Senate Bill sb1446c1

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    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1446

    By the Committee on Children and Families; and Senator Dawson





    300-2071-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to child welfare; amending s.

  3         39.5085, F.S.; providing requirements for

  4         eligibility of certain relatives caring for

  5         children to receive benefits under the Relative

  6         Caregiver Program upon determination by the

  7         Department of Children and Family Services;

  8         providing an effective date.

  9  

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

11  

12         Section 1.  Section 39.5085, Florida Statutes, is

13  amended to read:

14         39.5085  Relative Caregiver Program.--

15         (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting

16  this section to:

17         (a)  Recognize family relationships in which a

18  grandparent or other relative is the head of a household that

19  includes a child otherwise at risk of foster care placement.

20         (b)  Enhance family preservation and stability by

21  recognizing that most children in such placements with

22  grandparents and other relatives do not need intensive

23  supervision of the placement by the courts or by the

24  department.

25         (c)  Recognize that permanency in the best interests of

26  the child can be achieved through a variety of permanency

27  options, including long-term relative custody, guardianship,

28  or adoption, by providing additional placement options and

29  incentives that will achieve permanency and stability for many

30  children who are otherwise at risk of foster care placement

31  because of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, but who may

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    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1446
    300-2071-04




 1  successfully be able to be placed by the dependency court in

 2  the care of such relatives.

 3         (d)  Reserve the limited casework and supervisory

 4  resources of the courts and the department for those cases in

 5  which children do not have the option for safe, stable care

 6  within the family.

 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:

13         1.  Relatives who are within the fifth degree by blood

14  or marriage to the parent or stepparent of a child and who are

15  caring full-time for that dependent child in the role of

16  substitute parent as a result of a court's determination of

17  child abuse, neglect, or abandonment and subsequent placement

18  with the relative pursuant to this chapter.

19         2.  Relatives who are within the fifth degree by blood

20  or marriage to the parent or stepparent of a child and who are

21  caring full-time for that dependent child, and a dependent

22  half-brother or half-sister of that dependent child, in the

23  role of substitute parent as a result of a court's

24  determination of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment and

25  subsequent placement with the relative pursuant to this

26  chapter.

27         3.  Relatives who are within the fifth degree by blood

28  or marriage to the parent or stepparent of a child and who are

29  caring full-time for that child, and a half-brother or

30  half-sister of that child, in the role of substitute parent if

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1446
    300-2071-04




 1  the department determines that the parents of that child have,

 2  for a period of 6 months, failed to do each of the following:

 3         a.  Have physical contact with the child.

 4         b.  Communicate regularly with the child, either in

 5  writing or verbally.

 6         c.  Acknowledge the birthday of the child or other days

 7  of celebration.

 8         d.  Contact the relative caregiver in an attempt to

 9  ensure the child's health, safety, and general welfare.

10         e.  Make an effort to provide financial support for the

11  care of the child.

12  

13  Such Placement required by subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2.

14  may be either court-ordered temporary legal custody to the

15  relative under protective supervision of the department

16  pursuant to s. 39.521(1)(b)3., or court-ordered placement in

17  the home of a relative as a permanency option pursuant to s.

18  39.622. The Relative Caregiver Program shall offer financial

19  assistance to caregivers who are relatives and who would be

20  unable to serve in that capacity without the relative

21  caregiver payment because of financial burden, thus exposing

22  the child to the trauma of placement in a shelter or in foster

23  care.

24         (b)  Caregivers who are relatives and who receive

25  assistance under this section must be capable, as determined

26  by a home study, of providing a physically safe environment

27  and a stable, supportive home for the children under their

28  care, and must assure that the children's well-being is met,

29  including, but not limited to, the provision of immunizations,

30  education, and mental health services as needed.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1446
    300-2071-04




 1         (c)  Relatives who qualify for and participate in the

 2  Relative Caregiver Program are not required to meet foster

 3  care licensing requirements under s. 409.175.

 4         (d)  Relatives who are caring for children placed with

 5  them by the court pursuant to this chapter or who are caring

 6  for a child described in subparagraph (a)3. shall receive a

 7  special monthly relative caregiver benefit established by rule

 8  of the department. The amount of the special benefit payment

 9  shall be based on the child's age within a payment schedule

10  established by rule of the department and subject to

11  availability of funding. The statewide average monthly rate

12  for children judicially placed with relatives who are not

13  licensed as foster homes and children described in

14  subparagraph (a)3. may not exceed 82 percent of the statewide

15  average foster care rate, nor may the cost of providing the

16  assistance described in this section to any relative caregiver

17  exceed the cost of providing out-of-home care in emergency

18  shelter or foster care.

19         (e)  Children receiving cash benefits under this

20  section are not eligible to simultaneously receive WAGES cash

21  benefits under chapter 414.

22         (f)  Within available funding, the Relative Caregiver

23  Program shall provide relative caregivers with family support

24  and preservation services, flexible funds in accordance with

25  s. 409.165, subsidized child care, and other available

26  services in order to support the child's safety, growth, and

27  healthy development. Children living with relative caregivers

28  who are receiving assistance under this section shall be

29  eligible for Medicaid coverage.

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    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1446
    300-2071-04




 1         (g)  The department may use appropriate available

 2  state, federal, and private funds to operate the Relative

 3  Caregiver Program.

 4         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

 5  law.

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 7          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 8                         Senate Bill 1446

 9                                 

10  Removes from the new eligibility category for the Relative
    Caregiver program that the child be adjudicated dependent.
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