HB 1329

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to supervised visitation programs for
3children; repealing ss. 753.001, 753.002, and 753.004,
4F.S., relating to the Florida Family Visitation Network;
5creating ss. 753.01, 753.02, 753.03, 753.04, 753.05,
6753.06, 753.07, 753.08, 753.09, and 753.10, F.S.;
7providing legislative findings and intent with respect to
8administering supervised visitation programs; providing
9definitions; providing for the development of standards
10for supervised visitation and supervised exchange
11services; providing for certification and monitoring of
12supervised visitation programs; requiring compliance with
13interim minimum standards; providing for security of
14supervised visitation programs; providing for the use of
15certain funds by supervised visitation programs to meet
16security standards; requiring the Clearinghouse on
17Supervised Visitation to develop training materials;
18requiring the clearinghouse to fully implement and
19maintain a mechanism for data collection; encouraging
20supervised visitation programs to develop partnerships
21with community organizations; requiring the clearinghouse
22to develop standards for supervised visitation and
23supervised exchange services; providing for an advisory
24board; requiring reports to the Legislature and the Chief
25Justice of the Supreme Court; amending s. 943.135, F.S.;
26requiring the Criminal Justice Standards and Training
27Commission to allow agencies employing law enforcement
28officers to authorize volunteer service as a means of
29fulfilling requirements for continuing education; creating
30s. 943.254, F.S.; authorizing law enforcement agencies to
31administer a volunteer program for officers to provide
32security services during off-duty hours for certain
33community programs; amending s. 382.0255, F.S.; requiring
34the Department of Health to charge an additional fee for
35requests for a certification of birth issued by the
36department; providing for the distribution of the fee;
37providing an effective date.
38
39Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
40
41     Section 1.  Sections 753.001, 753.002, and 753.004, Florida
42Statutes, are repealed.
43     Section 2.  Sections 753.01, 753.02, 753.03, 753.04,
44753.05, 753.06, 753.07, 753.08, 753.09, and 753.10, Florida
45Statutes, are created to read:
46     753.01  Supervised visitation programs; legislative
47findings and intent.--
48     (1)  The Legislature finds that there are children in this
49state who have been adjudicated dependent by the court and, as a
50result, are ordered into out-of-home placements. The Legislature
51finds that a large number of these children experience the
52separation or divorce of their parents. Some of these children
53have been determined by the court to be at risk for physical,
54emotional, or sexual abuse, parental abduction, domestic
55violence, or other harm as a result of parental impairment due
56to substance abuse or other conditions. The Legislature also
57finds that exposing children to their parents' continuing
58conflicts is detrimental to the children.
59     (2)  The Legislature recognizes the importance of
60maintaining contact between children and their noncustodial
61parents while ensuring the safety of those children from further
62or potential abuse, danger, or flight. The Legislature further
63recognizes the importance of minimizing the circumstances in
64which children are exposed to their parents' anger and disputes.
65     (3)  The Legislature finds that supervised visitation
66programs provide critically needed services by offering children
67and noncustodial parents the opportunity to maintain a
68relationship in a safe environment while facilitating safe
69contact between perpetrators of domestic violence and their
70children.
71     (4)  The Legislature recognizes the need to ensure the
72safety of the children, parents, and staff participating in
73child visitations and exchanges. The Legislature also recognizes
74the need for high-quality program services that meet the many
75visitation and exchange needs of families, parents, and courts.
76Therefore, the Legislature intends to provide, subject to
77available funding, uniform standards for supervised visitation
78and supervised exchange services to improve the security,
79training, and quality of supervised visitation programs and to
80use those standards to certify supervised visitation programs.
81     753.02  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the term:
82     (1)  "Clearinghouse" means the Clearinghouse on Supervised
83Visitation within the Institute for Family Violence Studies in
84the School of Social Work of the Florida State University, which
85serves as a statewide resource on supervised visitation issues
86by providing technical assistance, training, and research.
87     (2)  "Custodial parent" means a natural or adoptive parent,
88guardian, caregiver, or state agency and its representative who
89has temporary or permanent legal custody of a child.
90     (3)  "Department" means the Department of Children and
91Family Services.
92     (4)  "Noncustodial parent" means a natural or adoptive
93parent, guardian, caregiver, or other adult authorized by a
94court order to have supervised contact with the child.
95     (5)  "Supervised exchange" means the supervision of the
96movement of the child from the custodial parent to the
97noncustodial parent at the start of the visitation and from the
98noncustodial parent back to the custodial parent at the end of
99the visitation.
100     (6)  "Supervised visitation" means the contact between a
101noncustodial parent and child that occurs in the presence of an
102independent third party.
103     (7)  "Supervised visitation program" means a program
104created to offer safe and structured supervised visitation and
105supervised exchange services.
106     753.03  Standards for supervised visitation and supervised
107exchange services.--
108     (1)  The clearinghouse shall develop standards under s.
109753.10 to certify supervised visitation programs in order to
110ensure the safety, training, and quality of each program. These
111standards must be uniform for all programs, and a supervised
112visitation program must meet these standards in order to be
113certified. The standards developed must address the purpose,
114policies, standards of practice, program content, security
115measures, qualifications of providers, training, credentials of
116staff, information to be provided to the court, and data
117collection for supervised visitation programs.
118     (2)  A supervised visitation program must be certified
119before the court, the department, or another entity may refer
120families for supervised visitation or supervised exchange
121services.
122     (3)  A supervised visitation program is encouraged to
123voluntarily comply with the standards developed under s. 753.10
124prior to implementation of the certification process under s.
125753.04.
126     753.04  Certification and monitoring of supervised
127visitation programs.--
128     (1)  The process for certifying and monitoring the initial
129and ongoing compliance of a supervised visitation program with
130the standards developed under s. 753.10 shall be phased in and
131is contingent upon the availability of funds. The first phase of
132the certification process must emphasize compliance with the
133standards relating to program security.
134     (2)  Once the certification process is fully implemented, a
135supervised visitation program must be certified in order to
136receive state or federal funds.
137     (3)  A supervised visitation program must be certified
138before it may accept persons referred from courts, the
139department, or other entities for supervised visitation or
140supervised exchange services.
141     753.05  Interim minimum standards for supervised visitation
142programs.--
143     (1)  Until the standards for supervised visitation and
144supervised exchange services are completed under s. 753.10 and
145the certification and monitoring process is fully implemented,
146each supervised visitation program must comply with the "Minimum
147Standards for Supervised Visitation Programs Agreement" adopted
148by the Supreme Court on November 18, 1999. Under this order, a
149supervised visitation program shall enter into an agreement with
150the circuit court or circuit courts within that program's
151geographic jurisdiction attesting to the program's willingness
152to comply with the Supreme Court's standards.
153     (2)  Until the standards for supervised visitation and
154supervised exchange services are completed and a certification
155and monitoring process is fully implemented, a supervised
156visitation program may not receive grant funds for access and
157visitation under 42 U.S.C. s. 669b unless the program provides
158documentation to the state agency administering the grant
159verifying that the program has entered into an agreement with
160the circuit court as required under subsection (1). This
161subsection does not obligate the state agency administering the
162grant to certify a program's compliance with the Minimum
163Standards for Supervised Visitation Programs Agreement.
164     753.06  Security in supervised visitation programs.--
165     (1)  Due to the nature of the relationships that created
166the need for supervised visitation and supervised exchange
167services, the security of each person participating in a
168supervised visitation program must be a priority for each
169program. Security concerns shall be a substantial component of
170the adopted standards. Therefore, the safety of children,
171custodial and noncustodial parents, and program staff shall be
172ensured by each program, and the importance of that safety shall
173be emphasized in all training.
174     (2)  Each supervised visitation program is encouraged to
175collaborate with local law enforcement agencies to facilitate
176volunteerism by law enforcement officers at supervised
177visitation programs using mechanisms such as those provided
178under ss. 943.135(2) and 943.254 and using administrative leave
179permitted for state employees who participate in community
180service programs.
181     (3)  Funds made available pursuant to s. 382.0255(3) shall
182be used to assist supervised visitation programs in meeting the
183standards pertaining to security measures to be developed
184pursuant to s. 753.10. The funds shall be made available to
185supervised visitation programs through the Department of
186Children and Family Services based on criteria recommended by
187the advisory board provided in s. 753.10.
188     753.07  Training for supervised visitation and supervised
189exchange services.--Contingent upon the availability of funding,
190the clearinghouse shall develop, maintain, and update
191competency-based training materials for supervised visitation
192and supervised exchange services that are appropriate to meet
193the training needs of program staff. The clearinghouse shall
194also provide training to staff of the supervised visitation
195programs. To the extent permitted by available funding, the
196clearinghouse shall track trained staff who have completed
197training requirements.
198     753.08  Supervised visitation programs; data
199collection.--Contingent upon the availability of funding, the
200clearinghouse shall fully implement and maintain a mechanism for
201collecting data on supervised visitation and supervised exchange
202services provided in this state. Each supervised visitation
203program must maintain and submit the identified data to the
204clearinghouse. The clearinghouse shall annually compile the
205information and make it available to the President of the
206Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the courts,
207the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the department, and any
208other organization represented on the advisory board provided
209for in s. 753.10.
210     753.09  Supervised visitation programs; community
211partnerships.--A supervised visitation program is encouraged to
212develop partnerships with other organizations in its community
213that may be able to offer important resources to strengthen the
214services provided. Such community partners may include, but need
215not be limited to, county and city governments, such as local
216extension services, colleges and universities, such as the
217University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural
218Sciences and the Florida State University Institute of Family
219Violence Studies, the Junior League, and the United Way.
220     753.10  Development of standards and certification
221process.--
222     (1)  The clearinghouse shall develop standards for the
223supervised visitation and supervised exchange services. The
224standards developed must address the purpose, policies,
225standards of practice, program content, security measures,
226qualifications of providers, training, credentials of staff,
227information to be provided to the court, and data collection for
228supervised visitation programs. The standards shall be the basis
229for certifying supervised visitation programs. A supervised
230visitation program may not be certified unless it meets the
231standards adopted by the designated state agency.
232     (2)  The clearinghouse shall use an advisory board to
233assist in developing the standards. The advisory board must
234include:
235     (a)  Two members of the executive board of the state
236chapter of the Supervised Visitation Network, appointed by the
237president of the state chapter of the Supervised Visitation
238Network.
239     (b)  A representative from the Office of the State Courts
240Administrator, appointed by the State Courts Administrator.
241     (c)  A representative from the department, appointed by the
242Secretary of Children and Family Services.
243     (d)  A representative from the Florida Coalition Against
244Domestic Violence, appointed by the executive director of the
245Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
246     (e)  A representative from a local law enforcement agency,
247appointed by the executive director of the Florida Sheriffs
248Association.
249     (f)  A family law judge, appointed by the Chief Justice of
250the Supreme Court.
251     (g)  Two representatives from a supervised visitation
252program, appointed by the director of the clearinghouse.
253     (h)  A representative from the Junior League, selected by
254the State Board of the Junior League.
255     (i)  A representative from the Commission on Marriage and
256Family Support Initiatives.
257     (3)  The clearinghouse, in consultation with the advisory
258board, shall also develop the criteria and procedures for
259approving and rejecting certification applications and for
260monitoring compliance with the certification of a supervised
261visitation program. Additionally, the clearinghouse shall
262recommend the process for phasing in the implementation of the
263standards and certification procedures and shall recommend the
264state entity that should certify and monitor the supervised
265visitation programs.
266     (4)  The clearinghouse shall submit a preliminary report
267containing its recommendations on the uniform standards and the
268certification and monitoring developed to date by December 31,
2692004, and a final report of all recommendations by December 31,
2702005, to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
271of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
272     (5)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the standards
273for supervised visitation and supervised exchange services and
274the criteria and procedures for the certification and monitoring
275process be adopted as rules by the state entity designated by
276the Legislature to certify and monitor the supervised visitation
277programs.
278     Section 3.  Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section
279943.135, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3),
280(4), and (5), respectively, and a new subsection (2) is added to
281said section to read:
282     943.135  Requirements for continued employment.--
283     (2)  The commission shall permit an employing agency to
284allow an officer to meet up to 3 hours of the 40 hours of
285required continuing education and training by volunteering at a
286community-based, not-for-profit organization that serves
287children or families who have experienced or are at risk for
288child abuse or domestic violence, including, but not limited to,
289a supervised visitation program as provided in chapter 753. This
290special population poses complex challenges to law enforcement
291officers. Continuing education and training through community
292service provides a unique learning opportunity for officers to
293understand the special needs of this group of constituents,
294build community relations, and provide a visible presence of law
295enforcement officers in the community. Volunteer time applied as
296continuing education and training under this subsection may
297include time spent in providing security services but does not
298substitute for the continuing education in domestic violence
299required under s. 943.1701.
300     Section 4.  Section 943.254, Florida Statutes, is created
301to read:
302     943.254  Volunteer work by law enforcement officers.--
303     (1)  An employing agency may operate or administer a
304program for law enforcement officers to provide volunteer
305security services during off-duty hours at a community-based,
306not-for-profit program that serves children or families who have
307experienced or are at risk for child abuse or domestic violence
308and that involves potential risk to staff or clients. A
309community-based, not-for-profit program may include, but need
310not be limited to, a supervised visitation program operating
311under chapter 753.
312     (2)  Any community-based, not-for-profit program at which a
313law enforcement officer volunteers is responsible for the acts
314or omissions of the law enforcement officer while he or she is
315performing services for that program off-duty. However, for
316purposes of coverage under the Workers' Compensation Law, a law
317enforcement officer who volunteers as provided in this section
318and who meets the provisions of s. 440.091 shall be considered
319to have been acting within the course of employment under s.
320440.091.
321     (3)  A law enforcement officer who volunteers during off-
322duty hours as provided in this section is exempt from the
323licensure requirements of chapter 493 for persons who provide
324security or investigative services.
325     Section 5.  Subsections (3) and (4) of section 382.0255,
326Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (4) and (5),
327respectively, and a new subsection (3) is added to said section
328to read:
329     382.0255  Fees.--
330     (3)  The fee charged for each request for a certification
331of a birth record issued by the department shall be subject to
332an additional fee of $1, which shall be deposited in the
333appropriate departmental trust fund. Fees collected pursuant to
334this subsection shall be used by the supervised visitation
335programs to prevent child abuse and domestic violence. On an
336annual basis, the department shall transfer the fees collected
337to the Grants and Donations Trust Fund to be distributed to the
338supervised visitation programs of the Department of Children and
339Family Services as provided for in s. 753.06.
340     Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.