HB 0197 2004
   
1 A bill to be entitled
2          An act relating to child welfare; amending s. 39.5085,
3    F.S.; providing requirements for eligibility of certain
4    relatives caring for children to receive benefits under
5    the Relative Caregiver Program upon determination by the
6    Department of Children and Family Services; providing an
7    effective date.
8         
9          Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
10         
11          Section 1. Section 39.5085, Florida Statutes, is amended
12    to read:
13          39.5085 Relative Caregiver Program.--
14          (1) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
15    section to:
16          (a) Recognize family relationships in which a grandparent
17    or other relative is the head of a household that includes a
18    child otherwise at risk of foster care placement.
19          (b) Enhance family preservation and stability by
20    recognizing that most children in such placements with
21    grandparents and other relatives do not need intensive
22    supervision of the placement by the courts or by the department.
23          (c) Recognize that permanency in the best interests of the
24    child can be achieved through a variety of permanency options,
25    including long-term relative custody, guardianship, or adoption,
26    by providing additional placement options and incentives that
27    will achieve permanency and stability for many children who are
28    otherwise at risk of foster care placement because of abuse,
29    abandonment, or neglect, but who may successfully be able to be
30    placed by the dependency court in the care of such relatives.
31          (d) Reserve the limited casework and supervisory resources
32    of the courts and the department for those cases in which
33    children do not have the option for safe, stable care within the
34    family.
35          (2)(a) The Department of Children and Family Services
36    shall establish and operate the Relative Caregiver Program
37    pursuant to eligibility guidelines established in this section
38    as further implemented by rule of the department. The Relative
39    Caregiver Program shall, within the limits of available funding,
40    provide financial assistance to:
41          1. Relatives who are within the fifth degree by blood or
42    marriage to the parent or stepparent of a child and who are
43    caring full-time for that dependent child in the role of
44    substitute parent as a result of a court's determination of
45    child abuse, neglect, or abandonment and subsequent placement
46    with the relative pursuant to this chapter.
47          2. Relatives who are within the fifth degree by blood or
48    marriage to the parent or stepparent of a child and who are
49    caring full-time for that dependent child, and a dependent half-
50    brother or half-sister of that dependent child, in the role of
51    substitute parent as a result of a court's determination of
52    child abuse, neglect, or abandonment and subsequent placement
53    with the relative pursuant to this chapter.
54          3. Relatives who are within the fifth degree by blood or
55    marriage to the parent or stepparent of a child and who are
56    caring full-time for that dependent child, and a dependent half-
57    brother or half-sister of that dependent child, in the role of
58    substitute parent if the department determines that the parents
59    of that child have, for a period of 6 months, failed to do each
60    of the following:
61          a. Have physical contact with the child.
62          b. Communicate regularly with the child, either in writing
63    or verbally.
64          c. Acknowledge the birthday of the child or other days of
65    celebration.
66          d. Contact the relative caregiver in an attempt to ensure
67    the child's health, safety, and general welfare.
68          e. Make an effort to provide financial support for the
69    care of the child.
70         
71          Such Placement required by subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2.
72    may be either court-ordered temporary legal custody to the
73    relative under protective supervision of the department pursuant
74    to s. 39.521(1)(b)3., or court-ordered placement in the home of
75    a relative as a permanency option pursuant to s. 39.622. The
76    Relative Caregiver Program shall offer financial assistance to
77    caregivers who are relatives and who would be unable to serve in
78    that capacity without the relative caregiver payment because of
79    financial burden, thus exposing the child to the trauma of
80    placement in a shelter or in foster care.
81          (b) Caregivers who are relatives and who receive
82    assistance under this section must be capable, as determined by
83    a home study, of providing a physically safe environment and a
84    stable, supportive home for the children under their care, and
85    must assure that the children's well-being is met, including,
86    but not limited to, the provision of immunizations, education,
87    and mental health services as needed.
88          (c) Relatives who qualify for and participate in the
89    Relative Caregiver Program are not required to meet foster care
90    licensing requirements under s. 409.175.
91          (d) Relatives who are caring for children placed with them
92    by the court pursuant to this chapter or who are caring for a
93    child described in subparagraph (a)3.shall receive a special
94    monthly relative caregiver benefit established by rule of the
95    department. The amount of the special benefit payment shall be
96    based on the child's age within a payment schedule established
97    by rule of the department and subject to availability of
98    funding. The statewide average monthly rate for children
99    judicially placed with relatives who are not licensed as foster
100    homes and children described in subparagraph (a)3.may not
101    exceed 82 percent of the statewide average foster care rate, nor
102    may the cost of providing the assistance described in this
103    section to any relative caregiver exceed the cost of providing
104    out-of-home care in emergency shelter or foster care.
105          (e) Children receiving cash benefits under this section
106    are not eligible to simultaneously receive WAGES cash benefits
107    under chapter 414.
108          (f) Within available funding, the Relative Caregiver
109    Program shall provide relative caregivers with family support
110    and preservation services, flexible funds in accordance with s.
111    409.165, subsidized child care, and other available services in
112    order to support the child's safety, growth, and healthy
113    development. Children living with relative caregivers who are
114    receiving assistance under this section shall be eligible for
115    Medicaid coverage.
116          (g) The department may use appropriate available state,
117    federal, and private funds to operate the Relative Caregiver
118    Program.
119          Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.