| 1 | The Future of Florida's Families Committee recommends the |
| 2 | following: |
| 3 |
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| 4 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 5 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 6 | A bill to be entitled |
| 7 | An act relating to children in foster care; providing for |
| 8 | the creation of the Community Advisory Panel on Foster |
| 9 | Care Pilot Program in Duval County; providing purposes and |
| 10 | goals; providing for cooperative participation by |
| 11 | specified entities and individuals; creating the Community |
| 12 | Advisory Panel on Foster Care; providing for panel |
| 13 | membership; providing for a chairperson; providing duties |
| 14 | of specified judges and panel members; providing for |
| 15 | administration by a community-based care lead agency; |
| 16 | providing for hiring specified personnel; requiring |
| 17 | development of an assessment tool to determine the |
| 18 | effectiveness of the program; requiring an annual report; |
| 19 | providing for future expiration of the pilot program; |
| 20 | providing an appropriation; requiring a contract with the |
| 21 | community-based care lead agency; providing an effective |
| 22 | date. |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 25 |
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| 26 | Section 1. Community Advisory Panel on Foster Care Pilot |
| 27 | Program; creation; purpose; panel membership; court and panel |
| 28 | duties; administration; evaluation.-- |
| 29 | (1) There is created the Community Advisory Panel on |
| 30 | Foster Care Pilot Program in Duval County. The purpose of the |
| 31 | program is to identify educational needs and follow-up |
| 32 | strategies for foster children who are 6 through 12 years of age |
| 33 | and are enrolled in the Duval County school system. The goal of |
| 34 | the program is to ensure that youth who are in foster care will |
| 35 | be tested appropriately and placed in an educational environment |
| 36 | that optimizes their opportunities for success. |
| 37 | (2) The pilot program shall consist of the cooperative |
| 38 | efforts of: |
| 39 | (a) The Community Advisory Panel on Foster Care, as |
| 40 | created under this section; |
| 41 | (b) The community-based care lead agency for foster care |
| 42 | and adoption in Duval County; |
| 43 | (c) The case managers assigned to children in foster care; |
| 44 | (d) The Duval County School Board; |
| 45 | (e) Nova Southeastern University; |
| 46 | (f) The foster care parents of children currently in the |
| 47 | foster care system; |
| 48 | (g) When possible, the natural parents of children |
| 49 | currently in the foster care system; and |
| 50 | (h) The circuit court judge hearing a foster care case. |
| 51 | (3)(a) The Community Advisory Panel on Foster Care is |
| 52 | created in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and shall consist of the |
| 53 | chief judge for the circuit, or another judge from the circuit |
| 54 | designated by the chief judge who is the lead judge in the area |
| 55 | of dependency and adoption, and 15 community volunteers who are |
| 56 | community leaders with abilities and expertise in diverse areas. |
| 57 | The chief judge, or the judge designated by the chief judge, |
| 58 | shall serve as the chair of the panel. The 15 volunteers shall |
| 59 | be comprised of: |
| 60 | 1. Four members appointed by the chief judge, or by the |
| 61 | judge designated by the chief judge; |
| 62 | 2. Four members appointed by the Secretary of Children and |
| 63 | Family Services, or his or her designee; |
| 64 | 3. Four members appointed by the Duval County School |
| 65 | Board; and |
| 66 | 4. Three members appointed by the guardian ad litem for |
| 67 | Duval County. |
| 68 | (b) The chief judge, or the judge from the circuit |
| 69 | designated by the chief judge, may issue orders and obtain |
| 70 | educational information relating to the students who are 6 to 12 |
| 71 | years of age and are in the foster care system in District IV of |
| 72 | the department. Pursuant to the order, the panel shall review |
| 73 | the academic progress, behavioral issues, and attendance of each |
| 74 | student and shall recommend referral of any student for whom the |
| 75 | review demonstrates a need for follow-up services. The panel may |
| 76 | prioritize referrals by assessing the severity of need and |
| 77 | recommending that the most critical needs be met first. A |
| 78 | student who is failing may be referred for educational testing, |
| 79 | for additional psychological and therapeutic counseling as |
| 80 | recommended, or for both, to determine why he or she is failing |
| 81 | and what accommodations and remediation are needed. |
| 82 | (4) The community-based care lead agency shall provide |
| 83 | administrative support for the Community Advisory Panel on |
| 84 | Foster Care and for the operation of the pilot program. To help |
| 85 | facilitate the duties of the panel, the agency shall employ: |
| 86 | (a) A full-time project coordinator who shall assist the |
| 87 | student's case manager in identifying resources for educational |
| 88 | testing and psychological and therapeutic counseling. In |
| 89 | addition, the project coordinator shall oversee the development |
| 90 | of an assessment tool that is designed to determine the |
| 91 | effectiveness of the pilot program. |
| 92 | 1. The purpose of the assessment tool is to link systems |
| 93 | among providers of educational services, psychological services, |
| 94 | and case-management services and the court system. |
| 95 | 2. The entity that designs the assessment tool must, |
| 96 | during the first year of the pilot program, undertake the |
| 97 | following tasks: |
| 98 | a. Discovery. This phase includes meeting with information |
| 99 | technology staff from the department, school board staff, and |
| 100 | case managers. |
| 101 | b. Development. This phase consists of determining the |
| 102 | best method for data entry, the best database, and the best data |
| 103 | format. |
| 104 | c. Implementation. This phase comprises completing, |
| 105 | testing, and delivering the assessment tool. |
| 106 | d. Maintenance. This phase involves developing a |
| 107 | maintenance plan and schedule, after the initiation of the |
| 108 | assessment tool. |
| 109 | (b) A full-time psychologist who shall provide educational |
| 110 | testing and psychological and therapeutic counseling to foster |
| 111 | care children and provide advice, research, assessments, and |
| 112 | other services to the judges. |
| 113 | (5) The project coordinator shall submit an annual report |
| 114 | on the pilot program to the chief judge of the Fourth Judicial |
| 115 | Circuit, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House |
| 116 | of Representatives, the State Courts Administrator, and the |
| 117 | Secretary of Children and Family Services. |
| 118 | (6) The pilot program expires on July 1, 2009. |
| 119 | Section 2. The sum of $300,000 is appropriated from the |
| 120 | General Revenue Fund to the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court in |
| 121 | Duval County for the 2006-2007 fiscal year, to be used in |
| 122 | implementing the Community Advisory Panel on Foster Care Pilot |
| 123 | Program created by this act. The chief judge of the Fourth |
| 124 | Judicial Circuit shall contract with the community-based care |
| 125 | lead agency for foster care and adoption in Duval County for |
| 126 | services associated with the administration of the pilot program |
| 127 | as provided in this act. |
| 128 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |