| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to children's services; creating the |
| 3 | Children and Youth Cabinet; providing a short title; |
| 4 | providing legislative intent; providing organization, |
| 5 | membership, and duties and responsibilities of the |
| 6 | cabinet; providing for an advisory board; requiring the |
| 7 | cabinet to prepare an annual report; providing an |
| 8 | effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Children's cabinet; organization; |
| 13 | responsibilities; annual report.-- |
| 14 | (1) SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Children |
| 15 | and Youth Cabinet Act." |
| 16 | (2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.-- |
| 17 | (a) The Legislature finds that all state agencies and |
| 18 | programs that touch the lives of children and youth must work in |
| 19 | a coordinated and comprehensive fashion, with an emphasis on |
| 20 | providing a continuum of services that benefit children from |
| 21 | prenatal care through programs supporting successful transition |
| 22 | to self-sufficient adulthood. The Legislature further finds that |
| 23 | creating a Children and Youth Cabinet is the best method by |
| 24 | which the state might achieve the visions and plans necessary to |
| 25 | ensure that this state is the first place families think of when |
| 26 | asked, "Where do you want to raise a child?" |
| 27 | (b) The Legislature, in collaboration with the Governor, |
| 28 | intends to develop and implement a shared vision among the |
| 29 | branches of government in order to improve child and family |
| 30 | outcomes in this state. By working collaboratively, the |
| 31 | Legislature intends to invest in the education and skills of our |
| 32 | children and youth, develop a cohesive vision and plan that |
| 33 | ensures a long-term commitment to children and youth issues, |
| 34 | align public resources serving children and youth to support |
| 35 | their healthy growth and development, and promote increased |
| 36 | efficiency and improved service delivery by all governmental |
| 37 | agencies that provide services for children, youth, and their |
| 38 | families. |
| 39 | (3) ORGANIZATION.--There is created the Children and Youth |
| 40 | Cabinet, which is a coordinating council as defined in s. 20.03, |
| 41 | Florida Statutes. |
| 42 | (a) The cabinet shall ensure that the public policy of |
| 43 | this state relating to children and youth is developed to |
| 44 | promote interdepartmental collaboration and program |
| 45 | implementation in order that services designed for children and |
| 46 | youth are planned, managed, and delivered in a holistic and |
| 47 | integrated manner to improve the children's self-sufficiency, |
| 48 | safety, economic stability, health, and quality of life. |
| 49 | (b) The cabinet is created in the Executive Office of the |
| 50 | Governor, which shall provide administrative support and service |
| 51 | to the cabinet. |
| 52 | (c) The cabinet shall meet for its organizational session |
| 53 | no later than October 1, 2007. Thereafter, the cabinet shall |
| 54 | meet at least six times each year in different regions of the |
| 55 | state in order to solicit input from the public and any other |
| 56 | individual offering testimony relevant to the issues considered. |
| 57 | Each meeting must include a public-comment session. |
| 58 | (4) MEMBERS.--The cabinet shall consist of 15 members |
| 59 | including the Governor and the following persons: |
| 60 | (a)1. The Secretary of Children and Family Services; |
| 61 | 2. The Secretary of Juvenile Justice; |
| 62 | 3. The director of the Agency for Persons with |
| 63 | Disabilities; |
| 64 | 4. The director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation; |
| 65 | 5. The Secretary of Health; |
| 66 | 6. The Secretary of Health Care Administration; |
| 67 | 7. The Commissioner of Education; |
| 68 | 8. The director of the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office; |
| 69 | 9. The director of the Office of Child Abuse Prevention; |
| 70 | and |
| 71 | 10. Five members representing children and youth advocacy |
| 72 | organizations, who are not service providers and who are |
| 73 | appointed by the Governor. |
| 74 | (b) The President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House |
| 75 | of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the |
| 76 | Attorney General, and the Chief Financial Officer, or their |
| 77 | appointed designees, shall serve as ex officio members of the |
| 78 | cabinet. |
| 79 | (c) The Governor or the Governor's designee shall serve as |
| 80 | the chair of the cabinet. |
| 81 | (d) Nongovernmental members of the cabinet shall serve |
| 82 | without compensation, but are entitled to receive per diem and |
| 83 | travel expenses in accordance with s. 112.061, Florida Statutes, |
| 84 | while in performance of their duties. |
| 85 | (5) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.--The Children and Youth |
| 86 | Cabinet shall: |
| 87 | (a) Develop and implement a shared and cohesive vision |
| 88 | using integrated services to improve child, youth, and family |
| 89 | outcomes in this state. |
| 90 | (b) Develop, no later than December 31, 2007, a strategic |
| 91 | plan to achieve the goals of the shared and cohesive vision. The |
| 92 | plan shall be centered upon a long-term commitment to children |
| 93 | and youth issues and align all public resources to serve |
| 94 | children and youth and their families in a manner that supports |
| 95 | the healthy growth and development of children. The plan shall |
| 96 | prepare the children and youth to be responsible citizens and |
| 97 | productive members of the workforce. The plan shall include a |
| 98 | continuum of services that will benefit children from prenatal |
| 99 | care through services for youth in transition to adulthood. |
| 100 | (c) Develop and implement measurable outcomes for each |
| 101 | state department, agency, and program that are consistent with |
| 102 | the strategic plan. The cabinet shall establish a baseline |
| 103 | measurement for each outcome and regularly report on the |
| 104 | progress made toward achieving the desired outcome. |
| 105 | (d) Design and implement actions that will promote |
| 106 | collaboration, creativity, increased efficiency, information |
| 107 | sharing, and improved service delivery between and within state |
| 108 | governmental organizations that provide services for children |
| 109 | and youth and their families. In particular, the efforts shall |
| 110 | include the long-range planning process mandated by s. 216.013, |
| 111 | Florida Statutes. |
| 112 | (e) Foster public awareness of children and youth issues |
| 113 | and develop new partners in the effort to serve children and |
| 114 | youth. |
| 115 | (f) Create a children and youth impact statement for |
| 116 | evaluating proposed legislation, requested appropriations, and |
| 117 | programs. The impact statement shall be shared with the |
| 118 | Legislature in their deliberative process. |
| 119 | (g) Identify existing and potential funding streams and |
| 120 | resources for children's services, including, but not limited |
| 121 | to, public funding, foundation and organization grants, and |
| 122 | other forms of private funding opportunities, including public- |
| 123 | private partnerships. |
| 124 | (h) Develop a children-and-youth-based budget structure |
| 125 | and nomenclature that includes all relevant departments, funding |
| 126 | streams, and programs. The budget shall facilitate improved |
| 127 | coordination and efficiency, explore options for and allow |
| 128 | maximization of federal financial participation, and implement |
| 129 | the state's vision and strategic plan. |
| 130 | (i) Engage in other activities that will implement |
| 131 | improved collaboration of agencies in order to create, manage, |
| 132 | and promote coordinated policies, programs, and service-delivery |
| 133 | systems that support children and youth. |
| 134 | (6) ADVISORY BOARD.--The Governor may appoint an advisory |
| 135 | board to assist the cabinet in its tasks. The board shall |
| 136 | include persons who can provide to the cabinet the best |
| 137 | available technical and professional research and assistance. If |
| 138 | an advisory board is created, it shall include representatives |
| 139 | of children and youth advocacy organizations and youth, wherever |
| 140 | practicable, who have been recipients of services and programs |
| 141 | operated or funded by state agencies. |
| 142 | (7) ANNUAL REPORT.--The Children and Youth Cabinet shall, |
| 143 | by February 1 of each year, provide an annual report to the |
| 144 | Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House |
| 145 | of Representatives, and the public concerning its activities and |
| 146 | progress towards making this state the first place families |
| 147 | think of when asked, "Where do they want to raise their |
| 148 | children?" The annual report may include recommendations for |
| 149 | needed legislation or rulemaking authority. |
| 150 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |