1 | Representative Galvano offered the following: |
2 |
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3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
4 | Remove lines 841-920 and insert: |
5 | (1) There is created the Florida Child Welfare Student |
6 | Loan Forgiveness Program to be administered by the Department of |
7 | Children and Family Services Education. The program shall |
8 | provide loan reimbursement assistance to eligible employees in |
9 | child welfare positions that are critical to the department's |
10 | mission, as determined by the department, and that are within |
11 | the department, a law enforcement agency, or a contracted |
12 | community-based care agency students for upper-division |
13 | undergraduate and graduate study. The primary purpose of the |
14 | program is to attract capable and promising students to the |
15 | child welfare profession, increase employment and retention of |
16 | individuals who are working towards or who have received either |
17 | a bachelor's degree or a master's degree in social work, or any |
18 | human services subject area that qualifies the individual for |
19 | employment as a family services worker, and provide |
20 | opportunities for persons making midcareer decisions to enter |
21 | the child welfare profession. The State Board of Education shall |
22 | adopt rules necessary to administer the program. |
23 | (2)(a) To be eligible for a program loan, the employee's |
24 | outstanding student loans may not be in a default status. The |
25 | department shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and |
26 | 120.54 necessary to administer the program. a candidate shall: |
27 | 1. Be a full-time student at the upper-division |
28 | undergraduate or graduate level in a social work program |
29 | approved by the Council on Social Work Education leading to |
30 | either a bachelor's degree or a master's degree in social work |
31 | or an accredited human services degree program. |
32 | 2. Have declared an intent to work in child welfare for at |
33 | least the number of years for which a forgivable loan is |
34 | received at the Department of Children and Family Services or |
35 | its successor, or with an eligible lead community-based provider |
36 | as defined in s. 409.1671. |
37 | 3. If applying for an undergraduate forgivable loan, have |
38 | maintained a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least |
39 | a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for all undergraduate work. Renewal |
40 | applicants for undergraduate loans shall have maintained a |
41 | minimum cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.5 on a |
42 | 4.0 scale for all undergraduate work and have earned at least 12 |
43 | semester credits per term, or the equivalent. |
44 | 4. If applying for a graduate forgivable loan, have |
45 | maintained an undergraduate cumulative grade point average of at |
46 | least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or have attained a Graduate Record |
47 | Examination score of at least 1,000. Renewal applicants for |
48 | graduate loans shall have maintained a minimum cumulative grade |
49 | point average of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all graduate |
50 | work and have earned at least 9 semester credits per term, or |
51 | the equivalent. |
52 | (b) An undergraduate forgivable loan may be awarded for 2 |
53 | undergraduate years, not to exceed $4,000 per year. |
54 | (c) A graduate forgivable loan may be awarded for 2 |
55 | graduate years, not to exceed $8,000 per year. In addition to |
56 | meeting criteria specified in paragraph (a), a loan recipient at |
57 | the graduate level shall: |
58 | 1. Hold a bachelor's degree from a school or department of |
59 | social work at any college or university accredited by the |
60 | Council on Social Work Education, or hold a degree in a human |
61 | services field from an accredited college or university. |
62 | 2. Not have received an undergraduate forgivable loan as |
63 | provided for in paragraph (b). |
64 | (d) The State Board of Education shall adopt by rule |
65 | repayment schedules and applicable interest rates under ss. |
66 | 1009.82 and 1009.95. A forgivable loan must be repaid within 10 |
67 | years after completion of a program of studies. |
68 | 1. Credit for repayment of an undergraduate or graduate |
69 | forgivable loan shall be in an amount not to exceed $4,000 in |
70 | loan principal plus applicable accrued interest for each full |
71 | year of eligible service in the child welfare profession. |
72 | 2. Any forgivable loan recipient who fails to work at the |
73 | Department of Children and Family Services or its successor, or |
74 | with an eligible lead community-based provider as defined in s. |
75 | 409.1671, is responsible for repaying the loan plus accrued |
76 | interest at 8 percent annually. |
77 | 3. Forgivable loan recipients may receive loan repayment |
78 | credit for child welfare service rendered at any time during the |
79 | scheduled repayment period. However, such repayment credit shall |
80 | be applicable only to the current principal and accrued interest |
81 | balance that remains at the time the repayment credit is earned. |
82 | No loan recipient shall be reimbursed for previous cash payments |
83 | of principal and interest. |
84 | (3) This section shall be implemented only as specifically |
85 | funded. |
86 |
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87 |
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88 | ----------------------------------------------------- |
89 | T I T L E A M E N D M E N T |
90 | Remove line 70 and insert: |
91 | requirements; directing the Department of Children and Family |
92 | Services to adopt rules to administer the program; amending s. |
93 | 409.1671, F.S.; providing for |