Senate Bill sb1942c2

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    Florida Senate - 2007                    CS for CS for SB 1942

    By the Committees on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs;
    Community Affairs; and Senators Joyner, Wilson and Bullard




    586-2397-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to children's zones; creating

  3         s. 409.147, F.S.; providing legislative

  4         findings and intent; providing policy and

  5         purpose; defining terms; providing a process

  6         for nominating and selecting a children's zone;

  7         requiring a governing body to pass a

  8         resolution; requiring the governing body to

  9         establish a children's zone planning team;

10         providing the powers and responsibilities of

11         the planning team; requiring that the planning

12         team designate working groups; specifying focus

13         areas for the working groups; providing for the

14         development of a strategic community plan;

15         providing objectives for each of the focus

16         areas; requiring the governing body to create a

17         corporation; establishing the Magic City

18         Children's Zone pilot project; providing for

19         management by an entity organized as a

20         corporation not for profit; providing

21         geographic boundaries for the zone; providing

22         for designation and appointment of a board of

23         directors; providing for duties of the board of

24         directors; requiring the board to enter into a

25         contract to develop a business plan; providing

26         for a report; providing an appropriation;

27         providing an effective date.

28  

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

30  

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2007                    CS for CS for SB 1942
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 1         Section 1.  Section 409.147, Florida Statutes, is

 2  created to read:

 3         409.147  Children's zones.--

 4         (1)  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.--

 5         (a)  The Legislature finds that:

 6         1.  There are neighborhoods in this state where the

 7  infrastructure and opportunities that middle-class communities

 8  take for granted are nonexistent or so marginal that they are

 9  ineffective.

10         2.  Children in these neighborhoods are read to by an

11  adult on a regular basis and attend a prekindergarten

12  education program at a much lower rate than children in other

13  communities. The children experience below-average performance

14  on standardized tests and graduate from high school in fewer

15  numbers. Most children are eligible for the free or

16  reduced-price school lunch program.

17         3.  Children in these neighborhoods often suffer from

18  high rates of asthma, a higher risk of lead poisoning, and

19  inadequate health care, and they are routinely exposed to

20  violence and crime.

21         4.  In spite of these obstacles, these communities are

22  many times home to strong individuals and institutions that

23  are committed to making a difference in the lives of children

24  and their families.

25         (b)  It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to

26  assist disadvantaged areas within the state by creating a

27  community-based service network that develops, coordinates,

28  and provides quality education, accessible health care,

29  youth-development programs, opportunities for employment, and

30  safe and affordable housing for children and families living

31  within its boundaries.

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    Florida Senate - 2007                    CS for CS for SB 1942
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 1         (2)  POLICY AND PURPOSE.--It is the policy of this

 2  state to provide the necessary means to assist local

 3  communities, children and families, and the private sector in

 4  creating a sound educational, social, and economic

 5  environment. In order to achieve this objective, the state

 6  seeks to provide appropriate investments of sufficient

 7  importance to encourage the community partners to commit

 8  financial and other resources to the severely disadvantaged

 9  areas. The purpose of this section is to establish a process

10  that clearly identifies the severely disadvantaged areas and

11  provides guidance for developing a new social service paradigm

12  that systematically coordinates programs that address the

13  critical needs of children and their families and for

14  directing efforts to rebuild the basic infrastructure of the

15  community. The Legislature, therefore, declares that the

16  creation of children's zones, through the collaborative

17  efforts of government and the private sector, to be a public

18  purpose.

19         (3)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:

20         (a)  "Governing body" means the commission or other

21  legislative body governing a county or municipality.

22         (b)  "Ounce" means the Ounce of Prevention Fund of

23  Florida, Inc.

24         (c)  "Planning team" means a children's zone planning

25  team established under this section.

26         (d)  "Resident" means a person who lives or who

27  operates a small community-based business or organization

28  within the boundaries of a children's zone.

29         (4)  CHILDREN'S ZONE NOMINATING PROCESS.--A county or

30  municipality, or a county and one or more municipalities

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2007                    CS for CS for SB 1942
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 1  together, may apply to the Ounce for the designation of an

 2  area as a children's zone only after the governing body:

 3         (a)  Adopts a resolution that:

 4         1.  Finds that an area exists in the county or

 5  municipality, or in the county and one or more municipalities,

 6  which chronically exhibits extreme and unacceptable levels of

 7  poverty, unemployment, and physical deterioration, as well as

 8  limited access to quality educational, health care, and social

 9  services;

10         2.  Determines that the rehabilitation, conservation,

11  or redevelopment, or a combination thereof, of the area is

12  necessary in the interest of improving the health, wellness,

13  education, living conditions, and livelihoods of children and

14  their families in the county, municipality, or the county and

15  one or more municipalities; and

16         3.  Determines that the revitalization of the area can

17  occur only if the state and the private sector invest

18  resources in infrastructure and services.

19         (b)  Establishes a children's zone planning team in

20  conformity with this section.

21         (c)  Develops and adopts a strategic community plan

22  under this section.

23         (d)  Creates a corporation not for profit under this

24  section.

25         (5)  CHILDREN'S ZONE PLANNING TEAM.--

26         (a)  After adopting the resolution, the county or

27  municipality must establish a planning team to be known as a

28  children's zone planning team.

29         (b)  The planning team must include residents,

30  representatives of community-based organizations, and other

31  

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 1  community institutions. No fewer than 50 percent of the

 2  members must be residents.

 3         (c)  The planning team must:

 4         1.  Develop a planning process that sets direction for,

 5  builds commitment to, and develops the capacity to realize the

 6  children's zone concept.

 7         2.  Develop a vision of what the children's zone will

 8  look like when the challenges, problems, and opportunities in

 9  the zone are successfully addressed.

10         3.  Identify important opportunities, strengths,

11  challenges, and problems in the children's zone.

12         4.  Develop a strategic community plan consisting of

13  goals, objectives, tasks, responsible parties, resources

14  needed, timelines, and plans for monitoring implementation and

15  outcomes.

16         (d)  The planning team shall designate working groups

17  to specifically address each of the following focus areas:

18         1.  Early development and care of children;

19         2.  Education of children and youth;

20         3.  Health and wellness;

21         4.  Youth support;

22         5.  Parent and guardian support;

23         6.  Adult education, training, and jobs;

24         7.  Community safety; and

25         8.  Housing and community development.

26         (6)  CHILDREN'S ZONE STRATEGIC COMMUNITY PLAN.--After

27  adopting the governing body resolution, the working group

28  shall develop objectives and identify strategies for each of

29  the focus areas. The objectives for a working group may

30  include, but are not limited to:

31         (a)  Early development and care of children.

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 1         1.  Providing resources to enable every child to be

 2  adequately nurtured in the first 3 years of life.

 3         2.  Ensuring that all schools are ready for children

 4  and all children are ready for school.

 5         3.  Facilitating enrollment in half-day or full-day

 6  prekindergarten for all 3-year old and 4-year old children.

 7         4.  Strengthening parent and guardian relationships

 8  with care providers.

 9         5.  Providing support and education for families and

10  child care providers.

11         (b)  Education of children and youth.

12         1.  Increasing the level and degree of accountability

13  among those responsible for the development and well-being of

14  all children in the children's zone.

15         2.  Changing the structure and function of schools to

16  increase the quality and the amount of time spent on

17  instruction, and to increase programmatic options and

18  offerings.

19         3.  Creating a safe and respectful environment for

20  student learning.

21         4.  Identifying and supporting points of alignment

22  between the children's zone community plan and the school

23  district's strategic plan.

24         (c)  Health and wellness.

25         1.  Facilitating enrollment of all eligible children in

26  Florida Kidcare and providing full access to high-quality drug

27  and alcohol treatment services.

28         2.  Eliminating health disparities between racial and

29  cultural groups, including improving outcomes and increasing

30  interventions.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2007                    CS for CS for SB 1942
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 1         3.  Providing fresh, good quality, affordable, and

 2  nutritious food within the children's zone.

 3         4.  Providing 100 percent of children in the children's

 4  zone with access to safe, structured and unstructured

 5  recreation.

 6         (d)  Youth support.

 7         1.  Increasing the rates of high school graduation.

 8         2.  Increasing leadership development and employment

 9  opportunities for youth.

10         (e)  Parent and guardian support.

11         1.  Increasing parent and adult literacy.

12         2.  Expanding access to critical resources for parents

13  such as jobs, transportation, day care, and after-school care.

14         3.  Improving the effectiveness of systems that

15  communicate and collaborate with parents, and the ways in

16  which parents communicate and collaborate with systems.

17         4.  Making the services of the Healthy Families Florida

18  program available to provide multiyear support to expectant

19  parents and those raising infants and toddlers.

20         (f)  Adult education, training, and jobs.

21         1.  Creating job opportunities for adults which lead to

22  career development.

23         2.  Establishing in the children's zone a career and

24  technical school, or a satellite of such a school, which

25  includes a one-stop career center.

26         (g)  Community safety.

27         1.  Providing a safe environment for all children at

28  home, school, and within the community.

29         2.  Eliminating the economic, political, and social

30  forces that lead to a lack of safety within the family,

31  community, school, and institutional structures.

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 1         3.  Assessing policies and practices, including

 2  sentencing, incarceration, detention, and data reporting, in

 3  order to reduce youth violence, crime, and recidivism.

 4         (h)  Housing and community development.

 5         1.  Strengthening the residential real estate market.

 6         2.  Building on existing efforts when developing a

 7  comprehensive land use strategic plan that promotes

 8  socioeconomic diversity.

 9         3.  Promoting neighborhood-beautification strategies.

10  

11  In addition, the planning team shall develop objectives and

12  identify strategies for addressing issues that necessitate

13  involvement across more than one of the focus areas.

14         (7)  CHILDREN'S ZONE CORPORATION.--After adopting the

15  governing body's resolution, the county or municipality must

16  create a corporation not for profit which must be registered,

17  incorporated, organized, and operated in compliance with

18  chapter 617. The purpose of the corporation is to facilitate

19  fundraising, to secure broad community ownership for the

20  children's zone, and, if the area proposed by the governing

21  body is designated as a children's zone, to:

22         (a)  Begin to transfer responsibility for planning from

23  the children's zone planning team to the corporation; and

24         (b)  Begin the implementation and governance of the

25  children's zone community plan.

26         (8)  CREATION OF MAGIC CITY CHILDREN'S ZONE, INC.,

27  PILOT PROJECT.--

28         (a)  There is created within the Liberty City

29  neighborhood in Miami-Dade County a 10-year pilot project zone

30  that, by November 1, 2007, shall be managed by an entity

31  organized as a corporation not for profit which shall be

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    Florida Senate - 2007                    CS for CS for SB 1942
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 1  registered, incorporated, organized, and operated in

 2  compliance with chapter 617. The corporation shall be known as

 3  the Magic City Children's Zone, Inc., and shall be

 4  administratively housed within the Belafonte Tacolcy Center.

 5  However, Magic City Children's Zone, Inc., is not subject to

 6  control, supervision, or direction by the Belafonte Tacolcy

 7  Center.

 8         (b)  This pilot project is designed to apply to an area

 9  that is large enough to include all of the necessary

10  components of community life, including, but not limited to,

11  schools, places of worship, recreational facilities,

12  commercial areas, and common space, yet small enough to allow

13  programs and services to reach every willing member of the

14  neighborhood. Therefore, the geographic boundaries of the

15  pilot project are:

16         1.  Northwest 79th Street to the north;

17         2.  Northwest 36th Street to the south;

18         3.  North Miami Avenue to the east; and

19         4.  Northwest 27th Avenue to the west.

20         (c)1.  The corporation shall be governed by a 15-member

21  board of directors. The board of directors shall consist of

22  the following members:

23         a.  The chief executive officer of the Belafonte

24  Tacolcy Center.

25         b.  The executive director of Miami-Dade College,

26  Carrie P. Meek Entrepreneurial Education Center.

27         c.  The director of the City of Miami Parks.

28         d.  The director of the Miami-Dade Cultural Arts

29  Center.

30         e.  The chief executive officer of the Urban League of

31  Greater Miami.

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    Florida Senate - 2007                    CS for CS for SB 1942
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 1         f.  The director of the Liberty City Service

 2  Partnership.

 3         g.  The regional superintendent of the Miami-Dade

 4  County Public Schools.

 5         h.  The president of the Student Government Association

 6  of Northwestern High School.

 7         i.  The president of the Student Government Association

 8  of Edison High School.

 9         j.  The president of the Parent-Teacher-Student

10  Association of Northwestern High School.

11         k.  The president of the Parent-Teacher-Student

12  Association of Edison High School.

13         l.  Four members from the local private business

14  sector, to be appointed by a majority vote of the members

15  designated in this paragraph, all of whom must have

16  significant experience in one of the focus areas specified in

17  this section.

18         2.  All members appointed to the board of directors

19  shall be appointed no later than 90 days after the

20  incorporation of the Magic City Children's Zone, Inc. The 11

21  members designated under this paragraph shall be appointed to

22  4-year terms. The four members initially appointed under

23  sub-subparagraph 1.l. shall be appointed to 2-year terms.

24  Members designated or appointed thereafter shall be appointed

25  to 4-year terms. A member may not serve for more than 8 years

26  in consecutive terms.

27         3.  A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner in

28  which the original designation or appointment was made, and a

29  member designated or appointed to fill a vacancy shall be

30  appointed for the remainder of that term.

31  

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 1         4.  The board of directors shall annually elect a

 2  chairperson and a vice chairperson from among the board's

 3  members. The members may, by a vote of at least eight board

 4  members, remove a member from the position of chairperson or

 5  vice chairperson before the expiration of his or her term as

 6  chairperson or vice chairperson. His or her successor shall be

 7  elected to serve for the remainder of the removed

 8  chairperson's or vice chairperson's term.

 9         5.  The board of directors shall meet at least four

10  times each year, upon the call of the chairperson, at the

11  request of the vice chairperson, or at the request of a

12  majority of the membership. A majority of the membership

13  constitutes a quorum. The board of directors may take official

14  action by a majority vote of the members present at any

15  meeting at which a quorum is present. The board may conduct

16  its meetings through teleconferences or other similar means.

17         6.  A member of the board of directors may be removed

18  by a majority of the membership. Absence from three

19  consecutive meetings results in the automatic removal of a

20  member.

21         7.  Each member of the board of directors shall serve

22  without compensation, but is entitled to reimbursement for

23  travel and per diem expenses as provided in s. 112.061 while

24  in the performance of his or her duties.

25         8.  The corporation shall create a standing advisory

26  board to assist in any part of its delegated duties. The

27  membership of the advisory board must reflect the expertise

28  necessary for implementing the children's zone pilot project.

29         9.  The board of directors has the power and duty to:

30         a.  Adopt articles of incorporation and bylaws

31  necessary to govern its activities;

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 1         b.  Begin to transfer responsibility for planning from

 2  the children's zone planning team to the corporation;

 3         c.  Begin the implementation and governance of the

 4  children's zone community plan; and

 5         d.  Enter into a contract with a management consultant

 6  having experience working with social service and educational

 7  entities for the purpose of developing a 10-year comprehensive

 8  business plan to carry out this section.

 9         (d)  Magic City Children's Zone, Inc., shall submit an

10  annual report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,

11  and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 31,

12  2008, and each year thereafter which must include a

13  comprehensive and detailed report of its operations,

14  activities, and accomplishments for the previous year as well

15  as the corporation's goals for the current year. The initial

16  report must also include information concerning the status of

17  the development of a business plan.

18         Section 2.  The sum of $3.6 million in nonrecurring

19  funds is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund and the

20  sum of $28,362 in nonrecurring funds is appropriated from the

21  Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund to the Ounce of Prevention Fund

22  of Florida, Inc., during the 2007-2008 fiscal year as a grant

23  for a 3-year period for the purposes of implementing the

24  provisions of this act.

25         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

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    Florida Senate - 2007                    CS for CS for SB 1942
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 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                     CS for Senate Bill 1942

 3                                 

 4  The committee substitute (CS) replaces the term "Office" in
    the definitions with the term "Ounce," which refers to the
 5  Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, Inc. The CS allows a
    county and one or more municipalities to apply to the Ounce
 6  for the designation of an area as a children's zone.

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