The Florida Senate

985.0395  Cost of supervision and care waiver; pilot program.--

(1)  For purposes of this section, the term:

(a)  "Approved parenting class" means a class approved by the department under subsection (4).

(b)  "Court" means a circuit court in the Fourth or Eleventh Judicial Circuits.

(c)  "Department" means the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(d)  "Parent" means a parent, as defined in s. 985.039(13), whose child's delinquency case comes before a circuit court in the Fourth or Eleventh Judicial Circuit.

(2)(a)  Notwithstanding any contrary provision of s. 985.039, for the period of October 1, 2006, through June 30, 2009, the court shall enter an order waiving the fees required to be paid under s. 985.039 by a parent if the parent successfully completes an approved parenting class and presents the court with notarized documentation of such completion.

(b)  Participation in an approved parenting class under this subsection is voluntary, and the parent is responsible for the payment of all costs associated with participation in the class.

(c)  A parent who fails to successfully complete an approved parenting class shall pay the full amount of fees required by s. 985.039

(d)  A parent may only have fees waived under this subsection once.

(3)  The Office of Program Policy and Government Accountability shall evaluate the pilot program created by this section and shall submit a written report to the appropriate substantive and fiscal committees of the Legislature, the Governor, and the Department of Juvenile Justice on September 30, 2007, and annually thereafter, which identifies for the Fourth and Eleventh Judicial Circuits during the fiscal year preceding the report:

(a)  The number of delinquency cases in which fees were required to be ordered under s. 985.039 and the total amount of those fees.

(b)  The number of delinquency cases in which parents agreed to complete an approved parenting class and the number of delinquency cases in which the parent submitted notarized documentation of successful completion to the court.

(c)  The number of delinquency cases in which the court entered an order waiving fees under subsection (2) and the total amount of fees waived.

(d)  The number of youth, as such data becomes available, who are taken into custody for a felony or misdemeanor within 6 months following their release from department custody or supervision, whichever occurs later, and whose parents' fees under s. 985.039 are:

1.  Waived by court order under subsection (2).

2.  Not waived by court order under subsection (2).

(4)  The department shall contract or otherwise arrange for the provision of parenting courses in the Fourth and Eleventh Judicial Circuits between October 1, 2006, through June 30, 2009.

(5)  This section is repealed October 1, 2009.

History.--s. 12, ch. 2006-62.