Senate Bill sb2360c1

    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 2360

    By the Committee on Children and Families; and Senator Atwater





    586-2425-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to child abuse; requiring the

  3         Office of Program Policy Analysis and

  4         Government Accountability to evaluate

  5         compliance with continuing education

  6         requirements for professionals who are required

  7         to provide their names when reporting child

  8         abuse, neglect, or abandonment; providing for a

  9         report to the Governor and the Legislature;

10         requiring the Department of Health to make

11         available a curriculum; providing an effective

12         date.

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

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16         Section 1.  The Office of Program Policy Analysis and

17  Government Accountability shall evaluate the continuing

18  education requirements related to identifying victims of child

19  abuse which apply to those individuals in the occupational

20  categories that are required to provide their names to child

21  abuse hotline staff when reporting known or suspected child

22  abuse, neglect, or abandonment. The evaluation must include,

23  but need not be limited to, an assessment of compliance by

24  profession or occupation, whether the training is statutorily

25  required or required as a condition for relicensure,

26  recertification, or continued employment, and the efficacy of

27  such training. The office shall submit a report to the

28  Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the

29  House of Representatives by December 31, 2006.

30         Section 2.  Based on the findings of the Office of

31  Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability which

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 2360
    586-2425-06




 1  are included in the report required under section 1 of this

 2  act, the Division of Prevention and Intervention of Children's

 3  Medical Services in the Department of Health shall make

 4  available an appropriate child abuse education curriculum to

 5  professional reporters pursuant to s. 39.201(1)(b), Florida

 6  Statutes.

 7         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

 8  

 9          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
10                         Senate Bill 2360

11                                 

12  The committee substitute removes the requirement that all
    employees of the Department of Children and Family Services
13  (DCF) who are assigned to report, manage or supervise cases of
    child abuse, abandonment, and neglect and all reporters of
14  child abuse in the occupation categories which are required to
    provide their names when reporting child abuse complete a
15  1-hour continuing education course on child abuse each year.
    It replaces these requirements with a direction to the Office
16  of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
    (OPPAGA) to evaluate the current education requirements
17  relating to child abuse for these professionals.

18  The committee substitute also directs that, based on the
    OPPAGA findings, the Division of Prevention and Intervention
19  of Children's Medical Services in the Department of Health
    must make available an appropriate child abuse education
20  curriculum to the professionals required to give their names
    when reporting child abuse.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.