Senate Bill sb0466

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 466

    By Senator Lynn





    7-377A-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to supervised visitation

  3         programs for children; repealing ss. 753.001,

  4         753.002, and 753.004, F.S., relating to the

  5         Florida Family Visitation Network; creating ss.

  6         753.01, 753.02, 753.03, 753.04, 753.05, 753.06,

  7         753.07, 753.08, 753.09, and 753.10, F.S.;

  8         providing legislative finding and intent with

  9         respect to administering supervised visitation

10         programs; defining terms for supervised

11         visitation and supervised exchange services;

12         providing for the development of standards for

13         supervised visitation and supervised exchange

14         services; requiring compliance with interim

15         minimum standards; providing for security of

16         supervised visitation programs; providing for

17         the use of funds generated from an additional

18         fee on requests for a certification of birth to

19         be used by supervised visitation programs to

20         meet security standards; requiring the

21         Clearinghouse on Supervised Visitation to

22         develop training materials; providing for the

23         clearinghouse to fully implement and maintain a

24         mechanism for data collection; encouraging

25         supervised visitation programs to develop

26         partnerships with community organizations;

27         providing for the clearinghouse to develop

28         standards for supervised visitation and

29         supervised exchange services; providing for an

30         advisory board; requiring reports to the

31         Legislature; amending s. 943.135, F.S.;

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 466
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 1         requiring the Criminal Justice Standards and

 2         Training Commission to allow agencies employing

 3         law enforcement officers to authorize volunteer

 4         service as a means of fulfilling requirements

 5         for continuing education; creating s. 943.254,

 6         F.S.; authorizing law enforcement agencies to

 7         administer a volunteer program for officers to

 8         provide security services during off-duty hours

 9         for certain community programs; amending s.

10         382.0255, F.S.; requiring the Department of

11         Health to charge an additional fee for requests

12         for a certification of birth issued by the

13         department; requiring that the fee be used to

14         fund supervised visitation programs; providing

15         an effective date.

16  

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

18  

19         Section 1.  Sections 753.001, 753.002, and 753.004,

20  Florida Statutes, are repealed.

21         Section 2.  Sections 753.01, 753.02, 753.03, 753.04,

22  753.05, 753.06, 753.07, 753.08, 753.09, and 753.10, Florida

23  Statutes, are created to read:

24         753.01  Supervised visitation programs; legislative

25  findings and intent.--

26         (1)  The Legislature finds that there are children in

27  this state who have been adjudicated dependent by the court

28  and, as a result, are ordered into out-of-home placements. The

29  Legislature finds that a large number of these children

30  experience the separation or divorce of their parents. Some of

31  these children have been determined by the court to be at risk

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 466
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 1  for physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; parental abduction;

 2  domestic violence; or other harm as a result of parental

 3  impairment due to substance abuse or other conditions. The

 4  Legislature also finds that exposing the children to their

 5  parents' continuing conflicts is detrimental to the children.

 6         (2)  The Legislature recognizes the importance of

 7  maintaining contact between children and their noncustodial

 8  parents while ensuring the safety of those children from

 9  further or potential abuse, danger, or flight. The Legislature

10  further recognizes the importance of minimizing the

11  circumstances in which children are exposed to their parents'

12  anger and disputes.

13         (3)  The Legislature finds that supervised visitation

14  programs provide critically needed services by offering

15  children and noncustodial parents the opportunity to maintain

16  a relationship in a safe environment while facilitating safe

17  contact between perpetrators of domestic violence and their

18  children.

19         (4)  The Legislature recognizes the need to ensure the

20  safety of the children, parents, and department staff who

21  participate in child visitations and exchanges. The

22  Legislature also recognizes the need for high-quality program

23  services that meet the many visitation and exchange needs of

24  families, parents, and the courts. Therefore, the Legislature

25  intends to provide, subject to available funding, uniform

26  standards for supervised visitation and supervised exchange

27  services to improve the security, training, and quality of

28  supervised visitation programs and to use those standards to

29  certify supervised visitation programs.

30         753.02  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the

31  term:

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 1         (1)  "Clearinghouse on Supervised Visitation" or

 2  "clearinghouse" means the entity within the Institute for

 3  Family Violence Studies in the School of Social Work of the

 4  Florida State University which serves as a statewide resource

 5  on supervised visitation issues by providing technical

 6  assistance, training, and research.

 7         (2)  "Custodian" means the same as "custodial parent"

 8  and "primary residential parent" as defined in s. 61.046 and

 9  "caregiver" as defined in s. 39.01.

10         (3)  "Department" means the Department of Children and

11  Family Services.

12         (4)  "Supervised exchange" means the supervision of the

13  movement of a child from the custodian to the visitor at the

14  start of the visitation and from the visitor back to the

15  custodian at the end of the visitation.

16         (5)  "Supervised visitation" means the contact between

17  the child and a visitor, which contact occurs in the presence

18  of an independent third party.

19         (6)  "Supervised visitation program" means a program

20  created to offer safe and structured supervised visitation and

21  supervised exchange services.

22         (7)  "Visitor" means the same as "noncustodial parent"

23  as defined in s. 61.046 as well as other persons authorized by

24  court order to have supervised contact with the child.

25         753.03  Standards for supervised visitation and

26  supervised exchange services.--

27         (1)  The clearinghouse shall develop standards under s.

28  753.10 to certify supervised visitation programs in order to

29  ensure the safety, training, and quality of each program.

30  Standards must be uniform for all the programs and a

31  supervised visitation program must meet these standards in

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 1  order to be certified. The standards developed must address

 2  the purpose, policies, standards of practice, program content,

 3  security measures, qualifications of providers, training,

 4  credentials of staff, information to be provided to the court,

 5  and data collection for supervised visitation programs.

 6         (2)  If a certification program is established under s.

 7  753.04, a supervised visitation program must be certified

 8  before the court, the department, or another entity may refer

 9  families for supervised visitation or supervised exchange

10  services.

11         (3)  A supervised visitation program is encouraged to

12  voluntarily comply with the standards developed under s.

13  753.10 prior to implementation of the certification process

14  under s. 753.04.

15         753.04  Certification and monitoring of supervised

16  visitation programs.--

17         (1)  The process for certifying and monitoring the

18  initial and ongoing compliance of a supervised visitation

19  program with the standards developed under s. 753.10 shall be

20  phased in and is contingent upon the availability of funds.

21  The first phase of the certification process must emphasize

22  compliance with the standards relating to program security.

23         (2)  Once the certification process is fully

24  implemented, a supervised visitation program must be certified

25  in order to receive state or federal funds.

26         (3)  A supervised visitation program must be certified

27  before it may accept persons referred from courts, the

28  department, or other entities for supervised visitation or

29  supervised exchange services.

30         753.05  Interim minimum standards for supervised

31  visitation programs.--

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 1         (1)  Until the standards for supervised visitation and

 2  supervised exchange services are completed under s. 753.10 and

 3  the certification and monitoring process is fully implemented,

 4  each supervised visitation program must comply with the

 5  "Minimum Standards for Supervised Visitation Programs

 6  Agreement" adopted by the Supreme Court on November 18, 1999.

 7  Under this order, a supervised visitation program shall enter

 8  into an agreement with the circuit court or circuit courts

 9  within that program's geographic jurisdiction attesting to the

10  program's willingness to comply with the Supreme Court's

11  standards.

12         (2)  Until the standards for supervised visitation and

13  supervised exchange services are completed and a certification

14  and monitoring process is fully implemented, a supervised

15  visitation program may not receive grant funds for access and

16  visitation under 42 U.S.C. s. 669b, unless the program

17  provides documentation to the state agency administering the

18  grant verifying that the program has entered into an agreement

19  with the circuit court as required under subsection (1). This

20  subsection does not obligate the state agency administering

21  the grant to certify a program's compliance with the Minimum

22  Standards for Supervised Visitation Programs Agreement.

23         753.06  Security in supervised visitation programs.--

24         (1)  Due to the nature of the relationships that

25  created the need for supervised visitation and supervised

26  exchange services, the security of each person participating

27  in a supervised visitation program must be a priority for each

28  program. Security concerns must be a substantial component of

29  the adopted standards. Therefore, the safety of the children,

30  custodians, visitors, and program staff shall be ensured by

31  

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 1  each program, and the importance of that safety shall be

 2  emphasized in all training.

 3         (2)  Each supervised visitation program is encouraged

 4  to collaborate with local law enforcement agencies to

 5  facilitate volunteerism by law enforcement officers at

 6  supervised visitation programs using mechanisms such as those

 7  provided under ss. 943.254 and 943.135(2) and using

 8  administrative leave permitted for state employees who

 9  participate in community service programs.

10         (3)  Funds made available as a result of s. 382.0255

11  shall be used to assist supervised visitation programs to meet

12  the standards pertaining to security measures to be developed

13  under s. 753.10. The funds shall be made available to

14  supervised visitation programs through the Department of

15  Children and Family Services using criteria recommended by the

16  clearinghouse as provided in s. 753.10.

17         753.07  Training for supervised visitation and

18  supervised exchange services.--Contingent upon the

19  availability of funding, the clearinghouse shall develop,

20  maintain, and update competency-based training materials for

21  supervised visitation and supervised exchange services which

22  are appropriate to meet the training needs of program staff.

23  The clearinghouse shall also provide training to staff of the

24  supervised visitation programs. The clearinghouse shall track

25  trained staff who have completed training requirements, to the

26  extent permitted by available funding.

27         753.08  Supervised visitation programs; data

28  collection.--Contingent upon the availability of funding, the

29  clearinghouse shall fully implement and maintain a mechanism

30  for collecting data on supervised visitation and supervised

31  exchange services provided in this state. Each supervised

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 1  visitation program must maintain and submit the identified

 2  data to the clearinghouse. The clearinghouse shall annually

 3  compile the information and make it available to the President

 4  of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,

 5  the courts, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the

 6  department, and any other organization represented on the

 7  advisory board provided for in s. 753.10.

 8         753.09  Supervised visitation programs; community

 9  partnerships.--A supervised visitation program is encouraged

10  to develop partnerships with other organizations in its

11  community which may be able to offer important resources to

12  strengthen the services provided. The community partners may

13  include, but are not limited to, county and municipal

14  governments, such as local extension services, and colleges

15  and universities, such as the University of Florida Institute

16  of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the Florida State

17  University Institute of Family Violence Studies; the Junior

18  League; and the United Way.

19         753.10  Development of standards and a certification

20  process.--

21         (1)  The clearinghouse shall develop standards for

22  supervised visitation and supervised exchange services. The

23  standards developed must address the purpose, policies,

24  standards of practice, program content, security measures,

25  qualifications of providers, training, credentials of staff,

26  information to be provided to the court, and data collection

27  for supervised visitation programs. The standards shall be the

28  basis for certifying supervised visitation programs. A

29  supervised visitation program may not be certified unless it

30  meets the standards adopted by the designated state agency.

31  

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 1         (2)  The clearinghouse shall use an advisory board to

 2  assist in developing the standards. The advisory board must

 3  include:

 4         (a)  Two members of the executive board of the state

 5  chapter of the Supervised Visitation Network, appointed by the

 6  president of the state chapter of the Supervised Visitation

 7  Network.

 8         (b)  A representative from the Office of the State

 9  Courts Administrator, appointed by the State Courts

10  Administrator.

11         (c)  A representative from the department, appointed by

12  the Secretary of Children and Family Services.

13         (d)  A representative from the Florida Coalition

14  Against Domestic Violence, appointed by the executive director

15  of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

16         (e)  A representative from a local law enforcement

17  agency, appointed by the executive director of the Florida

18  Sheriffs Association.

19         (f)  A family law judge, appointed by the Chief Justice

20  of the Supreme Court.

21         (g)  Two representatives from a supervised visitation

22  program, appointed by the director of the clearinghouse.

23         (h)  A representative from the Junior League, selected

24  by the State Board of the Junior League.

25         (i)  A representative from the Commission on Marriage

26  and Family Support Initiatives.

27         (3)  The clearinghouse, with consultation from the

28  advisory board, shall develop criteria and procedures for

29  approving and rejecting certification applications and

30  monitoring compliance with the certification of a supervised

31  visitation program. The clearinghouse shall recommend the

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 1  process for phasing in the implementation of the standards and

 2  certification procedures, criteria for distributing funds to

 3  eligible programs, and the state entity that should certify

 4  and monitor the supervised visitation programs.

 5         (4)  The clearinghouse shall submit a preliminary

 6  report containing its recommendations on the uniform standards

 7  and the certification and monitoring developed to date by

 8  December 31, 2005, and a final report of all recommendations

 9  by December 31, 2006, to the President of the Senate, the

10  Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice

11  of the Supreme Court.

12         (5)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the

13  standards for supervised visitation and supervised exchange

14  services and the criteria and procedures for the certification

15  and monitoring process be adopted as rules by the state entity

16  designated by the Legislature to certify and monitor the

17  supervised visitation programs.

18         Section 3.  Present subsections (2), (3), and (4) of

19  section 943.135, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as

20  subsections (3), (4), and (5), respectively, and a new

21  subsection (2) is added to that section, to read:

22         943.135  Requirements for continued employment.--

23         (2)  The commission shall permit an employing agency to

24  allow an officer to meet up to 3 hours of the 40 hours of

25  required continuing education and training by volunteering at

26  a community-based, not-for-profit organization that serves

27  children or families who have experienced or are at risk for

28  child abuse or domestic violence, including, but not limited

29  to, a supervised visitation program as provided in chapter

30  753. This special population poses complex challenges to law

31  enforcement officers. Continuing education and training

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 1  through community service provides a unique learning

 2  opportunity for officers to understand the special needs of

 3  this group of constituents, build community relations, and

 4  provide a visible presence of law enforcement officers in the

 5  community. Volunteer time applied as continuing education and

 6  training under this subsection may include time spent in

 7  providing security services but does not substitute for the

 8  continuing education in domestic violence required under s.

 9  943.1701.

10         Section 4.  Section 943.254, Florida Statutes, is

11  created to read:

12         943.254  Volunteer work by law enforcement officers.--

13         (1)  An employing agency may operate or administer a

14  program for law enforcement officers to provide volunteer

15  security services during off-duty hours at a community-based,

16  not-for-profit program that serves children or families who

17  have experienced or are at risk for child abuse or domestic

18  violence and that involves potential risk to staff or clients.

19  A community-based, not-for-profit program may include, but

20  need not be limited to, a supervised visitation program

21  operating under chapter 753.

22         (2)  Any community-based, not-for-profit program at

23  which a law enforcement officer volunteers is responsible for

24  the acts or omissions of the law enforcement officer while he

25  or she is performing services for that program off-duty.

26  However, for purposes of coverage under the Workers'

27  Compensation Law, a law enforcement officer who volunteers as

28  provided in this section and who meets the provisions of s.

29  440.091 shall be considered to have been acting within the

30  course of employment under s. 440.091.

31  

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 1         (3)  A law enforcement officer who volunteers during

 2  off-duty hours as provided in this section is exempt from the

 3  licensure requirements of chapter 493 for persons who provide

 4  security or investigative services.

 5         Section 5.  Present subsections (3) and (4) of section

 6  382.0255, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections

 7  (4) and (5), respectively, and a new subsection (3) is added

 8  to that section, to read:

 9         382.0255  Fees.--

10         (3)  The fee charged for each request for a

11  certification of a birth record issued by the department shall

12  be subject to an additional fee of $1, which shall be

13  deposited in the appropriate departmental trust fund. Fees

14  collected under this section shall be used by the supervised

15  visitation programs to prevent child abuse and domestic

16  violence. On a yearly basis, the department shall transfer the

17  fees collected to the Grants and Donations Trust Fund to be

18  distributed to the supervised visitation programs by the

19  Department of Children and Family Services as provided in s.

20  753.06.

21         Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

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 1            *****************************************

 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Repeals certain sections relating to the Florida Family
      Visitation Network. Provides legislative intent and
 4    definitions with respect to supervised visitation and
      supervised exchange services. Provides development
 5    standards. Requires compliance with certain interim
      minimum standards. Provides security of supervised
 6    visitation programs. Provides for certain funds generated
      from a specified fee to be used to meet security
 7    standards. Directs the Clearinghouse on Supervised
      Visitation to develop training materials, a mechanism for
 8    data collection, and operating standards. Encourages
      supervised visitation programs to develop partnerships
 9    with community organizations. Provides for an advisory
      board and creates duties for the board. Requires reports
10    to the Legislature. Directs the Criminal Justice
      Standards and Training Commission to allow agencies
11    employing law enforcement officers to authorize volunteer
      service as a means of fulfilling requirements for
12    continuing education. Authorizes law enforcement agencies
      to administer a volunteer program for officers to provide
13    security services during off-duty hours for certain
      community programs. Directs the Department of Health to
14    collect an additional fee when birth certificates are
      issued.
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