The Florida Senate

446.50  Displaced homemakers; multiservice programs; report to the Legislature; Displaced Homemaker Trust Fund created.--

(1)  INTENT.--It is the intent of the Legislature to require the Agency for Workforce Innovation to enter into contracts with, and make grants to, public and nonprofit private entities for purposes of establishing multipurpose service programs to provide necessary training, counseling, and services for displaced homemakers so that they may enjoy the independence and economic security vital to a productive life.

(2)  DEFINITIONS.--For the purposes of this section:

(a)  "Displaced homemaker" means an individual who:

1.  Is 35 years of age or older;

2.  Has worked in the home, providing unpaid household services for family members;

3.  Is not adequately employed, as defined by rule of the agency;

4.  Has had, or would have, difficulty in securing adequate employment; and

5.  Has been dependent on the income of another family member but is no longer supported by such income, or has been dependent on federal assistance.

(b)  "Agency" means the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

(3)  AGENCY POWERS AND DUTIES.--

(a)  The agency, under plans established by Workforce Florida, Inc., shall establish, or contract for the establishment of, programs for displaced homemakers which shall include:

1.  Job counseling, by professionals and peers, specifically designed for a person entering the job market after a number of years as a homemaker.

2.  Job training and placement services, including:

a.  Training programs for available jobs in the public and private sectors, taking into account the skills and job experiences of a homemaker and developed by working with public and private employers.

b.  Assistance in locating available employment for displaced homemakers, some of whom could be employed in existing job training and placement programs.

c.  Utilization of the services of the state employment service in locating employment opportunities.

3.  Financial management services providing information and assistance with respect to insurance, including, but not limited to, life, health, home, and automobile insurance, and taxes, estate and probate problems, mortgages, loans, and other related financial matters.

4.  Educational services, including high school equivalency degree and such other courses as the agency determines would be of interest and benefit to displaced homemakers.

5.  Outreach and information services with respect to federal and state employment, education, health, and unemployment assistance programs which the agency determines would be of interest and benefit to displaced homemakers.

(b)1.  The agency shall enter into contracts with, and make grants to, public and nonprofit private entities for purposes of establishing multipurpose service programs for displaced homemakers under this section. Such grants and contracts shall be awarded pursuant to chapter 287 and based on criteria established in the state plan developed pursuant to this section. The agency shall designate catchment areas which together shall comprise the entire state, and, to the extent possible from revenues in the Displaced Homemaker Trust Fund, the agency shall contract with, and make grants to, entities which will serve entire catchment areas so that displaced homemaker service programs are available statewide. These catchment areas shall be coterminous with the state's workforce development regions. The agency may give priority to existing displaced homemaker programs when evaluating bid responses to the agency's request for proposals.

2.  In order to receive funds under this section, and unless specifically prohibited by law from doing so, an entity that provides displaced homemaker service programs must receive at least 25 percent of its funding from one or more local, municipal, or county sources or nonprofit private sources. In-kind contributions may be evaluated by the agency and counted as part of the required local funding.

3.  The agency shall require an entity that receives funds under this section to maintain appropriate data to be compiled in an annual report to the agency. Such data shall include, but shall not be limited to, the number of clients served, the units of services provided, designated client-specific information including intake and outcome information specific to each client, costs associated with specific services and program administration, total program revenues by source and other appropriate financial data, and client followup information at specified intervals after the placement of a displaced homemaker in a job.

(c)  The agency shall consult and cooperate with the Commissioner of Education, the United States Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, and such other persons in the executive branch of the state government as the agency considers appropriate to facilitate the coordination of multipurpose service programs established under this section with existing programs of a similar nature.

(d)  Supervisory, technical, and administrative positions relating to programs established under this section shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be filled by displaced homemakers.

(e)  The agency shall adopt rules establishing minimum standards necessary for entities that provide displaced homemaker service programs to receive funds from the agency and any other rules necessary to administer this section.

(4)  STATE PLAN.--

(a)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall develop a 3-year state plan for the displaced homemaker program which shall be updated annually. The plan must address, at a minimum, the need for programs specifically designed to serve displaced homemakers, any necessary service components for such programs in addition to those enumerated in this section, goals of the displaced homemaker program with an analysis of the extent to which those goals are being met, and recommendations for ways to address any unmet program goals. Any request for funds for program expansion must be based on the state plan.

(b)  Each annual update must address any changes in the components of the 3-year state plan and a report which must include, but need not be limited to, the following:

1.  The scope of the incidence of displaced homemakers;

2.  A compilation and report, by program, of data submitted to the agency pursuant to subparagraph 3. by funded displaced homemaker service programs;

3.  An identification and description of the programs in the state that receive funding from the agency, including funding information; and

4.  An assessment of the effectiveness of each displaced homemaker service program based on outcome criteria established by rule of the agency.

(c)  The 3-year state plan must be submitted to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Governor on or before January 1, 2001, and annual updates of the plan must be submitted by January 1 of each subsequent year.

(5)  DISPLACED HOMEMAKER TRUST FUND.--

(a)  There is established within the State Treasury a Displaced Homemaker Trust Fund to be used by the agency for its administration of the displaced homemaker program and to fund displaced homemaker service programs according to criteria established under this section.

(b)  The trust fund shall receive funds generated from an additional fee on marriage license applications and dissolution of marriage filings as specified in ss. 741.01(3) and 28.101, respectively, and may receive funds from any other public or private source.

(c)  Funds that are not expended by the agency at the end of the budget cycle or through a supplemental budget approved by the agency shall revert to the trust fund.

History.--ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, ch. 76-271; s. 18, ch. 78-433; s. 1, ch. 88-181; s. 13, ch. 94-134; s. 13, ch. 94-135; s. 7, ch. 95-394; s. 89, ch. 95-418; s. 126, ch. 2000-165; s. 72, ch. 2001-62.

Note.--Former s. 409.511; s. 410.30.