HB 241

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to homelessness; amending s. 420.507,
3	F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; amending s. 420.621,
4	F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; revising, providing,
5	and deleting definitions; amending s. 420.622, F.S.;
6	increasing and revising membership on the Council on
7	Homelessness; removing a member from an obsolete
8	organization; correcting the name of a member organization
9	on the council; revising the date of an annual report;
10	creating s. 420.6275, F.S.; creating the Housing First
11	program; providing legislative findings and intent;
12	providing methodology; providing components of the
13	program; creating s. 420.628, F.S.; providing legislative
14	findings and intent; creating a 3-year Youth Housing
15	Continuum Pilot Program; providing eligibility
16	requirements for the pilot program; providing for the
17	design of the pilot program; requiring Connected by 25 in
18	Hillsborough County to provide administrative support;
19	providing Connected by 25 with specified duties; providing
20	reporting requirements; amending s. 1003.01, F.S.;
21	revising a definition; amending ss. 1003.21 and 1003.22,
22	F.S.; conforming terminology; providing an appropriation;
23	providing an effective date.
24
25	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27	Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (22) of section
28	420.507, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
29	420.507  Powers of the corporation.--The corporation shall
30	have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and
31	effectuate the purposes and provisions of this part, including
32	the following powers which are in addition to all other powers
33	granted by other provisions of this part:
34	(22)  To develop and administer the State Apartment
35	Incentive Loan Program. In developing and administering that
36	program, the corporation may:
37	(a)  Make first, second, and other subordinated mortgage
38	loans including variable or fixed rate loans subject to
39	contingent interest for all State Apartment Incentive Loans
40	provided for in this chapter based upon available cash flow of
41	the projects. The corporation shall make loans exceeding 25
42	percent of project cost available only to nonprofit
43	organizations and public bodies which are able to secure grants,
44	donations of land, or contributions from other sources and to
45	projects meeting the criteria of subparagraph 1. Mortgage loans
46	shall be made available at the following rates of interest:
47	1.  Zero to 3 percent interest for sponsors of projects
48	that set aside at least 80 percent of their total units for
49	residents qualifying as farmworkers as defined in this part, or
50	commercial fishing workers as defined in this part, or the
51	homeless as defined in s. 420.621(6)(4) over the life of the
52	loan.
53	2.  Zero to 3 percent interest based on the pro rata share
54	of units set aside for homeless residents if the total of such
55	units is less than 80 percent of the units in the borrower's
56	project.
57	3.  One to 9 percent interest for sponsors of projects
58	targeted at populations other than farmworkers, commercial
59	fishing workers, and the homeless.
60	Section 2.  Section 420.621, Florida Statutes, is amended
61	to read:
62	420.621  Definitions; ss. 420.621-420.628 420.621-
63	420.627.--As used in ss. 420.621-420.628 420.621-420.627, the
64	term following terms shall have the following meanings, unless
65	the context otherwise requires:
66	(1)  "Children and youths experiencing homelessness," for
67	programs authorized under the McKinney-Vento Education
68	Assistance for Homeless Children and Youths, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11431
69	et seq., means children and youths who lack a fixed, regular,
70	and adequate nighttime residence, and includes:
71	(a)  Children and youths who are sharing the housing of
72	other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a
73	similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, travel trailer
74	parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative
75	adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional
76	shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster
77	care placement.
78	(b)  Children and youths who have a primary nighttime
79	residence that is a public or private place not designed for or
80	ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
81	beings.
82	(c)  Children and youths who are living in cars, parks,
83	public spaces, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, or
84	similar settings.
85	(d)  Migratory children who are living in circumstances
86	described in paragraphs (a)-(c).
87	(2)  "Continuum of care" means a community plan to organize
88	and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of
89	people who are homeless as they move to stable housing and
90	maximum self-sufficiency. It includes action steps to end
91	homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness.
92	(3)  "Council on Homelessness" means the council created in
93	s. 420.622.
94	(1)  "AFDC" means Aid to Families with Dependent Children
95	as administered under chapter 409.
96	(4)(2)  "Department" means the Department of Children and
97	Family Services.
98	(5)(3)  "District" means a service district of the
99	department of Children and Family Services, as set forth in s.
100	20.19.
101	(6)(4)  "Homeless," applied to an individual, or
102	"individual experiencing homelessness" means "Homeless" refers
103	to an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
104	nighttime residence and includes or an individual who has a
105	primary nighttime residence that is:
106	(a)  Is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of
107	housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
108	(b)  Is living in a motel, hotel, travel trailer park, or
109	camping ground due to a lack of alternative adequate
110	accommodations;
111	(c)  Is living in an emergency or transitional shelter; A
112	supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to
113	provide temporary living accommodations, including welfare
114	hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the
115	mentally ill;
116	(b)  An institution that provides a temporary residence for
117	individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
118	(d)(c)  Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public
119	or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a
120	regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
121	(e)  Is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned
122	building, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
123	(f)  Is a migratory individual who qualifies as homeless
124	because he or she is living in circumstances described in
125	paragraphs (a)-(e).
126
127	The terms defined in this subsection do term does not refer to
128	any individual imprisoned or otherwise detained pursuant to
129	state or federal law. The terms also do not include individuals
130	or families who are sharing housing due to cultural preferences,
131	voluntary arrangements, and traditional networks of support. The
132	terms include an individual who has been released from jail,
133	prison, the juvenile justice system, the child welfare system, a
134	mental health and developmental disability facility, a
135	residential addiction treatment program, or a hospital, for whom
136	no subsequent residence has been identified, and who lacks the
137	resources and support network to obtain housing.
138	(7)(5)  "Local coalition for the homeless" means a
139	coalition established pursuant to s. 420.623.
140	(8)(6)  "New and temporary homeless" means those
141	individuals or families who are homeless due to societal
142	external factors, such as unemployment or other loss of income,
143	personal or family-life crises, or the shortage of low-income
144	housing.
145	(9)  "Societal causes of homelessness" means factors such
146	as lack of housing for individuals and families with low
147	incomes, lack of employment opportunities for those with a high
148	school education or less, and lack of day care, transportation,
149	and other institutional supports.
150	(10)(7)  "State Office on Homelessness" means the state
151	office created in s. 420.622 "Secretary" means the secretary of
152	the Department of Children and Family Services.
153	Section 3.  Subsections (2) and (9) of section 420.622,
154	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
155	420.622  State Office on Homelessness; Council on
156	Homelessness.--
157	(2)  The Council on Homelessness is created to consist of a
158	17-member 15-member council of public and private agency
159	representatives who shall develop policy and advise the State
160	Office on Homelessness. The council members shall be: the
161	Secretary of Children and Family Services, or his or her
162	designee; the Secretary of Community Affairs, or his or her
163	designee; the State Surgeon General, or his or her designee; the
164	Executive Director of Veterans' Affairs, or his or her designee;
165	the Secretary of Corrections, or his or her designee; the
166	Secretary of Health Care Administration, or his or her designee;
167	the Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee; the
168	Director of Workforce Florida, Inc., or his or her designee; one
169	representative of the Florida Association of Counties; one
170	representative from the Florida League of Cities; one
171	representative of the Florida Coalition for Supportive Housing
172	Coalition; the Executive Director of the Florida Housing Finance
173	Corporation, or his or her designee; one representative of the
174	Florida Coalition for the Homeless; one representative of the
175	Florida State Rural Development Council; and four members
176	appointed by the Governor. The council members shall be
177	volunteer, nonpaid persons and shall be reimbursed for travel
178	expenses only. The appointed members of the council shall serve
179	staggered 2-year terms, and the council shall meet at least four
180	times per year. The importance of minority, gender, and
181	geographic representation must be considered when appointing
182	members to the council.
183	(9)  The council shall, by June 30 December 31 of each
184	year, beginning in 2008, issue to the Governor, the President of
185	the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
186	Secretary of Children and Family Services an evaluation of the
187	executive director's performance in fulfilling the statutory
188	duties of the office, a report summarizing the council's
189	recommendations to the office and the corresponding actions
190	taken by the office, and any recommendations to the Legislature
191	for proposals to reduce homelessness in this state.
192	Section 4.  Section 420.6275, Florida Statutes, is created
193	to read:
194	420.6275  Housing First.--
195	(1)  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.--
196	(a)  The Legislature finds that many communities plan to
197	manage homelessness rather than plan to end it.
198	(b)  The Legislature also finds that for most of the past
199	two decades, public and private solutions to homelessness have
200	focused on providing individuals and families who are
201	experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter, transitional
202	housing, or a combination of both. While emergency shelter
203	programs may provide critical access to services for individuals
204	and families in crisis, they often fail to address the long-term
205	needs of those who are homeless.
206	(c)  The Legislature further finds that Housing First is an
207	alternative approach to the current system of emergency shelter
208	or transitional housing which tends to reduce the length of time
209	of homelessness and has proven to be cost-effective to homeless
210	programs.
211	(d)  It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
212	encourage local coalitions for the homeless, established
213	pursuant to s. 420.623, to adopt the Housing First approach to
214	ending homelessness for individuals and families.
215	(2)  HOUSING FIRST METHODOLOGY.--
216	(a)  The Housing First approach to homelessness differs
217	from traditional approaches by providing housing assistance,
218	case management, and support services responsive to individual
219	or family needs after housing is obtained. By using the Housing
220	First approach when appropriate, communities can significantly
221	reduce the amount of time that individuals and families are
222	homeless and prevent further episodes of homelessness. Housing
223	First emphasizes that social services provided to enhance
224	individual and family well-being can be more effective when
225	people are in their own home, and:
226	1.  The housing is not time-limited.
227	2.  The housing is not contingent on compliance with
228	services. Instead, participants must comply with a standard
229	lease agreement and are provided with the services and support
230	that are necessary to help them do so successfully.
231	(b)  The Housing First approach addresses the societal
232	causes of homelessness and advocates for the immediate return of
233	individuals and families back into housing and communities.
234	Housing First provides a critical link between the emergency and
235	transitional housing system and community-based social service,
236	educational, and health care organizations and consists of four
237	components:
238	1.  Crisis intervention and short-term stabilization.
239	2.  Screening, intake, and needs assessment.
240	3.  Provision of housing resources.
241	4.  Provision of case management.
242	Section 5.  Section 420.628, Florida Statutes, is created
243	to read:
244	420.628  Children and young adults leaving foster care.--
245	(1)  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.--
246	(a)  The Legislature finds that the transition from
247	childhood to adulthood is filled with opportunity and risk. Most
248	young people who receive adequate support make this transition
249	successfully and will become healthy adults who will be prepared
250	for work and be able to become responsible, fulfilled members of
251	their families and communities.
252	(b)  The Legislature finds that there are also many young
253	people who will enter adulthood without the knowledge, skills,
254	attitudes, habits, and relationships that will enable them to be
255	productive members of society. Those young people, who through
256	no fault of their own, live in foster families, group homes, and
257	institutions are among those at greatest risk.
258	(c)  The Legislature finds that these young people face
259	numerous barriers to a successful transition to adulthood. Those
260	barriers include changes in foster care placements and schools,
261	limited opportunities for participation in age-appropriate
262	normal activities, and the inability to achieve economic
263	stability, make connections with permanent supportive adults or
264	family, and access housing. The main barriers to safe and
265	affordable housing for youth aging out of the foster care system
266	are cost, lack of availability, the unwillingness of many
267	landlords to rent to them, and their own lack of knowledge about
268	how to be good tenants.
269	(d)  The Legislature also finds that young adults who
270	emancipate from the child welfare system are at risk of becoming
271	homeless and those who were formerly in foster care are
272	disproportionately represented in the homeless population. Only
273	about two-fifths of eligible young people receive independent
274	living services and, of those who do, few receive adequate
275	housing assistance. Without the stability of safe housing all
276	other services, training, and opportunities may not be
277	effective.
278	(e)  The Legislature further finds that research on young
279	people who emancipate from foster care suggests a nexus between
280	foster care involvement and later episodes of homelessness and
281	that interventions in the foster care system might help to
282	prevent homelessness. Responding to the needs of young people
283	leaving the foster care system with developmentally appropriate
284	supportive housing models organized in a continuum of decreasing
285	supervision may increase their ability to live independently in
286	the future.
287	(f)  It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
288	encourage the Department of Children and Family Services, its
289	agents, and community-based care providers operating pursuant to
290	s. 409.1671, to develop and implement procedures designed to
291	reduce the number of young adults who become homeless after
292	leaving the child welfare system.
293	(2)  YOUTH HOUSING CONTINUUM PILOT PROGRAM.--Housing for
294	young people is by nature transitional. Most young people in
295	their late teens through mid-twenties are housed in college
296	dormitories or shared or studio apartments or continue to live
297	at home. Commonly, young people move through a number of such
298	interim housing situations as they grow into adulthood. Many
299	older teens and young adults who leave foster care at the age of
300	18 do not have the opportunity for those usual transitions and
301	as a result are at risk for becoming homeless.
302	(a)  Creation of pilot program; eligibility.--There is
303	created a 3-year Youth Housing Continuum Pilot Program in
304	Hillsborough County. The purpose of the program is to support
305	the development and implementation of a transitional living or
306	subsidized independent living housing experience for those young
307	people aging out of foster care who will not have the option of
308	remaining in a foster care family home or in a group home, to
309	facilitate a smooth transition from foster home or group home
310	living to independent living. The pilot program shall serve at
311	least 100 young adults, and eligibility requirements shall
312	include:
313	1.  Young adults who turn 18 years of age while in licensed
314	foster care and have been in foster care for at least 12 months
315	prior to turning 18 years of age. The 12-month requirement shall
316	be waived in circumstances where the requirements of s.
317	39.701(6)(a)8. have not been met, no subsequent residence has
318	been identified, and the young person lacks the resources and
319	support network to obtain housing.
320	2.  Priority shall be given to those young persons who are
321	attending high school and can demonstrate either through
322	documentation of school attendance or engagement in
323	extracurricular activities that a displacement from school would
324	have an adverse effect on their ability to achieve their
325	educational goals.
326	3.  Other participants shall be chosen based on their
327	eligibility pursuant to s. 409.1451(2) and documented enrollment
328	in a full-time adult educational or postsecondary educational or
329	vocational program or a combination of employment and part-time
330	enrollment in an educational program.
331	(b)  Pilot program design.--There shall be a youth housing
332	continuum that incorporates various types of housing without
333	predetermined time limits to allow young adults to transition
334	from one housing program to another according to their
335	individual developmental capacities. Based upon the needs and
336	preferences of a given young adult, such housing could take any
337	number of forms from shared homes to scattered-site, independent
338	apartments with or without roommates. Young adults should have
339	the flexibility to move among housing programs as they gain
340	independent living skills and economic stability, including the
341	ability to reenter housing programs and move back along the
342	continuum if their current needs or abilities change. The
343	continuum in the pilot program will consist of the following
344	three levels of decreasing supervision:
345	1.  Supervised living for young adults who have reached 18
346	years of age, but are not yet 24 years of age, who cannot
347	adequately manage their affairs and need constant, consistent
348	adult supervision, training, and support. Each participant shall
349	have his or her own bedroom and bathroom and share a common
350	living area.
351	2.  Monitored living for young adults who have reached 18
352	years of age, but are not yet 24 years of age, who can typically
353	manage their own affairs but need regular adult monitoring.
354	Housing will be provided in scattered sites throughout the
355	community with support staff working regularly with participants
356	to address their educational, employment, and financial
357	stability goals. Each participant shall have his or her own
358	bedroom and bathroom and share an apartment with one to three
359	roommates.
360	3.  Independent living for young adults who have the
361	ability to live on their own with access to support services as
362	needed.
363	(c)  Pilot program administration; duties;
364	report.--Connected by 25 in Hillsborough County shall provide
365	administrative support for and shall be responsible for the
366	operation for the Youth Housing Continuum Pilot Program.
367	Connected by 25 shall:
368	1.  Create and implement a transitional housing continuum
369	in which young persons who meet the eligibility criteria of this
370	subsection will receive support while participating in an
371	educational or training program, or any activity consistent with
372	their independent living transitional services case plan.
373	2.  Provide each program participant with a transition and
374	aftercare specialist to provide transitional support services.
375	Each participant, in partnership with the transition and
376	aftercare specialist, shall develop a transition plan that is
377	specific to his or her efforts to achieve self-sufficiency.
378	3.  Require that each participant complete a comprehensive
379	financial literacy and asset development training program and be
380	enrolled in the Connected by 25 match savings program that
381	utilizes private dollars to match, on a one-to-one basis, the
382	savings of each participant up to $1,000 each year. This
383	requirement will prepare program participants for economic
384	success as they age out of the foster care system.
385	(d)  Annual reports.--Beginning January 1, 2008, and
386	continuing for the duration of the pilot program, Connected by
387	25 shall submit to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of
388	Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Secretary
389	of Children and Family Services an annual report outlining the
390	progress made in the development and implementation of the pilot
391	program, including documentation of the outcomes for the
392	participants in the areas identified by the Independent Living
393	Services Advisory Council pursuant to s. 409.1451, and
394	recommendations for pilot program improvement and expansion.
395	Section 6.  Subsection (12) of section 1003.01, Florida
396	Statutes, is amended to read:
397	1003.01  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the term:
398	(12)  "Children and youths who are experiencing
399	homelessness," for programs authorized under subtitle B,
400	Education for Homeless Children and Youths, of title VII of the
401	McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11431 et
402	seq., means children and youths who lack a fixed, regular, and
403	adequate nighttime residence; and includes:
404	(a)  Children and youths who are sharing the housing of
405	other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a
406	similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, travel trailer
407	parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative
408	adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional
409	shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster
410	care placement.
411	(b)  Children and youths who have a primary nighttime
412	residence that is a public or private place not designed for or
413	ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
414	beings.
415	(c)  Children and youths who are living in cars, parks,
416	public spaces, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, or
417	similar settings.
418	(d)  Migratory children who are living in circumstances
419	described in paragraphs (a)-(c).
420	(12)  "Homeless child" means:
421	(a)  One who lacks a fixed, regular nighttime residence;
422	(b)  One who has a primary nighttime residence that is:
423	1.  A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter
424	designed to provide temporary living accommodations, including
425	welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing
426	for the mentally ill;
427	2.  An institution that provides a temporary residence for
428	individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
429	3.  A public or private place not designed for, or
430	ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human
431	beings; or
432	(c)  One who temporarily resides with an adult other than
433	his or her parent because the parent is suffering financial
434	hardship.
435
436	A child who is imprisoned, detained, or in the custody of the
437	state pursuant to a state or federal law is not a homeless
438	child.
439	Section 7.  Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) and paragraph
440	(g) of subsection (4) of section 1003.21, Florida Statutes, are
441	amended to read:
442	1003.21  School attendance.--
443	(1)
444	(f)  Children and youths who are experiencing homelessness
445	Homeless children, as defined in s. 1003.01, must have access to
446	a free public education and must be admitted to school in the
447	school district in which they or their families live. School
448	districts shall assist such homeless children to meet the
449	requirements of subsection (4) and s. 1003.22, as well as local
450	requirements for documentation.
451	(4)  Before admitting a child to kindergarten, the
452	principal shall require evidence that the child has attained the
453	age at which he or she should be admitted in accordance with the
454	provisions of subparagraph (1)(a)2. The district school
455	superintendent may require evidence of the age of any child whom
456	he or she believes to be within the limits of compulsory
457	attendance as provided for by law. If the first prescribed
458	evidence is not available, the next evidence obtainable in the
459	order set forth below shall be accepted:
460	(g)  If none of these evidences can be produced, an
461	affidavit of age sworn to by the parent, accompanied by a
462	certificate of age signed by a public health officer or by a
463	public school physician, or, if neither of these is available in
464	the county, by a licensed practicing physician designated by the
465	district school board, which certificate states that the health
466	officer or physician has examined the child and believes that
467	the age as stated in the affidavit is substantially correct.
468	Children and youths who are experiencing homelessness A homeless
469	child, as defined in s. 1003.01, shall be given temporary
470	exemption from this section for 30 school days.
471	Section 8.  Subsection (1) and paragraph (e) of subsection
472	(5) of section 1003.22, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
473	1003.22  School-entry health examinations; immunization
474	against communicable diseases; exemptions; duties of Department
475	of Health.--
476	(1)  Each district school board and the governing authority
477	of each private school shall require that each child who is
478	entitled to admittance to kindergarten, or is entitled to any
479	other initial entrance into a public or private school in this
480	state, present a certification of a school-entry health
481	examination performed within 1 year prior to enrollment in
482	school. Each district school board, and the governing authority
483	of each private school, may establish a policy that permits a
484	student up to 30 school days to present a certification of a
485	school-entry health examination. Children and youths who are
486	experiencing homelessness A homeless child, as defined in s.
487	1003.01, shall be given a temporary exemption for 30 school
488	days. Any district school board that establishes such a policy
489	shall include provisions in its local school health services
490	plan to assist students in obtaining the health examinations.
491	However, any child shall be exempt from the requirement of a
492	health examination upon written request of the parent of the
493	child stating objections to the examination on religious
494	grounds.
495	(5)  The provisions of this section shall not apply if:
496	(e)  An authorized school official issues a temporary
497	exemption, for a period not to exceed 30 school days, to permit
498	a student who transfers into a new county to attend class until
499	his or her records can be obtained. Children and youths who are
500	experiencing homelessness A homeless child, as defined in s.
501	1003.01, shall be given a temporary exemption for 30 school
502	days. The public school health nurse or authorized private
503	school official is responsible for followup of each such student
504	until proper documentation or immunizations are obtained. An
505	exemption for 30 days may be issued for a student who enters a
506	juvenile justice program to permit the student to attend class
507	until his or her records can be obtained or until the
508	immunizations can be obtained. An authorized juvenile justice
509	official is responsible for followup of each student who enters
510	a juvenile justice program until proper documentation or
511	immunizations are obtained.
512	Section 9.  The sum of $250,000 in nonrecurring funds is
513	appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of
514	Children and Family Services for the purposes of implementing
515	section 420.628, Florida Statutes, during the 2008-2009 fiscal
516	year.
517	Section 10.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

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