HB 0813 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.