House Bill 0683e1
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
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; requiring
26 recommendations to revise provision of services
27 to children of teenage parents; providing for
28 establishment of a Children First Coalition in
29 each county or combination of counties;
30 specifying services to be provided by
31 coalitions; providing for designation and
1
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 approval of a fiscal agent; providing for the
2 transfer of funds; providing for coalition
3 initiation grants to develop children first
4 plans and block grant funding to implement such
5 plans; providing for award of an incentive
6 bonus; providing requirements for such plans;
7 providing for parental choice and payment
8 arrangements; providing for evaluation and
9 performance measures; providing responsibility
10 for implementation; providing for phase-out of
11 the State Coordinating Council for Early
12 Childhood Services; creating s. 411.02, F.S.;
13 providing for a Children First Appropriation
14 Allocation Conference; amending s. 216.136,
15 F.S.; creating the School Readiness Program
16 Estimating Conference; providing duties and
17 principals; conforming provisions; amending and
18 renumbering s. 230.2303, F.S., relating to the
19 Florida First Start Program; revising
20 provisions; providing for implementation
21 pursuant to a children first plan developed by
22 the Children First Coalition and approved by
23 the Children First Partnership; amending and
24 renumbering s. 230.2305, F.S., relating to the
25 prekindergarten early intervention program;
26 revising provisions; providing for
27 administration by a district school board or
28 other Children First Coalition provider;
29 providing Children First Coalition
30 responsibility for programs; providing for
31 oversight by the Children First Partnership and
2
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 Children First Coalition and specifying duties;
2 creating s. 411.05, F.S.; requiring the
3 Department of Education to adopt the school
4 readiness screening instruments developed by
5 the Children First Partnership and to require
6 their use by the school districts; creating s.
7 411.06, F.S.; recognizing the nationwide
8 Parents as Teachers Program; establishing the
9 Florida Parents as Teachers Program under the
10 jurisdiction of the Children First Partnership;
11 providing program requirements; amending and
12 renumbering s. 402.281, F.S., relating to the
13 Gold Seal Quality Care program; providing
14 duties of the Children First Partnership;
15 amending s. 411.202, F.S.; revising
16 definitions; amending s. 411.203, F.S.;
17 revising provisions relating to a continuum of
18 comprehensive services; amending ss. 411.24 and
19 411.242, F.S., to conform; amending and
20 renumbering s. 402.305, F.S., relating to
21 licensing standards for child care facilities;
22 providing duties of the Children First
23 Partnership; removing provisions relating to a
24 child care technical review panel; amending and
25 renumbering s. 402.3052, F.S., relating to
26 child development associate training grants;
27 providing for consultation with the Children
28 First Partnership; amending s. 20.19, F.S.,
29 relating to the Department of Children and
30 Family Services; requiring cooperation with the
31 Children First Partnership and Children First
3
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 Coalitions; amending s. 229.591, F.S., relating
2 to the school improvement and education
3 accountability system; conforming school
4 readiness goals; amending s. 288.9620, F.S.,
5 relating to the workforce development board;
6 providing for a report to the Children First
7 Partnership; amending ss. 232.01, 383.14, and
8 397.901, F.S., to conform; amending ss.
9 414.027, 414.028, 414.055, and 414.22, F.S.,
10 relating to the WAGES Program; providing for
11 coordination with the Children First
12 Partnership and Children First Coalitions;
13 amending s. 446.601, F.S., relating to the
14 "Workforce Florida Act of 1996"; providing for
15 coordination with the Children First
16 Partnership and Children First Coalitions;
17 amending s. 624.91, F.S., relating to the
18 "Florida Healthy Kids Corporation Act";
19 providing a goal to work cooperatively with the
20 Children First Partnership; repealing s.
21 228.061(1), F.S., relating to preschool
22 programs, s. 230.2306, F.S., relating to
23 prekindergarten children service needs
24 assessments and accommodation efforts by school
25 districts, s. 391.304, F.S., relating to
26 coordination of the developmental evaluation
27 and intervention program, s. 402.26, F.S.,
28 relating to legislative intent with respect to
29 child care, s. 402.28, F.S., relating to Child
30 Care Plus facilities, s. 411.201, F.S., the
31 short title for the Florida Prevention, Early
4
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 Assistance, and Early Childhood Act, s.
2 411.204, F.S., relating to program evaluation
3 under the act, s. 411.205, F.S., relating to
4 rules, s. 411.22, F.S., relating to legislative
5 intent with respect to prevention and early
6 assistance, s. 411.221, F.S., relating to
7 preparation of the prevention and early
8 assistance strategic plan, s. 411.223, F.S.,
9 relating to uniform standards for preventive
10 health care, s. 411.224, F.S., relating to the
11 family support planning process, and ss.
12 411.23, 411.231, and 411.232, F.S., the
13 Children's Early Investment Act, effective July
14 1, 1998; repealing s. 402.47, F.S., relating to
15 foster grandparent and retired senior volunteer
16 services to high-risk and handicapped children,
17 s. 411.222, F.S., relating to the Offices of
18 Prevention, Early Assistance, and Child
19 Development and the State Coordinating Council
20 for Early Childhood Services and their duties,
21 and s. 411.3015(9), F.S., relating to
22 collaborative agreements and plans with respect
23 to subsidized child care programs, effective
24 July 1, 1999; renumbering ss. 402.301,
25 402.3015, 402.302, 402.3025, 402.3026,
26 402.3051, 402.3055, 402.3057, 402.3058,
27 402.306, 402.307, 402.308, 402,309, 402.310,
28 402.311, 402.312, 402.3125, 402.313, 402.3135,
29 402.314, 402.3145, 402.315, 402.316, 402.318,
30 402.319, and 402.45, F.S.; requiring amendment
31 recommendations regarding s. 411.301, F.S.,
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 relating to legislative intent with respect to
2 child care facilities, s. 411.3015, F.S.,
3 relating to the subsidized child care program,
4 s. 411.302, F.S., relating to definitions, s.
5 411.3025, F.S., relating to public and
6 nonpublic schools in relation to child care
7 requirements, s. 411.3026, F.S., relating to
8 establishment of full-service schools, s.
9 411.305, F.S., relating to licensing standards
10 for child care facilities, s. 411.3051, F.S.,
11 relating to child care market rate
12 reimbursement and grants, s. 411.3052, F.S.,
13 relating to the child development associate
14 training grants program, s. 411.3055, F.S.,
15 relating to child care personnel requirements,
16 s. 411.306, F.S., relating to designation of
17 the licensing agency and dissemination of
18 information, s. 411.307, F.S., relating to
19 approval of the licensing agency, s. 411.308,
20 F.S., relating to issuance of a license, s.
21 411.309, F.S., relating to provisional
22 licenses, s. 411.310, F.S., relating to
23 disciplinary actions, s. 411.311, F.S.,
24 relating to inspection of facilities, s.
25 411.312, F.S., relating to injunctive relief,
26 s. 411.3125, F.S., relating to display and
27 appearance of license, s. 411.313, F.S.,
28 relating to family day care homes, s. 411.3135,
29 F.S., relating to the subsidized child care
30 case management program, s. 411.314, F.S.,
31 relating to supportive services, s. 411.3145,
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 F.S., relating to the subsidized child care
2 transportation program, s. 411.315, F.S.,
3 relating to funding and license fees, s.
4 411.316, F.S., relating to exemptions, s.
5 411.318, F.S., relating to prohibited
6 advertisement, s. 411.319, F.S., relating to
7 penalties, s. 411.33, F.S., relating to
8 authority to charge fees, s. 411.45, F.S.,
9 relating to the community resource mother or
10 father program, and s. 409.178, F.S., relating
11 to the Child Care Partnership Act, by March 1,
12 2000; requiring legislative review of such
13 recommendations; requiring review of s. 402.27,
14 F.S., by March 1, 1999, and recommendation to
15 the Legislature regarding optimal coordination
16 of resource and referral functions; providing
17 appropriations; providing effective dates.
18
19 WHEREAS, the bridge to opportunity for every child must
20 be anchored in a healthy body and a healthy mind and must lead
21 to the child's readiness to learn in school, and
22 WHEREAS, it is widely acknowledged that entering school
23 ready to learn is crucial to a child's success both in school
24 and in life, and
25 WHEREAS, the state's system of public education could
26 better perform its mission of educating its K-12 students if
27 more students enter school healthy and ready to learn, and
28 WHEREAS, as emphasized by the Governor, the President
29 of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
30 Representatives, a child's health in both body and mind is
31 essential to the child's ability to learn, and
7
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 WHEREAS, we can make great strides to improve school
2 readiness by addressing child care, child health, and school
3 readiness education in one single, accountable continuum, NOW,
4 THEREFORE,
5
6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
7
8 Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Children
9 First Act of 1998." Nothing in this act is intended to impede
10 or curtail the state's ability to draw down federal funds.
11 Section 2. Effective July 1, 1998, chapter 411,
12 Florida Statutes, is renamed "Children First Partnership."
13 Section 3. Effective July 1, 1998, section 411.01,
14 Florida Statutes, is created to read:
15 411.01 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.;
16 Children First Coalitions.--
17 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--
18 (a)1. It is the intent of the Legislature that the
19 early childhood health care, child care, and education of
20 children from birth to 5 years of age or until the child
21 attains school readiness, whichever is later, become a top
22 priority.
23 2. As used in this chapter, the term "child care"
24 includes formal and informal arrangements, including but not
25 limited to child care centers, day care homes, private
26 providers, and relative care. The term "health care" includes
27 immunizations, screenings, well-baby care, and other
28 preventive health care measures. The term "education" includes
29 public and private prekindergarten and other education
30 programs.
31
8
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 (b) Recognizing that high-quality early childhood
2 health care, child care, and education experiences increase
3 children's chances of educational success and reduce the need
4 for costly future intervention and remediation, it is the
5 intent of the Legislature that all children in Florida, from
6 birth until they are ready for school, have access to quality
7 early childhood health care, child care, and education to
8 enhance their readiness to succeed in school.
9 (c) Recognizing that parents are responsible for the
10 early childhood health care, child care, and education of
11 their children, but also recognizing that the condition of
12 children in Florida must be improved, it is the intent of the
13 Legislature that local communities offer assistance to
14 families to improve the early childhood health care, child
15 care, and education of children under 5 years of age and the
16 school readiness of all children who enter the state's public
17 school system. High-quality early childhood experiences and
18 care should be provided with a minimum of governmental
19 interference.
20 (d) The Legislature finds that for families to move to
21 and maintain economic self-sufficiency, Florida must have an
22 efficient way for these families to access quality early
23 childhood health care, child care, and education services. The
24 Legislature recognizes that significant benefits will accrue
25 to children and families who have efficient access to quality
26 early childhood health care, child care, and education
27 arrangements.
28 (e) It is the intent of the Legislature that all early
29 childhood health care, child care, and education programs and
30 services serving Florida children in the first 5 years of life
31 or until the child attains school readiness, whichever is
9
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 later, are considered school readiness programs. The
2 Legislature finds that despite the efforts of hundreds of
3 thousands of Floridians and increased collaboration among
4 service providers, services for young children remain
5 uncoordinated, uneven in quality, and inaccessible to many. It
6 is the intent of the Legislature that a true continuum of
7 high-quality, coordinated, and comprehensive early childhood
8 health care, child care, and education be available to all
9 children from birth to 5 years of age or until the child
10 attains school readiness, whichever is later.
11 (f) The Legislature recognizes new brain development
12 research emphasizing the critical importance of the first
13 years of life in children's emotional, social, and cognitive
14 development, and that these scientific discoveries create an
15 opportunity to apply the findings to all programs and services
16 for children from birth to 5 years of age. The Legislature
17 also recognizes that the period of time from birth to 3 years
18 of age is an optimal time for learning in the areas of motor
19 development, emotional control, vision, social attachment,
20 vocabulary, second language, and logic.
21 (2) SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAMS.--For purposes of this
22 chapter, all early childhood health care, child care, and
23 education programs which are funded with state, federal,
24 lottery, or local public funds and which provide services to
25 children from birth to 5 years of age or until the child
26 attains school readiness, whichever is later, shall be school
27 readiness programs and shall work to achieve their part of the
28 goal of children entering school with healthy bodies and
29 healthy minds, ready to succeed in school.
30 (3) CHILDREN FIRST GOVERNING BOARD.--
31
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 (a) There is created a Children First Governing Board
2 to operate as the board of directors of the Florida
3 Partnership for Children First, Inc., with responsibility for
4 adopting and maintaining coordinated programmatic,
5 administrative, and fiscal policies and a common set of early
6 childhood health care, child care, and education standards for
7 all school readiness programs, while allowing a wide range of
8 programmatic flexibility and differentiation. The governing
9 board shall determine guidelines for granting programmatic
10 waivers to any of its policies and standards. The governing
11 board shall establish goals for early childhood development
12 leading to school readiness and policies that lead to the
13 achievement of these goals, including strict oversight of
14 their implementation. The governing board shall develop a
15 strategic plan for accomplishing these goals.
16 (b)1. As a condition for receiving funds appropriated
17 to the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., the
18 members of the Children First Governing Board shall include
19 the Governor, the Commissioner of Education, the Secretary of
20 Children and Family Services, the chair of the WAGES Program
21 State Board of Directors, and the chair of the Florida Council
22 of 100, who shall constitute the executive committee of the
23 governing board and shall be voting ex officio members.
24 2. The governing board shall also include six voting
25 members who shall not be members of the Legislature, two
26 appointed by the Governor, two by the President of the Senate,
27 and two by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who
28 shall have expertise in early childhood health care, child
29 care, or education. These members shall serve 4-year staggered
30 terms.
31
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 3. An appointive voting member vacancy on the
2 governing board shall be filled by the appointive authority
3 for the remainder of the unexpired term.
4 4. Appointive voting members may be removed for cause
5 by the appointive authority.
6 5. Members of the governing board are subject to the
7 ethics provisions in part III of chapter 112, and no member
8 may derive any financial benefit from the funds administered
9 by the Children First Partnership.
10 (c)1. At the quarterly meetings, the governing board
11 shall be chaired by the Governor.
12 2. At the monthly meetings, the governing board shall
13 be chaired by the member designated by the Governor.
14 (d)1. The members of the governing board shall
15 participate without proxy at all meetings they must attend.
16 Full meetings of the Florida Partnership for Children First,
17 Inc., at which the executive committee of the governing board
18 must be convened, present, and voting, shall be held at least
19 quarterly to establish goals and policy for the early
20 childhood health care, child care, and education of Florida's
21 youngest children and to consider reports from the Children
22 First Coalitions and the Children First Partnership staff.
23 Meetings of the appointive members, a designee representing
24 each Children First Coalition, and the Children First
25 Partnership staff shall be held at least monthly to discuss
26 concerns, share information, and collaborate on how to achieve
27 success.
28 2. The governing board may take official action by a
29 majority vote of the members present at any meeting at which a
30 quorum is present. At the quarterly meetings, a quorum shall
31 consist of the five members that constitute the executive
12
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 committee, plus four of the six appointive voting members. At
2 the monthly meetings, a quorum shall consist of four of the
3 six appointive voting members.
4 (e)1. The governing board shall appoint an executive
5 director who is responsible for other staff authorized by the
6 board.
7 2. Governing board members shall serve without
8 compensation but are entitled to receive reimbursement for per
9 diem and travel expenses as provided by s. 112.061 and for
10 other reasonable, necessary, and actual expenses.
11 (f) There shall be no liability on the part of, and no
12 cause of action shall arise against, any member of the
13 governing board, or its employees or agents, for any action
14 they take in the performance of their powers and duties under
15 this section.
16 (g) The governing board has complete fiscal control
17 over the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., and is
18 responsible for all corporate operations. The governing board
19 is responsible for the prudent use of all public and private
20 funds and shall ensure that the use of such funds is in
21 accordance with all legal and contractual requirements.
22 (h) The governing board shall recommend the
23 feasibility of combining funding streams for school readiness
24 programs into a Children First School Readiness Trust Fund,
25 and shall be responsible for the administration of the trust
26 fund.
27 (4) FLORIDA PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN FIRST, INC.
28 (CHILDREN FIRST PARTNERSHIP).--
29 (a) The Legislature hereby creates the Florida
30 Partnership for Children First, Inc. (Children First
31 Partnership), which shall be a public-private nonprofit
13
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 organization, which shall be registered, incorporated,
2 organized, and operated in compliance with chapter 617, and
3 which shall not be a unit or entity of state government. The
4 Legislature determines, however, that public policy dictates
5 that the Children First Partnership operate in the most open
6 and accessible manner consistent with its public purpose. To
7 this end, the Legislature specifically declares that the
8 Children First Partnership is subject to the provisions of
9 chapter 119, relating to public records, and those provisions
10 of chapter 286 relating to public meetings and records, except
11 as provided in Committee Substitute for House Bill 4385 or
12 similar legislation requiring confidentiality of identifying
13 information about children served.
14 (b) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
15 shall establish one or more corporate offices, at least one of
16 which shall be located in Leon County. Persons employed by the
17 Department of Children and Family Services and the Department
18 of Education on the day prior to July 1, 1998, whose jobs are
19 privatized, shall be given preference, if qualified, for
20 similar jobs at the Florida Partnership for Children First,
21 Inc. The Department of Management Services may establish a
22 lease agreement program under which the Florida Partnership
23 for Children First, Inc., may hire individuals who, as of June
24 30, 1998, are employed by the Department of Children and
25 Family Services and the Department of Education. Under such
26 agreement, the employee shall retain his or her status as a
27 state employee but shall work under the direct supervision of
28 the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc. Retention of
29 state employee status shall include the right to participate
30 in the Florida Retirement System. The Department of Management
31
14
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 Services shall establish the terms and conditions of such
2 lease agreements.
3 (c) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
4 is the principal responsible organization for the enhancement
5 of school readiness for the state's children. It shall be the
6 responsibility of the Florida Partnership for Children First,
7 Inc., to provide leadership for enhancement of school
8 readiness in Florida by aggressively establishing a unified
9 approach to Florida's efforts of enhancement of school
10 readiness; by aggressively seeking potential new school
11 readiness programs; and by aggressively assisting in the
12 retention and expansion of effective existing school readiness
13 programs. In support of this effort, the Florida Partnership
14 for Children First, Inc., may develop and implement specific
15 programs or strategies that address the creation, expansion,
16 and preservation of Florida's school readiness programs. This
17 approach must ensure the effective use of federal, state,
18 local, and private resources in reducing the need for school
19 readiness programs.
20 (d) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
21 shall have specific responsibility for implementing policies
22 developed by the governing board, monitoring progress toward
23 achievement of the goals established by the governing board,
24 assessing gaps in current early childhood health care, child
25 care, and education statewide, recommending quality standards
26 and monitoring their implementation, approving children first
27 plans, facilitating local implementation, providing technical
28 assistance to Children First Coalitions, and recommending
29 common eligibility requirements for similar programs while
30 seeking a diversity of programs to meet the varieties of need,
31 within the guidelines established by the governing board. When
15
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 recommending quality standards, the Children First Partnership
2 shall take into consideration standards consistent with ss.
3 230.2305 and 402.3015 and the nationally recongnized standards
4 for early childhood education programs, in conjunction with
5 the numbers of children needing and eligible for school
6 readiness program services who are not being served. The
7 Children First Partnership shall make recommendations
8 regarding changes in state law, rule, or agency policy that
9 may assist Children First Coalitions in improving the early
10 childhood health care, child care, and education of children
11 from birth to 5 years of age or until the child attains school
12 readiness, whichever is later.
13 (e) The Children First Partnership shall have all
14 powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this section,
15 including but not limited to the power to receive and accept
16 grants, loans, or advances of funds from any public or private
17 agency and to receive and accept from any source contributions
18 of money, property, labor, or any other thing of value, to be
19 held, used, and applied for the purposes of this section.
20 (f) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
21 shall be an independent nonpartisan body and shall not be
22 identified or affiliated with any one agency, program, or
23 group.
24 (g) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
25 shall have a budget, shall be financed through an annual
26 appropriation made for this purpose in the General
27 Appropriations Act, and shall be subject to compliance audits
28 and annual financial audits by the Auditor General.
29 (h) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
30 shall be staffed by an executive director and professional and
31 support staff and draw upon state agency personnel and
16
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 resources as needed to implement policy and manage interagency
2 agreements necessary to create a more coherent system of
3 school readiness programs for the state's youngest children.
4 (i) The executive director shall serve at the pleasure
5 of the governing board, shall supervise the affairs and
6 activities of the Children First Partnership and staff, and,
7 consistent with the recommendations of the Florida Partnership
8 for Children First, Inc., and needs of local Children First
9 Coalitions, shall be responsible for contracting for technical
10 assistance and support during fiscal years 1998-1999 and
11 1999-2000 to assist counties in creating Children First
12 Coalitions and developing local plans.
13 (5) CHILDREN FIRST PROGRAM.--The Children First
14 Partnership shall implement a program which may be phased in
15 to:
16 (a) Facilitate the provision of quality early
17 childhood health care, child care, and education to children
18 from birth to 5 years of age or until the child attains school
19 readiness, whichever is later.
20 (b) Provide eligibility criteria for a single sliding
21 fee scale for all school readiness programs and arrange for
22 the collection of fees from families in an amount determined
23 by the governing board in accordance with the following
24 priority listing:
25 1. Children of participants in the WAGES program who
26 are the only children eligible for services funded through the
27 federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
28 2. Children under 5 years of age who are:
29 a. Children determined to be at risk of abuse,
30 neglect, or exploitation and who are currently clients of the
31 Department of Children and Family Services.
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 b. Children at risk of welfare dependency, including
2 children of migrant farmworkers, children of teen parents, and
3 children from other families at risk of welfare dependency due
4 to a family income of less than 100 percent of the federal
5 poverty level. The Children First Partnership shall recommend
6 to the School Readiness Program Estimating Conference by July
7 1, 1999, how to convert provision of services to children of
8 teenage parents, as prescribed in s. 230.23166, to the
9 children first program and terminate the funding provisions of
10 s. 230.23166(3)(e).
11 c. Children of working families whose family income is
12 equal to or greater than 100 percent, but does not exceed 150
13 percent, of the federal poverty level.
14 3. Children who meet the eligibility requirements for
15 the prekindergarten early intervention program under s.
16 411.04(2).
17 (c) In accordance with the parental choice and payment
18 arrangement provisions of subsection (9), establish
19 participation criteria that include a single or simplified
20 point of entry to the school readiness program services system
21 in each county. These programs shall share the waiting lists
22 for unserved children so that a count of eligible children is
23 maintained without duplication. Participation criteria shall
24 require parents to be provided a choice of school readiness
25 program settings and locations, including but not limited to
26 settings and locations in licensed, registered,
27 religious-exempt, church-sponsored, school-based, or relative
28 care programs.
29 (d) Partner with Children First Coalitions to provide,
30 by direct service agreement, contract agreement, or voucher,
31 school readiness program services meeting standards
18
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 established by the Children First Partnership and the parental
2 choice and payment arrangement provisions of subsection (9).
3 (e) Make available the Florida Parents as Teachers
4 Program pursuant to s. 411.06, whenever feasible and as early
5 as possible in the child's development.
6 (f) Establish, with consultation from appropriate
7 professional organizations, standards and performance measures
8 for school readiness program services and providers
9 appropriate to children from birth to 5 years of age or until
10 the child attains school readiness, whichever is later. The
11 standards and performance measures must include, at a minimum,
12 that each coalition's children first plan must:
13 1. Help prepare preschool children to enter
14 kindergarten ready to learn, as measured by the school
15 readiness screening instrument.
16 2. Provide extended-day and extended-year services
17 when needed.
18 3. Provide coordinated staff development and teaching
19 opportunities.
20 4. Provide expanded access to community services and
21 resources for families to help achieve economic
22 self-sufficiency.
23 5. Serve at least as many children as were served
24 prior to implementation of the program.
25 (g) Develop age-appropriate screening instruments,
26 utilizing the latest brain development research, that provide
27 clear and objective data to measure school readiness.
28 (h) Prepare a plan for broadly publicizing and
29 implementing the system for measuring school readiness in such
30 a way that all children in children first plan programs or
31 whose parents or guardians bring them to a children first
19
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1 program location for screening upon payment of a nominal fee
2 have the opportunity to undergo the screening by 3 1/2 years
3 of age, with followup screening at 4 1/2 years of age and, for
4 purposes of evaluation and tracking, assess all kindergarten
5 screenings of children who have been in children first plan
6 programs. The plan must include a way to make the screening
7 and the training required to administer it available to public
8 and private providers of school readiness programs, and a way
9 to utilize the Florida Parents as Teachers Program established
10 pursuant to s. 411.06 or other available methods to make the
11 screening available for a nominal fee to children who do not
12 participate in such programs.
13 (i) Establish a method for collecting data from the
14 screening and establish guidelines for using the data so that
15 the measurement, the data collection, and the use of the data
16 serve the statewide goal that all children will be ready for
17 school. The criteria for determining which data to collect
18 should be the usefulness of the data to state policymakers and
19 program administrators in administering programs and
20 allocating state funds.
21 (j) Develop and implement a plan to publicize the
22 Children First Partnership, its school readiness expectations,
23 available school readiness program services, eligibility
24 requirements for the sliding fee scale, and procedures for
25 enrollment; and to provide the public with information as to
26 the details of the programs offered by qualified providers,
27 performance measures for the programs, and school readiness
28 outcomes.
29 (k) As appropriate, enter into contracts with one-stop
30 career centers, local school boards, child care resource and
31 referral agencies, and other agencies to provide onsite
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 information, referrals, and other services to enhance the
2 goals of the Children First Partnership.
3 (l) Provide a report on an annual basis to the
4 governing board, the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, the
5 President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
6 Representatives, and the Minority Leaders of the Senate and
7 the House of Representatives.
8 (6) CHILDREN FIRST COALITIONS.--
9 (a) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
10 shall assist in establishing a Children First Coalition in
11 each county or combination of counties and shall encourage the
12 strongest coalitions obtainable. The coalitions shall be
13 comprised of private nonprofit agencies or a partnership of
14 public entities, private nonprofit organizations, and
15 individuals with strong demonstrated interest and leadership,
16 and shall include the school district or districts and the
17 existing central agencies for subsidized child care, as well
18 as parents who are or have been parents of children in the
19 programs, including parents of children with disabilities.
20 One Children First Coalition shall be established in each
21 county, except that two or more counties may join together
22 under a Children First Coalition, but no more than one
23 coalition may be established in any county. Each Children
24 First Coalition shall develop a children first plan to be
25 submitted to the Children First Partnership for approval. Each
26 coalition shall provide for the following services as part of
27 its children first plan:
28 1. Identification of existing public and private
29 school readiness program services, including services by
30 public and private employers, and the development of a
31 resource file of those services. These services may include
21
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1 family day care, public and private child care programs, Head
2 Start, prekindergarten early intervention programs, services
3 for children with developmental disabilities, full-time and
4 part-time programs, before-school and after-school programs,
5 vacation care programs, parent education, the WAGES Program,
6 and related family support services. The resource file shall
7 include, but not be limited to:
8 a. Type of program.
9 b. Hours of service.
10 c. Ages of children served.
11 d. Number of children served.
12 e. Significant program information, including
13 participation requirements and performance measures.
14 f. Fees and eligibility for services.
15 g. Availability of transportation.
16 2. Establishment of a referral process which responds
17 to parental need for information and which is provided with
18 full recognition of the confidentiality rights of parents.
19 Referrals may not be made to an unlicensed child care facility
20 or arrangement unless there is no requirement that the
21 facility or arrangement be licensed.
22 3. Maintenance of ongoing documentation of requests
23 for service tabulated through the internal referral process.
24 The following documentation of requests for service shall be
25 maintained by each Children First Coalition:
26 a. Number of calls and contacts to the Children First
27 Coalition by type of service requested.
28 b. Ages of children for whom service was requested.
29 c. Time category of child care requests for each
30 child.
31
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1 d. Special time category, such as nights, weekends,
2 and swing shift.
3 e. Reason that the services are desired.
4 f. Name of the employer and primary focus of the
5 business.
6 4. Provision of technical assistance to existing and
7 potential providers of school readiness program services.
8 This assistance may include but is not limited to:
9 a. Information on initiating new school readiness
10 program services and program and budget development and
11 assistance in finding such information from other sources.
12 b. Information and resources which help current school
13 readiness program services providers to maximize their ability
14 to serve children and parents in their community.
15 c. Information and incentives which could help current
16 or planned school readiness program services offered by public
17 or private employers seeking to maximize their ability to
18 serve the children of their working parent employees in their
19 community, through contractual or other funding arrangements
20 with businesses.
21 5. Assistance to families and employers in applying
22 for children first school readiness program subsidy, including
23 but not limited to funding sources derived from subsidized
24 child care, Head Start, prekindergarten early intervention
25 programs, Project Independence, private scholarships, and the
26 federal dependent care tax credit. Such assistance shall be
27 designed to ensure that coalition funds are expended in the
28 manner and for the purpose required by the funding source.
29 6. Within federal reimbursement requirements,
30 assistance to state agencies in determining the market rate
31 for school readiness programs.
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 7. Assistance in negotiating discounts or other
2 special arrangements with program providers.
3 8. Annual provision to the Florida Partnership for
4 Children First, Inc., of the following information regarding
5 licensed and registered school readiness program facilities:
6 a. Type of program.
7 b. Hours of service.
8 c. Ages of children served.
9 d. Fees and eligibility for services.
10 e. Performance and school readiness outcomes.
11
12 The coalition shall operate under the direction of the Florida
13 Partnership for Children First, Inc., and shall be responsible
14 for monitoring all providers' success in achieving the
15 legislatively mandated performance standards and school
16 readiness outcome measures. No public funds shall be paid to a
17 provider unless the provider agrees to allow the coalition
18 access to fulfill its monitoring responsibilities.
19 (b) As part of its children first plan, each coalition
20 shall select and designate an entity with demonstrated
21 capacity in fiscal management to serve as fiscal agent for
22 receipt of block grant funding and to ensure that coalition
23 funds are expended in the manner and for the purpose required
24 by the funding source. The fiscal agent may be either a
25 for-profit or a not-for-profit private entity, or may be a
26 public entity that does not also serve as a provider of school
27 readiness programs. The fiscal agent must be approved by the
28 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc. The fiscal agent
29 shall be required to provide all administrative and direct
30 funding services as determined by the coalition. The cost of
31
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1 these services shall be negotiated between the fiscal agent
2 and the coalition.
3 (c) The coalition shall require its children first
4 program to comply with the parental choice and payment
5 arrangement provisions of subsection (9).
6 (d) Each coalition shall assume responsibility for
7 recommending phasing out duplicative coordinating bodies,
8 increasing collaboration among service providers, coordinating
9 services for young children, increasing program quality and
10 accessibility, and providing a seamless service delivery
11 system with a true continuum of coordinated school readiness
12 program services, available to all children under 5 years of
13 age living in the county or counties.
14 (e)1. Funds appropriated for a county or counties for
15 the prekindergarten early intervention program, the subsidized
16 child care program, and other state funded school readiness
17 programs for preschool children may be transferred to the
18 county's or counties' Children First Coalition account in the
19 Children First School Readiness Trust Fund for the purpose of
20 block grant funding to benefit the Children First Coalition in
21 implementing its children first plan. Additional funds,
22 including state appropriated incentive funds, may be placed in
23 the trust fund for purposes of this paragraph.
24 2. Each coalition shall be eligible to receive block
25 grant funding from its account in the Children First School
26 Readiness Trust Fund and programmatic waiver authority if
27 available, conditioned on the submission of an approved
28 children first plan designed to increase the number of
29 children ready to succeed at the time of entry into
30 kindergarten. The Auditor General shall conduct compliance
31
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1 audits and an annual financial audit of each coalition's block
2 grant funding.
3 3. To increase school readiness, block grant funding
4 and programmatic waiver shall be used by the coalitions to
5 improve health outcomes, increase the availability and
6 accessibility of school readiness programs, and provide family
7 support and parent education and development services.
8 (7) INCENTIVES FOR CHILDREN FIRST PLANS.--
9 (a) Children First Coalitions shall receive coalition
10 initiation grants to develop children first plans, and block
11 grant funding to implement approved plans designed to enable a
12 county or counties to achieve the outcomes specified in
13 subparagraph (6)(e)3. The plans must reflect strategies and
14 activities for achieving these outcomes through enhancing the
15 quality of school readiness program services that are adequate
16 and appropriate for the outcome desired; increasing the level
17 of services available so that those children in need of
18 identified services will have access to such services; and
19 creating incentives to integrate the various systems of
20 children's school readiness program services so that all the
21 systems work together as one to achieve the identified
22 outcomes.
23 (b) Children first plans submitted by a Children First
24 Coalition are subject to review and approval by the Florida
25 Partnership for Children First, Inc.
26 (c) To determine county priorities for coordinated
27 school readiness programs, each plan submitted by a Children
28 First Coalition shall include:
29 1. An assessment of current public, private, and
30 charitable resources available within the county for children
31 from birth to 5 years of age.
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 2. An assessment of unmet school readiness program
2 needs for children from birth to 5 years of age and an
3 assessment of school readiness program needs of children 5
4 years of age and older.
5 3. An assessment of kindergarten readiness as
6 administered in the past by the school district or districts,
7 together with the plans, timeframes, and goals for the
8 administration of the new school readiness instrument or
9 instruments to be administered to children in the Children
10 First Coalition's programs at 3 1/2 years of age and 4 1/2
11 years of age and to be administered to students in
12 kindergarten by the school district.
13 4. A method for school readiness program service
14 systems integration; demonstration of methods for achieving
15 the outcomes in subparagraph (6)(e)3.; demonstration of
16 methods for meeting the needs of particular subgroups of the
17 population, including migrant children, children with special
18 needs, and minorities; and methods for administering and
19 maintaining accountability in the integrated systems.
20 (d) Children first plans submitted by a Children First
21 Coalition shall adhere to the minimum standards established by
22 the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., and shall
23 address improvements in the quality of current and new
24 programs, including but not limited to components for
25 providing developmentally appropriate curricula; small group
26 sizes; ratios; increased staff training; and lower staff
27 turnover rates.
28 (e) Additional areas to be given priority
29 consideration in any children first plan submitted by a
30 Children First Coalition include family involvement; business
31 and private sector involvement; implementation of a single or
27
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 simplified point of entry and a unified waiting list for
2 school readiness programs; provision of full-day, full-year,
3 and night services, where needed and appropriate; and
4 inclusion of children with disabilities.
5 (f) Children First Coalitions shall integrate
6 childhood health care, child care, and education systems in
7 their children first plans, starting with the systems that are
8 currently most involved in collaboration with each other and
9 consistent with local needs and priorities.
10 (8) COALITION INITIATION GRANTS; INCENTIVE BONUS;
11 BLOCK GRANT FUNDING.--
12 (a) Children First Coalitions that are approved by the
13 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., shall be
14 eligible for a $25,000 initiation grant to support the
15 Children First Coalition in developing its children first
16 plan. Upon approval by the Children First Partnership of any
17 coalition's children first plan that clearly shows enhancement
18 in the quality and standards of the school readiness programs
19 without diminishing the number of children served in the
20 programs, the Children First Partnership shall award the
21 coalition a cash incentive bonus on a per-student served
22 basis, subject to appropriation.
23 (b) Children First Coalitions that have their children
24 first plans approved by the Florida Partnership for Children
25 First, Inc., by July 1, 1999, shall receive children first
26 block grant funding beginning July 1, 1999, to begin a
27 phase-in implementation of their children first plans.
28 Children first block grant funding for these counties shall
29 continue from year to year consistent with funding so
30 designated in the General Appropriations Act.
31
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 (c) Beginning in January 1999, the Florida Partnership
2 for Children First, Inc., shall issue a call for Children
3 First Coalition initiation grants every 6 months until
4 Children First Coalitions have been approved for all counties.
5 Coalitions submitting children first plans that are approved
6 by the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., shall be
7 eligible for block grant funding to implement their plans
8 beginning July 1 following plan approval. Children first block
9 grant funding shall be made available for these coalitions
10 contingent upon approval of the children first plans and
11 legislative appropriations for this purpose. Children first
12 block grant funding for these coalitions shall continue from
13 year to year consistent with funding so designated in the
14 General Appropriations Act.
15 (9)(a) PARENTAL CHOICE; PAYMENT ARRANGEMENT.--The
16 children first plan shall be provided in a manner that
17 ensures, to the maximum extent possible, parental choice
18 through flexibility in children first program arrangements and
19 payment arrangements, including but not limited to voucher,
20 contract, and direct service provision. According to federal
21 regulations requiring parental choice, a parent may choose an
22 informal child care arrangement.
23 (b) When a voucher is provided, the voucher must bear
24 the name of the beneficiary and the program provider and, when
25 redeemed, must bear the signature of both the beneficiary and
26 an authorized representative of the provider. If it is
27 determined that a provider has provided any cash to the
28 beneficiary in return for receiving the voucher, the Children
29 First Coalition shall refer the matter to the Division of
30 Public Assistance Fraud of the the Office of the Auditor
31
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 General for investigation and shall notify the agency
2 responsible for the funding source.
3 (c) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
4 in consultation with the office of the Comptroller, shall
5 establish an electronic disbursement system for the
6 dissemination of funds and vouchers in accordance with this
7 subsection. Fiscal agents shall fully implement the electronic
8 disbursement system within 3 years after approval of the
9 children first plan unless a waiver is obtained from the
10 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc. The fiscal agent
11 may charge an administrative fee not to exceed 1 percent of
12 each voucher to offset administrative costs of the school
13 readiness program.
14 (10) EVALUATION AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES.--
15 (a) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
16 shall have the responsibility for designing the evaluation and
17 performance measures to track the effectiveness of the new
18 children first block grant funding and other funding in
19 meeting the goals of increasing the quality and accessibility
20 of school readiness program services. The performance
21 standards and measurable outcomes established and regularly
22 reviewed by the Florida Partnership For Children First, Inc.,
23 under this subsection must also include benchmarks and goals
24 to measure the impact of state school readiness policies and
25 programs. Evaluation and performance measures must accommodate
26 the programmatic flexibility of parental choice settings among
27 Children First Coalition providers, including but not limited
28 to settings and locations in licensed, registered,
29 religious-exempt, church-sponsored, school-based, or relative
30 care programs.
31
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 (b) Each Children First Coalition shall require that
2 all school readiness programs that screen children for school
3 readiness utilize the school readiness screening instruments
4 developed by the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
5 to accurately reflect school readiness as the primary measure
6 of performance.
7 (c) The governing board shall report to the
8 Legislature on the implementation and performance of the
9 Children First Coalitions by March 1 of each year.
10 (11) RESPONSIBILITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS
11 SECTION.--The appointive voting members of the Florida
12 Partnership for Children First, Inc., shall be selected no
13 later than July 15, 1998, and the staff of the Children First
14 Partnership shall be selected and in place no later than
15 August 15, 1998. The first full meeting of the Florida
16 Partnership for Children First, Inc., shall be held no later
17 than October 1, 1998.
18 (12) PHASE-OUT OF STATE COORDINATING COUNCIL FOR EARLY
19 CHILDHOOD SERVICES.--By December 31, 1998, the State
20 Coordinating Council for Early Childhood Services shall submit
21 a final report of recommendations regarding early childhood
22 health care, child care, and education programs to the
23 Children First Governing Board. The State Coordinating Council
24 for Early Childhood Services shall cease to exist after
25 December 31, 1998.
26 Section 4. Effective July 1, 1998, section 411.02,
27 Florida Statutes, is created to read:
28 411.02 Children First Appropriation Allocation
29 Conference.--Prior to the distribution of any funds pursuant
30 to s. 411.01(8)(b) or (c), the Children First Governing Board
31 shall conduct a Children First Appropriation Allocation
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 Conference. Conference principals shall include
2 representatives of the Florida Partnership for Children First,
3 Inc., the Department of Education, the Department of Children
4 and Family Services, the Executive Office of the Governor, the
5 Director of Economic and Demographic Research, and the
6 applicable appropriations committees of the Senate and the
7 House of Representatives. Conference principals shall discuss
8 the forecasts of numbers of children needing school readiness
9 programs as determined by the School Readiness Program
10 Estimating Conference and participate in a joint effort to
11 develop budget allocation proposals that maximize the
12 legislative intent of the Children First Act and ensure that
13 the requirements of the funding sources are met.
14 Section 5. Effective July 1, 1998, paragraph (a) of
15 subsection (6) of section 216.136, Florida Statutes, is
16 amended, and subsection (11) is added to said section, to
17 read:
18 216.136 Consensus estimating conferences; duties and
19 principals.--
20 (6) SOCIAL SERVICES ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.--
21 (a) Duties.--
22 1. The Social Services Estimating Conference shall
23 develop such official information relating to the social
24 services system of the state, including forecasts of social
25 services caseloads, as the conference determines is needed for
26 the state planning and budgeting system. Such official
27 information shall include, but not be limited to, subsidized
28 child care caseloads mandated by the Family Support Act of
29 1988.
30 2. In addition, the Social Services Estimating
31 Conference shall develop estimates and forecasts of the
32
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 unduplicated count of children eligible for subsidized child
2 care as defined in s. 411.01. These estimates and forecasts
3 shall not include children enrolled in the prekindergarten
4 early intervention program established in s. 230.2305.
5 3. The Department of Health and Rehabilitative
6 Services and the Department of Education shall provide
7 information on caseloads and waiting lists for the subsidized
8 child care and prekindergarten early intervention programs
9 requested by the Social Services Estimating Conference or
10 individual conference principals, in a timely manner.
11 (11) SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.--
12 (a) Duties.--
13 1. The School Readiness Program Estimating Conference
14 shall develop such official information relating to the
15 state's system of school readiness program services as
16 described in s. 411.01, including forecasts of school
17 readiness program needs, as the conference determines is
18 needed for the state planning and budgeting system. Such
19 official information shall include but not be limited to
20 subsidized child care, Head Start, prekindergarten early
21 intervention, prekindergarten disabilities, Even-Start
22 literacy, First Start, migrant prekindergarten, and Title I
23 prekindergarten needs.
24 2. In addition, the School Readiness Program
25 Estimating Conference shall develop estimates and forecasts of
26 the unduplicated count of children eligible for school
27 readiness program services pursuant to s. 411.01.
28 3. The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
29 shall provide information on needs and waiting lists for
30 school readiness program services requested by the School
31
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 Readiness Program Estimating Conference or individual
2 conference principals, in a timely manner.
3 (b) Principals.--The Executive Office of the Governor,
4 the Director of Economic and Demographic Research, and
5 professional staff, who have forecasting expertise, from the
6 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., the Department
7 of Children and Family Services, the Department of Education,
8 the Senate, and the House of Representatives, or their
9 designees, are the principals of the School Readiness Program
10 Education Estimating Conference. The principal representing
11 the Executive Office of the Governor shall preside over
12 sessions of the conference.
13 Section 6. Effective July 1, 1999, section 230.2303,
14 Florida Statutes, is renumbered as section 411.03, Florida
15 Statutes, and amended to read:
16 411.03 230.2303 Florida First Start Program.--
17 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT; PURPOSE.--The Legislature
18 recognizes that the years of a child's life between birth and
19 the third birthday are critical for fostering intellectual
20 ability, language competence, physical development, and social
21 skills. The Florida First Start Program is intended as a
22 home-school partnership designed to give children with
23 disabilities and children at risk of future school failure the
24 best possible start in life and to support parents in their
25 role as the children's first teachers. The purpose of the
26 program is to assist parents to achieve their own goals for
27 education and self-sufficiency and to teach parents how to
28 foster their child's development in the crucial early years of
29 life. The program must assist school districts in providing
30 early, high-quality parent education and support services that
31 enable the parents to enhance their children's intellectual,
34
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 language, physical, and social development, thus maximizing
2 the children's overall progress during the first 3 years of
3 life, laying the foundation for future school success, and
4 minimizing the development of disabilities and developmental
5 problems which interfere with learning.
6 (2) PROGRAM.--There is hereby created the Florida
7 First Start Program for children from birth to 3 years of age
8 and their parents. The program must be administered,
9 implemented, and conducted by school districts pursuant to a
10 children first plan developed by the Children First Coalition
11 and approved by the Florida Partnership for Children First,
12 Inc as provided in this section.
13 (3) PLAN.--Each school board may submit to the
14 Commissioner of Education a plan for conducting a Florida
15 First Start Program. Each program plan and subsequent amended
16 program plan shall be developed in cooperation with the
17 district interagency coordinating council on early childhood
18 services established pursuant to s. 230.2305 and the
19 Interagency Prekindergarten Council for Children with
20 Disabilities, and shall be approved by the commissioner. A
21 district school board's plan must be designed to serve
22 children from birth to 3 years of age who are disabled or at
23 risk of future school failure and to serve their parents. For
24 the purposes of this section, the term "children with
25 disabilities or at risk of future school failure" includes any
26 child who has one or more of the characteristics described in
27 s. 411.202(10)(9).
28 (4) PLAN APPROVAL.--To be considered for approval,
29 each program plan, or amendment to a program plan, must be
30 based on the latest current research findings regarding the
31
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1 growth and development of infants and young children and must
2 include the following program components:
3 (a) The establishment of parent resource centers
4 located in neighborhood schools. Parent resource centers may
5 be established in cooperation with and jointly funded through
6 the community education program established pursuant to s.
7 239.401 or the Florida Parents as Teachers Program established
8 pursuant to s. 411.06.
9 (b) Visits, at least once a month, by trained parent
10 educators from the parent resource center, who shall inform
11 the parents about stages of child development and suggest
12 methods for parents to encourage children's intellectual,
13 language, physical, and social development. Parent educators
14 shall also offer guidance on home safety, nutrition, effective
15 discipline, constructive play activities, and other topics.
16 (c) Monthly group meetings for parents with similarly
17 aged children held at the parent resource centers.
18 (d) Periodic formal educational and medical screening
19 for the children.
20 (e) A procedure to help parents identify their goals
21 for education and self-sufficiency and to monitor their
22 progress toward achievement of their goals. The program must
23 provide a referral network to help parents who need special
24 assistance, for themselves or their children, that is beyond
25 the scope of this program.
26 (f) Assurances that each school parent resource center
27 shall be operated in compliance with the recommendations of
28 the Florida Parents as Teachers Program or staffed by a
29 coordinator trained in parent education and holding a
30 bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with a major
31
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1 in early childhood education, child development, child
2 psychology, home economics, social work, or nursing.
3 (g) A method for training parent educators and for
4 recruiting parent educators from among the families in the
5 school's attendance zone. Training for parent educators shall
6 include, but not be limited to, child growth and development,
7 health, safety, nutrition, identifying and reporting child
8 abuse and neglect, developmentally appropriate activities for
9 young children, and avoidance of income-based, race-based, and
10 gender-based stereotyping.
11 (h) An inservice staff development component,
12 including arrangements for staff access to child development
13 associate certificate training or its equivalent, coordination
14 with local teacher education centers established under s.
15 231.603, and integration with district master inservice plans
16 required under s. 236.0811.
17 (i) Coordination with district prekindergarten early
18 intervention programs and other school readiness programs
19 serving preschool children and their families.
20 (5) EVALUATION.--The Children First Coalition Each
21 school district shall conduct an annual evaluation of the
22 effectiveness of the Florida First Start Program in achieving
23 the performance outcomes established by the Florida
24 Partnership for Children First, Inc. This evaluation must
25 include assessment of the children's behavior, growth and
26 development, and achievement; the parents' success in meeting
27 their own goals for education and self-sufficiency; and the
28 parents' continued involvement with the education of their
29 children. The results of this evaluation must be maintained by
30 the school district and made available to the public upon
31 request.
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 (6) MONITORING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.--The Florida
2 Partnership for Children First, Inc., commissioner shall
3 monitor each Children First Coalition's Florida First Start
4 district Program at least annually to determine compliance
5 with the coalition's children first district plan and the
6 provisions of this section. The department shall develop
7 manuals and guidelines for the development of district plans
8 and shall provide technical assistance to ensure that each
9 district program maintains high standards of quality and
10 effectiveness. The Florida Partnership for Children First,
11 Inc., department shall identify exemplary programs in the
12 state to serve as model Florida First Start Programs and shall
13 disseminate information on these programs to all Children
14 First Coalitions districts.
15 (7) ANNUAL REPORT.--Each Florida First Start Program
16 shall district school board that implements a program under
17 this section shall, with the assistance of the district
18 interagency coordinating council on early childhood services,
19 submit an annual report of its program to the Children First
20 Coalition commissioner. The report must describe the overall
21 program operations, activities of the district interagency
22 coordinating council, expenditures, the number of children
23 served, staff training and qualifications, and evaluation
24 findings.
25 (8) COORDINATION.--
26 (a) The Florida First Start Program shall be included
27 under the jurisdiction of the Florida Partnership for Children
28 First, Inc., State Coordinating Council for Early Childhood
29 Services established pursuant to s. 411.01 411.222. The
30 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., council shall
31 make recommendations for effective implementation of the
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1 program and shall advise the Department of Education on needed
2 legislation, rules, and technical assistance to ensure the
3 continued implementation of an effective program.
4 (b) Each school district shall develop, implement, and
5 evaluate its program in cooperation with the district
6 interagency coordinating council established under s.
7 230.2305.
8 (9) FUNDING.--Funding for the Florida First Start
9 Program must be determined annually in the General
10 Appropriations Act.
11 Section 7. Effective July 1, 1999, section 230.2305,
12 Florida Statutes, is renumbered as section 411.04, Florida
13 Statutes, and amended to read:
14 411.04 230.2305 Prekindergarten early intervention
15 program.--
16 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT; PURPOSE.--The Legislature
17 recognizes that high-quality prekindergarten education
18 programs increase children's chances of achieving future
19 educational success and becoming productive members of
20 society. It is the intent of the Legislature that such
21 programs be submitted by the Children First Coalition as part
22 of the children first plan and comply with performance
23 measures established by the Florida Partnership for Children
24 First, Inc., pursuant to s. 411.01. The programs shall
25 demonstrate that they are developmental, serve as preventive
26 measures for children at risk of future school failure,
27 enhance the educational readiness of all children in the
28 program, and support family education and the involvement of
29 parents in their child's educational progress. Each
30 prekindergarten early intervention program shall provide the
31 elements necessary to prepare children for school, including
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1 health screening and referral and a developmentally
2 appropriate educational program and opportunities for parental
3 involvement in the program. Each prekindergarten early
4 intervention program shall administer the screening
5 instruments for school readiness developed by the Florida
6 Partnership for Children First, Inc., pursuant to s. 411.01,
7 in accordance with guidelines of the Children First Coalition.
8 It is the legislative intent that the prekindergarten early
9 intervention program not exist as an isolated program, but as
10 part of the children first plan build upon existing services
11 and work in cooperation with other programs for young
12 children. It is intended that procedures such as, but not
13 limited to, contracting, collocation, mainstreaming, and
14 cooperative funding be used by the Children First Coalition to
15 coordinate the program with Head Start, public and private
16 providers of child care, preschool programs for children with
17 disabilities, programs for migrant children, Chapter I,
18 subsidized child care, adult literacy programs, and other
19 services. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the
20 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., oversee
21 Commissioner of Education seek the advice of the Secretary of
22 Health and Rehabilitative Services in the development and
23 implementation of performance measures for the prekindergarten
24 early intervention program and that the Children First
25 Coalition oversee the coordination of services to young
26 children. The purpose of the prekindergarten early
27 intervention program is to assist local communities in
28 implementing programs that will enable all the families and
29 children in the school district to be prepared for the
30 children's success in school.
31
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1 (2) ELIGIBILITY.--There is hereby created the
2 prekindergarten early intervention program for children who
3 are 3 and 4 years of age. A prekindergarten early
4 intervention program may shall be administered by a district
5 school board or other Children First Coalition provider and
6 shall receive state funds pursuant to subsection (6) (5). Each
7 public school district or other Children First Coalition
8 provider shall make reasonable efforts to accommodate the
9 needs of children for extended day and extended year services
10 without compromising the quality of the 6-hour, 180-day
11 program. The school district or other Children First
12 Coalition provider shall report on such efforts. School
13 district participation in the prekindergarten early
14 intervention program shall be at the discretion of each school
15 district. Eligibility for program participation shall be as
16 established by the Florida Partnership for Children First,
17 Inc. Until eligibility is established by the Florida
18 Partnership for Children First, Inc., eligibility shall be
19 determined as follows:
20 (a) At least 75 percent of the children projected to
21 be served by the district program shall be economically
22 disadvantaged 4-year-old children of working parents,
23 including migrant children or children whose parents
24 participate in the WAGES Program. Other children projected to
25 be served by the district program may include any of the
26 following up to a maximum of 25 percent of the total number of
27 children served:
28 1. Three-year-old and four-year-old children who are
29 referred to the school system who may not be economically
30 disadvantaged but who are abused, prenatally exposed to
31
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1 alcohol or harmful drugs, or from foster homes, or who are
2 marginal in terms of Exceptional Student Education placement.
3 2. Three-year-old children and four-year-old children
4 who may not be economically disadvantaged but who are eligible
5 students with disabilities and served in an exceptional
6 student education program with required special services,
7 aids, or equipment and who are reported for partial funding in
8 the K-12 Florida Education Finance Program. These students
9 may be funded from prekindergarten early intervention program
10 funds the portion of the time not funded by the K-12 Florida
11 Education Finance Program for the actual instructional time or
12 one full-time equivalent student membership, whichever is the
13 lesser. These students with disabilities shall be counted
14 toward the 25-percent student limit based on full-time
15 equivalent student membership funded part-time by
16 prekindergarten early intervention program funds. Also,
17 3-year-old or 4-year-old eligible students with disabilities
18 who are reported for funding in the K-12 Florida Education
19 Finance Program in an exceptional student education program as
20 provided in s. 236.081(1)(c) may be mainstreamed in the
21 prekindergarten early intervention program if such programming
22 is reflected in the student's individual educational plan; if
23 required special services, aids, or equipment are provided;
24 and if there is no operational cost to prekindergarten early
25 intervention program funds. Exceptional education students
26 who are reported for maximum K-12 Florida Education Finance
27 Program funding and who are not reported for early
28 intervention funding shall not count against the 75-percent or
29 25-percent student limit as stated in this paragraph.
30 3. Economically disadvantaged 3-year-old children.
31
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1 4. Economically disadvantaged children, children with
2 disabilities, and children at risk of future school failure,
3 from birth to age four, who are served at home through home
4 visitor programs and intensive parent education programs such
5 as the Florida First Start Program.
6 5. Children who meet federal and state requirements
7 for eligibility for the migrant preschool program but who do
8 not meet the criteria of "economically disadvantaged" as
9 defined in paragraph (b), who shall not pay a fee.
10 6. After the groups listed in subparagraphs 1., 2.,
11 3., and 4. have been served, 3-year-old and 4-year-old
12 children who are not economically disadvantaged and for whom a
13 fee is paid for the children's participation.
14 (b) An "economically disadvantaged" child shall be
15 defined as a child eligible to participate in the free lunch
16 program. Notwithstanding any change in a family's economic
17 status or in the federal eligibility requirements for free
18 lunch, a child who meets the eligibility requirements upon
19 initial registration for the program shall be considered
20 eligible until the child reaches kindergarten age. If the
21 program is being offered by the school district, in order to
22 assist the school district in establishing the priority in
23 which children shall be served, and to increase the efficiency
24 in the provision of child care services in each district, the
25 district shall enter into a written collaborative agreement
26 with the Children First Coalition. other publicly funded early
27 education and child care programs within the district. Such
28 agreement shall be facilitated by the interagency coordinating
29 council and shall set forth, among other provisions, the
30 measures to be undertaken to ensure the programs' achievement
31 and compliance with the performance standards established in
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1 subsection (3) and for maximizing the public resources
2 available to each program. In addition, the central agency
3 for state-subsidized child care or the local service district
4 of the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services shall
5 provide the school district with an updated list of 3-year-old
6 and 4-year-old children residing in the school district who
7 are on the waiting list for state-subsidized child care.
8 (3) STANDARDS.--
9 (a) Children First Coalitions shall require that all
10 children first plan school readiness Publicly supported
11 preschool programs, including prekindergarten early
12 intervention, subsidized child care, teen parent programs,
13 Head Start, migrant programs, and Chapter I programs, shall
14 employ a single simplified point of entry to the school
15 readiness program child care services system in every county
16 community. These programs shall share the waiting lists for
17 unserved children in the community so that a count of eligible
18 children is maintained without duplications.
19 (b) The Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc.,
20 pursuant to s. 411.01 and Department of Education and the
21 Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, in
22 consultation with the Legislature, shall develop a minimum set
23 of performance standards for publicly funded school readiness
24 early education and child care programs, including
25 prekindergarten programs, and a method for measuring the
26 progress of local school districts and other Children First
27 Coalition providers central agencies in meeting a desired set
28 of outcomes based on these performance measures. The defined
29 outcomes must be consistent with the state's first education
30 goal, readiness to start school, and must also consider
31 administrative efficiency measures such as the employment of a
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1 simplified point of entry to the child care services system,
2 coordinated staff development programs, and other efforts
3 within the state to increase the opportunity for
4 self-sufficiency welfare recipients to become self-sufficient.
5 Performance standards shall be developed for all levels of
6 administration of the programs, including individual programs
7 and providers, and must incorporate appropriate expectations
8 for the type of program and the setting in which care is
9 provided.
10 (c) The program curriculum must be developmentally
11 appropriate according to the latest current nationally
12 recognized recommendations for high-quality prekindergarten
13 programs.
14 (d) School districts and other Children First
15 Coalition providers shall utilize the may establish a sliding
16 fee scale for participants developed by the Florida
17 Partnership for Children First, Inc.
18 (e) The ratio of direct instructional staff to
19 children shall be as provided in each coalition's children
20 first plan as approved by the Florida Partnership for Children
21 First, Inc. Until such time as the coalition's children first
22 plan is approved, the ratio of direct instructional staff to
23 children must be 1 adult to 10 children, or a lower ratio.
24 Until such time as the coalition's children first plan is
25 approved, upon written request from a school district, the
26 commissioner may grant permission for a ratio of up to 1 adult
27 to 15 children for individual schools or centers for which a
28 1-to-10 ratio would not be feasible.
29 (f) The minimum staff requirements shall be as
30 provided in each coalition's children first plan as approved
31 by the Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc. Until such
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1 time as the coalition's children first plan is approved, all
2 staff must meet the following minimum requirements:
3 1. The minimum level of training is to be the
4 completion of a 30-clock-hour training course planned jointly
5 by the Department of Education and the Department of Health
6 and Rehabilitative Services to include the following areas:
7 state and local rules that govern child care, health, safety,
8 and nutrition; identification and report of child abuse and
9 neglect; child growth and development; use of developmentally
10 appropriate early childhood curricula; and avoidance of
11 income-based, race-based, and gender-based stereotyping.
12 2. When individual classrooms are staffed by certified
13 teachers, those teachers must be certified for the appropriate
14 grade levels under s. 231.17 and State Board of Education
15 rules. Teachers who are not certified for the appropriate
16 grade levels must obtain proper certification within 2 years.
17 However, the commissioner may make an exception on an
18 individual basis when the requirements are not met because of
19 serious illness, injury, or other extraordinary, extenuating
20 circumstance.
21 3. When individual classrooms are staffed by
22 noncertified teachers, there must be a program director or
23 lead teacher who is eligible for certification or certified
24 for the appropriate grade levels pursuant to s. 231.17 and
25 State Board of Education rules in regularly scheduled direct
26 contact with each classroom. Notwithstanding s. 231.15, such
27 classrooms must be staffed by at least one person who has, at
28 a minimum, a child development associate credential (CDA) or
29 an amount of training determined by the commissioner to be
30 equivalent to or to exceed the minimum, such as an associate
31 in science degree in the area of early childhood education.
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1 4. Beginning October 1, 1994, principals and other
2 school district administrative and supervisory personnel with
3 direct responsibility for the program must demonstrate
4 knowledge of prekindergarten education programs that increase
5 children's chances of achieving future educational success and
6 becoming productive members of society in a manner established
7 by the State Board of Education by rule.
8 5. All personnel who are not certified under s. 231.17
9 must comply with screening requirements under ss. 231.02 and
10 231.1713.
11 (g) Student participation is must be contingent upon
12 parental involvement. The parental involvement activities
13 integral to the program must include program site-based
14 parental activities designed to fully involve parents in the
15 program and may include the Florida Parents as Teachers
16 Program pursuant to s. 411.06 and other parenting education,
17 home visitor activities, and family support services
18 coordination, and other activities.
19 (h) Services are to be provided during a school day
20 and school year equal to or exceeding the requirements for
21 kindergarten under ss. 228.041 and 236.013. Strategies to
22 provide care before school, after school, and 12 months a
23 year, when needed, must be developed by the school district in
24 cooperation with the central agency for state-subsidized child
25 care or other Children First Coalition provider the local
26 service district of the Department of Health and
27 Rehabilitative Services and the district interagency
28 coordinating council. Programs may be provided on Saturdays
29 and through other innovative scheduling arrangements.
30 (i) The school district or other Children First
31 Coalition provider must make every reasonable effort efforts
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1 to meet the first state education goal, readiness to start
2 school, including the involvement of other children first plan
3 school readiness programs, nonpublic schools, public and
4 private providers of day care and early education, and other
5 community agencies that provide services to young children.
6 This may include private child care programs, subsidized child
7 care programs, and Head Start programs. A written description
8 of these efforts must be provided to the Children First
9 Coalition district interagency coordinating council on early
10 childhood services.
11 (j) In accordance with the parental choice and payment
12 arrangement provisions of s. 411.01(9), parents must be
13 provided a voucher or an option regarding a child's
14 participation at a school-based site or other Children First
15 Coalition among contracted site sites, when such voucher or an
16 option is appropriate and within the school district. The
17 Children First Coalition school district may consider
18 availability of sites, transportation, staffing ratios, costs,
19 and other factors in determining the assignment and setting
20 district guidelines. Parents may request and be assigned a
21 site other than one first assigned by the Children First
22 Coalition district, provided the parents pay the cost of
23 transporting the child to the site of the parents' choice.
24 (k) The Children First Coalition school district must
25 coordinate with the central agency for state-subsidized child
26 care or the local service district of the Department of
27 Children and Family Health and Rehabilitative Services to
28 verify family participation in the WAGES Program, thus
29 ensuring accurate reporting and full utilization of federal
30 funds available through the Family Support Act, and for the
31
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 agency's or service district's sharing of the waiting list for
2 state-subsidized child care under paragraph (a).
3 (4) EVALUATION.--Each school district and other
4 Children First Coalition provider shall conduct an evaluation
5 of the effectiveness of its the prekindergarten early
6 intervention program. This evaluation shall include
7 performance measures required by the Children First Coalition
8 as part of the children first plan and measures of the
9 following:
10 (a) The children's achievement as measured by the
11 school readiness instrument or instruments assessments upon
12 entry into the program and upon completion of the program.;
13 and
14 (b) The children's readiness for kindergarten as
15 measured by the instrument the district uses to assess the
16 school readiness of all children entering kindergarten. The
17 results of this evaluation must be maintained by the Children
18 First Coalition school district and made available to the
19 public upon request.
20 (5) ANNUAL REPORT.--Each prekindergarten early
21 intervention program under this section shall submit an annual
22 report of its program to the Children First Coalition district
23 interagency coordinating council on early childhood services.
24 The report must describe the overall program operations;
25 activities of the district interagency coordinating council on
26 early childhood services; expenditures; the number of students
27 served; ratio of staff to children; staff qualifications;
28 evaluation findings, including identification of program
29 components that were most successful; and other information
30 required by the Children First Coalition council or the
31
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1 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc state advisory
2 council.
3 (6) FUNDING.--
4 (a) This section shall be implemented only to the
5 extent that funding is available. State funds appropriated
6 for the prekindergarten early intervention program may not be
7 used for the construction of new facilities, the
8 transportation of students, or the purchase of buses, but may
9 be used for educational field trips which enhance the
10 curriculum.
11 1. At least 70 percent of the total funds appropriated
12 for each children first plan's prekindergarten early
13 intervention program and allocated to each Children First
14 Coalition school district under this section must be used for
15 implementing and conducting a prekindergarten early
16 intervention program or contracting with other public or
17 nonpublic entities for programs to serve eligible children.
18 The maximum amount to be spent per child for this purpose is
19 to be designated annually in the General Appropriations Act.
20 2. No more than 30 percent of the funds appropriated
21 for each children first plan's prekindergarten early
22 intervention program and allocated to each Children First
23 Coalition school district pursuant to this section may be used
24 to enhance existing public and nonpublic programs for eligible
25 children, to provide before-school and after-school care for
26 children served under this section, to remodel or renovate
27 existing facilities under chapter 235, to lease or
28 lease-purchase facilities, to purchase classroom equipment to
29 allow the implementation of the prekindergarten early
30 intervention program, and to provide training for program
31 teachers and administrative personnel employed by the school
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1 district or other Children First Coalition provider and by
2 agencies with which the school district contracts for the
3 provision of prekindergarten services.
4 3. Funds may also be used pursuant to subparagraphs 1.
5 and 2. to provide the prekindergarten early intervention
6 program for more than 180 school days.
7 (b) A minimum grant for each children first plan's
8 prekindergarten early intervention program district is to be
9 determined annually in the General Appropriations Act. The
10 funds remaining after appropriating for the prekindergarten
11 early intervention program and allocating the minimum grants
12 must be prorated based on an allocation factor for each
13 Children First Coalition district and must be added to each
14 Children First Coalition's district's minimum grant. The
15 allocation factor, unless otherwise recommended by the Florida
16 Partnership for Children First, Inc., is to be calculated as
17 follows:
18
19 Children First Children First
20 Coalition District x 1/4 + Coalition District x 3/4
21 percentage of state percentage
22 3-year-old and of state total free
23 4-year-old children lunches served
24
25 The calculation of each Children First Coalition's district's
26 allocation factor is to be based upon the official estimate of
27 the total number of 3-year-old and 4-year-old children by
28 school district and the official record of the Department of
29 Education for K-12 student total free lunches served by school
30 district for the prior fiscal year.
31
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1 (7) CHILDREN FIRST COALITIONS DISTRICT INTERAGENCY
2 COORDINATING COUNCILS.--Children First Coalitions shall be
3 responsible for the prekindergarten early intervention
4 programs in their county or counties of jurisdiction.
5 (a) To be eligible for a prekindergarten early
6 intervention program, each school district or other Children
7 First Coalition provider must develop, implement, and evaluate
8 its prekindergarten program in cooperation with a Children
9 First Coalition district interagency coordinating council on
10 early childhood services.
11 (b) Each district coordinating council must consist of
12 at least 12 members to be appointed by the district school
13 board, the county commission for the county in which
14 participating schools are located, and the Department of
15 Health and Rehabilitative Services' district administrator and
16 must include at least the following:
17 1. One member who is a parent of a child enrolled in,
18 or intending to enroll in, the public school prekindergarten
19 program, appointed by the school board.
20 2. One member who is a director or designated director
21 of a prekindergarten program in the district, appointed by the
22 school board.
23 3. One member who is a member of a district school
24 board, appointed by the school board.
25 4. One member who is a representative of an agency
26 serving children with disabilities, appointed by the
27 Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services' district
28 administrator.
29 5. Four members who are representatives of
30 organizations providing prekindergarten educational services,
31 one of whom is a representative of a Head Start Program,
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1 appointed by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative
2 Services' district administrator; one of whom is a
3 representative of a Title XX subsidized child day care
4 program, if such programs exist within the county, appointed
5 by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services'
6 district administrator; and two of whom are private providers
7 of preschool care and education to 3-year-old and 4-year-old
8 children, one appointed by the county commission and one
9 appointed by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative
10 Services' district administrator. If there is no Head Start
11 Program or Title XX program operating within the county, these
12 two members must represent community interests in
13 prekindergarten education.
14 6. Two members who are representatives of agencies
15 responsible for providing social, medical, dental, adult
16 literacy, or transportation services, one of whom represents
17 the county health department, both appointed by the county
18 commission.
19 7. One member to represent a local child advocacy
20 organization, appointed by the Department of Health and
21 Rehabilitative Services' district administrator.
22 8. One member to represent the district K-3 program,
23 appointed by the school board.
24 (c) Each district interagency coordinating council
25 shall:
26 1. Assist district school boards in developing a plan
27 or an amended plan to implement a prekindergarten early
28 intervention program. The plan and all amendments must be
29 signed by the council chair, the chair of the district school
30 board, and the district school superintendent.
31
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CS/CS/HBs 683 & 2131, First Engrossed
1 2. Coordinate the delivery of educational, social,
2 medical, child care, and other services.
3 Section 8. Effective July 1, 1998, section 411.05,
4 Florida Statutes, is created to read:
5 411.05 School readiness screening instruments.--The
6 Department of Education shall adopt the school readiness
7 screening instruments developed by the Florida Partnership for
8 Children First, Inc., and shall require that:
9 (1) All school districts administer the kindergarten
10 screening instrument to each kindergarten student in the
11 district school system.
12 (2) All school districts that operate preschool
13 programs administer the age-appropriate screening instrument
14 to each preschool student in the district's preschool
15 programs.
16 Section 9. Effective July 1, 1998, section 411.06,
17 Florida Statutes, is created to read:
18 411.06 Florida Parents as Teachers Program.--
19 (1) The Legislature recognizes that the nationwide
20 Parents as Teachers Program has demonstrated that it is a
21 cost-effective program that produces outstanding results and
22 long-term cost savings. There is established the Florida
23 Parents as Teachers Program under the jurisdiction of the
24 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., which shall make
25 funding for the program available to each Children First
26 Coalition.
27 (2) The purposes of the Florida Parents as Teachers
28 Program are:
29 (a) To provide parents with the latest information on
30 child development from birth to 5 years of age and suggest
31 learning opportunities, based on the latest brain development
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1 research, that encourage language and intellectual growth and
2 the development of physical and social skills.
3 (b) To provide all families within the jurisdiction of
4 the Children First Coalition with the opportunity to have
5 their children screened for school readiness, either through
6 the child's participation in a children first plan program or
7 by payment of a nominal fee, at the ages of 3 1/2 years and
8 4 1/2 years.
9 (3) The Florida Parents as Teachers Program shall
10 include personalized home visits by certified parent educators
11 trained in child development, to help parents understand what
12 to expect during each stage of their child's development and
13 to offer practical tips on how to encourage learning, manage
14 behavior, and promote strong parent-child relationships. The
15 program shall also include group meetings, periodic
16 screenings, a resource network, and followup studies,
17 including tracking the school readiness screenings
18 administered after the child is in kindergarten, to measure
19 school readiness outcomes.
20 Section 10. Effective July 1, 1998, section 402.281,
21 Florida Statutes, is renumbered as section 411.08, Florida
22 Statutes, and subsections (1) and (3) of said section are
23 amended to read:
24 411.08 402.281 Gold Seal Quality Care program.--
25 (1) As part of the Gold Seal Quality Care program, the
26 Florida Partnership for Children First, Inc., department shall
27 develop a three-tiered quality rating system for school
28 readiness program subsidized child care providers, with the
29 highest quality rating given to qualified child care providers
30 who receive the Gold Seal Quality Care designation pursuant to
31 this section.
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1 (3) In developing the Gold Seal Quality Care program
2 standards, the department shall consult with the Department of
3 Education, the Florida Head Start Directors Association, the
4 Florida Association of Child Care Management, the Florida
5 Family Day Care Association, the Florida Children's Forum, the
6 State Coordinating Council for Early Childhood Services, the
7 Early Childhood Association of Florida, the National
8 Association for Child Development Education, providers
9 receiving exemptions under s. 402.316, and parents, for the
10 purpose of approving the accrediting associations.
11 Section 11. Effective July 1, 1998, subsections (4)
12 through (20) of section 411.202, Florida Statutes, are
13 renumbered as subsections (5) through (21), respectively,
14 present subsection (21) is repealed, paragraph (k) of present
15 subsection (9) is amended, and a new subsection (4) is added
16 to said section, to read:
17 411.202 Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the
18 term:
19 (4) "Department" means the Department of Children and
20 Family Services.
21 (10)(9) "High-risk child" or "at-risk child" means a
22 preschool child with one or more of the following
23 characteristics:
24 (k) The child is a handicapped child as defined in
25 subsection (9) (7).
26 (21) "Strategic plan" means a report that analyzes
27 existing programs, services, resources, policy, and needs and
28 sets clear and consistent direction for programs and services
29 for high-risk pregnant women and for preschool children, with
30 emphasis on high-risk and handicapped children, by
31
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1 establishing goals and child and family outcomes, and
2 strategies to meet them.
3 Section 12. Effective July 1, 1998, section 411.203,
4 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
5 411.203 High-risk and handicapped; continuum of
6 comprehensive services.--The Department of Education and the
7 Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services shall utilize
8 the continuum of prevention and early assistance services for
9 high-risk pregnant women and for high-risk and handicapped
10 children and their families, as outlined in this section, as a
11 basis for the intraagency and interagency program
12 coordination, monitoring, and analysis required in this
13 chapter. A The continuum of comprehensive services shall be
14 the guide for the comprehensive statewide approach for
15 services for high-risk pregnant women and for high-risk and
16 handicapped children and their families, and may be expanded
17 or reduced as necessary for the enhancement of those services.
18 Expansion or reduction of the continuum shall be determined by
19 intraagency or interagency findings and agreement, whichever
20 is applicable. Implementation of the continuum shall be based
21 upon applicable eligibility criteria, availability of
22 resources, and interagency prioritization when programs impact
23 both agencies, or upon single agency prioritization when
24 programs impact only one agency. The continuum shall include,
25 but not be limited to:
26 (1) EDUCATION AND AWARENESS.--
27 (a) Education of the public concerning, but not
28 limited to, the causes of handicapping conditions, normal and
29 abnormal child development, the benefits of abstinence from
30 sexual activity, and the consequences of teenage pregnancy.
31
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1 (b) Education of professionals and paraprofessionals
2 concerning, but not limited to, the causes of handicapping
3 conditions, normal and abnormal child development, parenting
4 skills, the benefits of abstinence from sexual activity, and
5 the consequences of teenage pregnancy, through preservice and
6 inservice training, continuing education, and required
7 postsecondary coursework.
8 (2) INFORMATION AND REFERRAL.--
9 (a) Providing information about available services and
10 programs to families of high-risk and handicapped children.
11 (b) Providing information about service options and
12 providing technical assistance to aid families in the
13 decisionmaking process.
14 (c) Directing the family to appropriate services and
15 programs to meet identified needs.
16 (3) CASE MANAGEMENT.--
17 (a) Arranging and coordinating services and activities
18 for high-risk pregnant women, and for high-risk children and
19 their families, with identified service providers.
20 (b) Providing appropriate casework services to
21 pregnant women and to high-risk children and their families.
22 (c) Advocating for pregnant women and for children and
23 their families.
24 (4) SUPPORT SERVICES PRIOR TO PREGNANCY.--
25 (a) Basic needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter.
26 (b) Health education.
27 (c) Family planning services, on a voluntary basis.
28 (d) Counseling to promote a healthy, stable, and
29 supportive family unit, to include, but not be limited to,
30 financial planning, stress management, and educational
31 planning.
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1 (5) MATERNITY AND NEWBORN SERVICES.--
2 (a) Comprehensive prenatal care, accessible to all
3 pregnant women and provided for high-risk pregnant women.
4 (b) Adoption counseling for unmarried pregnant
5 teenagers.
6 (c) Nutrition services for high-risk pregnant women.
7 (d) Perinatal intensive care.
8 (e) Delivery services for high-risk pregnant women.
9 (f) Postpartum care.
10 (g) Nutrition services for lactating mothers of
11 high-risk children.
12 (h) A new mother information program at the birth
13 site, to provide an informational brochure about
14 immunizations, normal child development, abuse avoidance and
15 appropriate parenting strategies, family planning, and
16 community resources and support services for all parents of
17 newborns and to schedule Medicaid-eligible infants for a
18 health checkup.
19 (i) Appropriate screenings, including to include, but
20 not be limited to, metabolic screening, sickle-cell screening,
21 hearing screening, developmental screening, and categorical
22 screening.
23 (j) Followup family planning services for high-risk
24 mothers and mothers of high-risk infants.
25 (6) HEALTH AND NUTRITION SERVICES FOR PRESCHOOL
26 CHILDREN.--
27 (a) Preventive health services for all preschool
28 children.
29 (b) Nutrition services for all preschool children,
30 including, but not limited to, the Child Care Food Program and
31
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1 the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and
2 Children.
3 (c) Medical care for seriously medically impaired
4 preschool children.
5 (d) Cost-effective quality health care alternatives
6 for medically involved preschool children, in or near their
7 homes.
8 (7) EDUCATION, EARLY ASSISTANCE, AND RELATED SERVICES
9 FOR HIGH-RISK CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES.--
10 (a) Early assistance, including, but not limited to,
11 developmental assistance programs, parent support and training
12 programs, and appropriate followup assistance services, for
13 handicapped and high-risk infants and their families.
14 (b) Special education and related services for
15 handicapped children.
16 (c) Education, early assistance, and related services
17 for high-risk children.
18 (8) SUPPORT SERVICES FOR ALL EXPECTANT PARENTS AND
19 PARENTS OF HIGH-RISK CHILDREN.--
20 (a) Nonmedical prenatal and support services for
21 pregnant teenagers and other high-risk pregnant women.
22 (b) School readiness Child care and Early childhood
23 programs, including, but not limited to, the Florida Parents
24 as Teachers Program pursuant to s. 411.06, subsidized child
25 care, licensed nonsubsidized child care, family day care
26 homes, therapeutic child care, Head Start, and preschool
27 programs in public and private schools.
28 (c) Parent education and counseling, including the
29 Florida Parents as Teachers Program.
30 (d) Transportation.
31
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1 (e) Respite care, homemaker care, crisis management,
2 and other services that allow families of high-risk children
3 to maintain and provide quality care to their children at
4 home.
5 (f) Parent support groups, such as the community
6 resource mother or father program as established in s. 402.45,
7 the Florida First Start Program as established in s. 230.2303,
8 or parents as first teachers, to strengthen families and to
9 enable families of high-risk children to better meet their
10 needs.
11 (g) Utilization of the elderly, either as volunteers
12 or paid employees, to work with high-risk children.
13 (h) Utilization of high school and postsecondary
14 students as volunteers to work with high-risk children.
15 (9) MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES.--
16 (a) Resource information systems on services and
17 programs available for families.
18 (b) Registry of high-risk newborns and newborns with
19 birth defects, which utilizes privacy safeguards for children
20 and parents who are subjects of the registry.
21 (c) Local registry of preschoolers with high-risk or
22 handicapping conditions, which utilizes privacy safeguards for
23 children and parents who are subjects of the registry.
24 (d) Information sharing system among the Florida
25 Partnership for Children First, Inc., the Department of
26 Children and Family Health and Rehabilitative Services, the
27 Department of Education, local education agencies, and other
28 appropriate entities, on children eligible for services.
29 Information may be shared when parental or guardian permission
30 has been given for release.
31
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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 Section 32. The Florida Partnership for Children
5 First, Inc., shall examine s. 402.27, Florida Statutes, and
6 shall recommend to the Legislature no later than March 1,
7 1999, amendments that reflect the intent of this act.
8 Specifically, the partnership shall review how best to
9 coordinate resource and referral functions to provide the
10 highest quality services to parents and promote the greatest
11 support from the private sector.
12 Section 33. There is hereby appropriated from the
13 General Revenue Fund to the Department of Education to be
14 deposited in the Children First School Readiness Trust Fund,
15 as administered by the Florida Partnership for Children First,
16 Inc., for fiscal year 1998-1999, the sum of $1,675,000 for the
17 purpose of implementing s. 411.01(8)(a), Florida Statutes, as
18 created by this act.
19 Section 34. There is hereby appropriated from the
20 General Revenue Fund to the Department of Education to be
21 deposited in the Children First School Readiness Trust Fund,
22 as administered by the Florida Partnership for Children First,
23 Inc., for fiscal year 1998-1999, the sum of $500,000 for the
24 purpose of implementing s. 411.06, Florida Statutes, as
25 created by this act.
26 Section 35. Except as otherwise provided herein, this
27 act shall take effect July 1, 1998, if Committee Substitute
28 for House Bill 4415, relating to children's health, and
29 Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for House Bill
30 4383, relating to the healthy opportunity for school readiness
31 voucher program, are adopted, or similar legislation having
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2 same legislative session or an extension thereof.
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