CS/HB 241

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to homelessness; creating s. 414.161,
3	F.S.; establishing a homelessness prevention grant
4	program; requiring grant applicants to be ranked
5	competitively; providing preference for certain grant
6	applicants; providing eligibility requirements; providing
7	grant limitations and restrictions; requiring lead
8	agencies for local homeless assistance continuum of care
9	to track, monitor, and report on assisted families for a
10	specified period of time; amending s. 420.507, F.S.;
11	conforming a cross-reference; amending s. 420.621, F.S.;
12	conforming a cross-reference; revising, providing, and
13	deleting definitions; amending s. 420.622, F.S.;
14	increasing and revising membership on the Council on
15	Homelessness; removing a member from an obsolete
16	organization; correcting the name of a member organization
17	on the council; revising the date of an annual report;
18	amending s. 420.625, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference;
19	creating s. 420.6275, F.S.; creating the Housing First
20	program; providing legislative findings and intent;
21	providing methodology; providing components of the
22	program; creating s. 420.628, F.S.; providing legislative
23	findings and intent; amending s. 1003.01, F.S.; revising a
24	definition; amending ss. 1003.21, F.S.; conforming
25	terminology; providing a school attendance exemption for
26	certain children in foster care; amending s. 1003.22,
27	F.S.; conforming terminology; providing a school
28	certification of a school-entry health examination
29	exemption for certain children in foster care; repealing
30	s. 414.16, F.S., relating to emergency assistance program;
31	providing an effective date.
32
33	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35	Section 1.  Section 414.161, Florida Statutes, is created
36	to read:
37	414.161  Homelessness prevention grants.--
38	(1)  ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.--There is hereby created a
39	grant program to provide emergency financial assistance to
40	families facing the loss of their current home due to a
41	financial or other crisis. The State Office on Homelessness,
42	with the concurrence of the Council on Homelessness, may accept
43	and administer moneys appropriated to it to provide homelessness
44	prevention grants annually to lead agencies for local homeless
45	assistance continuum of care, as recognized by the State Office
46	on Homelessness. These moneys shall consist of any sums that the
47	state may appropriate, as well as money received from donations,
48	gifts, bequests, or otherwise from any public or private source
49	that is intended to assist families to prevent them from
50	becoming homeless.
51	(2)  GRANT APPLICATIONS.--Grant applicants shall be ranked
52	competitively. Preference shall be given to applicants who
53	leverage additional private funds and public funds, who
54	demonstrate the effectiveness of their homelessness prevention
55	programs in keeping families housed, and who demonstrate the
56	commitment of other assistance and services to address the
57	family's health, employment, and education needs.
58	(3)  ELIGIBILITY.--In order to qualify for a grant, a lead
59	agency must develop and implement a local homeless assistance
60	continuum of care plan for its designated catchment area. The
61	homelessness prevention program must be included in the
62	continuum of care plan.
63	(4)  GRANT LIMITS.--The maximum grant amount per lead
64	agency may not exceed $300,000. The grant assistance may be used
65	to pay past due rent or mortgage payments, past due utility
66	costs, other past due bills creating the family's financial
67	crisis, provision of case management services, and program
68	administration costs not to exceed 3 percent of the grant award.
69	The homelessness prevention program must develop a case plan for
70	each family to be assisted setting forth which costs will be
71	covered and the maximum level of assistance to be offered.
72	(5)  PERFORMANCE.--The lead agency shall be required to
73	track, monitor, and report on the families assisted for at least
74	12 months following the last assistance provided to the family.
75	The goal for the homelessness prevention program shall be to
76	enable at least 85 percent of the families assisted to remain in
77	their home and avoid becoming homeless during the ensuing year.
78	Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (22) of section
79	420.507, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
80	420.507  Powers of the corporation.--The corporation shall
81	have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and
82	effectuate the purposes and provisions of this part, including
83	the following powers which are in addition to all other powers
84	granted by other provisions of this part:
85	(22)  To develop and administer the State Apartment
86	Incentive Loan Program. In developing and administering that
87	program, the corporation may:
88	(a)  Make first, second, and other subordinated mortgage
89	loans including variable or fixed rate loans subject to
90	contingent interest for all State Apartment Incentive Loans
91	provided for in this chapter based upon available cash flow of
92	the projects. The corporation shall make loans exceeding 25
93	percent of project cost available only to nonprofit
94	organizations and public bodies which are able to secure grants,
95	donations of land, or contributions from other sources and to
96	projects meeting the criteria of subparagraph 1. Mortgage loans
97	shall be made available at the following rates of interest:
98	1.  Zero to 3 percent interest for sponsors of projects
99	that set aside at least 80 percent of their total units for
100	residents qualifying as farmworkers as defined in this part, or
101	commercial fishing workers as defined in this part, or the
102	homeless as defined in s. 420.621(6)(4) over the life of the
103	loan.
104	2.  Zero to 3 percent interest based on the pro rata share
105	of units set aside for homeless residents if the total of such
106	units is less than 80 percent of the units in the borrower's
107	project.
108	3.  One to 9 percent interest for sponsors of projects
109	targeted at populations other than farmworkers, commercial
110	fishing workers, and the homeless.
111	Section 3.  Section 420.621, Florida Statutes, is amended
112	to read:
113	420.621  Definitions; ss. 420.621-420.628 420.621-
114	420.627.--As used in ss. 420.621-420.628 420.621-420.627, the
115	term following terms shall have the following meanings, unless
116	the context otherwise requires:
117	(1)  "Children and youths experiencing homelessness," for
118	programs authorized under the McKinney-Vento Education
119	Assistance for Homeless Children and Youths, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11431
120	et seq., means children and youths who lack a fixed, regular,
121	and adequate nighttime residence, and includes:
122	(a)  Children and youths who are sharing the housing of
123	other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a
124	similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, travel trailer
125	parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative
126	adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional
127	shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster
128	care placement.
129	(b)  Children and youths who have a primary nighttime
130	residence that is a public or private place not designed for or
131	ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
132	beings.
133	(c)  Children and youths who are living in cars, parks,
134	public spaces, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, or
135	similar settings.
136	(d)  Migratory children who are living in circumstances
137	described in paragraphs (a)-(c).
138	(2)  "Continuum of care" means a community plan to organize
139	and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of
140	people who are homeless as they move to stable housing and
141	maximum self-sufficiency. It includes action steps to end
142	homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness.
143	(3)  "Council on Homelessness" means the council created in
144	s. 420.622.
145	(1)  "AFDC" means Aid to Families with Dependent Children
146	as administered under chapter 409.
147	(4)(2)  "Department" means the Department of Children and
148	Family Services.
149	(5)(3)  "District" means a service district of the
150	department of Children and Family Services, as set forth in s.
151	20.19.
152	(6)(4)  "Homeless," applied to an individual, or
153	"individual experiencing homelessness" means "Homeless" refers
154	to an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
155	nighttime residence and includes or an individual who has a
156	primary nighttime residence that is:
157	(a)  Is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of
158	housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
159	(b)  Is living in a motel, hotel, travel trailer park, or
160	camping ground due to a lack of alternative adequate
161	accommodations;
162	(c)  Is living in an emergency or transitional shelter; A
163	supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to
164	provide temporary living accommodations, including welfare
165	hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the
166	mentally ill;
167	(b)  An institution that provides a temporary residence for
168	individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
169	(d)(c)  Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public
170	or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a
171	regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
172	(e)  Is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned
173	building, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
174	(f)  Is a migratory individual who qualifies as homeless
175	because he or she is living in circumstances described in
176	paragraphs (a)-(e).
177
178	The terms defined in this subsection do term does not refer to
179	any individual imprisoned or otherwise detained pursuant to
180	state or federal law. The terms also do not include individuals
181	or families who are sharing housing due to cultural preferences,
182	voluntary arrangements, and traditional networks of support. The
183	terms include an individual who has been released from jail,
184	prison, the juvenile justice system, the child welfare system, a
185	mental health and developmental disability facility, a
186	residential addiction treatment program, or a hospital, for whom
187	no subsequent residence has been identified, and who lacks the
188	resources and support network to obtain housing.
189	(7)(5)  "Local coalition for the homeless" means a
190	coalition established pursuant to s. 420.623.
191	(8)(6)  "New and temporary homeless" means those
192	individuals or families who are homeless due to societal
193	external factors, such as unemployment or other loss of income,
194	personal or family-life crises, or the shortage of low-income
195	housing.
196	(9)  "Societal causes of homelessness" means factors such
197	as lack of housing for individuals and families with low
198	incomes, lack of employment opportunities for those with a high
199	school education or less, and lack of day care, transportation,
200	and other institutional supports.
201	(10)(7)  "State Office on Homelessness" means the state
202	office created in s. 420.622 "Secretary" means the secretary of
203	the Department of Children and Family Services.
204	Section 4.  Subsections (2) and (9) of section 420.622,
205	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
206	420.622  State Office on Homelessness; Council on
207	Homelessness.--
208	(2)  The Council on Homelessness is created to consist of a
209	17-member 15-member council of public and private agency
210	representatives who shall develop policy and advise the State
211	Office on Homelessness. The council members shall be: the
212	Secretary of Children and Family Services, or his or her
213	designee; the Secretary of Community Affairs, or his or her
214	designee; the State Surgeon General, or his or her designee; the
215	Executive Director of Veterans' Affairs, or his or her designee;
216	the Secretary of Corrections, or his or her designee; the
217	Secretary of Health Care Administration, or his or her designee;
218	the Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee; the
219	Director of Workforce Florida, Inc., or his or her designee; one
220	representative of the Florida Association of Counties; one
221	representative from the Florida League of Cities; one
222	representative of the Florida Coalition for Supportive Housing
223	Coalition; the Executive Director of the Florida Housing Finance
224	Corporation, or his or her designee; one representative of the
225	Florida Coalition for the Homeless; one representative of the
226	Florida State Rural Development Council; and four members
227	appointed by the Governor. The council members shall be
228	volunteer, nonpaid persons and shall be reimbursed for travel
229	expenses only. The appointed members of the council shall serve
230	staggered 2-year terms, and the council shall meet at least four
231	times per year. The importance of minority, gender, and
232	geographic representation must be considered when appointing
233	members to the council.
234	(9)  The council shall, by June 30 December 31 of each
235	year, beginning in 2008, issue to the Governor, the President of
236	the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
237	Secretary of Children and Family Services an evaluation of the
238	executive director's performance in fulfilling the statutory
239	duties of the office, a report summarizing the council's
240	recommendations to the office and the corresponding actions
241	taken by the office, and any recommendations to the Legislature
242	for proposals to reduce homelessness in this state.
243	Section 5.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
244	420.625, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
245	420.625  Grant-in-aid program.--
246	(3)  ESTABLISHMENT.--There is hereby established a grant-
247	in-aid program to help local communities in serving the needs of
248	the homeless through a variety of supportive services, which may
249	include, but are not limited to:
250	(d)  Emergency financial assistance for persons who are
251	totally without shelter or facing loss of shelter, but who are
252	not eligible for such assistance under s. 414.16.
253	Section 6.  Section 420.6275, Florida Statutes, is created
254	to read:
255	420.6275  Housing First.--
256	(1)  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.--
257	(a)  The Legislature finds that many communities plan to
258	manage homelessness rather than plan to end it.
259	(b)  The Legislature also finds that for most of the past
260	two decades, public and private solutions to homelessness have
261	focused on providing individuals and families who are
262	experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter, transitional
263	housing, or a combination of both. While emergency shelter
264	programs may provide critical access to services for individuals
265	and families in crisis, they often fail to address the long-term
266	needs of those who are homeless.
267	(c)  The Legislature further finds that Housing First is an
268	alternative approach to the current system of emergency shelter
269	or transitional housing which tends to reduce the length of time
270	of homelessness and has proven to be cost-effective to homeless
271	programs.
272	(d)  It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
273	encourage local coalitions for the homeless, established
274	pursuant to s. 420.623, to adopt the Housing First approach to
275	ending homelessness for individuals and families.
276	(2)  HOUSING FIRST METHODOLOGY.--
277	(a)  The Housing First approach to homelessness differs
278	from traditional approaches by providing housing assistance,
279	case management, and support services responsive to individual
280	or family needs after housing is obtained. By using the Housing
281	First approach when appropriate, communities can significantly
282	reduce the amount of time that individuals and families are
283	homeless and prevent further episodes of homelessness. Housing
284	First emphasizes that social services provided to enhance
285	individual and family well-being can be more effective when
286	people are in their own home, and:
287	1.  The housing is not time-limited.
288	2.  The housing is not contingent on compliance with
289	services. Instead, participants must comply with a standard
290	lease agreement and are provided with the services and support
291	that are necessary to help them do so successfully.
292	(b)  The Housing First approach addresses the societal
293	causes of homelessness and advocates for the immediate return of
294	individuals and families back into housing and communities.
295	Housing First provides a critical link between the emergency and
296	transitional housing system and community-based social service,
297	educational, and health care organizations and consists of four
298	components:
299	1.  Crisis intervention and short-term stabilization.
300	2.  Screening, intake, and needs assessment.
301	3.  Provision of housing resources.
302	4.  Provision of case management.
303	Section 7.  Section 420.628, Florida Statutes, is created
304	to read:
305	420.628  Children and young adults leaving foster care;
306	legislative findings and intent.--
307	(1)  The Legislature finds that the transition from
308	childhood to adulthood is filled with opportunity and risk. Most
309	young people who receive adequate support make this transition
310	successfully and will become healthy adults who will be prepared
311	for work and be able to become responsible, fulfilled members of
312	their families and communities.
313	(2)  The Legislature finds that there are also many young
314	people who will enter adulthood without the knowledge, skills,
315	attitudes, habits, and relationships that will enable them to be
316	productive members of society. Those young people, who through
317	no fault of their own, live in foster families, group homes, and
318	institutions are among those at greatest risk.
319	(3)  The Legislature finds that these young people face
320	numerous barriers to a successful transition to adulthood. Those
321	barriers include changes in foster care placements and schools,
322	limited opportunities for participation in age-appropriate
323	normal activities, and the inability to achieve economic
324	stability, make connections with permanent supportive adults or
325	family, and access housing. The main barriers to safe and
326	affordable housing for youth aging out of the foster care system
327	are cost, lack of availability, the unwillingness of many
328	landlords to rent to them, and their own lack of knowledge about
329	how to be good tenants.
330	(4)  The Legislature also finds that young adults who
331	emancipate from the child welfare system are at risk of becoming
332	homeless and those who were formerly in foster care are
333	disproportionately represented in the homeless population. Only
334	about two-fifths of eligible young people receive independent
335	living services and, of those who do, few receive adequate
336	housing assistance. Without the stability of safe housing all
337	other services, training, and opportunities may not be
338	effective.
339	(5)  The Legislature further finds that research on young
340	people who emancipate from foster care suggests a nexus between
341	foster care involvement and later episodes of homelessness and
342	that interventions in the foster care system might help to
343	prevent homelessness. Responding to the needs of young people
344	leaving the foster care system with developmentally appropriate
345	supportive housing models organized in a continuum of decreasing
346	supervision may increase their ability to live independently in
347	the future.
348	(6)  It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
349	encourage the Department of Children and Family Services, its
350	agents, and community-based care providers operating pursuant to
351	s. 409.1671, to develop and implement procedures designed to
352	reduce the number of young adults who become homeless after
353	leaving the child welfare system.
354	Section 8.  Subsection (12) of section 1003.01, Florida
355	Statutes, is amended to read:
356	1003.01  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the term:
357	(12)  "Children and youths who are experiencing
358	homelessness," for programs authorized under subtitle B,
359	Education for Homeless Children and Youths, of title VII of the
360	McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11431 et
361	seq., means children and youths who lack a fixed, regular, and
362	adequate nighttime residence; and includes:
363	(a)  Children and youths who are sharing the housing of
364	other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a
365	similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, travel trailer
366	parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative
367	adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional
368	shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster
369	care placement.
370	(b)  Children and youths who have a primary nighttime
371	residence that is a public or private place not designed for or
372	ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
373	beings.
374	(c)  Children and youths who are living in cars, parks,
375	public spaces, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, or
376	similar settings.
377	(d)  Migratory children who are living in circumstances
378	described in paragraphs (a)-(c).
379	(12)  "Homeless child" means:
380	(a)  One who lacks a fixed, regular nighttime residence;
381	(b)  One who has a primary nighttime residence that is:
382	1.  A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter
383	designed to provide temporary living accommodations, including
384	welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing
385	for the mentally ill;
386	2.  An institution that provides a temporary residence for
387	individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
388	3.  A public or private place not designed for, or
389	ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human
390	beings; or
391	(c)  One who temporarily resides with an adult other than
392	his or her parent because the parent is suffering financial
393	hardship.
394
395	A child who is imprisoned, detained, or in the custody of the
396	state pursuant to a state or federal law is not a homeless
397	child.
398	Section 9.  Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) and paragraph
399	(g) of subsection (4) of section 1003.21, Florida Statutes, are
400	amended to read:
401	1003.21  School attendance.--
402	(1)
403	(f)  Children and youths who are experiencing homelessness
404	Homeless children, as defined in s. 1003.01, must have access to
405	a free public education and must be admitted to school in the
406	school district in which they or their families live. School
407	districts shall assist such homeless children to meet the
408	requirements of subsection (4) and s. 1003.22, as well as local
409	requirements for documentation.
410	(4)  Before admitting a child to kindergarten, the
411	principal shall require evidence that the child has attained the
412	age at which he or she should be admitted in accordance with the
413	provisions of subparagraph (1)(a)2. The district school
414	superintendent may require evidence of the age of any child whom
415	he or she believes to be within the limits of compulsory
416	attendance as provided for by law. If the first prescribed
417	evidence is not available, the next evidence obtainable in the
418	order set forth below shall be accepted:
419	(g)  If none of these evidences can be produced, an
420	affidavit of age sworn to by the parent, accompanied by a
421	certificate of age signed by a public health officer or by a
422	public school physician, or, if neither of these is available in
423	the county, by a licensed practicing physician designated by the
424	district school board, which certificate states that the health
425	officer or physician has examined the child and believes that
426	the age as stated in the affidavit is substantially correct.
427	Children and youths who are experiencing homelessness A homeless
428	child, as defined in s. 1003.01, and children who are in foster
429	care until the time of achieving either reunification or a
430	permanent placement shall be given temporary exemption from this
431	section for 30 school days.
432	Section 10.  Subsection (1) and paragraph (e) of subsection
433	(5) of section 1003.22, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
434	1003.22  School-entry health examinations; immunization
435	against communicable diseases; exemptions; duties of Department
436	of Health.--
437	(1)  Each district school board and the governing authority
438	of each private school shall require that each child who is
439	entitled to admittance to kindergarten, or is entitled to any
440	other initial entrance into a public or private school in this
441	state, present a certification of a school-entry health
442	examination performed within 1 year prior to enrollment in
443	school. Each district school board, and the governing authority
444	of each private school, may establish a policy that permits a
445	student up to 30 school days to present a certification of a
446	school-entry health examination. Children and youths who are
447	experiencing homelessness A homeless child, as defined in s.
448	1003.01, and children who are in foster care until the time of
449	achieving either reunification or a permanent placement shall be
450	given a temporary exemption for 30 school days. Any district
451	school board that establishes such a policy shall include
452	provisions in its local school health services plan to assist
453	students in obtaining the health examinations. However, any
454	child shall be exempt from the requirement of a health
455	examination upon written request of the parent of the child
456	stating objections to the examination on religious grounds.
457	(5)  The provisions of this section shall not apply if:
458	(e)  An authorized school official issues a temporary
459	exemption, for a period not to exceed 30 school days, to permit
460	a student who transfers into a new county to attend class until
461	his or her records can be obtained. Children and youths who are
462	experiencing homelessness A homeless child, as defined in s.
463	1003.01, and children who are in foster care until the time of
464	achieving either reunification or a permanent placement shall be
465	given a temporary exemption for 30 school days. The public
466	school health nurse or authorized private school official is
467	responsible for followup of each such student until proper
468	documentation or immunizations are obtained. An exemption for 30
469	days may be issued for a student who enters a juvenile justice
470	program to permit the student to attend class until his or her
471	records can be obtained or until the immunizations can be
472	obtained. An authorized juvenile justice official is responsible
473	for followup of each student who enters a juvenile justice
474	program until proper documentation or immunizations are
475	obtained.
476	Section 11.  Section 414.16, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
477	Section 12.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

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