HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 374, 2nd Eng.
Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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5 ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW
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11 Representative(s) Lynn offered the following:
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13 Amendment (with title amendment)
14 On page 11, between lines 13 and 14, of the bill
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16 insert:
17 Section 9. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
18 402.3055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
19 402.3055 Child care personnel requirements.--
20 (1) REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILD CARE PERSONNEL.--
21 (a) The department or local licensing agency shall
22 require that the application for a child care license contain
23 a question that specifically asks the applicant, owner, or
24 operator if he or she has ever had a license denied, revoked,
25 or suspended in any state or jurisdiction or has been the
26 subject of a disciplinary action or been fined while employed
27 in a child care facility. The applicant, owner, or operator
28 shall sign an affidavit attesting attest to the accuracy of
29 the information requested under penalty of perjury.
30 1. If the applicant, owner, or operator admits that he
31 or she has been a party in such action, the department or
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hbd0001 02:45 pm 00374-0027-254861
HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 374, 2nd Eng.
Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)
1 local licensing agency shall review the nature of the
2 suspension, revocation, disciplinary action, or fine before
3 granting the applicant a license to operate a child care
4 facility.
5 2. If the applicant, owner, or operator denies that he
6 or she has been a party in such action in Florida, the
7 department or local licensing agency shall validate the
8 information provided by reviewing statewide child care
9 licensing records to determine if the applicant has had a
10 license denied, revoked, or suspended or has been the subject
11 of a disciplinary action or been fined while employed in a
12 child care facility prior to issuing a license.
13 3. If the department or local licensing agency
14 determines as the result of such review that it is not in the
15 best interest of the state or local jurisdiction for the
16 applicant to be licensed, a license shall not be granted.
17 Section 10. Section 402.3105, Florida Statutes, is
18 created to read:
19 402.3105 Central database on violations, citations,
20 and penalties imposed against child care facilities.--The
21 Department of Children and Family Services shall establish and
22 maintain a central database to record and compile all district
23 information relating to violations, citations, and penalties
24 imposed against child care facilities regulated by the
25 department. The database shall be designed by the State
26 Technology Office, in consultation with the department
27 pursuant to chapter 282, and the department shall implement,
28 operate, and maintain the system in accordance with the
29 policies and procedures established by the office. The
30 database shall be operated in a manner that enables the
31 department to identify and locate such information for
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hbd0001 02:45 pm 00374-0027-254861
HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 374, 2nd Eng.
Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)
1 purposes of monitoring and evaluating the uniformity and
2 effectiveness of district investigations and enforcement, in
3 order to ensure compliance of child care facilities with state
4 regulatory requirements. The database shall further maintain
5 and produce aggregate statistical reports monitoring patterns
6 of violations, citations, and penalties, including the classes
7 and types of violations, and any actions taken to suspend or
8 revoke the license of a child care facility. The information
9 in the database shall serve as a resource for the evaluation
10 of child care facilities for license renewal but may not be
11 used for employment screening. The information in the database
12 shall be made available to the public upon request.
13 Section 11. The Department of Children and Family
14 Services shall establish and impose uniform penalties for
15 violations of ss. 402.301-402.319, Florida Statutes, and rules
16 adopted thereunder.
17 Section 12. Upon the effective date of this act, the
18 Department of Children and Family Services shall implement the
19 provisions of this act relating to compilation, maintenance,
20 and availability of data, public access thereto, and uniform
21 penalties, and such implementation shall not be subject to an
22 appropriation.
23 Section 13. Subsection (9) of section 409.146, Florida
24 Statutes, is amended to read:
25 409.146 Children and families client and management
26 information system.--
27 (9) The Department of Children and Family Services
28 shall provide an annual report to the Joint Information
29 Technology Resources Committee. The committee shall review the
30 report and shall forward the report, along with its comments,
31 to the appropriate substantive and appropriations committees
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hbd0001 02:45 pm 00374-0027-254861
HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 374, 2nd Eng.
Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)
1 of the House of Representatives and the Senate delineating the
2 development status of the system and other information
3 necessary for funding and policy formulation. In developing
4 the system, the Department of Children and Family Services
5 shall consider and report on the availability of, and the
6 costs associated with using, existing software and systems,
7 including, but not limited to, those that are operational in
8 other states, to meet the requirements of this section. The
9 department shall also consider and report on the compatibility
10 of such existing software and systems with an integrated
11 management information system. The report shall be submitted
12 no later than December 1 of each year.
13 Section 14. Subsection (6) of section 402.301, Florida
14 Statutes, is amended to read:
15 402.301 Child care facilities; legislative intent and
16 declaration of purpose and policy.--It is the legislative
17 intent to protect the health, safety, and well-being of the
18 children of the state and to promote their emotional and
19 intellectual development and care. Toward that end:
20 (1) It is the purpose of ss. 402.301-402.319 to
21 establish statewide minimum standards for the care and
22 protection of children in child care facilities, to ensure
23 maintenance of these standards, and to approve county
24 administration and enforcement to regulate conditions in such
25 facilities through a program of licensing.
26 (2) It is the intent of the Legislature that all
27 owners, operators, and child care personnel shall be of good
28 moral character.
29 (3) It shall be the policy of the state to ensure
30 protection of children and to encourage child care providers
31 and parents to share responsibility for and to assist in the
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 374, 2nd Eng.
Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)
1 improvement of child care programs.
2 (4) It shall be the policy of the state to promote
3 public and private employer initiatives to establish day care
4 services for their employees.
5 (5) It is the further legislative intent that the
6 freedom of religion of all citizens shall be inviolate.
7 Nothing in ss. 402.301-402.319 shall give any governmental
8 agency jurisdiction or authority to regulate, supervise, or in
9 any way be involved in any Sunday School, Sabbath School, or
10 religious services or any nursery service or other program
11 conducted during religious or church services primarily for
12 the convenience of those attending such services.
13 (6) It is further the intent that membership
14 organizations that do not provide child care for school-age
15 children for more than four hours per day, and are affiliated
16 with national organizations which do not provide child care,
17 whose primary purpose is providing activities that contribute
18 to the development of good character or good sportsmanship or
19 to the education or cultural development of minors in this
20 state, which charge only a nominal annual membership fee,
21 which are not for profit, and which are certified by their
22 national associations as being in compliance with the
23 association's minimum standards and procedures, shall not be
24 considered child care facilities and therefore, their
25 personnel shall not be required to be screened. Care for
26 children under the age of Kindergarten is considered child
27 care and is subject to the provisions of s. 402.301 through
28 402.19.
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hbd0001 02:45 pm 00374-0027-254861
HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 374, 2nd Eng.
Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)
1 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
2 And the title is amended as follows:
3 On page 2, line 3,
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5 after the semicolon insert:
6 amending s. 402.3055, F.S.; requiring
7 validation of information provided by an
8 applicant for a child care facility license;
9 creating s. 402.3105, F.S.; requiring the
10 Department of Children and Family Services to
11 establish a database of information relating to
12 violations, citations, and penalties imposed
13 against child care facilities regulated by the
14 state; providing duties of the State Technology
15 Office; specifying database capabilities and
16 uses of information contained therein;
17 requiring the department to establish and
18 impose uniform penalties; providing that
19 implementation is not subject to an
20 appropriation; amending s. 409.146, F.S.,
21 relating to children and families client and
22 management information; deleting obsolete
23 language; amending s. 402.301, F.S., specifying
24 which membership organizations are not
25 considered child care facilities;
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File original & 9 copies 05/03/01
hbd0001 02:45 pm 00374-0027-254861