House Bill 0683c1
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Florida House of Representatives - 1998 CS/HBs 683 & 2131
By the Committee on Children & Family Empowerment and
Representatives Chestnut, Warner, Murman and Clemons
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to school readiness; creating
3 the "Children First Act of 1998; renaming ch.
4 411, F.S.; creating s. 411.01, F.S.; providing
5 legislative intent relating to early childhood
6 health care, child care, and education;
7 providing that early childhood health care,
8 child care, and education programs shall be
9 school readiness programs; creating the Florida
10 Partnership for Children First, Inc. (Children
11 First Partnership); creating the Children First
12 Governing Board to operate as the board of
13 directors of the Children First Partnership;
14 providing Children First Partnership and
15 governing board responsibilities and duties;
16 providing membership of the governing board and
17 meeting requirements; providing that the
18 Children First Partnership is subject to public
19 records and public meeting requirements;
20 providing for hiring of certain employees;
21 providing powers as a corporation; providing
22 for staff of the governing board and Children
23 First Partnership; requiring the Children First
24 Partnership to phase in a program meeting
25 specified requirements; providing for
26 establishment of a Children First Coalition in
27 each county or combination of counties;
28 specifying services to be provided by
29 coalitions; providing for a fiscal agent;
30 providing for the transfer of funds; providing
31 for coalition initiation grants to develop
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1 children first plans and block grant funding to
2 implement such plans; providing requirements
3 for such plans; providing for parental choice
4 and payment arrangements; providing for
5 evaluation and performance measures; providing
6 responsibility for implementation; providing
7 for phase-out of the State Coordinating Council
8 for Early Childhood Services; creating s.
9 411.02, F.S.; providing for a Children First
10 Appropriation Allocation Conference; amending
11 s. 216.136, F.S.; creating the School Readiness
12 Program Estimating Conference; providing duties
13 and principals; conforming provisions; amending
14 and renumbering s. 230.2303, F.S., relating to
15 the Florida First Start Program; revising
16 provisions; providing for implementation
17 pursuant to a children first plan developed by
18 the Children First Coalition and approved by
19 the Children First Partnership; amending and
20 renumbering s. 230.2305, F.S., relating to the
21 prekindergarten early intervention program;
22 revising provisions; providing for
23 administration by a district school board or
24 other Children First Coalition provider;
25 providing Children First Coalition
26 responsibility for programs; providing for
27 oversight by the Children First Partnership and
28 Children First Coalition and specifying duties;
29 creating s. 411.05, F.S.; requiring the
30 Department of Education to adopt the school
31 readiness screening instruments developed by
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1 the Children First Partnership and to require
2 their use by the school districts; creating s.
3 411.06, F.S.; recognizing the nationwide
4 Parents as Teachers Program; establishing the
5 Florida Parents as Teachers Program under the
6 jurisdiction of the Children First Partnership;
7 providing program requirements; amending and
8 renumbering s. 402.281, F.S., relating to the
9 Gold Seal Quality Care program; providing
10 duties of the Children First Partnership;
11 amending s. 411.202, F.S.; revising
12 definitions; amending s. 411.203, F.S.;
13 revising provisions relating to a continuum of
14 comprehensive services; amending ss. 411.24 and
15 411.242, F.S., to conform; amending and
16 renumbering s. 402.305, F.S., relating to
17 licensing standards for child care facilities;
18 providing duties of the Children First
19 Partnership; removing provisions relating to a
20 child care technical review panel; amending and
21 renumbering s. 402.3052, F.S., relating to
22 child development associate training grants;
23 providing for consultation with the Children
24 First Partnership; amending s. 20.19, F.S.,
25 relating to the Department of Children and
26 Family Services; requiring cooperation with the
27 Children First Partnership and Children First
28 Coalitions; amending s. 229.591, F.S., relating
29 to the school improvement and education
30 accountability system; conforming school
31 readiness goals; amending s. 288.9620, F.S.,
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1 relating to the workforce development board;
2 providing for a report to the Children First
3 Partnership; amending ss. 232.01, 383.14, and
4 397.901, F.S., to conform; amending ss.
5 414.027, 414.028, 414.055, and 414.22, F.S.,
6 relating to the WAGES Program; providing for
7 coordination with the Children First
8 Partnership and Children First Coalitions;
9 amending s. 446.601, F.S., relating to the
10 "Workforce Florida Act of 1996"; providing for
11 coordination with the Children First
12 Partnership and Children First Coalitions;
13 amending s. 624.91, F.S., relating to the
14 "Florida Healthy Kids Corporation Act";
15 providing a goal to work cooperatively with the
16 Children First Partnership; repealing s.
17 228.061(1), F.S., relating to preschool
18 programs, s. 230.2306, F.S., relating to
19 prekindergarten children service needs
20 assessments and accommodation efforts by school
21 districts, s. 391.304, F.S., relating to
22 coordination of the developmental evaluation
23 and intervention program, s. 402.26, F.S.,
24 relating to legislative intent with respect to
25 child care, s. 402.28, F.S., relating to Child
26 Care Plus facilities, s. 411.201, F.S., the
27 short title for the Florida Prevention, Early
28 Assistance, and Early Childhood Act, s.
29 411.204, F.S., relating to program evaluation
30 under the act, s. 411.205, F.S., relating to
31 rules, s. 411.22, F.S., relating to legislative
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1 intent with respect to prevention and early
2 assistance, s. 411.221, F.S., relating to
3 preparation of the prevention and early
4 assistance strategic plan, s. 411.223, F.S.,
5 relating to uniform standards for preventive
6 health care, s. 411.224, F.S., relating to the
7 family support planning process, and ss.
8 411.23, 411.231, and 411.232, F.S., the
9 Children's Early Investment Act, effective July
10 1, 1998; repealing s. 402.47, F.S., relating to
11 foster grandparent and retired senior volunteer
12 services to high-risk and handicapped children,
13 s. 411.222, F.S., relating to the Offices of
14 Prevention, Early Assistance, and Child
15 Development and the State Coordinating Council
16 for Early Childhood Services and their duties,
17 and s. 411.3015(9), F.S., relating to
18 collaborative agreements and plans with respect
19 to subsidized child care programs, effective
20 July 1, 1999; renumbering ss. 402.301,
21 402.3015, 402.302, 402.3025, 402.3026,
22 402.3051, 402.3055, 402.3057, 402.3058,
23 402.306, 402.307, 402.308, 402,309, 402.310,
24 402.311, 402.312, 402.3125, 402.313, 402.3135,
25 402.314, 402.3145, 402.315, 402.316, 402.318,
26 402.319, and 402.45, F.S.; requiring amendment
27 recommendations regarding s. 411.301, F.S.,
28 relating to legislative intent with respect to
29 child care facilities, s. 411.3015, F.S.,
30 relating to the subsidized child care program,
31 s. 411.302, F.S., relating to definitions, s.
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1 411.3025, F.S., relating to public and
2 nonpublic schools in relation to child care
3 requirements, s. 411.3026, F.S., relating to
4 establishment of full-service schools, s.
5 411.305, F.S., relating to licensing standards
6 for child care facilities, s. 411.3051, F.S.,
7 relating to child care market rate
8 reimbursement and grants, s. 411.3052, F.S.,
9 relating to the child development associate
10 training grants program, s. 411.3055, F.S.,
11 relating to child care personnel requirements,
12 s. 411.306, F.S., relating to designation of
13 the licensing agency and dissemination of
14 information, s. 411.307, F.S., relating to
15 approval of the licensing agency, s. 411.308,
16 F.S., relating to issuance of a license, s.
17 411.309, F.S., relating to provisional
18 licenses, s. 411.310, F.S., relating to
19 disciplinary actions, s. 411.311, F.S.,
20 relating to inspection of facilities, s.
21 411.312, F.S., relating to injunctive relief,
22 s. 411.3125, F.S., relating to display and
23 appearance of license, s. 411.313, F.S.,
24 relating to family day care homes, s. 411.3135,
25 F.S., relating to the subsidized child care
26 case management program, s. 411.314, F.S.,
27 relating to supportive services, s. 411.3145,
28 F.S., relating to the subsidized child care
29 transportation program, s. 411.315, F.S.,
30 relating to funding and license fees, s.
31 411.316, F.S., relating to exemptions, s.
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1 411.318, F.S., relating to prohibited
2 advertisement, s. 411.319, F.S., relating to
3 penalties, s. 411.33, F.S., relating to
4 authority to charge fees, s. 411.45, F.S.,
5 relating to the community resource mother or
6 father program, and s. 409.178, F.S., relating
7 to the Child Care Partnership Act, no later
8 than March 1, 2000; requiring legislative
9 review of such recommendations; repealing s.
10 402.27, F.S., relating to child care and early
11 childhood resource and referral, effective July
12 1, 2000; providing appropriations; providing
13 effective dates.
14
15 WHEREAS, the bridge to opportunity for every child must
16 be anchored in a healthy body and a healthy mind and must lead
17 to the child's readiness to learn in school, and
18 WHEREAS, it is widely acknowledged that entering school
19 ready to learn is crucial to a child's success both in school
20 and in life, and
21 WHEREAS, the state's system of public education could
22 better perform its mission of educating its K-12 students if
23 more students enter school healthy and ready to learn, and
24 WHEREAS, as emphasized by the Governor, the President
25 of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
26 Representatives, a child's health in both body and mind is
27 essential to the child's ability to learn, and
28 WHEREAS, we can make great strides to improve school
29 readiness by addressing child care, child health, and school
30 readiness education in one single, accountable continuum, NOW,
31 THEREFORE,
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1 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
2
3 Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Children
4 First Act of 1998." Nothing in this act is intended to impede
5 or curtail the state's ability to draw down federal funds.
6 Section 2. Effective July 1, 1998, chapter 411,
7 Florida Statutes, is renamed "Children First Partnership."
8 Section 3. Effective July 1, 1998, section 411.01,
9 Florida Statutes, is created to read:
10 411.01 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.;
11 Children First Coalitions.--
12 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--
13 (a)1. It is the intent of the Legislature that the
14 early childhood health care, child care, and education of
15 children from birth to 5 years of age or until the child
16 attains school readiness, whichever is later, become a top
17 priority.
18 2. As used in this chapter, the term "child care"
19 includes formal and informal arrangements, including but not
20 limited to child care centers, day care homes, private
21 providers, and relative care. The term "health care" includes
22 immunizations, screenings, well-baby care, and other
23 preventive health care measures. The term "education" includes
24 public and private prekindergarten and other education
25 programs.
26 (b) Recognizing that high-quality early childhood
27 health care, child care, and education experiences increase
28 children's chances of educational success and reduce the need
29 for costly future intervention and remediation, it is the
30 intent of the Legislature that all children in Florida, from
31 birth until they are ready for school, have access to quality
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1 early childhood health care, child care, and education to
2 enhance their readiness to succeed in school.
3 (c) Recognizing that parents are responsible for the
4 early childhood health care, child care, and education of
5 their children, but also recognizing that the condition of
6 children in Florida must be improved, it is the intent of the
7 Legislature that local communities offer assistance to
8 families to improve the early childhood health care, child
9 care, and education of children under 5 years of age and the
10 school readiness of all children who enter the state's public
11 school system. High-quality early childhood experiences and
12 care should be provided with a minimum of governmental
13 interference.
14 (d) The Legislature finds that for families to move to
15 and maintain economic self-sufficiency, Florida must have an
16 efficient way for these families to access quality early
17 childhood health care, child care, and education services. The
18 Legislature recognizes that significant benefits will accrue
19 to children and families who have efficient access to quality
20 early childhood health care, child care, and education
21 arrangements.
22 (e) It is the intent of the Legislature that all early
23 childhood health care, child care, and education programs and
24 services serving Florida children in the first 5 years of life
25 or until the child attains school readiness, whichever is
26 later, are considered school readiness programs. The
27 Legislature finds that despite the efforts of hundreds of
28 thousands of Floridians and increased collaboration among
29 service providers, services for young children remain
30 uncoordinated, uneven in quality, and inaccessible to many. It
31 is the intent of the Legislature that a true continuum of
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1 high-quality, coordinated, and comprehensive early childhood
2 health care, child care, and education be available to all
3 children from birth to 5 years of age or until the child
4 attains school readiness, whichever is later.
5 (f) The Legislature recognizes new brain development
6 research emphasizing the critical importance of the first
7 years of life in children's emotional, social, and cognitive
8 development, and that these scientific discoveries create an
9 opportunity to apply the findings to all programs and services
10 for children from birth to 5 years of age. The Legislature
11 also recognizes that the period of time from birth to 3 years
12 of age is an optimal time for learning in the areas of motor
13 development, emotional control, vision, social attachment,
14 vocabulary, second language, and logic.
15 (2) SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAMS.--For purposes of this
16 chapter, all early childhood health care, child care, and
17 education programs which are funded with state, federal,
18 lottery, or local public funds and which provide services to
19 children from birth to 5 years of age or until the child
20 attains school readiness, whichever is later, shall be school
21 readiness programs and shall work to achieve their part of the
22 goal of children entering school with healthy bodies and
23 healthy minds, ready to succeed in school.
24 (3) CHILDREN FIRST GOVERNING BOARD.--
25 (a) There is created a Children First Governing Board
26 to operate as the board of directors of the Florida
27 Partnership for Children First, Inc., with responsibility for
28 creating and maintaining coordinated programmatic,
29 administrative, and fiscal policies and a common set of early
30 childhood health care, child care, and education standards for
31 all school readiness programs, while allowing a wide range of
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1 programmatic flexibility and differentiation. The governing
2 board shall determine guidelines for granting programmatic
3 waivers to any of its policies and standards. The governing
4 board shall establish goals for early childhood development
5 leading to school readiness and policies that lead to the
6 achievement of these goals, including strict oversight of
7 their implementation. The governing board shall develop a
8 strategic plan for accomplishing these goals.
9 (b)1. As a condition for receiving funds appropriated
10 to the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., the
11 members of the Children First Governing Board shall include
12 the Governor, the Commissioner of Education, the Secretary of
13 Children and Family Services, the chair of the WAGES Program
14 State Board of Directors, and the chair of the Florida Council
15 of 100, who shall constitute the executive committee of the
16 governing board and shall be voting ex officio members.
17 2. The governing board shall also include six voting
18 members who shall not be members of the Legislature, two
19 appointed by the Governor, two by the President of the Senate,
20 and two by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who
21 shall have expertise in early childhood health care, child
22 care, or education. These members shall serve 4-year staggered
23 terms.
24 3. An appointive voting member vacancy on the
25 governing board shall be filled by the appointive authority
26 for the remainder of the unexpired term.
27 4. Appointive voting members may be removed for cause
28 by the appointive authority.
29 5. Members of the governing board are subject to the
30 ethics provisions in part III of chapter 112, and no member
31
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1 may derive any financial benefit from the funds administered
2 by the Children First Partnership.
3 (c)1. At the quarterly meetings, the governing board
4 shall be chaired by the Governor.
5 2. At the monthly meetings, the governing board shall
6 be chaired by the member designated by the Governor.
7 (d)1. The members of the governing board shall
8 participate without proxy at all meetings they must attend.
9 Full meetings of the Florida Partnership for Children First,
10 Inc., at which the executive committee of the governing board
11 must be convened, present, and voting, shall be held at least
12 quarterly to establish goals and policy for the early
13 childhood health care, child care, and education of Florida's
14 youngest children and to consider reports from the Children
15 First Coalitions and the Children First Partnership staff.
16 Meetings of the appointive members, a designee representing
17 each Children First Coalition, and the Children First
18 Partnership staff shall be held at least monthly to discuss
19 concerns, share information, and collaborate on how to achieve
20 success.
21 2. The governing board may take official action by a
22 majority vote of the members present at any meeting at which a
23 quorum is present. At the quarterly meetings, a quorum shall
24 consist of the five members that constitute the executive
25 committee, plus four of the six appointive voting members. At
26 the monthly meetings, a quorum shall consist of four of the
27 six appointive voting members.
28 (e)1. The governing board shall appoint an executive
29 director who is responsible for other staff authorized by the
30 board.
31
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1 2. Governing board members shall serve without
2 compensation but are entitled to receive reimbursement for per
3 diem and travel expenses as provided by s. 112.061 and for
4 other reasonable, necessary, and actual expenses.
5 (f) There shall be no liability on the part of, and no
6 cause of action shall arise against, any member of the
7 governing board, or its employees or agents, for any action
8 they take in the performance of their powers and duties under
9 this section.
10 (g) The governing board has complete fiscal control
11 over the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., and is
12 responsible for all corporate operations. The governing board
13 is responsible for the prudent use of all public and private
14 funds and shall ensure that the use of such funds is in
15 accordance with all legal and contractual requirements.
16 (h) The governing board shall recommend the
17 feasibility of combining funding streams for school readiness
18 programs into a Children First School Readiness Trust Fund,
19 and shall be responsible for the administration of the trust
20 fund.
21 (4) FLORIDA PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN FIRST, INC.
22 (CHILDREN FIRST PARTNERSHIP).--
23 (a) The Legislature hereby creates the Florida
24 Partnership for Children First, Inc. (Children First
25 Partnership), which shall be registered, incorporated,
26 organized, and operated in compliance with chapter 617, and
27 which shall not be a unit or entity of state government. The
28 Legislature determines, however, that public policy dictates
29 that the Children First Partnership operate in the most open
30 and accessible manner consistent with its public purpose. To
31 this end, the Legislature specifically declares that the
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1 Children First Partnership is subject to the provisions of
2 chapter 119, relating to public records, and those provisions
3 of chapter 286 relating to public meetings and records, except
4 as provided in Committee Substitute for House Bill 4385 or
5 similar legislation requiring confidentiality of identifying
6 information about children served.
7 (b) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
8 shall establish one or more corporate offices, at least one of
9 which shall be located in Leon County. Persons employed by the
10 Department of Children and Family Services and the Department
11 of Education on the day prior to July 1, 1998, whose jobs are
12 privatized, shall be given preference, if qualified, for
13 similar jobs at the Florida Partnership for Children First,
14 Inc. The Department of Management Services may establish a
15 lease agreement program under which the Florida Partnership
16 for Children First, Inc., may hire individuals who, as of June
17 30, 1998, are employed by the Department of Children and
18 Family Services and the Department of Education. Under such
19 agreement, the employee shall retain his or her status as a
20 state employee but shall work under the direct supervision of
21 the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc. Retention of
22 state employee status shall include the right to participate
23 in the Florida Retirement System. The Department of Management
24 Services shall establish the terms and conditions of such
25 lease agreements.
26 (c) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
27 is the principal responsible organization for the enhancement
28 of school readiness for the state's children. It shall be the
29 responsibility of the Florida Partnership for Children First,
30 Inc., to provide leadership for enhancement of school
31 readiness in Florida by aggressively establishing a unified
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1 approach to Florida's efforts of enhancement of school
2 readiness; by aggressively seeking potential new school
3 readiness programs; and by aggressively assisting in the
4 retention and expansion of effective existing school readiness
5 programs. In support of this effort, the Florida Partnership
6 for Children First, Inc., may develop and implement specific
7 programs or strategies that address the creation, expansion,
8 and preservation of Florida's school readiness programs. This
9 approach must ensure the effective use of federal, state,
10 local, and private resources in reducing the need for school
11 readiness programs.
12 (d) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
13 shall have specific responsibility for implementing policies
14 developed by the governing board, monitoring progress toward
15 achievement of the goals established by the governing board,
16 assessing gaps in current early childhood health care, child
17 care, and education statewide, recommending quality standards
18 and monitoring their implementation, approving children first
19 plans, facilitating local implementation, providing technical
20 assistance to Children First Coalitions, and recommending
21 common eligibility requirements for similar programs while
22 seeking a diversity of programs to meet the varieties of need,
23 within the guidelines established by the governing board. The
24 Children First Partnership shall make recommendations
25 regarding changes in state law, rule, or agency policy that
26 may assist Children First Coalitions in improving the early
27 childhood health care, child care, and education of children
28 from birth to 5 years of age or until the child attains school
29 readiness, whichever is later.
30 (e) The Children First Partnership shall have all
31 powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this section,
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1 including but not limited to the power to receive and accept
2 grants, loans, or advances of funds from any public or private
3 agency and to receive and accept from any source contributions
4 of money, property, labor, or any other thing of value, to be
5 held, used, and applied for the purposes of this section.
6 (f) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
7 shall be an independent nonpartisan body and shall not be
8 identified or affiliated with any one agency, program, or
9 group.
10 (g) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
11 shall have a budget, shall be financed through an annual
12 appropriation made for this purpose in the General
13 Appropriations Act, and shall be subject to compliance audits
14 and annual financial audits by the Auditor General.
15 (h) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
16 shall be staffed by an executive director and professional and
17 support staff and draw upon state agency personnel and
18 resources as needed to implement policy and manage interagency
19 agreements necessary to create a more coherent system of
20 school readiness programs for the state's youngest children.
21 (i) The executive director shall serve at the pleasure
22 of the governing board, shall supervise the affairs and
23 activities of the Children First Partnership and staff, and,
24 consistent with the recommendations of the Florida Partnership
25 for Children First, Inc., and needs of local Children First
26 Coalitions, shall be responsible for contracting for technical
27 assistance and support during fiscal years 1998-1999 and
28 1999-2000 to assist counties in creating Children First
29 Coalitions and developing local plans.
30 (5) CHILDREN FIRST PROGRAM.--The Children First
31 Partnership shall phase in a program to:
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1 (a) Facilitate the provision of quality early
2 childhood health care, child care, and education to children
3 from birth to 5 years of age or until the child attains school
4 readiness, whichever is later.
5 (b) Provide eligibility criteria for a single sliding
6 fee scale for all school readiness programs and arrange for
7 the collection of fees from families in an amount determined
8 by the governing board in accordance with the following
9 priority listing:
10 1. Children of participants in the WAGES program who
11 are the only children eligible for services funded through the
12 federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
13 2. Children under 5 years of age who are:
14 a. Children determined to be at risk of abuse,
15 neglect, or exploitation and who are currently clients of the
16 Department of Children and Family Services.
17 b. Children at risk of welfare dependency, including
18 children of migrant farmworkers, children of teen parents, and
19 children from other families at risk of welfare dependency due
20 to a family income of less than 100 percent of the federal
21 poverty level.
22 c. Children of working families whose family income is
23 equal to or greater than 100 percent, but does not exceed 150
24 percent, of the federal poverty level.
25 3. Children who meet the eligibility requirements for
26 the prekindergarten early intervention program under s.
27 411.04(2).
28 (c) In accordance with the parental choice and payment
29 arrangement provisions of subsection (9), establish
30 participation criteria that include a single or simplified
31 point of entry to the school readiness program services system
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1 in each county. These programs shall share the waiting lists
2 for unserved children so that a count of eligible children is
3 maintained without duplication. Participation criteria shall
4 require parents to be provided a choice of school readiness
5 program settings and locations, including but not limited to
6 settings and locations in child care centers; family child
7 care homes; school-based programs; church-sponsored,
8 religious-exempt programs; or relative care.
9 (d) Partner with Children First Coalitions to provide,
10 by direct service agreement, contract agreement, or voucher,
11 school readiness program services meeting standards
12 established by the Children First Partnership and the parental
13 choice and payment arrangement provisions of subsection (9).
14 (e) Make available the Florida Parents as Teachers
15 Program pursuant to s. 411.06, whenever feasible and as early
16 as possible in the child's development.
17 (f) Establish, with consultation from appropriate
18 professional organizations, standards and performance measures
19 for school readiness program services and providers
20 appropriate to children from birth to 5 years of age or until
21 the child attains school readiness, whichever is later.
22 (g) Develop age-appropriate screening instruments,
23 utilizing the latest brain development research, that provide
24 clear and objective data to measure school readiness.
25 (h) Prepare a plan for broadly publicizing and
26 implementing the system for measuring school readiness in such
27 a way that all children in children first plan programs or
28 whose parents or guardians bring them to a children first
29 program location for screening upon payment of a nominal fee
30 have the opportunity to undergo the screening by 3 1/2 years
31 of age, with followup screening at 4 1/2 years of age and, for
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1 purposes of evaluation and tracking, assess all kindergarten
2 screenings of children who have been in children first plan
3 programs. The plan must include a way to make the screening
4 and the training required to administer it available to public
5 and private providers of school readiness programs, and a way
6 to utilize the Florida Parents as Teachers Program established
7 pursuant to s. 411.06 or other available methods to make the
8 screening available for a nominal fee to children who do not
9 participate in such programs.
10 (i) Establish a method for collecting data from the
11 screening and establish guidelines for using the data so that
12 the measurement, the data collection, and the use of the data
13 serve the statewide goal that all children will be ready for
14 school. The criteria for determining which data to collect
15 should be the usefulness of the data to state policymakers and
16 program administrators in administering programs and
17 allocating state funds.
18 (j) Develop and implement a plan to publicize the
19 Children First Partnership, its school readiness expectations,
20 available school readiness program services, eligibility
21 requirements for the sliding fee scale, and procedures for
22 enrollment; and to provide the public with information as to
23 the details of the programs offered by qualified providers,
24 performance measures for the programs, and school readiness
25 outcomes.
26 (k) As appropriate, enter into contracts with one-stop
27 career centers, local school boards, child care resource and
28 referral agencies, and other agencies to provide onsite
29 information, referrals, and other services to enhance the
30 goals of the Children First Partnership.
31
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1 (l) Provide a report on an annual basis to the
2 governing board, the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, the
3 President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
4 Representatives, and the Minority Leaders of the Senate and
5 the House of Representatives.
6 (6) CHILDREN FIRST COALITIONS.--
7 (a) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
8 shall assist in establishing a Children First Coalition in
9 each county or combination of counties. The coalitions shall
10 be comprised of private nonprofit agencies or a partnership of
11 public entities, private nonprofit organizations, and
12 individuals with strong demonstrated interest and leadership,
13 and should include the school district or districts and the
14 existing central agencies for subsidized child care; however,
15 the Children First Partnership shall encourage the strongest
16 coalition obtainable. One Children First Coalition shall be
17 established in each county, except that two or more counties
18 may join together under a Children First Coalition, but no
19 more than one coalition may be established in any county.
20 Each Children First Coalition shall develop a children first
21 plan to be submitted to the Children First Partnership for
22 approval. Each coalition shall provide for the following
23 services as part of its children first plan:
24 1. Identification of existing public and private
25 school readiness program services, including services by
26 public and private employers, and the development of a
27 resource file of those services. These services may include
28 family day care, public and private child care programs, Head
29 Start, prekindergarten early intervention programs, services
30 for children with developmental disabilities, full-time and
31 part-time programs, before-school and after-school programs,
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1 vacation care programs, parent education, the WAGES Program,
2 and related family support services. The resource file shall
3 include, but not be limited to:
4 a. Type of program.
5 b. Hours of service.
6 c. Ages of children served.
7 d. Number of children served.
8 e. Significant program information, including
9 participation requirements and performance measures.
10 f. Fees and eligibility for services.
11 g. Availability of transportation.
12 2. Establishment of a referral process which responds
13 to parental need for information and which is provided with
14 full recognition of the confidentiality rights of parents.
15 Referrals may not be made to an unlicensed child care facility
16 or arrangement unless there is no requirement that the
17 facility or arrangement be licensed.
18 3. Maintenance of ongoing documentation of requests
19 for service tabulated through the internal referral process.
20 The following documentation of requests for service shall be
21 maintained by each Children First Coalition:
22 a. Number of calls and contacts to the Children First
23 Coalition by type of service requested.
24 b. Ages of children for whom service was requested.
25 c. Time category of child care requests for each
26 child.
27 d. Special time category, such as nights, weekends,
28 and swing shift.
29 e. Reason that the services are desired.
30 f. Name of the employer and primary focus of the
31 business.
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1 4. Provision of technical assistance to existing and
2 potential providers of school readiness program services.
3 This assistance may include but is not limited to:
4 a. Information on initiating new school readiness
5 program services and program and budget development and
6 assistance in finding such information from other sources.
7 b. Information and resources which help current school
8 readiness program services providers to maximize their ability
9 to serve children and parents in their community.
10 c. Information and incentives which could help current
11 or planned school readiness program services offered by public
12 or private employers seeking to maximize their ability to
13 serve the children of their working parent employees in their
14 community, through contractual or other funding arrangements
15 with businesses.
16 5. Assistance to families and employers in applying
17 for children first school readiness program subsidy, including
18 but not limited to funding sources derived from subsidized
19 child care, Head Start, prekindergarten early intervention
20 programs, Project Independence, private scholarships, and the
21 federal dependent care tax credit. Such assistance shall be
22 designed to ensure that coalition funds are expended in the
23 manner and for the purpose required by the funding source.
24 6. Within federal reimbursement requirements,
25 assistance to state agencies in determining the market rate
26 for school readiness programs.
27 7. Assistance in negotiating discounts or other
28 special arrangements with program providers.
29 8. Annual provision to the Florida Partnership for
30 Children First, Inc., of the following information regarding
31 licensed and registered school readiness program facilities:
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1 a. Type of program.
2 b. Hours of service.
3 c. Ages of children served.
4 d. Fees and eligibility for services.
5 e. Performance and school readiness outcomes.
6
7 The coalition shall operate under the direction of the Florida
8 Partnership for Children First, Inc., and shall be responsible
9 for monitoring all providers' success in achieving the
10 legislatively mandated performance standards and school
11 readiness outcome measures. No public funds shall be paid to a
12 provider unless the provider agrees to allow the coalition
13 access to fulfill its monitoring responsibilities.
14 (b) As part of its children first plan, each coalition
15 shall select and designate an entity with demonstrated
16 capacity in fiscal management to serve as fiscal agent for
17 receipt of block grant funding and to ensure that coalition
18 funds are expended in the manner and for the purpose required
19 by the funding source. The fiscal agent must be a nonprofit
20 organization and must be approved by the Florida Partnership
21 for Children First, Inc. The fiscal agent shall be required to
22 provide all administrative and direct funding services as
23 determined by the coalition. The cost of these services shall
24 be negotiated between the fiscal agent and the coalition.
25 (c) The coalition shall require its children first
26 program to comply with the parental choice and payment
27 arrangement provisions of subsection (9).
28 (d) Each coalition shall assume responsibility for
29 recommending phasing out duplicative coordinating bodies,
30 increasing collaboration among service providers, coordinating
31 services for young children, increasing program quality and
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1 accessibility, and providing a seamless service delivery
2 system with a true continuum of coordinated school readiness
3 program services, available to all children under 5 years of
4 age living in the county or counties.
5 (e)1. Funds appropriated for a county or counties for
6 the prekindergarten early intervention program, the subsidized
7 child care program, and other state funded school readiness
8 programs for preschool children may be transferred to the
9 county's or counties' Children First Coalition account in the
10 Children First School Readiness Trust Fund for the purpose of
11 block grant funding to benefit the Children First Coalition in
12 implementing its children first plan. Additional funds,
13 including state appropriated incentive funds, may be placed in
14 the trust fund for purposes of this paragraph.
15 2. Each coalition shall be eligible to receive block
16 grant funding from its account in the Children First School
17 Readiness Trust Fund and programmatic waiver authority if
18 available, conditioned on the submission of an approved
19 children first plan designed to increase the number of
20 children ready to succeed at the time of entry into
21 kindergarten. The Auditor General shall conduct compliance
22 audits and an annual financial audit of each coalition's block
23 grant funding.
24 3. To increase school readiness, block grant funding
25 and programmatic waiver shall be used by the coalitions to
26 improve health outcomes, increase the availability and
27 accessibility of school readiness programs, and provide family
28 support and parent education and development services.
29 (7) INCENTIVES FOR CHILDREN FIRST PLANS.--
30 (a) Children First Coalitions shall receive coalition
31 initiation grants to develop children first plans, and block
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1 grant funding to implement approved plans designed to enable a
2 county or counties to achieve the outcomes specified in
3 subparagraph (6)(e)3. The plans must reflect strategies and
4 activities for achieving these outcomes through enhancing the
5 quality of school readiness program services that are adequate
6 and appropriate for the outcome desired; increasing the level
7 of services available so that those children in need of
8 identified services will have access to such services; and
9 creating incentives to integrate the various systems of
10 children's school readiness program services so that all the
11 systems work together as one to achieve the identified
12 outcomes.
13 (b) Children first plans submitted by a Children First
14 Coalition are subject to review and approval by the Florida
15 Partnership for Children First, Inc.
16 (c) To determine county priorities for coordinated
17 school readiness programs, each plan submitted by a Children
18 First Coalition shall include:
19 1. An assessment of current public, private, and
20 charitable resources available within the county for children
21 from birth to 5 years of age.
22 2. An assessment of unmet school readiness program
23 needs for children from birth to 5 years of age and an
24 assessment of school readiness program needs of children 5
25 years of age and older.
26 3. An assessment of kindergarten readiness as
27 administered in the past by the school district or districts,
28 together with the plans, timeframes, and goals for the
29 administration of the new school readiness instrument or
30 instruments to be administered to children in the Children
31 First Coalition's programs at 3 1/2 years of age and 4 1/2
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1 years of age and to be administered to students in
2 kindergarten by the school district.
3 4. A method for school readiness program service
4 systems integration; demonstration of methods for achieving
5 the outcomes in subparagraph (6)(e)3.; demonstration of
6 methods for meeting the needs of particular subgroups of the
7 population, including migrant children, children with special
8 needs, and minorities; and methods for administering and
9 maintaining accountability in the integrated systems.
10 (d) Children first plans submitted by a Children First
11 Coalition shall adhere to the minimum standards established by
12 the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., and shall
13 address improvements in the quality of current and new
14 programs, including but not limited to components for
15 providing developmentally appropriate curricula; small group
16 sizes; ratios; increased staff training; and lower staff
17 turnover rates.
18 (e) Additional areas to be given priority
19 consideration in any children first plan submitted by a
20 Children First Coalition include family involvement; business
21 and private sector involvement; implementation of a single or
22 simplified point of entry and a unified waiting list for
23 school readiness programs; provision of full-day, full-year,
24 and night services, where needed and appropriate; and
25 inclusion of children with disabilities.
26 (f) Children First Coalitions shall phase in the
27 integration of the early childhood health care, child care,
28 and education systems in their children first plans, starting
29 with the systems that are currently most involved in
30 collaboration with each other and consistent with local needs
31 and priorities.
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1 (8) COALITION INITIATION GRANTS; BLOCK GRANT
2 FUNDING.--
3 (a) Children First Coalitions that are approved by the
4 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., by June 30,
5 1999, shall be eligible for a $25,000 initiation grant to
6 support the Children First Coalition in developing its
7 children first plan.
8 (b) Children First Coalitions that have their children
9 first plans approved by the Florida Partnership for Children
10 First, Inc., by July 1, 1999, shall receive children first
11 block grant funding beginning July 1, 1999, to begin a
12 phase-in implementation of their children first plans.
13 Children first block grant funding for these counties shall
14 continue from year to year consistent with funding so
15 designated in the General Appropriations Act.
16 (c) Beginning in January 1999, the Florida Partnership
17 for Children First, Inc., shall issue a call for Children
18 First Coalition initiation grants every 6 months until
19 Children First Coalitions have been approved for all counties.
20 Coalitions submitting children first plans that are approved
21 by the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., shall be
22 eligible for block grant funding to implement their plans
23 beginning July 1 following plan approval. Children first block
24 grant funding shall be made available for these coalitions
25 contingent upon approval of the children first plans and
26 legislative appropriations for this purpose. Children first
27 block grant funding for these coalitions shall continue from
28 year to year consistent with funding so designated in the
29 General Appropriations Act.
30 (9)(a) PARENTAL CHOICE; PAYMENT ARRANGEMENT.--The
31 children first plan shall be provided in a manner that
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1 ensures, to the maximum extent possible, parental choice
2 through flexibility in children first program arrangements and
3 payment arrangements, including but not limited to voucher,
4 contract, and direct service provision. According to federal
5 regulations requiring parental choice, a parent may choose an
6 informal child care arrangement.
7 (b) When a voucher is provided, the voucher must bear
8 the name of the beneficiary and the program provider and, when
9 redeemed, must bear the signature of both the beneficiary and
10 an authorized representative of the provider. If it is
11 determined that a provider has provided any cash to the
12 beneficiary in return for receiving the voucher, the Children
13 First Coalition shall refer the matter to the Division of
14 Public Assistance Fraud of the the Office of the Auditor
15 General for investigation and shall notify the agency
16 responsible for the funding source.
17 (c) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
18 in consultation with the office of the Comptroller, shall
19 establish an electronic disbursement system for the
20 dissemination of funds and vouchers in accordance with this
21 subsection. Fiscal agents shall fully implement the electronic
22 disbursement system within 3 years after approval of the
23 children first plan unless a waiver is obtained from the
24 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc. The fiscal agent
25 may charge an administrative fee not to exceed 1 percent of
26 each voucher to offset administrative costs of the school
27 readiness program.
28 (10) EVALUATION AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES.--
29 (a) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
30 shall have the responsibility for designing the evaluation and
31 performance measures to track the effectiveness of the new
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1 children first block grant funding and other funding in
2 meeting the goals of increasing the quality and accessibility
3 of school readiness program services. The performance
4 standards and measurable outcomes established and regularly
5 reviewed by the Florida Partnership For Children First, Inc.,
6 under this subsection must also include benchmarks and goals
7 to measure the impact of state school readiness policies and
8 programs. Evaluation and performance measures must accommodate
9 the programmatic flexibility of parental choice settings among
10 Children First Coalition providers, including but not limited
11 to child care centers; family child care homes; school-based
12 programs; church-sponsored, religious-exempt programs; or
13 relative care.
14 (b) Each Children First Coalition shall require that
15 all school readiness programs that screen children for school
16 readiness utilize the school readiness screening instruments
17 developed by the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
18 to accurately reflect school readiness as the primary measure
19 of performance.
20 (c) The governing board shall report to the
21 Legislature on the implementation and performance of the
22 Children First Coalitions by March 1 of each year.
23 (11) RESPONSIBILITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS
24 SECTION.--The appointive voting members of the Florida
25 Partnership for Children First, Inc., shall be selected no
26 later than July 15, 1998, and the staff of the Children First
27 Partnership shall be selected and in place no later than
28 August 15, 1998. The first full meeting of the Florida
29 Partnership for Children First, Inc., shall be held no later
30 than October 1, 1998.
31
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1 (12) PHASE-OUT OF STATE COORDINATING COUNCIL FOR EARLY
2 CHILDHOOD SERVICES.--By December 31, 1998, the State
3 Coordinating Council for Early Childhood Services shall submit
4 a final report of recommendations regarding early childhood
5 health care, child care, and education programs to the
6 Children First Governing Board. The State Coordinating Council
7 for Early Childhood Services shall cease to exist after
8 December 31, 1998.
9 Section 4. Effective July 1, 1998, section 411.02,
10 Florida Statutes, is created to read:
11 411.02 Children First Appropriation Allocation
12 Conference.--Prior to the distribution of any funds pursuant
13 to s. 411.01(8)(b) or (c), the Children First Governing Board
14 shall conduct a Children First Appropriation Allocation
15 Conference. Conference principals shall include
16 representatives of the Florida Partnership for Children First,
17 Inc., the Department of Education, the Department of Children
18 and Family Services, the Executive Office of the Governor, the
19 Director of Economic and Demographic Research, and the
20 applicable appropriations committees of the Senate and the
21 House of Representatives. Conference principals shall discuss
22 the forecasts of numbers of children needing school readiness
23 programs as determined by the School Readiness Program
24 Estimating Conference and participate in a joint effort to
25 develop budget allocation proposals that maximize the
26 legislative intent of the Children First Act and ensure that
27 the requirements of the funding sources are met.
28 Section 5. Effective July 1, 1998, paragraph (a) of
29 subsection (6) of section 216.136, Florida Statutes, is
30 amended, and subsection (11) is added to said section, to
31 read:
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1 216.136 Consensus estimating conferences; duties and
2 principals.--
3 (6) SOCIAL SERVICES ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.--
4 (a) Duties.--
5 1. The Social Services Estimating Conference shall
6 develop such official information relating to the social
7 services system of the state, including forecasts of social
8 services caseloads, as the conference determines is needed for
9 the state planning and budgeting system. Such official
10 information shall include, but not be limited to, subsidized
11 child care caseloads mandated by the Family Support Act of
12 1988.
13 2. In addition, the Social Services Estimating
14 Conference shall develop estimates and forecasts of the
15 unduplicated count of children eligible for subsidized child
16 care as defined in s. 411.01. These estimates and forecasts
17 shall not include children enrolled in the prekindergarten
18 early intervention program established in s. 230.2305.
19 3. The Department of Health and Rehabilitative
20 Services and the Department of Education shall provide
21 information on caseloads and waiting lists for the subsidized
22 child care and prekindergarten early intervention programs
23 requested by the Social Services Estimating Conference or
24 individual conference principals, in a timely manner.
25 (11) SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.--
26 (a) Duties.--
27 1. The School Readiness Program Estimating Conference
28 shall develop such official information relating to the
29 state's system of school readiness program services as
30 described in s. 411.01, including forecasts of school
31 readiness program needs, as the conference determines is
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1 needed for the state planning and budgeting system. Such
2 official information shall include but not be limited to
3 subsidized child care, Head Start, prekindergarten early
4 intervention, prekindergarten disabilities, Even-Start
5 literacy, First Start, migrant prekindergarten, and Title I
6 prekindergarten needs.
7 2. In addition, the School Readiness Program
8 Estimating Conference shall develop estimates and forecasts of
9 the unduplicated count of children eligible for school
10 readiness program services pursuant to s. 411.01.
11 3. The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
12 shall provide information on needs and waiting lists for
13 school readiness program services requested by the School
14 Readiness Program Estimating Conference or individual
15 conference principals, in a timely manner.
16 (b) Principals.--The Executive Office of the Governor,
17 the Director of Economic and Demographic Research, and
18 professional staff, who have forecasting expertise, from the
19 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., the Department
20 of Children and Family Services, the Department of Education,
21 the Senate, and the House of Representatives, or their
22 designees, are the principals of the School Readiness Program
23 Education Estimating Conference. The principal representing
24 the Executive Office of the Governor shall preside over
25 sessions of the conference.
26 Section 6. Effective July 1, 1999, section 230.2303,
27 Florida Statutes, is renumbered as section 411.03, Florida
28 Statutes, and amended to read:
29 411.03 230.2303 Florida First Start Program.--
30 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT; PURPOSE.--The Legislature
31 recognizes that the years of a child's life between birth and
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1 the third birthday are critical for fostering intellectual
2 ability, language competence, physical development, and social
3 skills. The Florida First Start Program is intended as a
4 home-school partnership designed to give children with
5 disabilities and children at risk of future school failure the
6 best possible start in life and to support parents in their
7 role as the children's first teachers. The purpose of the
8 program is to assist parents to achieve their own goals for
9 education and self-sufficiency and to teach parents how to
10 foster their child's development in the crucial early years of
11 life. The program must assist school districts in providing
12 early, high-quality parent education and support services that
13 enable the parents to enhance their children's intellectual,
14 language, physical, and social development, thus maximizing
15 the children's overall progress during the first 3 years of
16 life, laying the foundation for future school success, and
17 minimizing the development of disabilities and developmental
18 problems which interfere with learning.
19 (2) PROGRAM.--There is hereby created the Florida
20 First Start Program for children from birth to 3 years of age
21 and their parents. The program must be administered,
22 implemented, and conducted by school districts pursuant to a
23 children first plan developed by the Children First Coalition
24 and approved by the Florida Partnership for Children First,
25 Inc as provided in this section.
26 (3) PLAN.--Each school board may submit to the
27 Commissioner of Education a plan for conducting a Florida
28 First Start Program. Each program plan and subsequent amended
29 program plan shall be developed in cooperation with the
30 district interagency coordinating council on early childhood
31 services established pursuant to s. 230.2305 and the
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1 Interagency Prekindergarten Council for Children with
2 Disabilities, and shall be approved by the commissioner. A
3 district school board's plan must be designed to serve
4 children from birth to 3 years of age who are disabled or at
5 risk of future school failure and to serve their parents. For
6 the purposes of this section, the term "children with
7 disabilities or at risk of future school failure" includes any
8 child who has one or more of the characteristics described in
9 s. 411.202(10)(9).
10 (4) PLAN APPROVAL.--To be considered for approval,
11 each program plan, or amendment to a program plan, must be
12 based on the latest current research findings regarding the
13 growth and development of infants and young children and must
14 include the following program components:
15 (a) The establishment of parent resource centers
16 located in neighborhood schools. Parent resource centers may
17 be established in cooperation with and jointly funded through
18 the community education program established pursuant to s.
19 239.401 or the Florida Parents as Teachers Program established
20 pursuant to s. 411.06.
21 (b) Visits, at least once a month, by trained parent
22 educators from the parent resource center, who shall inform
23 the parents about stages of child development and suggest
24 methods for parents to encourage children's intellectual,
25 language, physical, and social development. Parent educators
26 shall also offer guidance on home safety, nutrition, effective
27 discipline, constructive play activities, and other topics.
28 (c) Monthly group meetings for parents with similarly
29 aged children held at the parent resource centers.
30 (d) Periodic formal educational and medical screening
31 for the children.
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1 (e) A procedure to help parents identify their goals
2 for education and self-sufficiency and to monitor their
3 progress toward achievement of their goals. The program must
4 provide a referral network to help parents who need special
5 assistance, for themselves or their children, that is beyond
6 the scope of this program.
7 (f) Assurances that each school parent resource center
8 shall be operated in compliance with the recommendations of
9 the Florida Parents as Teachers Program or staffed by a
10 coordinator trained in parent education and holding a
11 bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with a major
12 in early childhood education, child development, child
13 psychology, home economics, social work, or nursing.
14 (g) A method for training parent educators and for
15 recruiting parent educators from among the families in the
16 school's attendance zone. Training for parent educators shall
17 include, but not be limited to, child growth and development,
18 health, safety, nutrition, identifying and reporting child
19 abuse and neglect, developmentally appropriate activities for
20 young children, and avoidance of income-based, race-based, and
21 gender-based stereotyping.
22 (h) An inservice staff development component,
23 including arrangements for staff access to child development
24 associate certificate training or its equivalent, coordination
25 with local teacher education centers established under s.
26 231.603, and integration with district master inservice plans
27 required under s. 236.0811.
28 (i) Coordination with district prekindergarten early
29 intervention programs and other school readiness programs
30 serving preschool children and their families.
31
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1 (5) EVALUATION.--The Children First Coalition Each
2 school district shall conduct an annual evaluation of the
3 effectiveness of the Florida First Start Program in achieving
4 the performance outcomes established by the Florida
5 Partnership for Children First, Inc. This evaluation must
6 include assessment of the children's behavior, growth and
7 development, and achievement; the parents' success in meeting
8 their own goals for education and self-sufficiency; and the
9 parents' continued involvement with the education of their
10 children. The results of this evaluation must be maintained by
11 the school district and made available to the public upon
12 request.
13 (6) MONITORING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.--The Florida
14 Partnership for Children First, Inc., commissioner shall
15 monitor each Children First Coalition's Florida First Start
16 district Program at least annually to determine compliance
17 with the coalition's children first district plan and the
18 provisions of this section. The department shall develop
19 manuals and guidelines for the development of district plans
20 and shall provide technical assistance to ensure that each
21 district program maintains high standards of quality and
22 effectiveness. The Florida Partnership for Children First,
23 Inc., department shall identify exemplary programs in the
24 state to serve as model Florida First Start Programs and shall
25 disseminate information on these programs to all Children
26 First Coalitions districts.
27 (7) ANNUAL REPORT.--Each Florida First Start Program
28 shall district school board that implements a program under
29 this section shall, with the assistance of the district
30 interagency coordinating council on early childhood services,
31 submit an annual report of its program to the Children First
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1 Coalition commissioner. The report must describe the overall
2 program operations, activities of the district interagency
3 coordinating council, expenditures, the number of children
4 served, staff training and qualifications, and evaluation
5 findings.
6 (8) COORDINATION.--
7 (a) The Florida First Start Program shall be included
8 under the jurisdiction of the Florida Partnership for Children
9 First, Inc., State Coordinating Council for Early Childhood
10 Services established pursuant to s. 411.01 411.222. The
11 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., council shall
12 make recommendations for effective implementation of the
13 program and shall advise the Department of Education on needed
14 legislation, rules, and technical assistance to ensure the
15 continued implementation of an effective program.
16 (b) Each school district shall develop, implement, and
17 evaluate its program in cooperation with the district
18 interagency coordinating council established under s.
19 230.2305.
20 (9) FUNDING.--Funding for the Florida First Start
21 Program must be determined annually in the General
22 Appropriations Act.
23 Section 7. Effective July 1, 1999, section 230.2305,
24 Florida Statutes, is renumbered as section 411.04, Florida
25 Statutes, and amended to read:
26 411.04 230.2305 Prekindergarten early intervention
27 program.--
28 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT; PURPOSE.--The Legislature
29 recognizes that high-quality prekindergarten education
30 programs increase children's chances of achieving future
31 educational success and becoming productive members of
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1 society. It is the intent of the Legislature that such
2 programs be submitted by the Children First Coalition as part
3 of the children first plan and comply with performance
4 measures established by the Florida Partnership for Children
5 First, Inc., pursuant to s. 411.01. The programs shall
6 demonstrate that they are developmental, serve as preventive
7 measures for children at risk of future school failure,
8 enhance the educational readiness of all children in the
9 program, and support family education and the involvement of
10 parents in their child's educational progress. Each
11 prekindergarten early intervention program shall provide the
12 elements necessary to prepare children for school, including
13 health screening and referral and a developmentally
14 appropriate educational program and opportunities for parental
15 involvement in the program. Each prekindergarten early
16 intervention program shall administer the screening
17 instruments for school readiness developed by the Florida
18 Partnership for Children First, Inc., pursuant to s. 411.01,
19 in accordance with guidelines of the Children First Coalition.
20 It is the legislative intent that the prekindergarten early
21 intervention program not exist as an isolated program, but as
22 part of the children first plan build upon existing services
23 and work in cooperation with other programs for young
24 children. It is intended that procedures such as, but not
25 limited to, contracting, collocation, mainstreaming, and
26 cooperative funding be used by the Children First Coalition to
27 coordinate the program with Head Start, public and private
28 providers of child care, preschool programs for children with
29 disabilities, programs for migrant children, Chapter I,
30 subsidized child care, adult literacy programs, and other
31 services. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the
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1 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., oversee
2 Commissioner of Education seek the advice of the Secretary of
3 Health and Rehabilitative Services in the development and
4 implementation of performance measures for the prekindergarten
5 early intervention program and that the Children First
6 Coalition oversee the coordination of services to young
7 children. The purpose of the prekindergarten early
8 intervention program is to assist local communities in
9 implementing programs that will enable all the families and
10 children in the school district to be prepared for the
11 children's success in school.
12 (2) ELIGIBILITY.--There is hereby created the
13 prekindergarten early intervention program for children who
14 are 3 and 4 years of age. A prekindergarten early
15 intervention program may shall be administered by a district
16 school board or other Children First Coalition provider and
17 shall receive state funds pursuant to subsection (6) (5). Each
18 public school district or other Children First Coalition
19 provider shall make reasonable efforts to accommodate the
20 needs of children for extended day and extended year services
21 without compromising the quality of the 6-hour, 180-day
22 program. The school district or other Children First
23 Coalition provider shall report on such efforts. School
24 district participation in the prekindergarten early
25 intervention program shall be at the discretion of each school
26 district. Eligibility for program participation shall be as
27 established by the Florida Partnership for Children First,
28 Inc. Until eligibility is established by the Florida
29 Partnership for Children First, Inc., eligibility shall be
30 determined as follows:
31
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1 (a) At least 75 percent of the children projected to
2 be served by the district program shall be economically
3 disadvantaged 4-year-old children of working parents,
4 including migrant children or children whose parents
5 participate in the WAGES Program. Other children projected to
6 be served by the district program may include any of the
7 following up to a maximum of 25 percent of the total number of
8 children served:
9 1. Three-year-old and four-year-old children who are
10 referred to the school system who may not be economically
11 disadvantaged but who are abused, prenatally exposed to
12 alcohol or harmful drugs, or from foster homes, or who are
13 marginal in terms of Exceptional Student Education placement.
14 2. Three-year-old children and four-year-old children
15 who may not be economically disadvantaged but who are eligible
16 students with disabilities and served in an exceptional
17 student education program with required special services,
18 aids, or equipment and who are reported for partial funding in
19 the K-12 Florida Education Finance Program. These students
20 may be funded from prekindergarten early intervention program
21 funds the portion of the time not funded by the K-12 Florida
22 Education Finance Program for the actual instructional time or
23 one full-time equivalent student membership, whichever is the
24 lesser. These students with disabilities shall be counted
25 toward the 25-percent student limit based on full-time
26 equivalent student membership funded part-time by
27 prekindergarten early intervention program funds. Also,
28 3-year-old or 4-year-old eligible students with disabilities
29 who are reported for funding in the K-12 Florida Education
30 Finance Program in an exceptional student education program as
31 provided in s. 236.081(1)(c) may be mainstreamed in the
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1 prekindergarten early intervention program if such programming
2 is reflected in the student's individual educational plan; if
3 required special services, aids, or equipment are provided;
4 and if there is no operational cost to prekindergarten early
5 intervention program funds. Exceptional education students
6 who are reported for maximum K-12 Florida Education Finance
7 Program funding and who are not reported for early
8 intervention funding shall not count against the 75-percent or
9 25-percent student limit as stated in this paragraph.
10 3. Economically disadvantaged 3-year-old children.
11 4. Economically disadvantaged children, children with
12 disabilities, and children at risk of future school failure,
13 from birth to age four, who are served at home through home
14 visitor programs and intensive parent education programs such
15 as the Florida First Start Program.
16 5. Children who meet federal and state requirements
17 for eligibility for the migrant preschool program but who do
18 not meet the criteria of "economically disadvantaged" as
19 defined in paragraph (b), who shall not pay a fee.
20 6. After the groups listed in subparagraphs 1., 2.,
21 3., and 4. have been served, 3-year-old and 4-year-old
22 children who are not economically disadvantaged and for whom a
23 fee is paid for the children's participation.
24 (b) An "economically disadvantaged" child shall be
25 defined as a child eligible to participate in the free lunch
26 program. Notwithstanding any change in a family's economic
27 status or in the federal eligibility requirements for free
28 lunch, a child who meets the eligibility requirements upon
29 initial registration for the program shall be considered
30 eligible until the child reaches kindergarten age. If the
31 program is being offered by the school district, in order to
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1 assist the school district in establishing the priority in
2 which children shall be served, and to increase the efficiency
3 in the provision of child care services in each district, the
4 district shall enter into a written collaborative agreement
5 with the Children First Coalition. other publicly funded early
6 education and child care programs within the district. Such
7 agreement shall be facilitated by the interagency coordinating
8 council and shall set forth, among other provisions, the
9 measures to be undertaken to ensure the programs' achievement
10 and compliance with the performance standards established in
11 subsection (3) and for maximizing the public resources
12 available to each program. In addition, the central agency
13 for state-subsidized child care or the local service district
14 of the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services shall
15 provide the school district with an updated list of 3-year-old
16 and 4-year-old children residing in the school district who
17 are on the waiting list for state-subsidized child care.
18 (3) STANDARDS.--
19 (a) Children First Coalitions shall require that all
20 children first plan school readiness Publicly supported
21 preschool programs, including prekindergarten early
22 intervention, subsidized child care, teen parent programs,
23 Head Start, migrant programs, and Chapter I programs, shall
24 employ a single simplified point of entry to the school
25 readiness program child care services system in every county
26 community. These programs shall share the waiting lists for
27 unserved children in the community so that a count of eligible
28 children is maintained without duplications.
29 (b) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
30 pursuant to s. 411.01 and Department of Education and the
31 Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, in
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1 consultation with the Legislature, shall develop a minimum set
2 of performance standards for publicly funded school readiness
3 early education and child care programs, including
4 prekindergarten programs, and a method for measuring the
5 progress of local school districts and other Children First
6 Coalition providers central agencies in meeting a desired set
7 of outcomes based on these performance measures. The defined
8 outcomes must be consistent with the state's first education
9 goal, readiness to start school, and must also consider
10 administrative efficiency measures such as the employment of a
11 simplified point of entry to the child care services system,
12 coordinated staff development programs, and other efforts
13 within the state to increase the opportunity for
14 self-sufficiency welfare recipients to become self-sufficient.
15 Performance standards shall be developed for all levels of
16 administration of the programs, including individual programs
17 and providers, and must incorporate appropriate expectations
18 for the type of program and the setting in which care is
19 provided.
20 (c) The program curriculum must be developmentally
21 appropriate according to the latest current nationally
22 recognized recommendations for high-quality prekindergarten
23 programs.
24 (d) School districts and other Children First
25 Coalition providers shall utilize the may establish a sliding
26 fee scale for participants developed by the Florida
27 Partnership for Children First, Inc.
28 (e) The ratio of direct instructional staff to
29 children must be as recommended by the Florida Partnership for
30 Children First, Inc. Until the Children First Partnership
31 makes its recommendations, the ratio must be 1 adult to 10
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1 children, or a lower ratio. Upon written request from a school
2 district, the commissioner may grant permission for a ratio of
3 up to 1 adult to 15 children for individual schools or centers
4 for which a 1-to-10 ratio would not be feasible.
5 (f) All staff must meet the following minimum
6 requirements as recommended by the Florida Partnership for
7 Children First, Inc. Until the Children First Partnership
8 makes its recommendations, the requirements are:
9 1. The minimum level of training is to be the
10 completion of a 30-clock-hour training course planned jointly
11 by the Department of Education and the Department of Health
12 and Rehabilitative Services to include the following areas:
13 state and local rules that govern child care, health, safety,
14 and nutrition; identification and report of child abuse and
15 neglect; child growth and development; use of developmentally
16 appropriate early childhood curricula; and avoidance of
17 income-based, race-based, and gender-based stereotyping.
18 2. When individual classrooms are staffed by certified
19 teachers, those teachers must be certified for the appropriate
20 grade levels under s. 231.17 and State Board of Education
21 rules. Teachers who are not certified for the appropriate
22 grade levels must obtain proper certification within 2 years.
23 However, the commissioner may make an exception on an
24 individual basis when the requirements are not met because of
25 serious illness, injury, or other extraordinary, extenuating
26 circumstance.
27 3. When individual classrooms are staffed by
28 noncertified teachers, there must be a program director or
29 lead teacher who is eligible for certification or certified
30 for the appropriate grade levels pursuant to s. 231.17 and
31 State Board of Education rules in regularly scheduled direct
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1 contact with each classroom. Notwithstanding s. 231.15, such
2 classrooms must be staffed by at least one person who has, at
3 a minimum, a child development associate credential (CDA) or
4 an amount of training determined by the commissioner to be
5 equivalent to or to exceed the minimum, such as an associate
6 in science degree in the area of early childhood education.
7 4. Beginning October 1, 1994, principals and other
8 school district administrative and supervisory personnel with
9 direct responsibility for the program must demonstrate
10 knowledge of prekindergarten education programs that increase
11 children's chances of achieving future educational success and
12 becoming productive members of society in a manner established
13 by the State Board of Education by rule.
14 5. All personnel who are not certified under s. 231.17
15 must comply with screening requirements under ss. 231.02 and
16 231.1713.
17 (g) Student participation is must be contingent upon
18 parental involvement. The parental involvement activities
19 integral to the program must include program site-based
20 parental activities designed to fully involve parents in the
21 program and may include the Florida Parents as Teachers
22 Program pursuant to s. 411.06 and other parenting education,
23 home visitor activities, and family support services
24 coordination, and other activities.
25 (h) Services are to be provided during a school day
26 and school year equal to or exceeding the requirements for
27 kindergarten under ss. 228.041 and 236.013. Strategies to
28 provide care before school, after school, and 12 months a
29 year, when needed, must be developed by the school district in
30 cooperation with the central agency for state-subsidized child
31 care or other Children First Coalition provider the local
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1 service district of the Department of Health and
2 Rehabilitative Services and the district interagency
3 coordinating council. Programs may be provided on Saturdays
4 and through other innovative scheduling arrangements.
5 (i) The school district or other Children First
6 Coalition provider must make every reasonable effort efforts
7 to meet the first state education goal, readiness to start
8 school, including the involvement of other children first plan
9 school readiness programs, nonpublic schools, public and
10 private providers of day care and early education, and other
11 community agencies that provide services to young children.
12 This may include private child care programs, subsidized child
13 care programs, and Head Start programs. A written description
14 of these efforts must be provided to the Children First
15 Coalition district interagency coordinating council on early
16 childhood services.
17 (j) In accordance with the parental choice and payment
18 arrangement provisions of s. 411.01(9), parents must be
19 provided a voucher or an option regarding a child's
20 participation at a school-based site or other Children First
21 Coalition among contracted site sites, when such voucher or an
22 option is appropriate and within the school district. The
23 Children First Coalition school district may consider
24 availability of sites, transportation, staffing ratios, costs,
25 and other factors in determining the assignment and setting
26 district guidelines. Parents may request and be assigned a
27 site other than one first assigned by the Children First
28 Coalition district, provided the parents pay the cost of
29 transporting the child to the site of the parents' choice.
30 (k) The Children First Coalition school district must
31 coordinate with the central agency for state-subsidized child
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1 care or the local service district of the Department of
2 Children and Family Health and Rehabilitative Services to
3 verify family participation in the WAGES Program, thus
4 ensuring accurate reporting and full utilization of federal
5 funds available through the Family Support Act, and for the
6 agency's or service district's sharing of the waiting list for
7 state-subsidized child care under paragraph (a).
8 (4) EVALUATION.--Each school district and other
9 Children First Coalition provider shall conduct an evaluation
10 of the effectiveness of its the prekindergarten early
11 intervention program. This evaluation shall include
12 performance measures required by the Children First Coalition
13 as part of the children first plan and measures of the
14 following:
15 (a) The children's achievement as measured by the
16 school readiness instrument or instruments assessments upon
17 entry into the program and upon completion of the program.;
18 and
19 (b) The children's readiness for kindergarten as
20 measured by the instrument the district uses to assess the
21 school readiness of all children entering kindergarten. The
22 results of this evaluation must be maintained by the Children
23 First Coalition school district and made available to the
24 public upon request.
25 (5) ANNUAL REPORT.--Each prekindergarten early
26 intervention program under this section shall submit an annual
27 report of its program to the Children First Coalition district
28 interagency coordinating council on early childhood services.
29 The report must describe the overall program operations;
30 activities of the district interagency coordinating council on
31 early childhood services; expenditures; the number of students
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1 served; ratio of staff to children; staff qualifications;
2 evaluation findings, including identification of program
3 components that were most successful; and other information
4 required by the Children First Coalition council or the
5 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc state advisory
6 council.
7 (6) FUNDING.--
8 (a) This section shall be implemented only to the
9 extent that funding is available. State funds appropriated
10 for the prekindergarten early intervention program may not be
11 used for the construction of new facilities, the
12 transportation of students, or the purchase of buses, but may
13 be used for educational field trips which enhance the
14 curriculum.
15 1. At least 70 percent of the total funds appropriated
16 for each children first plan's prekindergarten early
17 intervention program and allocated to each Children First
18 Coalition school district under this section must be used for
19 implementing and conducting a prekindergarten early
20 intervention program or contracting with other public or
21 nonpublic entities for programs to serve eligible children.
22 The maximum amount to be spent per child for this purpose is
23 to be designated annually in the General Appropriations Act.
24 2. No more than 30 percent of the funds appropriated
25 for each children first plan's prekindergarten early
26 intervention program and allocated to each Children First
27 Coalition school district pursuant to this section may be used
28 to enhance existing public and nonpublic programs for eligible
29 children, to provide before-school and after-school care for
30 children served under this section, to remodel or renovate
31 existing facilities under chapter 235, to lease or
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1 lease-purchase facilities, to purchase classroom equipment to
2 allow the implementation of the prekindergarten early
3 intervention program, and to provide training for program
4 teachers and administrative personnel employed by the school
5 district or other Children First Coalition provider and by
6 agencies with which the school district contracts for the
7 provision of prekindergarten services.
8 3. Funds may also be used pursuant to subparagraphs 1.
9 and 2. to provide the prekindergarten early intervention
10 program for more than 180 school days.
11 (b) A minimum grant for each children first plan's
12 prekindergarten early intervention program district is to be
13 determined annually in the General Appropriations Act. The
14 funds remaining after appropriating for the prekindergarten
15 early intervention program and allocating the minimum grants
16 must be prorated based on an allocation factor for each
17 Children First Coalition district and must be added to each
18 Children First Coalition's district's minimum grant. The
19 allocation factor, unless otherwise recommended by the Florida
20 Partnership for Children First, Inc., is to be calculated as
21 follows:
22
23 Children First Children First
24 Coalition District x 1/4 + Coalition District x 3/4
25 percentage of state percentage
26 3-year-old and of state total free
27 4-year-old children lunches served
28
29 The calculation of each Children First Coalition's district's
30 allocation factor is to be based upon the official estimate of
31 the total number of 3-year-old and 4-year-old children by
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1 school district and the official record of the Department of
2 Education for K-12 student total free lunches served by school
3 district for the prior fiscal year.
4 (7) CHILDREN FIRST COALITIONS DISTRICT INTERAGENCY
5 COORDINATING COUNCILS.--Children First Coalitions shall be
6 responsible for the prekindergarten early intervention
7 programs in their county or counties of jurisdiction.
8 (a) To be eligible for a prekindergarten early
9 intervention program, each school district or other Children
10 First Coalition provider must develop, implement, and evaluate
11 its prekindergarten program in cooperation with a Children
12 First Coalition district interagency coordinating council on
13 early childhood services.
14 (b) Each district coordinating council must consist of
15 at least 12 members to be appointed by the district school
16 board, the county commission for the county in which
17 participating schools are located, and the Department of
18 Health and Rehabilitative Services' district administrator and
19 must include at least the following:
20 1. One member who is a parent of a child enrolled in,
21 or intending to enroll in, the public school prekindergarten
22 program, appointed by the school board.
23 2. One member who is a director or designated director
24 of a prekindergarten program in the district, appointed by the
25 school board.
26 3. One member who is a member of a district school
27 board, appointed by the school board.
28 4. One member who is a representative of an agency
29 serving children with disabilities, appointed by the
30 Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services' district
31 administrator.
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1 5. Four members who are representatives of
2 organizations providing prekindergarten educational services,
3 one of whom is a representative of a Head Start Program,
4 appointed by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative
5 Services' district administrator; one of whom is a
6 representative of a Title XX subsidized child day care
7 program, if such programs exist within the county, appointed
8 by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services'
9 district administrator; and two of whom are private providers
10 of preschool care and education to 3-year-old and 4-year-old
11 children, one appointed by the county commission and one
12 appointed by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative
13 Services' district administrator. If there is no Head Start
14 Program or Title XX program operating within the county, these
15 two members must represent community interests in
16 prekindergarten education.
17 6. Two members who are representatives of agencies
18 responsible for providing social, medical, dental, adult
19 literacy, or transportation services, one of whom represents
20 the county health department, both appointed by the county
21 commission.
22 7. One member to represent a local child advocacy
23 organization, appointed by the Department of Health and
24 Rehabilitative Services' district administrator.
25 8. One member to represent the district K-3 program,
26 appointed by the school board.
27 (c) Each district interagency coordinating council
28 shall:
29 1. Assist district school boards in developing a plan
30 or an amended plan to implement a prekindergarten early
31 intervention program. The plan and all amendments must be
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1 signed by the council chair, the chair of the district school
2 board, and the district school superintendent.
3 2. Coordinate the delivery of educational, social,
4 medical, child care, and other services.
5 Section 8. Effective July 1, 1998, section 411.05,
6 Florida Statutes, is created to read:
7 411.05 School readiness screening instruments.--The
8 Department of Education shall adopt the school readiness
9 screening instruments developed by the Florida Partnership for
10 Children First, Inc., and shall require that:
11 (1) All school districts administer the kindergarten
12 screening instrument to each kindergarten student in the
13 district school system.
14 (2) All school districts that operate preschool
15 programs administer the age-appropriate screening instrument
16 to each preschool student in the district's preschool
17 programs.
18 Section 9. Effective July 1, 1998, section 411.06,
19 Florida Statutes, is created to read:
20 411.06 Florida Parents as Teachers Program.--
21 (1) The Legislature recognizes that the nationwide
22 Parents as Teachers Program has demonstrated that it is a
23 cost-effective program that produces outstanding results and
24 long-term cost savings. There is established the Florida
25 Parents as Teachers Program under the jurisdiction of the
26 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., which shall make
27 funding for the program available to each Children First
28 Coalition.
29 (2) The purposes of the Florida Parents as Teachers
30 Program are:
31
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1 (a) To provide parents with the latest information on
2 child development from birth to 5 years of age and suggest
3 learning opportunities, based on the latest brain development
4 research, that encourage language and intellectual growth and
5 the development of physical and social skills.
6 (b) To provide all families within the jurisdiction of
7 the Children First Coalition with the opportunity to have
8 their children screened for school readiness, either through
9 the child's participation in a children first plan program or
10 by payment of a nominal fee, at the ages of 3 1/2 years and
11 4 1/2 years.
12 (3) The Florida Parents as Teachers Program shall
13 include personalized home visits by certified parent educators
14 trained in child development, to help parents understand what
15 to expect during each stage of their child's development and
16 to offer practical tips on how to encourage learning, manage
17 behavior, and promote strong parent-child relationships. The
18 program shall also include group meetings, periodic
19 screenings, a resource network, and followup studies,
20 including tracking the school readiness screenings
21 administered after the child is in kindergarten, to measure
22 school readiness outcomes.
23 Section 10. Effective July 1, 1998, section 402.281,
24 Florida Statutes, is renumbered as section 411.08, Florida
25 Statutes, and subsections (1) and (3) of said section are
26 amended to read:
27 411.08 402.281 Gold Seal Quality Care program.--
28 (1) As part of the Gold Seal Quality Care program, the
29 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., department shall
30 develop a three-tiered quality rating system for school
31 readiness program subsidized child care providers, with the
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1 highest quality rating given to qualified child care providers
2 who receive the Gold Seal Quality Care designation pursuant to
3 this section.
4 (3) In developing the Gold Seal Quality Care program
5 standards, the department shall consult with the Department of
6 Education, the Florida Head Start Directors Association, the
7 Florida Association of Child Care Management, the Florida
8 Family Day Care Association, the Florida Children's Forum, the
9 State Coordinating Council for Early Childhood Services, the
10 Early Childhood Association of Florida, the National
11 Association for Child Development Education, providers
12 receiving exemptions under s. 402.316, and parents, for the
13 purpose of approving the accrediting associations.
14 Section 11. Effective July 1, 1998, subsections (4)
15 through (20) of section 411.202, Florida Statutes, are
16 renumbered as subsections (5) through (21), respectively,
17 present subsection (21) is repealed, paragraph (k) of present
18 subsection (9) is amended, and a new subsection (4) is added
19 to said section, to read:
20 411.202 Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the
21 term:
22 (4) "Department" means the Department of Children and
23 Family Services.
24 (10)(9) "High-risk child" or "at-risk child" means a
25 preschool child with one or more of the following
26 characteristics:
27 (k) The child is a handicapped child as defined in
28 subsection (9) (7).
29 (21) "Strategic plan" means a report that analyzes
30 existing programs, services, resources, policy, and needs and
31 sets clear and consistent direction for programs and services
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1 for high-risk pregnant women and for preschool children, with
2 emphasis on high-risk and handicapped children, by
3 establishing goals and child and family outcomes, and
4 strategies to meet them.
5 Section 12. Effective July 1, 1998, section 411.203,
6 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
7 411.203 High-risk and handicapped; continuum of
8 comprehensive services.--The Department of Education and the
9 Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services shall utilize
10 the continuum of prevention and early assistance services for
11 high-risk pregnant women and for high-risk and handicapped
12 children and their families, as outlined in this section, as a
13 basis for the intraagency and interagency program
14 coordination, monitoring, and analysis required in this
15 chapter. A The continuum of comprehensive services shall be
16 the guide for the comprehensive statewide approach for
17 services for high-risk pregnant women and for high-risk and
18 handicapped children and their families, and may be expanded
19 or reduced as necessary for the enhancement of those services.
20 Expansion or reduction of the continuum shall be determined by
21 intraagency or interagency findings and agreement, whichever
22 is applicable. Implementation of the continuum shall be based
23 upon applicable eligibility criteria, availability of
24 resources, and interagency prioritization when programs impact
25 both agencies, or upon single agency prioritization when
26 programs impact only one agency. The continuum shall include,
27 but not be limited to:
28 (1) EDUCATION AND AWARENESS.--
29 (a) Education of the public concerning, but not
30 limited to, the causes of handicapping conditions, normal and
31
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1 abnormal child development, the benefits of abstinence from
2 sexual activity, and the consequences of teenage pregnancy.
3 (b) Education of professionals and paraprofessionals
4 concerning, but not limited to, the causes of handicapping
5 conditions, normal and abnormal child development, parenting
6 skills, the benefits of abstinence from sexual activity, and
7 the consequences of teenage pregnancy, through preservice and
8 inservice training, continuing education, and required
9 postsecondary coursework.
10 (2) INFORMATION AND REFERRAL.--
11 (a) Providing information about available services and
12 programs to families of high-risk and handicapped children.
13 (b) Providing information about service options and
14 providing technical assistance to aid families in the
15 decisionmaking process.
16 (c) Directing the family to appropriate services and
17 programs to meet identified needs.
18 (3) CASE MANAGEMENT.--
19 (a) Arranging and coordinating services and activities
20 for high-risk pregnant women, and for high-risk children and
21 their families, with identified service providers.
22 (b) Providing appropriate casework services to
23 pregnant women and to high-risk children and their families.
24 (c) Advocating for pregnant women and for children and
25 their families.
26 (4) SUPPORT SERVICES PRIOR TO PREGNANCY.--
27 (a) Basic needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter.
28 (b) Health education.
29 (c) Family planning services, on a voluntary basis.
30 (d) Counseling to promote a healthy, stable, and
31 supportive family unit, to include, but not be limited to,
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1 financial planning, stress management, and educational
2 planning.
3 (5) MATERNITY AND NEWBORN SERVICES.--
4 (a) Comprehensive prenatal care, accessible to all
5 pregnant women and provided for high-risk pregnant women.
6 (b) Adoption counseling for unmarried pregnant
7 teenagers.
8 (c) Nutrition services for high-risk pregnant women.
9 (d) Perinatal intensive care.
10 (e) Delivery services for high-risk pregnant women.
11 (f) Postpartum care.
12 (g) Nutrition services for lactating mothers of
13 high-risk children.
14 (h) A new mother information program at the birth
15 site, to provide an informational brochure about
16 immunizations, normal child development, abuse avoidance and
17 appropriate parenting strategies, family planning, and
18 community resources and support services for all parents of
19 newborns and to schedule Medicaid-eligible infants for a
20 health checkup.
21 (i) Appropriate screenings, including to include, but
22 not be limited to, metabolic screening, sickle-cell screening,
23 hearing screening, developmental screening, and categorical
24 screening.
25 (j) Followup family planning services for high-risk
26 mothers and mothers of high-risk infants.
27 (6) HEALTH AND NUTRITION SERVICES FOR PRESCHOOL
28 CHILDREN.--
29 (a) Preventive health services for all preschool
30 children.
31
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1 (b) Nutrition services for all preschool children,
2 including, but not limited to, the Child Care Food Program and
3 the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and
4 Children.
5 (c) Medical care for seriously medically impaired
6 preschool children.
7 (d) Cost-effective quality health care alternatives
8 for medically involved preschool children, in or near their
9 homes.
10 (7) EDUCATION, EARLY ASSISTANCE, AND RELATED SERVICES
11 FOR HIGH-RISK CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES.--
12 (a) Early assistance, including, but not limited to,
13 developmental assistance programs, parent support and training
14 programs, and appropriate followup assistance services, for
15 handicapped and high-risk infants and their families.
16 (b) Special education and related services for
17 handicapped children.
18 (c) Education, early assistance, and related services
19 for high-risk children.
20 (8) SUPPORT SERVICES FOR ALL EXPECTANT PARENTS AND
21 PARENTS OF HIGH-RISK CHILDREN.--
22 (a) Nonmedical prenatal and support services for
23 pregnant teenagers and other high-risk pregnant women.
24 (b) School readiness Child care and Early childhood
25 programs, including, but not limited to, the Florida Parents
26 as Teachers Program pursuant to s. 411.06, subsidized child
27 care, licensed nonsubsidized child care, family day care
28 homes, therapeutic child care, Head Start, and preschool
29 programs in public and private schools.
30 (c) Parent education and counseling, including the
31 Florida Parents as Teachers Program.
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1 (d) Transportation.
2 (e) Respite care, homemaker care, crisis management,
3 and other services that allow families of high-risk children
4 to maintain and provide quality care to their children at
5 home.
6 (f) Parent support groups, such as the community
7 resource mother or father program as established in s. 402.45,
8 the Florida First Start Program as established in s. 230.2303,
9 or parents as first teachers, to strengthen families and to
10 enable families of high-risk children to better meet their
11 needs.
12 (g) Utilization of the elderly, either as volunteers
13 or paid employees, to work with high-risk children.
14 (h) Utilization of high school and postsecondary
15 students as volunteers to work with high-risk children.
16 (9) MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES.--
17 (a) Resource information systems on services and
18 programs available for families.
19 (b) Registry of high-risk newborns and newborns with
20 birth defects, which utilizes privacy safeguards for children
21 and parents who are subjects of the registry.
22 (c) Local registry of preschoolers with high-risk or
23 handicapping conditions, which utilizes privacy safeguards for
24 children and parents who are subjects of the registry.
25 (d) Information sharing system among the Florida
26 Partnership for Children First, Inc., the Department of
27 Children and Family Health and Rehabilitative Services, the
28 Department of Education, local education agencies, and other
29 appropriate entities, on children eligible for services.
30 Information may be shared when parental or guardian permission
31 has been given for release.
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1 (e) Well-baby insurance for preschoolers included in
2 the family policy coverage.
3 (f) Evaluation, to include:
4 1. Establishing child-centered and family-focused
5 goals and objectives for each element of the continuum.
6 2. Developing a system to report child and family
7 outcomes and program effectiveness for each element of the
8 continuum.
9 (g) Planning for continuation of services, to include:
10 1. Individual and family service plan by an
11 interdisciplinary team, for the transition from birth or the
12 earliest point of identification of a high-risk infant or
13 toddler into an early assistance, preschool program for
14 3-year-olds or 4-year-olds, or other appropriate programs.
15 2. Individual and family service plan by an
16 interdisciplinary team, for the transition of a high-risk
17 preschool child into a public or private school system.
18 Section 13. Effective July 1, 1998, section 411.24,
19 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
20 411.24 Short title.--Sections 411.24-411.243 This part
21 may be cited as the "Florida Education Now and Babies Later
22 (ENABL) Act."
23 Section 14. Effective July 1, 1998, paragraph (a) of
24 subsection (3) of section 411.242, Florida Statutes, is
25 amended to read:
26 411.242 Florida Education Now and Babies Later (ENABL)
27 program.--
28 (3) ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS.--
29 (a) The ENABL program should be directed to geographic
30 areas in the state where the childhood birth rate is higher
31 than the state average and where the children and their
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1 families are in greatest need because of an unfavorable
2 combination of economic, social, environmental, and health
3 factors, including, without limitation, extensive poverty,
4 high crime rate, great incidence of low birthweight babies,
5 high incidence of alcohol and drug abuse, and high rates of
6 childhood pregnancy. The selection of a geographic site shall
7 also consider the incidence of young children within these
8 at-risk geographic areas who are cocaine babies, children of
9 mothers who participate in the WAGES Program, children of
10 teenage parents, low birthweight babies, and very young foster
11 children. To receive funding under this section, a
12 community-based local contractor must demonstrate:
13 1. Its capacity to administer and coordinate the ENABL
14 pregnancy prevention public education program and services for
15 children and their families in a comprehensive manner and to
16 provide a flexible range of age-appropriate educational
17 services.
18 2. Its capacity to identify and serve those children
19 least able to access existing pregnancy prevention public
20 education programs.
21 3. Its capacity to administer and coordinate the ENABL
22 programs and services in an intensive and continuous manner.
23 4. The proximity of its program to young children,
24 parents, and other family members to be served by the ENABL
25 program, or its ability to provide offsite educational
26 services.
27 5. Its ability to incorporate existing federal, state,
28 and local governmental educational programs and services in
29 implementing the ENABL program.
30 6. Its ability to coordinate its activities and
31 educational services with children first plans and existing
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1 public and private state and local agencies and programs, such
2 as those responsible for health, education, social support,
3 mental health, child care, respite care, housing,
4 transportation, alcohol and drug abuse treatment and
5 prevention, income assistance, employment training and
6 placement, nutrition, and other relevant services, all of the
7 foregoing intended to assist children and families at risk.
8 7. How its plan will involve project participants and
9 community representatives in the planning and operation of the
10 ENABL program.
11 8. Its ability to participate in the evaluation
12 component required in this section.
13 9. Its consistency with the strategic plan pursuant to
14 s. 411.221.
15 9.10. Its capacity to match state funding for the
16 ENABL program at the rate of $1 in cash or in matching
17 services for each dollar funded by the state.
18 Section 15. Effective July 1, 1999, section 402.305,
19 Florida Statutes, is renumbered as section 411.305, Florida
20 Statutes, and paragraph (d) of subsection (2) and subsection
21 (17) are amended to read:
22 411.305 402.305 Licensing standards; child care
23 facilities.--
24 (2) PERSONNEL.--Minimum standards for child care
25 personnel shall include minimum requirements as to:
26 (d) Minimum staff training requirements.
27 1. Such minimum standards for training shall ensure
28 that all child care personnel and operators of family day care
29 homes serving at-risk children in a subsidized child care
30 program pursuant to s. 411.3015 402.3015 take an approved
31
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1 30-clock-hour introductory course in child care, which course
2 covers at least the following topic areas:
3 a. State and local rules and regulations which govern
4 child care.
5 b. Health, safety, and nutrition.
6 c. Identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect.
7 d. Child development, including typical and atypical
8 language, cognitive, motor, social, and self-help skills
9 development.
10 e. Specialized areas, as determined by the department,
11 for owner-operators and child care personnel of a child care
12 facility.
13
14 Within 90 days of employment, child care personnel shall begin
15 training to meet the training requirements and shall complete
16 such training within 1 year of the date on which the training
17 began. Exemption from all or a portion of the required
18 training shall be granted to child care personnel based upon
19 educational credentials or passage of competency examinations.
20 2. The introductory course in child care shall stress,
21 to the extent possible, an interdisciplinary approach to the
22 study of children.
23 3. On an annual basis in order to further their child
24 care skills and, if appropriate, administrative skills, child
25 care personnel who have fulfilled the requirements for the
26 child care training shall be required to take an additional
27 approved 8 clock hours of inservice training or an equivalent
28 as determined by the department.
29 4. Procedures for ensuring the training of qualified
30 child care professionals to provide training of child care
31 personnel, including onsite training, shall be included in the
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1 minimum standards. It is recommended that the state community
2 child care coordination agencies (central agencies) be
3 contracted by the department to coordinate such training when
4 possible. Other district educational resources, such as
5 community colleges and vocational-technical programs, can be
6 designated in such areas where central agencies may not exist
7 or are determined not to have the capability to meet the
8 coordination requirements set forth by the department.
9 5. Training requirements shall not apply to certain
10 occasional or part-time support staff, including, but not
11 limited to, swimming instructors, piano teachers, dance
12 instructors, and gymnastics instructors.
13 6. The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.
14 State Coordinating Council for Early Childhood Services, in
15 coordination with the department, shall evaluate or contract
16 for an evaluation for the general purpose of determining the
17 status of and means to improve staff training requirements and
18 testing procedures. The evaluation shall be completed by
19 October 1, 1992, and conducted every 2 years thereafter. The
20 evaluation shall include, but not be limited to, determining
21 the availability, quality, scope, and sources of current staff
22 training; determining the need for specialty training; and
23 determining ways to increase inservice training and ways to
24 increase the accessibility, quality, and cost-effectiveness of
25 current and proposed staff training. The evaluation
26 methodology shall include a reliable and valid survey of child
27 care personnel.
28 7. The child care operator shall be required to take
29 basic training in serving children with disabilities within 5
30 years after employment, either as a part of the introductory
31 training or the annual 8 hours of inservice training.
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1 (17) CHILD CARE TECHNICAL REVIEW PANEL.--There is
2 hereby created a child care technical review panel, appointed
3 by the Chair of the State Coordinating Council for Early
4 Childhood Services, established by s. 411.222, to develop
5 recommendations for inclusion, unedited, in the State
6 Coordinating Council for Early Childhood Services annual
7 report as required by s. 411.222(4)(f), and provide technical
8 assistance to the department for the adoption of rules for
9 licensing child care facilities in accordance with the minimum
10 standards established in this section. The review panel must
11 consist of seven members, five of whom must be:
12 (a) An owner or operator of a subsidized child care
13 facility;
14 (b) An owner or operator of a proprietary child care
15 facility;
16 (c) An owner or operator of a licensed church child
17 care facility;
18 (d) A child care provider that has attained a child
19 development associate credential; and
20 (e) A child care provider that has attained a child
21 care professional credential.
22
23 The initial technical review panel members must be appointed
24 by October 1, 1992, for a term of 3 years. No member shall
25 serve more than two consecutive terms.
26 Section 16. Effective July 1, 1999, section 402.3052,
27 Florida Statutes, is renumbered as section 411.3052, Florida
28 Statutes, and subsection (1) is amended to read:
29 411.3052 402.3052 Child development associate training
30 grants program.--
31
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1 (1) There is hereby created the child development
2 associate training grants program within the department.
3 (a) The purpose of the child development associate
4 training grants program is to provide child care personnel who
5 work in a licensed child care facility or public or and
6 nonpublic preschool program for children 5 years of age or
7 under an opportunity to receive a child development associate
8 credential, or its equivalent, and to receive other training
9 to enhance their skills. The department shall administer the
10 program in consultation with the Florida Partnership for
11 Children First, Inc.
12 (b) The State Coordinating Council for Early Childhood
13 Services shall serve in an advisory capacity to the department
14 in the implementation of the training program.
15 Section 17. Effective July 1, 1998, paragraph (c) of
16 subsection (9) of section 20.19, Florida Statutes, is amended
17 to read:
18 20.19 Department of Children and Family
19 Services.--There is created a Department of Children and
20 Family Services.
21 (9) DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR.--
22 (c) The duties of the district administrator include,
23 but are not limited to:
24 1. Ensuring jointly with the health and human services
25 board that the administration of all service programs is
26 carried out in conformity with state and federal laws, rules,
27 and regulations, statewide service plans, and any other
28 policies, procedures, and guidelines established by the
29 secretary.
30 2. Administering the offices of the department within
31 the district and directing and coordinating all personnel,
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1 facilities, and programs of the department located in that
2 district, except as otherwise provided herein.
3 3. Applying standard information, referral, intake,
4 diagnostic and evaluation, and case management procedures
5 established by the secretary. Such procedures shall include,
6 but are not limited to, a protective investigation system for
7 dependency programs serving abandoned, abused, and neglected
8 children.
9 4. Centralizing to the greatest extent possible the
10 administrative functions associated with the provision of
11 services of the department within the district.
12 5. Coordinating the services provided by the
13 department in the district with those of other districts, with
14 the Secretary of Juvenile Justice, the district juvenile
15 justice manager, and public and private agencies that provide
16 health, social, educational, or rehabilitative services within
17 the district. Such coordination of services includes
18 cooperation with the Florida Partnership for Children First,
19 Inc., and the Children First Coalitions superintendent of each
20 school district in the department's service district to
21 achieve the first state education goal, readiness to start
22 school.
23 6. Except as otherwise provided in this section,
24 appointing all personnel within the district. The district
25 administrator and the secretary shall jointly appoint the
26 superintendent of each institution under the jurisdiction of
27 the department within the district.
28 7. Establishing, with the approval of the health and
29 human services board, such policies and procedures as may be
30 required to discharge his or her duties and implement and
31
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1 conform the policies, procedures, and guidelines established
2 by the secretary to the needs of the district.
3 8. Transferring up to 10 percent of the total district
4 budget, with the approval of the secretary, to maximize
5 effective program delivery, the provisions of ss. 216.292 and
6 216.351 notwithstanding.
7 Section 18. Effective July 1, 1999, paragraph (a) of
8 subsection (3) of section 229.591, Florida Statutes, is
9 amended to read:
10 229.591 Comprehensive revision of Florida's system of
11 school improvement and education accountability.--
12 (3) EDUCATION GOALS.--The state as a whole shall work
13 toward the following goals:
14 (a) Readiness to start school.--Communities and
15 schools cooperate with Children First Coalitions and the
16 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., collaborate to
17 prepare children and families for children's success in
18 school.
19 Section 19. Effective July 1, 1999, paragraph (a) of
20 subsection (1) of section 232.01, Florida Statutes, is amended
21 to read:
22 232.01 School attendance.--
23 (1)(a)1. All children who have attained the age of 6
24 years or who will have attained the age of 6 years by February
25 1 of any school year or who are older than 6 years of age but
26 who have not attained the age of 16 years, except as
27 hereinafter provided, are required to attend school regularly
28 during the entire school term.
29 2. Children who will have attained the age of 5 years
30 on or before September 1 of the school year are eligible for
31
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1 admission to public kindergartens during that school year
2 under rules prescribed by the school board.
3 3. Children who will have attained the age of 3 years
4 on or before September 1 of the school year are eligible for
5 admission to prekindergarten early intervention programs
6 during that school year as provided in s. 411.04 230.2305 or a
7 preschool program as provided in s. 228.061.
8 Section 20. Effective July 1, 1998, subsection (8) of
9 section 288.9620, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
10 288.9620 Workforce development board.--
11 (8) By December 1 of each year, Enterprise Florida,
12 Inc., shall submit to the Governor, the President of the
13 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
14 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., the Senate
15 Minority Leader, and the House Minority Leader a complete and
16 detailed report by the board setting forth:
17 (a) The audit in subsection (9), if conducted.
18 (b) The operations and accomplishments of the
19 partnership including the programs or entities listed in
20 subsection (7).
21 Section 21. Effective July 1, 1998, paragraph (b) of
22 subsection (1) and subsection (2) of section 383.14, Florida
23 Statutes, are amended to read:
24 383.14 Screening for metabolic disorders, other
25 hereditary and congenital disorders, and environmental risk
26 factors.--
27 (1) SCREENING REQUIREMENTS.--To help ensure access to
28 the maternal and child health care system, the Department of
29 Health shall promote the screening of all infants born in
30 Florida for phenylketonuria and other metabolic, hereditary,
31 and congenital disorders known to result in significant
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1 impairment of health or intellect, as screening programs
2 accepted by current medical practice become available and
3 practical in the judgment of the department. The department
4 shall also promote the identification and screening of all
5 infants born in this state and their families for
6 environmental risk factors such as low income, poor education,
7 maternal and family stress, emotional instability, substance
8 abuse, and other high-risk conditions associated with
9 increased risk of infant mortality and morbidity to provide
10 early intervention, remediation, and prevention services,
11 including, but not limited to, parent support and training
12 programs, home visitation, and case management.
13 Identification, perinatal screening, and intervention efforts
14 shall begin prior to and immediately following the birth of
15 the child by the attending health care provider. Such efforts
16 shall be conducted in hospitals, perinatal centers, county
17 health departments, school health programs that provide
18 prenatal care, and birthing centers, and reported to the
19 Office of Vital Statistics.
20 (b) Postnatal screening.--A risk factor analysis using
21 the department's designated risk assessment instrument shall
22 also be conducted as part of the medical screening process
23 upon the birth of a child and submitted to the department's
24 Office of Vital Statistics for recording and other purposes
25 provided for in this chapter. The department's screening
26 process for risk assessment shall include a scoring mechanism
27 and procedures that establish thresholds for notification,
28 further assessment, referral, and eligibility for services by
29 professionals or paraprofessionals consistent with the level
30 of risk. Procedures for developing and using the screening
31 instrument, notification, referral, and care coordination
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1 services, reporting requirements, management information, and
2 maintenance of a computer-driven registry in the Office of
3 Vital Statistics which ensures privacy safeguards must be
4 consistent with the provisions and plans established under
5 chapter 411, Pub. L. No. 99-457, and this chapter. Procedures
6 established for reporting information and maintaining a
7 confidential registry must include a mechanism for a
8 centralized information depository at the state and county
9 levels. The department shall coordinate with existing risk
10 assessment systems and information registries. The department
11 must ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that the
12 screening information registry is integrated with the
13 department's automated data systems, including the Florida
14 On-line Recipient Integrated Data Access (FLORIDA) system.
15 Tests and screenings must be performed at such times and in
16 such manner as is prescribed by the department after
17 consultation with the Florida Partnership for Children First,
18 Inc., and the Genetics and Infant Screening Advisory Council
19 and the State Coordinating Council for Early Childhood
20 Services.
21 (2) RULES.--After consultation with the Genetics and
22 Infant Screening Advisory Council, the department shall adopt
23 and enforce rules requiring that every infant born in this
24 state shall, prior to becoming 2 weeks of age, be subjected to
25 a test for phenylketonuria and, at the appropriate age, be
26 tested for such other metabolic diseases and hereditary or
27 congenital disorders as the department may deem necessary from
28 time to time. After consultation with the Florida Partnership
29 for Children First, Inc., State Coordinating Council for Early
30 Childhood Services, the department shall also adopt and
31 enforce rules requiring every infant born in this state to be
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1 screened for environmental risk factors that place children
2 and their families at risk for increased morbidity, mortality,
3 and other negative outcomes. The department shall adopt such
4 additional rules as are found necessary for the administration
5 of this section, including rules relating to the methods used
6 and time or times for testing as accepted medical practice
7 indicates, rules relating to charging and collecting fees for
8 screenings authorized by this section, and rules requiring
9 mandatory reporting of the results of tests and screenings for
10 these conditions to the department.
11 Section 22. Effective July 1, 1998, paragraph (c) of
12 subsection (2) of section 397.901, Florida Statutes, is
13 amended to read:
14 397.901 Prototype juvenile addictions receiving
15 facilities.--
16 (2)
17 (c) The department may implement the prototype
18 juvenile addictions receiving facilities component of the
19 emergency assessment and specialized treatment services within
20 resources appropriated for this purpose.
21 1. Using the criteria provided in this section, the
22 department shall evaluate and select the service providers and
23 sites to be funded initially.
24 2. An independent third-party evaluation of the
25 prototypes must be conducted in accordance with the principles
26 and procedures specified in s. 411.204, pursuant to a contract
27 entered into prior to the prototype selection to ensure
28 integrity of the evaluation design, ongoing monitoring and
29 periodic review of progress, and a timely, comprehensive
30 evaluation report. The evaluation report must include process
31 and outcome data, and must be submitted to the Governor, the
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1 President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
2 Representatives, the department, and appropriate substantive
3 committees and subcommittees of the Legislature within 1 year
4 after startup and annually thereafter for 5 years. Five years
5 after the prototype juvenile addictions receiving facilities
6 and the independent evaluation are funded and operational, a
7 5-year retrospective report must be submitted on the impact of
8 the addictions receiving facility modality upon treatment
9 outcomes and sustained recovery of the participants.
10 Section 23. Effective July 1, 1999, section 414.027,
11 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
12 414.027 WAGES Program statewide implementation plan.--
13 (1) The WAGES Program State Board of Directors shall
14 submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
15 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Florida
16 Partnership for Children First, Inc., a statewide plan for
17 implementing the WAGES Program established under this chapter.
18 At a minimum, the statewide implementation plan must include:
19 (a) Performance standards, measurement criteria, and
20 contract guidelines for all services provided under the WAGES
21 Program whether by state employees or contract providers.
22 (b) Directives for creating and chartering local WAGES
23 coalitions to plan and coordinate the delivery of services
24 under the WAGES Program at the local level.
25 (c) The approval of the implementation plans submitted
26 by local WAGES coalitions.
27 (d) Recommendations for clarifying, or if necessary,
28 modifying the roles of the state agencies charged with
29 implementing the WAGES Program so that all unnecessary
30 duplication is eliminated.
31
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1 (e) Recommendations for modifying compensation and
2 incentive programs for state employees in order to achieve the
3 performance outcomes necessary for successful implementation
4 of the WAGES Program.
5 (f) Criteria for allocating WAGES Program resources to
6 local WAGES coalitions. Such criteria must include weighting
7 factors that reflect the relative degree of difficulty
8 associated with securing employment placements for specific
9 subsets of the welfare transition caseload.
10 (g) The development of a performance-based payment
11 structure to be used for all WAGES Program services, which
12 takes into account the following:
13 1. The degree of difficulty associated with placing a
14 WAGES Program participant in a job;
15 2. The quality of the placement with regard to salary,
16 benefits, and opportunities for advancement; and
17 3. The employee's retention of the placement.
18
19 The payment structure shall provide not more than 40 percent
20 of the cost of services provided to a WAGES participant prior
21 to placement, 50 percent upon employment placement, and 10
22 percent if employment is retained for at least 6 months. The
23 payment structure should provide bonus payments to providers
24 that experience notable success in achieving long-term job
25 retention with WAGES Program participants. The board shall
26 consult with the Enterprise Florida workforce development
27 board and the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., in
28 developing the WAGES Program statewide implementation plan.
29 (2) The board of directors shall update the statewide
30 implementation plan annually and submit quarterly progress
31 reports to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
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1 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Florida
2 Partnership for Children First, Inc. The annual updated plan
3 must contain proposals for implementing the goals and
4 objectives of the WAGES Program during the succeeding 3-year
5 period.
6 Section 24. Effective July 1, 1999, section 414.028,
7 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
8 414.028 Local WAGES coalitions.--The WAGES Program
9 State Board of Directors shall create and charter local WAGES
10 coalitions to plan and coordinate the delivery of services
11 under the WAGES Program at the local level. The boundaries of
12 the service area for a local WAGES coalition shall conform to
13 the boundaries of the service area for the regional workforce
14 development board established under the Enterprise Florida
15 workforce development board. The local delivery of services
16 under the WAGES Program shall be coordinated, to the maximum
17 extent possible, with the Children First Coalition and the
18 local services and activities of the local service providers
19 designated by the regional workforce development boards.
20 (1)(a) Each local WAGES coalition must have a minimum
21 of 11 members, of which at least one-half must be from the
22 business community. The composition of the coalition
23 membership must generally reflect the racial, gender, and
24 ethnic diversity of the community as a whole. All members
25 shall be appointed to 3-year terms. The membership of each
26 coalition must include:
27 1. Representatives of the principal entities that
28 provide funding for the employment, education, training, and
29 social service programs that are operated in the service area,
30 including, but not limited to, representatives of local
31
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1 government, the regional workforce development board, and the
2 United Way.
3 2. A representative of the health and human services
4 board.
5 3. A representative of a community development board.
6 4. Three representatives of the business community who
7 represent a diversity of sizes of businesses.
8 5. Representatives of other local planning,
9 coordinating, or service-delivery entities.
10 6. A representative of a grassroots community or
11 economic development organization that serves the poor of the
12 community.
13 (b) A representative of an agency or entity that could
14 benefit financially from funds appropriated under the WAGES
15 Program may not be a member of a local WAGES coalition.
16 (c) A member of the board of a public or private
17 educational institution may not serve as a member of a local
18 WAGES coalition.
19 (d) A representative of any county or municipal
20 governing body that elects to provide services through the
21 local WAGES coalition shall be an ex officio, nonvoting member
22 of the coalition.
23 (2) A local WAGES coalition and a regional workforce
24 development board may be combined into one board if the
25 membership complies with subsection (1), and if the membership
26 of the combined board meets the requirements of Pub. L. No.
27 97-300, the federal Job Training Partnership Act, as amended,
28 and with any law delineating the membership requirements for
29 the regional workforce development boards. Notwithstanding
30 paragraph (1)(b), in a region in which the duties of the two
31 boards are combined, a person may be a member of the WAGES
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1 coalition even if the member, or the member's principal, could
2 benefit financially from transactions of the coalition.
3 However, members must recuse themselves from voting on all
4 matters from which they or their principals could benefit
5 financially. Failure to recuse on any such vote will
6 constitute grounds for immediate removal from the local WAGES
7 coalition.
8 (3) The statewide implementation plan prepared by the
9 WAGES Program State Board of Directors shall prescribe and
10 publish the process for chartering the local WAGES coalitions.
11 (4) Each local WAGES coalition shall perform the
12 planning, coordination, and oversight functions specified in
13 the statewide implementation plan, including, but not limited
14 to:
15 (a) Developing a program and financial plan to achieve
16 the performance outcomes specified by the WAGES Program State
17 Board of Directors for current and potential program
18 participants in the service area. The plan must reflect the
19 recommendation of the Children First Coalition regarding the
20 needs of service areas for seed money to create programs that
21 assist children of WAGES participants.
22 (b) Developing a funding strategy to implement the
23 program and financial plan which incorporates resources from
24 all principal funding sources.
25 (c) Identifying employment, service, and support
26 resources in the community which may be used to fulfill the
27 performance outcomes of the WAGES Program.
28 (d) In cooperation with the regional workforce
29 development board and the Children First Coalition,
30 coordinating the implementation of one-stop career centers.
31
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1 (e) Advising the Department of Children and Family
2 Services and the Department of Labor and Employment Security
3 with respect to the competitive procurement of services under
4 the WAGES Program.
5 (f) Selecting an entity to administer the program and
6 financial plan, such as a unit of a political subdivision
7 within the service area, a not-for-profit private organization
8 or corporation, or any other entity agreed upon by the local
9 WAGES coalition.
10 (5) The WAGES Program State Board of Directors may not
11 approve the program and financial plan of a local coalition
12 unless the plan has the approval of the Florida Partnership
13 for Children First, Inc., as consistent with the applicable
14 children first plan, and provides a teen pregnancy prevention
15 component that includes, but is not necessarily limited to, a
16 plan for implementing the Florida Education Now and Babies
17 Later (ENABL) program under s. 411.242 and the Teen Pregnancy
18 Prevention Community Initiative within each segment of the
19 service area in which the childhood birth rate is higher than
20 the state average. Each local WAGES coalition is authorized to
21 fund community-based welfare prevention and reduction
22 initiatives that increase the support provided by noncustodial
23 parents to their welfare-dependent children and are consistent
24 with program and financial guidelines developed by the WAGES
25 Program State Board of Directors and the Commission on
26 Responsible Fatherhood. These initiatives may include, but are
27 not limited to, improved paternity establishment, work
28 activities for noncustodial parents, and programs aimed at
29 decreasing out-of-wedlock pregnancies, encouraging the
30 involvement of fathers with their children, and increasing
31 child-support payments.
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1 (6) Local employees of the department and the
2 Department of Labor and Employment Security shall provide
3 staff support for the local WAGES coalitions. At the option of
4 the local WAGES coalition, staff support may be provided by
5 another agency or entity if it can be provided at no cost to
6 the state and if the support is not provided by an agency or
7 other entity that could benefit financially from funds
8 appropriated to implement the WAGES Program.
9 (7) There shall be no liability on the part of, and no
10 cause of action of any nature shall arise against, any member
11 of a local WAGES coalition or its employees or agents for any
12 lawful action taken by them in the performance of their powers
13 and duties under this section and s. 414.029.
14 Section 25. Effective July 1, 1999, subsections (1)
15 and (2) of section 414.055, Florida Statutes, are amended to
16 read:
17 414.055 One-stop career centers.--
18 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that one-stop
19 career centers developed by community coalitions or
20 public/private partnerships that involve the business
21 community, educational institutions, governmental entities,
22 Children First Coalitions, and community-based organizations
23 should be the principal service-delivery mechanism for
24 services associated with the WAGES Program, employment
25 services, and workforce development.
26 (2) Local WAGES coalitions and regional workforce
27 boards, in consultation with Children First Coalitions and the
28 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., must coordinate
29 the planning and implementation of one-stop career centers and
30 services so as to avoid unnecessary duplication of services
31 and facilities.
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1 Section 26. Effective July 1, 1999, subsection (2) of
2 section 414.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
3 414.22 Transitional education and training.--In order
4 to assist current and former participants in continuing their
5 training and upgrading their skills, education, or training,
6 support services may be provided to a participant for up to 2
7 years after the participant is no longer eligible to
8 participate in the program. This section does not constitute
9 an entitlement to transitional education and training. If
10 funds are not sufficient to provide services under this
11 section, the Department of Labor and Employment Security may
12 limit or otherwise prioritize transitional education and
13 training.
14 (2) The Department of Labor and Employment Security,
15 in consultation with the Florida Partnership for Children
16 First, Inc., may authorize child care or other support
17 services in addition to services provided in conjunction with
18 employment. For example, a participant who is employed full
19 time may receive subsidized child care related to that
20 employment and may also receive additional subsidized child
21 care in conjunction with training to upgrade the participant's
22 skills.
23 Section 27. Effective July 1, 1999, subsection (4) of
24 section 446.601, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
25 446.601 Short title; legislative intent.--
26 (4) The workforce development strategy shall be
27 designed by the workforce development board Enterprise Florida
28 Jobs and Education Partnership pursuant to s. 228.9620
29 288.0475, and shall be centered around the four integrated
30 strategic components of One-Stop Career Centers,
31
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1 School-to-Work, Welfare-to-Work, and High Skills/High Wage
2 Jobs.
3 (a) One-Stop Career Centers are the state's initial
4 customer-service contact strategy for offering every Floridian
5 access, through service sites, telephone, or computer
6 networks, to the following services:
7 1. Job search, referral, and placement assistance.
8 2. Career counseling and educational planning.
9 3. Consumer reports on service providers.
10 4. Recruitment and eligibility determination.
11 5. Support services, including child care and
12 transportation.
13 6. Employability skills training.
14 7. Adult education and basic skills training.
15 8. Technical training leading to a certification and
16 degree.
17 9. Claim filing for unemployment compensation
18 services.
19 10. Temporary income, health, nutritional, and housing
20 assistance.
21 11. Child care and transportation assistance to gain
22 employment, in accordance with recommendations of the Florida
23 Partnership for Children First, Inc., and the Children First
24 Coalition.
25 12. Other appropriate and available workforce
26 development services.
27 (b) School-to-Work is the state's youth and adult
28 workforce education strategy for coordinating business,
29 education, and the community to support students in achieving
30 long-term career goals, and for ensuring the workforce is
31
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1 prepared with the academic and occupational skills required
2 for success.
3 (c) Welfare-to-Work is the state's strategy for
4 encouraging self-sufficiency and minimizing dependence upon
5 public assistance by emphasizing job placement and transition
6 support services for welfare recipients.
7 (d) High Skills/High Wage is the state's strategy for
8 aligning education and training programs with the Occupational
9 Forecasting Conference under s. 216.136, for meeting the job
10 demands of the state's existing businesses, and for providing
11 a ready workforce which is integral to the state's economic
12 development goal of attracting new and expanding businesses.
13 Section 28. Effective July 1, 1998, subsection (2) of
14 section 624.91, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
15 624.91 The Florida Healthy Kids Corporation Act.--
16 (2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--The Legislature finds that
17 increased access to health care services could improve
18 children's health and reduce the incidence and costs of
19 childhood illness and disabilities among children in this
20 state. Many children do not have preventive services
21 available or funded, and for those who do, lack of access is a
22 restriction to getting service. It is the intent of the
23 Legislature that a nonprofit corporation be organized to
24 facilitate a program to bring preventive health care services
25 to children, if necessary through the use of school facilities
26 in this state when more appropriate sites are unavailable, and
27 to provide comprehensive health insurance coverage to such
28 children. A goal for the corporation is to cooperate with any
29 existing preventive service programs funded by the public or
30 the private sector and to work cooperatively with the Florida
31 Partnership for Children First, Inc.
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1 Section 29. Effective July 1, 1998, subsection (1) of
2 section 228.061, Florida Statutes, and sections 230.2306,
3 391.304, 402.26, 402.28, 411.201, 411.204, 411.205, 411.22,
4 411.221, 411.223, 411.224, 411.23, 411.231, and 411.232,
5 Florida Statutes, are repealed.
6 Section 30. Effective July 1, 1999, sections 402.47
7 and 411.222, Florida Statutes, and subsection (9) of section
8 411.3015, Florida Statutes, are repealed.
9 Section 31. (1) Effective July, 1998, sections
10 402.301, 402.3015, 402.302, 402.3025, 402.3026, 402.3051,
11 402.3055, 402.3057, 402.3058, 402.306, 402.307, 402.308,
12 402.309, 402.310, 402.311, 402.312, 402.3125, 402.313,
13 402.3135, 402.314, 402.3145, 402.315, 402.316, 402.318,
14 402.319, and 402.45, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as
15 sections 411.301, 411.3015, 411.302, 411.3025, 411.3026,
16 411.3051, 411.3055, 411.3057, 411.3058, 411.306, 411.307,
17 411.308, 411.309, 411.310, 411.311, 411.312, 411.3125,
18 411.313, 411.3135, 411.314, 411.3145, 411.315, 411.316,
19 411.318, 411.319, and 411.45, Florida Statutes, respectively.
20 (2) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
21 shall examine sections 411.301, 411.3015, 411.302, 411.3025,
22 411.3026, 411.305, 411.3051, 411.3052, 411.3055, 411.306,
23 411.307, 411.308, 411.309, 411.310, 411.311, 411.312,
24 411.3125, 411.313, 411.3135, 411.314, 411.3145, 411.315,
25 411.316, 411.318, 411.319, 411.33, 411.45, and 409.178,
26 Florida Statutes, and shall recommend to the Legislature no
27 later then March 1, 2000, amendments that reflect the intent
28 of this act. Specifically, all statutes relating to licensure
29 and program standards shall reflect the new school readiness
30 component requirements, protect health, safety, and sanitation
31 requirements of children, and provide for the highest quality
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1 program with the least governmental intrusion possible. The
2 Legislature shall review such recommendations during the 2000
3 Regular Session.
4 (3) Effective July 1, 2000, section 402.27, Florida
5 Statutes, is repealed.
6 Section 32. There is hereby appropriated from the
7 General Revenue Fund to the Department of Education to be
8 deposited in the Children First School Readiness Trust Fund,
9 as administered by the Florida Partnership for Children First,
10 Inc., for fiscal year 1998-1999, the sum of $1,675,000 for the
11 purpose of implementing s. 411.01(8)(a), Florida Statutes, as
12 created by this act.
13 Section 33. There is hereby appropriated from the
14 General Revenue Fund to the Department of Education to be
15 deposited in the Children First School Readiness Trust Fund,
16 as administered by the Florida Partnership for Children First,
17 Inc., for fiscal year 1998-1999, the sum of $500,000 for the
18 purpose of implementing s. 411.06, Florida Statutes, as
19 created by this act.
20 Section 34. Except as otherwise provided herein, this
21 act shall take effect July 1, 1998, if House Bill 4415,
22 relating to children's health, and Committee Substitute for
23 House Bill 4383, relating to the healthy opportunity for
24 school readiness voucher program, are adopted, or similar
25 legislation having substantially the same intent and purpose
26 is adopted, in the same legislative session or an extension
27 thereof.
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