Senate Bill 1838
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 1838
By Senator Dawson
30-61C-00
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to relative caregiving;
3 amending s. 39.5085, F.S.; providing
4 legislative intent; prescribing the date of
5 entitlement to benefits under the Relative
6 Caregiver Program; authorizing the Department
7 of Children and Family Services to transfer
8 TANF savings to the Title XX Social Services
9 Block Grant to provide program benefits;
10 exempting children receiving relative caregiver
11 benefits from the Work and Gain Economic
12 Self-sufficiency (WAGES) Act; amending s.
13 239.117, F.S.; exempting certain postsecondary
14 students who are receiving caregiving services
15 from paying registration, matriculation, and
16 laboratory fees; requiring the department to
17 establish a pilot Relative Caregiver Program;
18 requiring a report to the Legislature;
19 providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) and
24 subsection (2) of section 39.5085, Florida Statutes, are
25 amended to read:
26 39.5085 Relative Caregiver Program.--
27 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting
28 this section to:
29 (c) Recognize that permanency is in the best interest
30 of the child and can be achieved through a variety of
31 permanency options, including long-term relative custody,
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 1838
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1 guardianship, or adoption, and to provide additional placement
2 options and incentives that will achieve permanency and
3 stability for many children who are otherwise at risk of
4 foster care placement because of abuse, abandonment, or
5 neglect, but who may successfully be able to be placed by the
6 dependency court in the care of such relatives.
7 (2)(a) The Department of Children and Family Services
8 shall establish and operate the Relative Caregiver Program
9 pursuant to eligibility guidelines established in this section
10 as further implemented by rule of the department. The Relative
11 Caregiver Program shall, within the limits of available
12 funding, provide financial assistance to relatives who are
13 within the fifth degree by blood or marriage to the parent or
14 stepparent of a child and who are caring full-time for that
15 child in the role of substitute parent as a result of a
16 court's determination of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment
17 and subsequent placement with the relative pursuant to this
18 chapter. Such placement may be either court-ordered temporary
19 legal custody to the relative awarded by a state court of
20 competent jurisdiction pursuant to s. 39.508(9)(a)4., or
21 court-ordered placement in the home of a relative under
22 protective supervision of the department pursuant to s.
23 39.508(9)(a)3. The Relative Caregiver Program shall offer
24 financial assistance to caregivers who are relatives and who
25 would be unable to serve in that capacity without the relative
26 caregiver payment because of financial burden, thus exposing
27 the child to the trauma of placement in a shelter or in foster
28 care.
29 (b) Caregivers who are relatives and who receive
30 assistance under this section must be capable, as determined
31 by a home study, of providing a physically safe environment
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 1838
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1 and a stable, supportive home for the children under their
2 care, and must assure that the children's well-being is met,
3 including, but not limited to, the provision of immunizations,
4 education, and mental health services as needed.
5 (c) Relatives who qualify for and participate in the
6 Relative Caregiver Program are not required to meet foster
7 care licensing requirements under s. 409.175.
8 (d) Relatives who are caring for children placed with
9 them by a the court pursuant to this chapter shall receive a
10 special monthly relative caregiver benefit established by rule
11 of the department. The amount of the special benefit payment
12 shall be based on the child's age within a payment schedule
13 established by rule of the department and subject to
14 availability of funding. The statewide average monthly rate
15 for children judicially placed with relatives who are not
16 licensed as foster homes may not exceed 82 percent of the
17 statewide average foster care rate, nor may the cost of
18 providing the assistance described in this section to any
19 relative caregiver exceed the cost of providing out-of-home
20 care in emergency shelter or foster care.
21 (e) Children receiving cash benefits under this
22 section are not eligible to simultaneously receive WAGES cash
23 benefits under chapter 414.
24 (f) The date of entitlement to benefits under the
25 Relative Caregiver Program is the date of authorization of
26 payment or the 30th day after the submission of a signed and
27 dated application for benefits, whichever occurs first. The
28 child is eligible for retroactive benefits to the date of
29 entitlement if the application is not acted upon by the 30th
30 day after submission of the signed and dated application for
31 benefits.
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 1838
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1 (g)(f) Within available funding, the Relative
2 Caregiver Program shall provide relative caregivers with
3 family support and preservation services, flexible funds in
4 accordance with s. 409.165, subsidized child care, and other
5 available services in order to support the child's safety,
6 growth, and healthy development. Children living with
7 relative caregivers who are receiving assistance under this
8 section shall be eligible for Medicaid coverage.
9 (h)(g) The department may use appropriate available
10 state, federal, and private funds to operate the Relative
11 Caregiver Program. The department may transfer TANF savings to
12 the Title XX Social Services Block Grant in order to provide
13 benefits under the Relative Caregiver Program. Any child
14 receiving relative-caregiver benefits is not subject to the
15 provisions of the Work and Gain Economic Self-sufficiency
16 (WAGES) Act. The child must be recertified as eligible for
17 benefits under the Relative Caregiver Program once each year
18 by the department.
19 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section
20 239.117, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
21 239.117 Workforce development postsecondary student
22 fees.--
23 (4) The following students are exempt from the payment
24 of registration, matriculation, and laboratory fees:
25 (c) A student for whom the state is paying a foster
26 care board payment pursuant to s. 409.145(3) or pursuant to
27 parts II and III of chapter 39, or is paying a relative
28 caregiver payment under s. 39.5085, for whom the permanency
29 planning goal pursuant to part III of chapter 39 is long-term
30 foster care, custody to a foster parent or legal custodian on
31 a permanent basis, long-term relative placement, custody to a
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1 relative on a permanent basis, or independent living, or who
2 is adopted from the Department of Children and Family Services
3 after May 5, 1997. Such exemption includes fees associated
4 with enrollment in vocational-preparatory instruction and
5 completion of the college-level communication and computation
6 skills testing program. Such exemption shall be available to
7 any student adopted from the Department of Children and Family
8 Services after May 5, 1997; however, the exemption shall be
9 valid for no more than 4 years after the date of graduation
10 from high school.
11 Section 3. The Department of Children and Family
12 Services shall establish, or contract on a pilot-project basis
13 with a privatized, community-based organization for the
14 operation of the Relative Caregiver Program in one urban
15 district. The contract terms must include the establishment of
16 eligibility, the conduct of home studies, and the processing
17 of payments. The department shall report to the Legislature by
18 January 1, 2001, on the success of the pilot project in
19 reducing delays in the application process and in serving
20 eligible applicants.
21 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
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23 *****************************************
24 SENATE SUMMARY
25 Provides legislative intent relating to the Relative
Caregiver Program. Prescribes the date of entitlement for
26 program benefits. Authorizes the Department of Children
and Family Services to transfer TANF savings to the Title
27 XX Social Services Block Grant to provide program
benefits. Exempts children receiving relative caregiver
28 benefits from the Work and Gain Economic Self-sufficiency
(WAGES) Act. Exempts certain postsecondary students who
29 are receiving caregiving services from paying
registration, matriculation, and laboratory fees.
30 Requires the department to establish a pilot Relative
Caregiver Program. Requires a report to the Legislature.
31
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