House Bill 0709
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HB 709
By Representative Bainter
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to children in need of
3 services; amending s. 984.225, F.S.; revising
4 requirements for placement of a child in a
5 staff-secure shelter; correcting cross
6 references; amending s. 984.226, F.S.; revising
7 location of a pilot program for physically
8 secure facilities; providing for waiver of the
9 right to counsel for a child in need of
10 services, under certain circumstances; revising
11 criteria and time limits for placement of a
12 child in a physically secure facility;
13 providing duties of the court and the
14 Department of Children and Family Services with
15 respect to review of a child's placement;
16 providing for transfer of a child to the
17 jurisdiction of the department for certain
18 services; revising requirements for reports to
19 the Legislature by the Juvenile Justice
20 Accountability Board and the Department of
21 Juvenile Justice; providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25 Section 1. Subsections (2), (4), (5), and (6) of
26 section 984.225, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are
27 amended to read:
28 984.225 Powers of disposition; placement in a
29 staff-secure shelter.--
30 (2) The court shall order the parent, guardian, or
31 legal custodian to cooperate with efforts to reunite the child
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1 with the family, participate in counseling, and pay all costs
2 associated with the care and counseling provided to the child
3 and family, in accordance with the family's ability to pay as
4 determined by the court. Placement Commitment of a child in a
5 staff-secure shelter under this section is designed to provide
6 residential care on a temporary basis. Such placement
7 commitment does not abrogate the legal responsibilities of the
8 parent, guardian, or legal custodian with respect to the
9 child, except to the extent that those responsibilities are
10 temporarily altered by court order.
11 (4) If a child has not been reunited with his or her
12 parent, guardian, or legal custodian at the expiration of the
13 90-day commitment period of time for placement in a
14 staff-secure shelter, the court may order that the child
15 remain in the staff-secure shelter for an additional 30 days
16 if the court finds that reunification could be achieved within
17 that period.
18 (5) The department is deemed to have exhausted the
19 reasonable remedies offered under this chapter if, at the end
20 of the placement in a staff-secure shelter commitment period,
21 the parent, guardian, or legal custodian continues to refuse
22 to allow the child to remain at home or creates unreasonable
23 conditions for the child's return. If, at the end of the
24 commitment period of time for placement in a staff-secure
25 shelter, the child is not reunited with his or her parent,
26 guardian, or custodian due solely to the continued refusal of
27 the parent, guardian, or custodian to provide food, clothing,
28 shelter, and parental support, the child is considered to be
29 threatened with harm as a result of such acts or omissions,
30 and the court shall direct that the child be handled in every
31 respect as a dependent child. Jurisdiction shall be
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HB 709
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1 transferred to the Department of Children and Family Services
2 and the child's care shall be governed under parts II and III
3 of chapter 39.
4 (6) The court shall review the child's placement in a
5 staff-secure shelter commitment once every 45 days as provided
6 in s. 984.20. The court shall determine if the parent,
7 guardian, or custodian has reasonably participated in and
8 financially contributed to the child's counseling and
9 treatment program. The court shall also determine whether the
10 department's efforts to reunite the family have been
11 reasonable. If the court finds an inadequate level of support
12 or participation by the parent, guardian, or custodian prior
13 to the end of the placement commitment period, the court shall
14 direct that the child be handled in every respect as a
15 dependent child. Jurisdiction shall be transferred to the
16 Department of Children and Family Services and the child's
17 care shall be governed under parts II and III of chapter 39.
18 Section 2. Section 984.226, Florida Statutes, 1998
19 Supplement, is amended to read:
20 984.226 Pilot program for a physically secure
21 facilities facility; contempt of court.--
22 (1) Subject to specific legislative appropriation, the
23 Department of Juvenile Justice shall establish a pilot program
24 within the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth Judicial
25 Circuits a single judicial circuit for the purpose of
26 operating one or more physically secure facilities designated
27 exclusively for the placement of children in need of services
28 who meet the criteria provided in this section are found in
29 direct contempt or indirect contempt of a valid court order.
30 (2) When If any party files a petition is filed in the
31 Third, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, or Eighth Judicial Circuit
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1 alleging that a child is a child in need of services within
2 such judicial circuit, the child must be represented by
3 counsel at each court appearance, unless the record of each
4 such proceeding affirmatively demonstrates by clear and
5 convincing evidence that the child knowingly and intelligently
6 waived the right to counsel after being fully advised by the
7 court of the nature of the proceedings and the dispositional
8 alternatives available to the court under the provisions of
9 this section. If the court decides to appoint counsel for the
10 child and. If the child is indigent, the court shall appoint
11 an attorney to represent the child as provided under s.
12 985.203. Nothing precludes the court from requesting
13 reimbursement of attorney's fees and costs from the
14 nonindigent parent or legal guardian.
15 (3)(2) When If a child is adjudicated as a child in
16 need of services by a court within any of the judicial
17 circuits specified in this section, the court may order the
18 child placed in a physically secure facility authorized in
19 this section if is held in direct contempt or indirect
20 contempt of a valid court order, as an alternative to placing
21 the child in a staff-secure facility as provided under s.
22 984.225 or s. 985.216, the court may order that the child be
23 placed within the circuit in a physically secure facility
24 operated under the pilot program. A child may be committed to
25 the facility only if the department, or an authorized
26 representative of the department, verifies to the court that a
27 bed is available for the child at the physically secure
28 facility and the child has:
29 (a) Failed to appear for placement in a staff-secure
30 shelter under the provisions of s. 984.225 or failed to comply
31 with any other provision of a valid court order relating to
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1 such placement, and as a result of such failure has been found
2 to be in direct or indirect contempt of court; or
3 (b)(a) Run away from a staff-secure shelter following
4 placement under s. 984.225. or s. 985.216; or
5 (b) Committed at least two prior acts of direct or
6 indirect contempt.
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8 The department, or an authorized representative of the
9 department, must verify to the court that a bed is available
10 for the child. If a bed is not available, the court shall stay
11 the placement until a bed is available and the department
12 shall place the child's name on a waiting list. The child who
13 has been on the waiting list the longest shall have priority
14 for placement in the physically secure shelter.
15 (4)(3) A child may be placed in a physically secure
16 facility for up to 90 5 days. If a child has not been reunited
17 with his or her parent, guardian, or legal custodian at the
18 expiration of the placement in a physically secure shelter,
19 the court may order that the child remain in the physically
20 secure shelter for an additional 30 days if the court finds
21 that reunification could be achieved within that period. for
22 the first commitment and up to 15 days for a second or
23 subsequent commitment.
24 (5)(a) The court shall review the child's placement
25 once every 45 days as provided in s. 984.20.
26 (b) At any time during the placement of a child in
27 need of services in a physically secure shelter, the
28 department or an authorized representative of the department
29 may submit a report to the court recommending that the child:
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1 1. Has received all of the services available from the
2 program and is ready for reunification with a parent or
3 guardian; or
4 2. Is unlikely to benefit from continued placement in
5 the physically secure shelter and is more likely to have his
6 or her needs met in a different type of placement.
7 (c) The court shall determine if the parent, guardian,
8 or custodian has reasonably participated in and financially
9 contributed to the child's counseling and treatment program.
10 The court shall also determine whether the department's
11 efforts to reunite the family have been reasonable. If the
12 court finds an inadequate level of support or participation by
13 the parent, guardian, or custodian prior to the end of the
14 placement, the court shall direct that the child be handled in
15 every respect as a dependent child. Jurisdiction shall then be
16 transferred to the Department of Children and Family Services
17 and the child's care shall be governed under chapter 39.
18 (d) If the child requires residential mental health
19 treatment or residential care for a developmental disability,
20 the court shall refer the child to the Department of Children
21 and Family Services for the provision of necessary services.
22 (6)(4) Prior to being ordered committed to a
23 physically secure facility, the child must be afforded all
24 rights of due process required under s. 985.216. While in the
25 physically secure facility, the child shall receive
26 appropriate assessment, treatment, and educational services
27 that are designed to eliminate or reduce the child's truant,
28 ungovernable, or runaway behavior. The child and family shall
29 be provided with family counseling and other support services
30 necessary for reunification.
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1 (7)(5) The court shall order the parent, guardian, or
2 legal custodian to cooperate with efforts to reunite the child
3 with the family, participate in counseling, and pay all costs
4 associated with the care and counseling provided to the child
5 and family, in accordance with the family's ability to pay as
6 determined by the court. Placement Commitment of a child under
7 this section is designed to provide residential care on a
8 temporary basis. Such placement commitment does not abrogate
9 the legal responsibilities of the parent, guardian, or legal
10 custodian with respect to the child, except to the extent that
11 those responsibilities are temporarily altered by court order.
12 (8)(6) The Juvenile Justice Accountability Advisory
13 Board shall monitor the implementation and operation of the
14 pilot program and issue a preliminary report to the President
15 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
16 by August 1, 1999, and a report evaluating the effectiveness
17 of the pilot program in reuniting the children served with
18 their parent or guardian and avoiding subsequent out-of-home
19 placements shall be submitted to the Legislature by January
20 15, 2000. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall recommend
21 to the Legislature any proposed legislation concerning the
22 pilot program by January 15, 2000. evaluation report to the
23 Legislature by December 1, 1998. The Department of Juvenile
24 Justice and the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board shall issue a
25 joint final report to the Legislature, including any proposed
26 legislation, by December 1, 1999.
27 Section 3. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall
28 submit a report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of
29 the House of Representatives, and the Juvenile Justice
30 Accountability Board that describes its efforts to implement
31 the pilot program authorized in s. 984.226, Florida Statutes.
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1 The report shall include the following data for each judicial
2 circuit included in the pilot program:
3 (1) The number of youth who have been adjudicated
4 children in need of services since July 1, 1998.
5 (2) The number of available staff-secure shelter beds.
6 (3) The number of youth who have been placed in
7 staff-secure shelter beds since July 1, 1998, and the average
8 length of stay.
9 (4) The number of physically secure facility beds
10 available.
11 (5) The number of youth who have been placed in
12 physically secure facility beds since July 1, 1998, and the
13 average length of stay.
14 (6) The efforts that have been made by the department
15 with the chief judge, the court administrator, the local bar
16 associations, and other individuals or groups, within each
17 judicial circuit, to ensure the appointment of counsel in
18 child-in-need-of-services cases as appropriate under the
19 provisions of s. 984.226, Florida Statutes.
20 (7) The efforts by the department to educate the
21 public concerning the availability of and access to services
22 to meet the needs of families with children who are runaways,
23 truants, or ungovernable.
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25 The report shall be submitted by June 15, 1999.
26 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
27 law.
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HB 709
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2 HOUSE SUMMARY
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Revises requirements relating to placement of children in
4 need of services in a staff-secure shelter. Provides for
operation in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, and
5 Eighth Judicial Circuits of a pilot program for placement
of such children in physically secure facilities.
6 Specifies circumstances allowing waiver of counsel in
such circuits for court appearances of a child in need of
7 services. Revises criteria and time limits for placement
in a physically secure facility. Provides duties of the
8 court and the Department of Children and Family Services
with respect to review of a child's placement. Provides
9 for transfer to the department of jurisdiction of a
dependent child or a child requiring residential mental
10 health or residential developmental disability services.
Revises requirements and timeframes for reports and
11 recommendations to the Legislature by the Juvenile
Justice Accountability Board and the Department of
12 Juvenile Justice.
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