1

Senator Bullard moved the following amendment:

2

3

     Senate Amendment (with title amendment)

4

     Delete everything after the enacting clause

5

and insert:

6

     Section 1.  Section 409.147, Florida Statutes, is created to

7

read:

8

     409.147 Children's zones.--

9

     (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.--

10

     (a) The Legislature finds that:

11

     1. There are neighborhoods in the state where the

12

infrastructure and opportunities that middle-class communities

13

take for granted are nonexistent or so marginal that they are

14

ineffective.

15

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

16

adult on a regular basis and attend a prekindergarten education

17

program at a much lower rate than children in other communities.

18

These children experience below-average performance on

19

standardized tests and graduate from high school in fewer

20

numbers. Most of these children are eligible for the free or

21

reduced-price school lunch program.

22

     3. Children in these neighborhoods often suffer from high

23

rates of asthma, a higher risk of lead poisoning, and inadequate

24

health care, and they are routinely exposed to violence and

25

crime.

26

     4. In spite of these obstacles, these neighborhoods are

27

many times home to strong individuals and institutions that are

28

committed to making a difference in the lives of children and

29

their families.

30

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

31

disadvantaged areas within the state in creating a community-

32

based service network that develops, coordinates, and provides

33

quality education, accessible health care, youth development

34

programs, opportunities for employment, and safe and affordable

35

housing for children and families living within its boundaries.

36

     (2) POLICY AND PURPOSE.--It is the policy of this state to

37

provide the necessary means to assist local communities, the

38

children and families who live in those communities, and the

39

private sector in creating a sound educational, social, and

40

economic environment. To achieve this objective, the state

41

intends to provide investments sufficient to encourage community

42

partners to commit financial and other resources to severely

43

disadvantaged areas. The purpose of this section is to establish

44

a process that clearly identifies the severely disadvantaged

45

areas and provides guidance for developing a new social service

46

paradigm that systematically coordinates programs that address

47

the critical needs of children and their families and for

48

directing efforts to rebuild the basic infrastructure of the

49

community. The Legislature, therefore, declares the creation of

50

children's zones, through the collaborative efforts of government

51

and the private sector, to be a public purpose.

52

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

53

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

54

legislative body charged with governing a county or municipality.

55

     (b) "Ounce" means the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida,

56

Inc.

57

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

58

established under this section.

59

     (d) "Resident" means a person who lives or operates a small

60

community-based business or organization within the boundaries of

61

the children's zone.

62

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

63

municipality, or a county and one or more municipalities

64

together, may apply to Ounce to designate an area as a children's

65

zone after the governing body:

66

     (a) Adopts a resolution that:

67

     1. Finds that an area exists in such county or

68

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

69

that chronically exhibits extreme and unacceptable levels of

70

poverty, unemployment, physical deterioration, as well as limited

71

access to quality educational, health care, and social services.

72

     2. Determines that the rehabilitation, conservation, or

73

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

74

in the interest of improving the health, wellness, education,

75

living conditions, and livelihoods of the children and families

76

who live in the county or municipality.

77

     3. Determines that the revitalization of the area can occur

78

only if the state and the private sector invest resources to

79

improve infrastructure and the provision of services.

80

     (b) Establishes a children's zone planning team as provided

81

in subsection (5).

82

     (c) Develops and adopts a strategic community plan as

83

provided in subsection (6).

84

     (d) Creates a corporation not for profit as provided in

85

subsection (7).

86

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

87

     (a) After the governing body adopts the resolution

88

described in subsection (4), the county or municipality shall

89

establish a children's zone planning team.

90

     (b) The planning team shall include residents and

91

representatives from community-based organizations and other

92

community institutions. At least half of the members of the

93

planning team must be residents.

94

     (c) The planning team shall:

95

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

96

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

97

children's zone concept.

98

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

99

like when the challenges, problems, and opportunities in the

100

children's zone are successfully addressed.

101

     3. Identify important opportunities, strengths, challenges,

102

and problems in the children's zone.

103

     4. Develop a strategic community plan consisting of goals,

104

objectives, tasks, the designation of responsible parties, the

105

identification of resources needed, timelines for implementation

106

of the plan, and procedures for monitoring outcomes.

107

     (d) The planning team shall designate working groups to

108

specifically address each of the following focus areas:

109

     1. Early development and care of children.

110

     2. Education of children and youth.

111

     3. Health and wellness.

112

     4. Youth support.

113

     5. Parent and guardian support.

114

     6. Adult education, training, and jobs.

115

     7. Community safety.

116

     8. Housing and community development.

117

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

118

governing body adopts the resolution described in subsection (4),

119

the working groups shall develop objectives and identify

120

strategies for each focus area. The objectives, specified by

121

focus area, for a working group may include, but not be limited

122

to:

123

     (a) Early development and care of children.

124

     1. Providing resources to enable every child to be

125

adequately nurtured during the first 3 years of life.

126

     2. Ensuring that all schools are ready for children and all

127

children are ready for school.

128

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

129

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

130

     4. Strengthening parent and guardian relationships with

131

care providers.

132

     5. Providing support and education for families and child

133

care providers.

134

     (b) Education of children and youth.

135

     1. Increasing the level and degree of accountability of

136

persons who are responsible for the development and well-being of

137

all children in the children's zone.

138

     2. Changing the structure and function of schools to

139

increase the quality and amount of time spent on instruction and

140

increase programmatic options and offerings.

141

     3. Creating a safe and respectful environment for student

142

learning.

143

     4. Identifying and supporting points of alignment between

144

the children's zone community plan and the school district's

145

strategic plan.

146

     (c) Health and wellness.

147

     1. Facilitating enrollment of all eligible children in the

148

Florida Kidcare program and providing full access to high-quality

149

drug and alcohol treatment services.

150

     2. Eliminating health disparities between racial and

151

cultural groups, including improving outcomes and increasing

152

interventions.

153

     3. Providing fresh, good quality, affordable, and

154

nutritious food within the children's zone.

155

     4. Providing all children in the children's zone with

156

access to safe structured and unstructured recreation.

157

     (d) Youth support.

158

     1. Increasing the high school graduation rate.

159

     2. Increasing leadership development and employment

160

opportunities for youth.

161

     (e) Parent and guardian support.

162

     1. Increasing parent and adult literacy.

163

     2. Expanding access for parents to critical resources, such

164

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

165

     3. Improving the effectiveness of the ways in which support

166

systems communicate and collaborate with parents and the ways in

167

which parents communicate and collaborate with support systems.

168

     4. Making the services of the Healthy Families Florida

169

program available to provide multiyear support to expectant

170

parents and persons caring for infants and toddlers.

171

     (f) Adult education, training, and jobs.

172

     1. Creating job opportunities for adults that lead to

173

career development.

174

     2. Establishing a career and technical school, or a

175

satellite of such a school in the children's zone, which includes

176

a one-stop career center.

177

     (g) Community safety.

178

     1. Providing a safe environment for all children at home,

179

in school, and in the community.

180

     2. Eliminating the economic, political, and social forces

181

that lead to a lack of safety within the family, the community,

182

schools, and institutional structures.

183

     3. Assessing policies and practices, including sentencing,

184

incarceration, detention, and data reporting, in order to reduce

185

youth violence, crime, and recidivism.

186

     (h) Housing and community development.

187

     1. Strengthening the residential real estate market.

188

     2. Building on existing efforts to promote socioeconomic

189

diversity when developing a comprehensive land use strategic

190

plan.

191

     3. Promoting neighborhood beautification strategies.

192

     (7) CHILDREN'S ZONE CORPORATION.--After the governing body

193

adopts the resolution described in subsection (4), the county or

194

municipality shall create a corporation not for profit which

195

shall be registered, incorporated, organized, and operated in

196

compliance with chapter 617. The purpose of the corporation is to

197

facilitate fundraising, to secure broad community ownership of

198

the children's zone, and, if the area selected by the governing

199

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

200

     (a) Begin to transfer responsibility for planning from the

201

planning team to the corporation.

202

     (b) Begin the implementation and governance of the

203

children's zone community plan.

204

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

205

PROJECT.--

206

     (a) There is created within the Liberty City neighborhood

207

in Miami-Dade County a 10-year pilot project zone that, by

208

November 1, 2008, shall be managed by an entity organized as a

209

corporation not for profit which shall be registered,

210

incorporated, organized, and operated in compliance with chapter

211

617. The corporation shall be known as the Magic City Children's

212

Zone, Inc., and shall be administratively housed within the

213

Belafonte Tacolcy Center. However, Magic City Children's Zone,

214

Inc., is not subject to control, supervision, or direction by the

215

Belafonte Tacolcy Center in any manner. The Legislature

216

determines, however, that public policy dictates that the

217

corporation operate in the most open and accessible manner

218

consistent with its public purpose. Therefore, the Legislature

219

specifically declares that the corporation is subject to chapter

220

119, relating to public records, chapter 286, relating to public

221

meetings and records, and chapter 287, relating to procurement of

222

commodities or contractual services.

223

     (b) This pilot project zone is designed to encompass an

224

area that is large enough to include all of the necessary

225

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

226

schools, places of worship, recreational facilities, commercial

227

areas, and common space, yet small enough to allow programs and

228

services to reach every willing member of the neighborhood.

229

Therefore, the geographic boundaries of the pilot project zone

230

are:

231

     1. Northwest 79th Street to the north;

232

     2. Northwest 36th Street to the south;

233

     3. North Miami Avenue to the east; and

234

     4. Northwest 27th Avenue to the west.

235

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

236

board of directors. The board of directors shall consist of the

237

following members:

238

     a. The chief executive officer of the Belafonte Tacolcy

239

Center.

240

     b. The executive director of the Carrie P. Meek

241

Entrepreneurial Education Center, Miami-Dade College.

242

     c. The director of the Parks and Recreation Department of

243

the City of Miami.

244

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

245

     e. The chief executive officer of the Urban League of

246

Greater Miami.

247

     f. The director of the Liberty City Service Partnership.

248

     g. The regional superintendent of the Miami-Dade County

249

Public Schools.

250

     h. The president of the Student Government Association of

251

Northwestern High School.

252

     i. The president of the Student Government Association of

253

Edison High School.

254

     j. The president of the Parent Teacher Student Association

255

of Northwestern High School.

256

     k. The president of the Parent Teacher Student Association

257

of Edison High School.

258

     l. Four members from the local private business sector, to

259

be appointed by a majority vote of the members designated in sub-

260

subparagraphs a.-k., all of whom must have significant experience

261

in one of the focus areas specified in subsection (6).

262

     2. All members of the board of directors shall be appointed

263

no later than 90 days following the incorporation of the Magic

264

City Children's Zone, Inc., and:

265

     a. Eleven members initially appointed pursuant to this

266

paragraph shall each serve a 4-year term.

267

     b. The remaining initial four appointees shall each serve a

268

2-year term.

269

     c. Each member appointed thereafter shall serve a 4-year

270

term.

271

     d. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner in which

272

the original appointment was made, and a member appointed to fill

273

a vacancy shall serve for the remainder of that term.

274

     e. A member may not serve more than 8 years in consecutive

275

terms.

276

     3. The board of directors shall annually elect a

277

chairperson and a vice chairperson from among the board's

278

members. The members may, by a vote of eight members, remove a

279

member from the position of chairperson or vice chairperson

280

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

281

chairperson. His or her successor shall be elected to serve for

282

the balance of the term of the chairperson or vice chairperson

283

who was removed.

284

     4. The board of directors shall meet at least four times

285

each year upon the call of the chairperson, at the request of the

286

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

287

membership. A majority of the membership constitutes a quorum.

288

The board of directors may take official action by a majority

289

vote of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is

290

present. The board may conduct its meetings through

291

teleconferences or other similar means.

292

     5. A member of the board of directors may be removed by a

293

majority of the membership. Absence from three consecutive

294

meetings results in automatic removal.

295

     6. Each member of the board of directors shall serve

296

without compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for per

297

diem and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061 while in the

298

performance of his or her duties.

299

     7. The corporation shall create a standing advisory board

300

to assist in any part of its delegated duties. The membership of

301

the standing advisory board shall reflect the expertise necessary

302

for the implementation of the children's zone pilot project.

303

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

304

     a. Adopt articles of incorporation and bylaws necessary to

305

govern its activities.

306

     b. Begin to transfer responsibility for planning from the

307

children's zone planning team to the corporation.

308

     c. Begin the implementation and governance of the

309

children's zone community plan.

310

     d. Enter into a contract with a management consultant who

311

has experience working with social service and educational

312

entities for the purpose of developing a 10-year comprehensive

313

business plan to carry out the provisions of this section.

314

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

315

annual report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of

316

the House of Representatives by January 31, 2009, and by January

317

31 of each year thereafter, which shall include a comprehensive

318

and detailed report of its operations, activities, and

319

accomplishments for the prior year as well as its goals for the

320

current year. The initial report shall also include information

321

concerning the status of the development of a business plan.

322

     (9) IMPLEMENTATION.--The implementation of this section is

323

contingent upon a specific appropriation to provide a grant for a

324

3-year period for the purpose of implementing this section, which

325

includes contracting with a not-for-profit corporation for the

326

development of a business plan and for the evaluation, fiscal

327

management, and oversight of the Magic City Children's Zone,

328

Inc., pilot project.

329

     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

330

331

================ T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================

332

And the title is amended as follows:

333

     Delete everything before the enacting clause

334

and insert:

335

A bill to be entitled

336

An act relating to children's zones; creating s. 409.147,

337

F.S.; providing legislative findings and intent; providing

338

policy and purpose; providing definitions; providing a

339

process for nominating and selecting a children's zone;

340

providing for the governing body of a county or

341

municipality to adopt a resolution designating a

342

children's zone; specifying contents of the resolution;

343

requiring the governing body to establish a children's

344

zone planning team; providing powers and responsibilities

345

of the planning team; requiring the planning team to

346

designate working groups; specifying focus areas for the

347

working groups; providing for the development of a

348

strategic community plan; providing objectives for each

349

focus area; requiring the governing body to create a

350

corporation not for profit for specified purposes;

351

establishing the Magic City Children's Zone, Inc., pilot

352

project; providing for management by an entity organized

353

as a corporation not for profit; providing geographic

354

boundaries for the zone; providing for designation and

355

appointment of a board of directors; providing for

356

meetings and duties of the board of directors; providing

357

per diem and travel expenses; requiring the board to enter

358

into a contract to develop a business plan; providing for

359

reports to the Legislature; providing for contingent

360

implementation of the zone; providing an effective date.

4/23/2008  5:26:00 PM     39-08541-08