b) “Caregiver” has the same meaning as provided in s.
 3549  39.01.
 3550         (c) “Child” means a child for whose care the caregiver is
 3551  legally responsible.
 3552         (d) “Desertion” or “deserts” means to leave a child in a
 3553  place or with a person other than a relative with the intent not
 3554  to return to the child and with the intent not to provide for
 3555  the care of the child.
 3556         (e) “Relative” has the same meaning as provided in s.
 3557  39.01.
 3558         (2) A caregiver who deserts a child under circumstances in
 3559  which the caregiver knew or should have known that the desertion
 3560  exposes the child to unreasonable risk of harm commits a felony
 3561  of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
 3562  775.083, or s. 775.084.
 3563         (3) This section does not apply to a person who surrenders
 3564  a newborn infant in compliance with s. 383.50.
 3565         (4) This section does not preclude prosecution for a
 3566  criminal act under any other law, including, but not limited to,
 3567  prosecution of child abuse or neglect of a child under s.
 3568  827.03.
 3569         Section 41. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section
 3570  985.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 3571         985.04 Oaths; records; confidential information.—
 3572         (4)
 3573         (d) The department shall disclose to the school
 3574  superintendent the presence of any child in the care and custody
 3575  or under the jurisdiction or supervision of the department who
 3576  has a known history of criminal sexual behavior with other
 3577  juveniles; is an alleged to have committed juvenile sexual abuse
 3578  offender, as defined in s. 39.01; or has pled guilty or nolo
 3579  contendere to, or has been found to have committed, a violation
 3580  of chapter 794, chapter 796, chapter 800, s. 827.071, or s.
 3581  847.0133, regardless of adjudication. Any employee of a district
 3582  school board who knowingly and willfully discloses such
 3583  information to an unauthorized person commits a misdemeanor of
 3584  the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
 3585  775.083.
 3586         Section 42. Section 1004.615, Florida Statutes, is created
 3587  to read:
 3588         1004.615 Florida Institute for Child Welfare.—
 3589         (1) There is established the Florida Institute for Child
 3590  Welfare within the Florida State University College of Social
 3591  Work. The purpose of the institute is to advance the well-being
 3592  of children and families by improving the performance of child
 3593  protection and child welfare services through research, policy
 3594  analysis, evaluation, and leadership development. The institute
 3595  shall consist of a consortium of public and private universities
 3596  offering degrees in social work and shall be housed within the
 3597  Florida State University College of Social Work.
 3598         (2) Using such resources as authorized in the General
 3599  Appropriations Act, the Department of Children and Families
 3600  shall contract with the institute for performance of the duties
 3601  described in subsection (4) using state appropriations, public
 3602  and private grants, and other resources obtained by the
 3603  institute.
 3604         (3) The institute shall work with the department, sheriffs
 3605  providing child protective investigative services, community
 3606  based care lead agencies, community-based care provider
 3607  organizations, the court system, the Department of Juvenile
 3608  Justice, the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and
 3609  other partners who contribute to and participate in providing
 3610  child protection and child welfare services.
 3611         (4) The institute shall:
 3612         (a) Maintain a program of research which contributes to
 3613  scientific knowledge and informs both policy and practice
 3614  related to child safety, permanency, and child and family well
 3615  being.
 3616         (b) Advise the department and other organizations
 3617  participating in the child protection and child welfare system
 3618  regarding scientific evidence on policy and practice related to
 3619  child safety, permanency, and child and family well-being.
 3620         (c) Provide advice regarding management practices and
 3621  administrative processes used by the department and other
 3622  organizations participating in the child protection and child
 3623  welfare system and recommend improvements that reduce
 3624  burdensome, ineffective requirements for frontline staff and
 3625  their supervisors while enhancing their ability to effectively
 3626  investigate, analyze, problem solve, and supervise.
 3627         (d) Assess the performance of child protection and child
 3628  welfare services based on specific outcome measures.
 3629         (e) Evaluate the scope and effectiveness of preservice and
 3630  inservice training for child protection and child welfare
 3631  employees and advise and assist the department in efforts to
 3632  improve such training.
 3633         (f) Assess the readiness of social work graduates to assume
 3634  job responsibilities in the child protection and child welfare
 3635  system and identify gaps in education which can be addressed
 3636  through the modification of curricula or the establishment of
 3637  industry certifications.
 3638         (g) Develop and maintain a program of professional support
 3639  including training courses and consulting services that assist
 3640  both individuals and organizations in implementing adaptive and
 3641  resilient responses to workplace stress.
 3642         (h) Participate in the department’s critical incident
 3643  response team, assist in the preparation of reports about such
 3644  incidents, and support the committee review of reports and
 3645  development of recommendations.
 3646         (i) Identify effective policies and promising practices,
 3647  including, but not limited to, innovations in coordination
 3648  between entities participating in the child protection and child
 3649  welfare system, data analytics, working with the local
 3650  community, and management of human service organizations, and
 3651  communicate these findings to the department and other
 3652  organizations participating in the child protection and child
 3653  welfare system.
 3654         (j) Develop a definition of a child or family at high risk
 3655  of abuse or neglect. Such a definition must consider
 3656  characteristics associated with a greater probability of abuse
 3657  and neglect.
 3658         (5) The President of the Florida State University shall
 3659  appoint a director of the institute. The director must be a
 3660  child welfare professional with a degree in social work who
 3661  holds a faculty appointment in the Florida State University
 3662  College of Social Work. The institute shall be administered by
 3663  the director, and the director’s office shall be located at the
 3664  Florida State University. The director is responsible for
 3665  overall management of the institute and for developing and
 3666  executing the work of the institute consistent with the
 3667  responsibilities in subsection (4). The director shall engage
 3668  individuals in other state universities with accredited colleges
 3669  of social work to participate in the institute. Individuals from
 3670  other university programs relevant to the institute’s work,
 3671  including, but not limited to, economics, management, law,
 3672  medicine, and education, may also be invited by the director to
 3673  contribute to the institute. The universities participating in
 3674  the institute shall provide facilities, staff, and other
 3675  resources to the institute to establish statewide access to
 3676  institute programs and services.
 3677         (6) By October 1 of each year, the institute shall provide
 3678  a written report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
 3679  and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which outlines
 3680  its activities in the preceding year, reports significant
 3681  research findings, as well as results of other programs, and
 3682  provides specific recommendations for improving child protection
 3683  and child welfare services.
 3684         (a) The institute shall include an evaluation of the
 3685  results of the educational and training requirements for child
 3686  protection and child welfare personnel established under this
 3687  act and recommendations for application of the results to child
 3688  protection personnel employed by sheriff’s offices providing
 3689  child protection services in its report due October 1, 2017.
 3690         (b) The institute shall include an evaluation of the
 3691  effects of the other provisions of this act and recommendations
 3692  for improvements in child protection and child welfare services
 3693  in its report due October 1, 2018.
 3694         (7)The institute shall submit a report with
 3695  recommendations for improving the state’s child welfare system.
 3696  The report shall address topics including, but not limited to,
 3697  enhancing working relationships between the entities involved in
 3698  the child protection and child welfare system, identification of
 3699  and replication of best practices, reducing paperwork,
 3700  increasing the retention of child protective investigators and
 3701  case managers, and caring for medically complex children within
 3702  the child welfare system, with the goal of allowing the child to
 3703  remain in the least restrictive and most nurturing environment.
 3704  The institute shall submit an interim report by February 1,
 3705  2015, and final report by October 1, 2015, to the Governor, the
 3706  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
 3707  Representatives.
 3708         Section 43. Paragraph (h) is added to subsection (1) of
 3709  section 1009.25, Florida Statutes, to read:
 3710         1009.25 Fee exemptions.—
 3711         (1) The following students are exempt from the payment of
 3712  tuition and fees, including lab fees, at a school district that
 3713  provides workforce education programs, Florida College System
 3714  institution, or state university:
 3715         (h) Pursuant to s. 402.403, child protection and child
 3716  welfare personnel as defined in s. 402.402 who are enrolled in
 3717  an accredited bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in social
 3718  work program, provided that the student attains at least a grade
 3719  of “B” in all courses for which tuition and fees are exempted.
 3720         Section 44. Section 402.401, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
 3721         Section 45. Section 409.1671, Florida Statutes, is
 3722  repealed.
 3723         Section 46. Section 409.16715, Florida Statutes, is
 3724  repealed.
 3725         Section 47. Section 409.16745, Florida Statutes, is
 3726  repealed.
 3727         Section 48. Section 1004.61, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
 3728         Section 49. Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of section
 3729  39.201, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 3730         39.201 Mandatory reports of child abuse, abandonment, or
 3731  neglect; mandatory reports of death; central abuse hotline.—
 3732         (1)
 3733         (g) Nothing in this chapter or in the contracting with
 3734  community-based care providers for foster care and related
 3735  services as specified in s. 409.987 s. 409.1671 shall be
 3736  construed to remove or reduce the duty and responsibility of any
 3737  person, including any employee of the community-based care
 3738  provider, to report a suspected or actual case of child abuse,
 3739  abandonment, or neglect or the sexual abuse of a child to the
 3740  department’s central abuse hotline.
 3741         Section 50. Subsection (1) of section 39.302, Florida
 3742  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3743         39.302 Protective investigations of institutional child
 3744  abuse, abandonment, or neglect.—
 3745         (1) The department shall conduct a child protective
 3746  investigation of each report of institutional child abuse,
 3747  abandonment, or neglect. Upon receipt of a report that alleges
 3748  that an employee or agent of the department, or any other entity
 3749  or person covered by s. 39.01(32) s. 39.01(33) or (47), acting
 3750  in an official capacity, has committed an act of child abuse,
 3751  abandonment, or neglect, the department shall initiate a child
 3752  protective investigation within the timeframe established under
 3753  s. 39.201(5) and notify the appropriate state attorney, law
 3754  enforcement agency, and licensing agency, which shall
 3755  immediately conduct a joint investigation, unless independent
 3756  investigations are more feasible. When conducting investigations
 3757  or having face-to-face interviews with the child, investigation
 3758  visits shall be unannounced unless it is determined by the
 3759  department or its agent that unannounced visits threaten the
 3760  safety of the child. If a facility is exempt from licensing, the
 3761  department shall inform the owner or operator of the facility of
 3762  the report. Each agency conducting a joint investigation is
 3763  entitled to full access to the information gathered by the
 3764  department in the course of the investigation. A protective
 3765  investigation must include an interview with the child’s parent
 3766  or legal guardian. The department shall make a full written
 3767  report to the state attorney within 3 working days after making
 3768  the oral report. A criminal investigation shall be coordinated,
 3769  whenever possible, with the child protective investigation of
 3770  the department. Any interested person who has information
 3771  regarding the offenses described in this subsection may forward
 3772  a statement to the state attorney as to whether prosecution is
 3773  warranted and appropriate. Within 15 days after the completion
 3774  of the investigation, the state attorney shall report the
 3775  findings to the department and shall include in the report a
 3776  determination of whether or not prosecution is justified and
 3777  appropriate in view of the circumstances of the specific case.
 3778         Section 51. Subsection (1) of section 39.524, Florida
 3779  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3780         39.524 Safe-harbor placement.—
 3781         (1) Except as provided in s. 39.407 or s. 985.801, a
 3782  dependent child 6 years of age or older who has been found to be
 3783  a victim of sexual exploitation as defined in s. 39.01(68)(g) s.
 3784  39.01(67)(g) must be assessed for placement in a safe house as
 3785  provided in s. 409.1678. The assessment shall be conducted by
 3786  the department or its agent and shall incorporate and address
 3787  current and historical information from any law enforcement
 3788  reports; psychological testing or evaluation that has occurred;
 3789  current and historical information from the guardian ad litem,
 3790  if one has been assigned; current and historical information
 3791  from any current therapist, teacher, or other professional who
 3792  has knowledge of the child and has worked with the child; and
 3793  any other information concerning the availability and
 3794  suitability of safe-house placement. If such placement is
 3795  determined to be appropriate as a result of this assessment, the
 3796  child may be placed in a safe house, if one is available. As
 3797  used in this section, the term “available” as it relates to a
 3798  placement means a placement that is located within the circuit
 3799  or otherwise reasonably accessible.
 3800         Section 52. Subsection (6) of section 316.613, Florida
 3801  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3802         316.613 Child restraint requirements.—
 3803         (6) The child restraint requirements imposed by this
 3804  section do not apply to a chauffeur-driven taxi, limousine,
 3805  sedan, van, bus, motor coach, or other passenger vehicle if the
 3806  operator and the motor vehicle are hired and used for the
 3807  transportation of persons for compensation. It is the obligation
 3808  and responsibility of the parent, guardian, or other person
 3809  responsible for a child’s welfare, as defined in s. 39.01(47),
 3810  to comply with the requirements of this section.
 3811         Section 53. Subsections (1), (3), and (5) of section
 3812  409.1676, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 3813         409.1676 Comprehensive residential group care services to
 3814  children who have extraordinary needs.—
 3815         (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide
 3816  comprehensive residential group care services, including
 3817  residential care, case management, and other services, to
 3818  children in the child protection system who have extraordinary
 3819  needs. These services are to be provided in a residential group
 3820  care setting by a not-for-profit corporation or a local
 3821  government entity under a contract with the Department of
 3822  Children and Families Family Services or by a lead agency as
 3823  described in s. 409.987 s. 409.1671. These contracts should be
 3824  designed to provide an identified number of children with access
 3825  to a full array of services for a fixed price. Further, it is
 3826  the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Children
 3827  and Families Family Services and the Department of Juvenile
 3828  Justice establish an interagency agreement by December 1, 2002,
 3829  which describes respective agency responsibilities for referral,
 3830  placement, service provision, and service coordination for
 3831  dependent and delinquent youth who are referred to these
 3832  residential group care facilities. The agreement must require
 3833  interagency collaboration in the development of terms,
 3834  conditions, and performance outcomes for residential group care
 3835  contracts serving the youth referred who have been adjudicated
 3836  both dependent and delinquent.
 3837         (3) The department, in accordance with a specific
 3838  appropriation for this program, shall contract with a not-for
 3839  profit corporation, a local government entity, or the lead
 3840  agency that has been established in accordance with s. 409.987
 3841  s. 409.1671 for the performance of residential group care
 3842  services described in this section. A lead agency that is
 3843  currently providing residential care may provide this service
 3844  directly with the approval of the local community alliance. The
 3845  department or a lead agency may contract for more than one site
 3846  in a county if that is determined to be the most effective way
 3847  to achieve the goals set forth in this section.
 3848         (5) The department may transfer all casework
 3849  responsibilities for children served under this program to the
 3850  entity that provides this service, including case management and
 3851  development and implementation of a case plan in accordance with
 3852  current standards for child protection services. When the
 3853  department establishes this program in a community that has a
 3854  lead agency as described in s. 409.987 s. 409.1671, the casework
 3855  responsibilities must be transferred to the lead agency.
 3856         Section 54. Subsection (2) of section 409.1677, Florida
 3857  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3858         409.1677 Model comprehensive residential services
 3859  programs.—
 3860         (2) The department shall establish a model comprehensive
 3861  residential services program in Manatee and Miami-Dade Counties
 3862  through a contract with the designated lead agency established
 3863  in accordance with s. 409.987 s. 409.1671 or with a private
 3864  entity capable of providing residential group care and home
 3865  based care and experienced in the delivery of a range of
 3866  services to foster children, if no lead agency exists. These
 3867  model programs are to serve that portion of eligible children
 3868  within each county which is specified in the contract, based on
 3869  funds appropriated, to include a full array of services for a
 3870  fixed price. The private entity or lead agency is responsible
 3871  for all programmatic functions necessary to carry out the intent
 3872  of this section.
 3873         Section 55. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section
 3874  409.1678, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 3875         409.1678 Safe harbor for children who are victims of sexual
 3876  exploitation.—
 3877         (1) As used in this section, the term:
 3878         (d) “Sexually exploited child” means a dependent child who
 3879  has suffered sexual exploitation as defined in s. 39.01(68)(g)
 3880  s. 39.01(67)(g) and is ineligible for relief and benefits under
 3881  the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act, 22 U.S.C. ss.
 3882  7101 et seq.
 3883         Section 56. Subsection (24) of section 409.906, Florida
 3884  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3885         409.906 Optional Medicaid services.—Subject to specific
 3886  appropriations, the agency may make payments for services which
 3887  are optional to the state under Title XIX of the Social Security
 3888  Act and are furnished by Medicaid providers to recipients who
 3889  are determined to be eligible on the dates on which the services
 3890  were provided. Any optional service that is provided shall be
 3891  provided only when medically necessary and in accordance with
 3892  state and federal law. Optional services rendered by providers
 3893  in mobile units to Medicaid recipients may be restricted or
 3894  prohibited by the agency. Nothing in this section shall be
 3895  construed to prevent or limit the agency from adjusting fees,
 3896  reimbursement rates, lengths of stay, number of visits, or
 3897  number of services, or making any other adjustments necessary to
 3898  comply with the availability of moneys and any limitations or
 3899  directions provided for in the General Appropriations Act or
 3900  chapter 216. If necessary to safeguard the state’s systems of
 3901  providing services to elderly and disabled persons and subject
 3902  to the notice and review provisions of s. 216.177, the Governor
 3903  may direct the Agency for Health Care Administration to amend
 3904  the Medicaid state plan to delete the optional Medicaid service
 3905  known as “Intermediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally
 3906  Disabled.” Optional services may include:
 3907         (24) CHILD-WELFARE-TARGETED CASE MANAGEMENT.—The Agency for
 3908  Health Care Administration, in consultation with the Department
 3909  of Children and Families Family Services, may establish a
 3910  targeted case-management project in those counties identified by
 3911  the Department of Children and Families Family Services and for
 3912  all counties with a community-based child welfare project, as
 3913  authorized under s. 409.987 s. 409.1671, which have been
 3914  specifically approved by the department. The covered group of
 3915  individuals who are eligible to receive targeted case management
 3916  include children who are eligible for Medicaid; who are between
 3917  the ages of birth through 21; and who are under protective
 3918  supervision or postplacement supervision, under foster-care
 3919  supervision, or in shelter care or foster care. The number of
 3920  individuals who are eligible to receive targeted case management
 3921  is limited to the number for whom the Department of Children and
 3922  Families Family Services has matching funds to cover the costs.
 3923  The general revenue funds required to match the funds for
 3924  services provided by the community-based child welfare projects
 3925  are limited to funds available for services described under s.
 3926  409.990 s. 409.1671. The Department of Children and Families
 3927  Family Services may transfer the general revenue matching funds
 3928  as billed by the Agency for Health Care Administration.
 3929         Section 57. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
 3930  409.912, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 3931         409.912 Cost-effective purchasing of health care.—The
 3932  agency shall purchase goods and services for Medicaid recipients
 3933  in the most cost-effective manner consistent with the delivery
 3934  of quality medical care. To ensure that medical services are
 3935  effectively utilized, the agency may, in any case, require a
 3936  confirmation or second physician’s opinion of the correct
 3937  diagnosis for purposes of authorizing future services under the
 3938  Medicaid program. This section does not restrict access to
 3939  emergency services or poststabilization care services as defined
 3940  in 42 C.F.R. part 438.114. Such confirmation or second opinion
 3941  shall be rendered in a manner approved by the agency. The agency
 3942  shall maximize the use of prepaid per capita and prepaid
 3943  aggregate fixed-sum basis services when appropriate and other
 3944  alternative service delivery and reimbursement methodologies,
 3945  including competitive bidding pursuant to s. 287.057, designed
 3946  to facilitate the cost-effective purchase of a case-managed
 3947  continuum of care. The agency shall also require providers to
 3948  minimize the exposure of recipients to the need for acute
 3949  inpatient, custodial, and other institutional care and the
 3950  inappropriate or unnecessary use of high-cost services. The
 3951  agency shall contract with a vendor to monitor and evaluate the
 3952  clinical practice patterns of providers in order to identify
 3953  trends that are outside the normal practice patterns of a
 3954  provider’s professional peers or the national guidelines of a
 3955  provider’s professional association. The vendor must be able to
 3956  provide information and counseling to a provider whose practice
 3957  patterns are outside the norms, in consultation with the agency,
 3958  to improve patient care and reduce inappropriate utilization.
 3959  The agency may mandate prior authorization, drug therapy
 3960  management, or disease management participation for certain
 3961  populations of Medicaid beneficiaries, certain drug classes, or
 3962  particular drugs to prevent fraud, abuse, overuse, and possible
 3963  dangerous drug interactions. The Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics
 3964  Committee shall make recommendations to the agency on drugs for
 3965  which prior authorization is required. The agency shall inform
 3966  the Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee of its decisions
 3967  regarding drugs subject to prior authorization. The agency is
 3968  authorized to limit the entities it contracts with or enrolls as
 3969  Medicaid providers by developing a provider network through
 3970  provider credentialing. The agency may competitively bid single
 3971  source-provider contracts if procurement of goods or services
 3972  results in demonstrated cost savings to the state without
 3973  limiting access to care. The agency may limit its network based
 3974  on the assessment of beneficiary access to care, provider
 3975  availability, provider quality standards, time and distance
 3976  standards for access to care, the cultural competence of the
 3977  provider network, demographic characteristics of Medicaid
 3978  beneficiaries, practice and provider-to-beneficiary standards,
 3979  appointment wait times, beneficiary use of services, provider
 3980  turnover, provider profiling, provider licensure history,
 3981  previous program integrity investigations and findings, peer
 3982  review, provider Medicaid policy and billing compliance records,
 3983  clinical and medical record audits, and other factors. Providers
 3984  are not entitled to enrollment in the Medicaid provider network.
 3985  The agency shall determine instances in which allowing Medicaid
 3986  beneficiaries to purchase durable medical equipment and other
 3987  goods is less expensive to the Medicaid program than long-term
 3988  rental of the equipment or goods. The agency may establish rules
 3989  to facilitate purchases in lieu of long-term rentals in order to
 3990  protect against fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program as
 3991  defined in s. 409.913. The agency may seek federal waivers
 3992  necessary to administer these policies.
 3993         (4) The agency may contract with:
 3994         (b) An entity that is providing comprehensive behavioral
 3995  health care services to certain Medicaid recipients through a
 3996  capitated, prepaid arrangement pursuant to the federal waiver
 3997  provided for by s. 409.905(5). Such entity must be licensed
 3998  under chapter 624, chapter 636, or chapter 641, or authorized
 3999  under paragraph (c) or paragraph (d), and must possess the
 4000  clinical systems and operational competence to manage risk and
 4001  provide comprehensive behavioral health care to Medicaid
 4002  recipients. As used in this paragraph, the term “comprehensive
 4003  behavioral health care services” means covered mental health and
 4004  substance abuse treatment services that are available to
 4005  Medicaid recipients. The secretary of the Department of Children
 4006  and Families Family Services shall approve provisions of
 4007  procurements related to children in the department’s care or
 4008  custody before enrolling such children in a prepaid behavioral
 4009  health plan. Any contract awarded under this paragraph must be
 4010  competitively procured. In developing the behavioral health care
 4011  prepaid plan procurement document, the agency shall ensure that
 4012  the procurement document requires the contractor to develop and
 4013  implement a plan to ensure compliance with s. 394.4574 related
 4014  to services provided to residents of licensed assisted living
 4015  facilities that hold a limited mental health license. Except as
 4016  provided in subparagraph 5., and except in counties where the
 4017  Medicaid managed care pilot program is authorized pursuant to s.
 4018  409.91211, the agency shall seek federal approval to contract
 4019  with a single entity meeting these requirements to provide
 4020  comprehensive behavioral health care services to all Medicaid
 4021  recipients not enrolled in a Medicaid managed care plan
 4022  authorized under s. 409.91211, a provider service network
 4023  authorized under paragraph (d), or a Medicaid health maintenance
 4024  organization in an AHCA area. In an AHCA area where the Medicaid
 4025  managed care pilot program is authorized pursuant to s.
 4026  409.91211 in one or more counties, the agency may procure a
 4027  contract with a single entity to serve the remaining counties as
 4028  an AHCA area or the remaining counties may be included with an
 4029  adjacent AHCA area and are subject to this paragraph. Each
 4030  entity must offer a sufficient choice of providers in its
 4031  network to ensure recipient access to care and the opportunity
 4032  to select a provider with whom they are satisfied. The network
 4033  shall include all public mental health hospitals. To ensure
 4034  unimpaired access to behavioral health care services by Medicaid
 4035  recipients, all contracts issued pursuant to this paragraph must
 4036  require 80 percent of the capitation paid to the managed care
 4037  plan, including health maintenance organizations and capitated
 4038  provider service networks, to be expended for the provision of
 4039  behavioral health care services. If the managed care plan
 4040  expends less than 80 percent of the capitation paid for the
 4041  provision of behavioral health care services, the difference
 4042  shall be returned to the agency. The agency shall provide the
 4043  plan with a certification letter indicating the amount of
 4044  capitation paid during each calendar year for behavioral health
 4045  care services pursuant to this section. The agency may reimburse
 4046  for substance abuse treatment services on a fee-for-service
 4047  basis until the agency finds that adequate funds are available
 4048  for capitated, prepaid arrangements.
 4049         1. The agency shall modify the contracts with the entities
 4050  providing comprehensive inpatient and outpatient mental health
 4051  care services to Medicaid recipients in Hillsborough, Highlands,
 4052  Hardee, Manatee, and Polk Counties, to include substance abuse
 4053  treatment services.
 4054         2. Except as provided in subparagraph 5., the agency and
 4055  the Department of Children and Families Family Services shall
 4056  contract with managed care entities in each AHCA area except
 4057  area 6 or arrange to provide comprehensive inpatient and
 4058  outpatient mental health and substance abuse services through
 4059  capitated prepaid arrangements to all Medicaid recipients who
 4060  are eligible to participate in such plans under federal law and
 4061  regulation. In AHCA areas where eligible individuals number less
 4062  than 150,000, the agency shall contract with a single managed
 4063  care plan to provide comprehensive behavioral health services to
 4064  all recipients who are not enrolled in a Medicaid health
 4065  maintenance organization, a provider service network authorized
 4066  under paragraph (d), or a Medicaid capitated managed care plan
 4067  authorized under s. 409.91211. The agency may contract with more
 4068  than one comprehensive behavioral health provider to provide
 4069  care to recipients who are not enrolled in a Medicaid capitated
 4070  managed care plan authorized under s. 409.91211, a provider
 4071  service network authorized under paragraph (d), or a Medicaid
 4072  health maintenance organization in AHCA areas where the eligible
 4073  population exceeds 150,000. In an AHCA area where the Medicaid
 4074  managed care pilot program is authorized pursuant to s.
 4075  409.91211 in one or more counties, the agency may procure a
 4076  contract with a single entity to serve the remaining counties as
 4077  an AHCA area or the remaining counties may be included with an
 4078  adjacent AHCA area and shall be subject to this paragraph.
 4079  Contracts for comprehensive behavioral health providers awarded
 4080  pursuant to this section shall be competitively procured. Both
 4081  for-profit and not-for-profit corporations are eligible to
 4082  compete. Managed care plans contracting with the agency under
 4083  subsection (3) or paragraph (d) shall provide and receive
 4084  payment for the same comprehensive behavioral health benefits as
 4085  provided in AHCA rules, including handbooks incorporated by
 4086  reference. In AHCA area 11, the agency shall contract with at
 4087  least two comprehensive behavioral health care providers to
 4088  provide behavioral health care to recipients in that area who
 4089  are enrolled in, or assigned to, the MediPass program. One of
 4090  the behavioral health care contracts must be with the existing
 4091  provider service network pilot project, as described in
 4092  paragraph (d), for the purpose of demonstrating the cost
 4093  effectiveness of the provision of quality mental health services
 4094  through a public hospital-operated managed care model. Payment
 4095  shall be at an agreed-upon capitated rate to ensure cost
 4096  savings. Of the recipients in area 11 who are assigned to
 4097  MediPass under s. 409.9122(2)(k), a minimum of 50,000 of those
 4098  MediPass-enrolled recipients shall be assigned to the existing
 4099  provider service network in area 11 for their behavioral care.
 4100         3. Children residing in a statewide inpatient psychiatric
 4101  program, or in a Department of Juvenile Justice or a Department
 4102  of Children and Families Family Services residential program
 4103  approved as a Medicaid behavioral health overlay services
 4104  provider may not be included in a behavioral health care prepaid
 4105  health plan or any other Medicaid managed care plan pursuant to
 4106  this paragraph.
 4107         4. Traditional community mental health providers under
 4108  contract with the Department of Children and Families Family
 4109  Services pursuant to part IV of chapter 394, child welfare
 4110  providers under contract with the Department of Children and
 4111  Families Family Services in areas 1 and 6, and inpatient mental
 4112  health providers licensed pursuant to chapter 395 must be
 4113  offered an opportunity to accept or decline a contract to
 4114  participate in any provider network for prepaid behavioral
 4115  health services.
 4116         5. All Medicaid-eligible children, except children in area
 4117  1 and children in Highlands County, Hardee County, Polk County,
 4118  or Manatee County of area 6, which that are open for child
 4119  welfare services in the statewide automated child welfare
 4120  information system, shall receive their behavioral health care
 4121  services through a specialty prepaid plan operated by community
 4122  based lead agencies through a single agency or formal agreements
 4123  among several agencies. The agency shall work with the specialty
 4124  plan to develop clinically effective, evidence-based
 4125  alternatives as a downward substitution for the statewide
 4126  inpatient psychiatric program and similar residential care and
 4127  institutional services. The specialty prepaid plan must result
 4128  in savings to the state comparable to savings achieved in other
 4129  Medicaid managed care and prepaid programs. Such plan must
 4130  provide mechanisms to maximize state and local revenues. The
 4131  specialty prepaid plan shall be developed by the agency and the
 4132  Department of Children and Families Family Services. The agency
 4133  may seek federal waivers to implement this initiative. Medicaid
 4134  eligible children whose cases are open for child welfare
 4135  services in the statewide automated child welfare information
 4136  system and who reside in AHCA area 10 shall be enrolled in a
 4137  capitated provider service network or other capitated managed
 4138  care plan, which, in coordination with available community-based
 4139  care providers specified in s. 409.987 s. 409.1671, shall
 4140  provide sufficient medical, developmental, and behavioral health
 4141  services to meet the needs of these children.
 4142  
 4143  Effective July 1, 2012, in order to ensure continuity of care,
 4144  the agency is authorized to extend or modify current contracts
 4145  based on current service areas or on a regional basis, as
 4146  determined appropriate by the agency, with comprehensive
 4147  behavioral health care providers as described in this paragraph
 4148  during the period prior to its expiration. This paragraph
 4149  expires October 1, 2014.
 4150         Section 58. Paragraph (dd) of subsection (3) of section
 4151  409.91211, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 4152         409.91211 Medicaid managed care pilot program.—
 4153         (3) The agency shall have the following powers, duties, and
 4154  responsibilities with respect to the pilot program:
 4155         (dd) To implement service delivery mechanisms within a
 4156  specialty plan in area 10 to provide behavioral health care
 4157  services to Medicaid-eligible children whose cases are open for
 4158  child welfare services in the HomeSafeNet system. These services
 4159  must be coordinated with community-based care providers as
 4160  specified in s. 409.986 s. 409.1671, where available, and be
 4161  sufficient to meet the developmental, behavioral, and emotional
 4162  needs of these children. Children in area 10 who have an open
 4163  case in the HomeSafeNet system shall be enrolled into the
 4164  specialty plan. These service delivery mechanisms must be
 4165  implemented no later than July 1, 2011, in AHCA area 10 in order
 4166  for the children in AHCA area 10 to remain exempt from the
 4167  statewide plan under s. 409.912(4)(b)5. An administrative fee
 4168  may be paid to the specialty plan for the coordination of
 4169  services based on the receipt of the state share of that fee
 4170  being provided through intergovernmental transfers.
 4171         Section 59. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section
 4172  420.628, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 4173         420.628 Affordable housing for children and young adults
 4174  leaving foster care; legislative findings and intent.—
 4175         (1)
 4176         (d) The Legislature intends that the Florida Housing
 4177  Finance Corporation, agencies within the State Housing
 4178  Initiative Partnership Program, local housing finance agencies,
 4179  public housing authorities, and their agents, and other
 4180  providers of affordable housing coordinate with the Department
 4181  of Children and Families Family Services, their agents, and
 4182  community-based care providers who provide services under s.
 4183  409.986 s. 409.1671 to develop and implement strategies and
 4184  procedures designed to make affordable housing available
 4185  whenever and wherever possible to young adults who leave the
 4186  child welfare system.
 4187         Section 60. Subsection (5) of section 960.065, Florida
 4188  Statutes, is amended to read:
 4189         960.065 Eligibility for awards.—
 4190         (5) A person is not ineligible for an award pursuant to
 4191  paragraph (2)(a), paragraph (2)(b), or paragraph (2)(c) if that
 4192  person is a victim of sexual exploitation of a child as defined
 4193  in s. 39.01(68)(g) s. 39.01(67)(g).
 4194         Section 61. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
 4195  act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2014.