Senate Bill sb1140c1

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    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1140

    By the Committee on Children and Families; and Senator Cowin





    300-1981-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to administering medication to

  3         a child; amending s. 39.401, F.S.; providing

  4         that the refusal of a parent, legal guardian,

  5         or other person responsible for a child's

  6         welfare to administer or consent to the

  7         administration of any psychotropic medication

  8         to the child does not, in and of itself,

  9         constitute grounds for the department to take

10         the child into custody; providing an exception;

11         creating s. 402.3127, F.S.; prohibiting

12         specified persons working in child care

13         facilities, large family child care homes, and

14         family day care homes from administering

15         medications to a child without written

16         authorization of the child's parent or legal

17         guardian; providing for the contents of the

18         written authorization; directing procedures for

19         administering medication to a child during an

20         emergency medical condition; providing

21         definitions; providing criminal penalties;

22         amending s. 1006.062, F.S.; directing school

23         boards to adopt rules prohibiting school board

24         personnel from recommending psychotropic

25         medication for a student; providing exceptions;

26         providing an effective date.

27  

28  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

29  

30         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 39.401, Florida

31  Statutes, is amended to read:

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    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1140
    300-1981-04




 1         39.401  Taking a child alleged to be dependent into

 2  custody; law enforcement officers and authorized agents of the

 3  department.--

 4         (1)  A child may only be taken into custody:

 5         (a)  Pursuant to the provisions of this part, based

 6  upon sworn testimony, either before or after a petition is

 7  filed; or

 8         (b)  By a law enforcement officer, or an authorized

 9  agent of the department, if the officer or authorized agent

10  has probable cause to support a finding:

11         1.  That the child has been abused, neglected, or

12  abandoned, or is suffering from or is in imminent danger of

13  illness  or injury as a result of abuse, neglect, or

14  abandonment;

15         2.  That the parent or legal custodian of the child has

16  materially violated a condition of placement imposed by the

17  court; or

18         3.  That the child has no parent, legal custodian, or

19  responsible adult relative immediately known and available to

20  provide supervision and care.

21  

22  The refusal of a parent, legal guardian, or other person

23  responsible for a child's welfare to administer or consent to

24  the administration of any psychotropic medication to the child

25  does not, in and of itself, constitute grounds for the

26  department to take the child into custody, or for any court to

27  order that the child be taken into custody by the department,

28  unless the refusal to administer or consent to the

29  administration of psychotropic medication causes the child to

30  be neglected or abused.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1140
    300-1981-04




 1         Section 2.  Section 402.3127, Florida Statutes, is

 2  created to read:

 3         402.3127  Unauthorized administration of medication.--

 4         (1)  An employee, owner, household member, volunteer,

 5  or operator of a child care facility, large family child care

 6  home, or family day care home, as defined in s. 402.302,

 7  including a child care program operated by a public or

 8  nonpublic school deemed to be child care under s. 402.3025,

 9  which are required to be licensed or registered, may not,

10  without written authorization from a child's parent or legal

11  guardian, administer any medication to a child attending the

12  child care facility. The written authorization to administer

13  medication must include the child's name, the date or dates

14  for which the authorization is applicable, dosage

15  instructions, and the signature of the child's parent or legal

16  guardian.

17         (2)  In the event of an emergency medical condition

18  when a child's parent or legal guardian is unavailable, an

19  employee, owner, household member, volunteer, or operator of a

20  licensed or unlicensed child care facility may administer

21  medication to a child attending the child care facility

22  without the written authorization required in subsection (1)

23  if the medication is administered according to instructions

24  from a bona fide medical care provider. The child care

25  facility must immediately notify the child's parent or legal

26  guardian of the emergency medical condition and of the

27  corrective measures taken. If the parent or legal guardian

28  remains unavailable and the child's emergency medical

29  condition persists, the child care facility must immediately

30  notify the child's medical care provider.

31         (3)  As used in this section, the term:

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    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1140
    300-1981-04




 1         (a)  "Bona fide medical care provider" means an

 2  individual who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized

 3  to prescribe the medication.

 4         (b)  "Emergency medical condition" means circumstances

 5  when a prudent layperson acting reasonably would believe that

 6  an emergency medical condition exists.

 7         (4)(a)  A person who violates this section commits a

 8  felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s.

 9  775.082 or s. 775.083, if the violation results in serious

10  injury to the child.

11         (b)  A person who violates this section commits a

12  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.

13  775.082 or s. 775.083, if the violation does not result in

14  serious injury to the child.

15         Section 3.  Subsection (8) is added to section

16  1006.062, Florida Statutes, to read:

17         1006.062  Administration of medication and provision of

18  medical services by district school board personnel.--

19         (8)  Each district school board shall adopt rules that

20  prohibit all district school board personnel from recommending

21  the use of psychotropic medications for any student. This

22  subsection does not prohibit district school board medical

23  personnel from recommending that a student be evaluated by an

24  appropriate medical practitioner and does not prohibit

25  district school board medical personnel from consulting with

26  such a practitioner with the consent of the student's parent.

27         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

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    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1140
    300-1981-04




 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                         Senate Bill 1140

 3                                 

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    *    Changes one of the parties identified in the bill who may
 5       be refusing to administer the psychotropic medication
         from the "other person having control of the child" to
 6       the "other person responsible for the child's welfare."

 7  *    Clarifies the child care settings required to comply with
         the new requirement for administration of medication.
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