Florida Senate - 2009 SB 1054
By Senator Crist
12-00466A-09 20091054__
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.
4 420.621, F.S.; revising, providing, and deleting
5 definitions; amending s. 420.622, F.S.; increasing and
6 revising membership on the Council on Homelessness;
7 removing a member from an obsolete organization;
8 correcting the name of a member organization on the
9 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; providing that local continuums of care that
14 adopt the program be given funding priority; directing
15 the State Office on Homelessness to develop procedures
16 for identifying and giving priority; creating s.
17 420.628, F.S.; providing legislative findings and
18 intent relating to young adults leaving foster care;
19 amending s. 1003.01, F.S.; revising a definition;
20 amending ss. 1003.21 and 1003.22, F.S.; conforming
21 terminology; providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (22) of section
26 420.507, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
27 420.507 Powers of the corporation.—The corporation shall
28 have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and
29 effectuate the purposes and provisions of this part, including
30 the following powers which are in addition to all other powers
31 granted by other provisions of this part:
32 (22) To develop and administer the State Apartment
33 Incentive Loan program. In developing and administering that
34 program, the corporation may:
35 (a) Make first, second, and other subordinated mortgage
36 loans including variable or fixed rate loans subject to
37 contingent interest for all State Apartment Incentive Loans
38 provided for in this chapter based upon available cash flow of
39 the projects. The corporation shall make loans exceeding 25
40 percent of project cost available only to nonprofit
41 organizations and public bodies that which are able to secure
42 grants, donations of land, or contributions from other sources
43 and to projects meeting the criteria of subparagraph 1. Mortgage
44 loans shall be made available at the following rates of
45 interest:
46 1. Zero to 3 percent interest for sponsors of projects that
47 set aside at least 80 percent of their total units for residents
48 qualifying as farmworkers as defined in this part, or commercial
49 fishing workers as defined in this part, or the homeless as
50 defined in s. 420.621 420.621(4) over the life of the loan.
51 2. Zero to 3 percent interest based on the pro rata share
52 of units set aside for homeless residents if the total of such
53 units is less than 80 percent of the units in the borrower's
54 project.
55 3. One to 9 percent interest for sponsors of projects
56 targeted at populations other than farmworkers, commercial
57 fishing workers, or and the homeless.
58 Section 2. Section 420.621, Florida Statutes, is amended to
59 read:
60 420.621 Definitions; ss. 420.621-420.627.—As used in ss.
61 420.621-420.628 420.621-420.627, the term following terms shall
62 have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise
63 requires:
64 (1) “Continuum of care” means the community components
65 needed to organize and deliver housing and services to meet the
66 specific needs of people who are homeless as they move to stable
67 housing and maximum self-sufficiency. It includes action steps
68 to end homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness.
69 (2) “Council on Homelessness” means the council created in
70 s. 420.622.
71 (1) “AFDC” means Aid to Families with Dependent Children as
72 administered under chapter 409.
73 (3)(2) “Department” means the Department of Children and
74 Family Services.
75 (4)(3) “District” means a service district of the
76 department of Children and Family Services, as set forth in s.
77 20.19.
78 (5)(4) “Homeless,” applied to an individual, or “individual
79 experiencing homelessness” means “Homeless” refers to an
80 individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime
81 residence and includes or an individual who has a primary
82 nighttime residence that is:
83 (a) Is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of
84 housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
85 (b) Is living in a motel, hotel, travel trailer park, or
86 camping ground due to a lack of alternative adequate
87 accommodations;
88 (c) Is living in an emergency or transitional shelter; A
89 supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to
90 provide temporary living accommodations, including welfare
91 hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the
92 mentally ill;
93 (b) An institution that provides a temporary residence for
94 individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
95 (d)(c) Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public
96 or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a
97 regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
98 (e) Is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned
99 building, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
100 (f) Is a migratory individual who qualifies as homeless
101 because he or she is living in circumstances described in
102 paragraphs (a)-(e).
103 The terms do term does not refer to an any individual imprisoned
104 or otherwise detained pursuant to state or federal law or to
105 individuals or families who are sharing housing due to cultural
106 preferences, voluntary arrangements, or traditional networks of
107 support. The terms include an individual who has been released
108 from jail, prison, the juvenile justice system, the child
109 welfare system, a mental health and developmental disability
110 facility, a residential addiction treatment program, or a
111 hospital, for whom no subsequent residence has been identified,
112 and who lacks the resources and support network to obtain
113 housing.
114 (6)(5) “Local coalition for the homeless” means a coalition
115 established pursuant to s. 420.623.
116 (7)(6) “New and temporary homeless” means those individuals
117 or families who are homeless due to societal external factors,
118 such as unemployment or other loss of income, personal or
119 family-life crises, or the shortage of low-income housing.
120 (8)(7) “State Office on Homelessness” means the state
121 office created in s. 420.622 “Secretary” means the secretary of
122 the Department of Children and Family Services.
123 Section 3. Subsections (2) and (9) of section 420.622,
124 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
125 420.622 State Office on Homelessness; Council on
126 Homelessness.—
127 (2) The Council on Homelessness is created to consist of a
128 17-member 15-member council of public and private agency
129 representatives who shall develop policy and advise the State
130 Office on Homelessness. The council members shall be: the
131 Secretary of Children and Family Services, or his or her
132 designee; the Secretary of Community Affairs, or his or her
133 designee, to advise the council on issues related to rural
134 development; the State Surgeon General, or his or her designee;
135 the Executive Director of Veterans' Affairs, or his or her
136 designee; the Secretary of Corrections, or his or her designee;
137 the Secretary of Health Care Administration, or his or her
138 designee; the Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee;
139 the Director of Workforce Florida, Inc., or his or her designee;
140 one representative of the Florida Association of Counties; one
141 representative from the Florida League of Cities; one
142 representative of the Florida Coalition for Supportive Housing
143 Coalition; the Executive Director of the Florida Housing Finance
144 Corporation, or his or her designee; one representative of the
145 Florida Coalition for the Homeless; one representative of the
146 Florida State Rural Development Council; and four members
147 appointed by the Governor. The council members shall be
148 volunteer, nonpaid persons and shall be reimbursed for travel
149 expenses only. The appointed members of the council shall be
150 appointed to serve staggered 2-year terms, and the council shall
151 meet at least four times per year. The importance of minority,
152 gender, and geographic representation must be considered when
153 appointing members to the council.
154 (9) The council shall, by June 30 December 31 of each year,
155 beginning in 2010, issue to the Governor, the President of the
156 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
157 Secretary of Children and Family Services an evaluation of the
158 executive director's performance in fulfilling the statutory
159 duties of the office, a report summarizing the council's
160 recommendations to the office and the corresponding actions
161 taken by the office, and any recommendations to the Legislature
162 for proposals to reduce homelessness in this state.
163 Section 4. Section 420.6275, Florida Statutes, is created
164 to read:
165 420.6275 Housing First.—
166 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
167 (a) The Legislature finds that many communities plan to
168 manage homelessness rather than plan to end it.
169 (b) The Legislature also finds that for most of the past
170 two decades, public and private solutions to homelessness have
171 focused on providing individuals and families who are
172 experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter, transitional
173 housing, or a combination of both. While emergency shelter
174 programs may provide critical access to services for individuals
175 and families in crisis, they often fail to address their long
176 term needs.
177 (c) The Legislature further finds that Housing First is an
178 alternative approach to the current system of emergency shelter
179 or transitional housing which tends to reduce the length of time
180 of homelessness and has proven to be cost-effective.
181 (d) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
182 encourage homeless continuums of care to adopt the Housing First
183 approach to ending homelessness for individuals and families.
184 (2) HOUSING FIRST METHODOLOGY.—
185 (a) The Housing First approach to homelessness differs from
186 traditional approaches by providing housing assistance, case
187 management, and support services responsive to individual or
188 family needs after housing is obtained. By using this approach
189 when appropriate, communities can significantly reduce the
190 amount of time that individuals and families are homeless and
191 prevent further episodes of homelessness. Housing First
192 emphasizes that social services provided to enhance individual
193 and family well-being can be more effective when people are in
194 their own home, and:
195 1. The housing is not time-limited.
196 2. The housing is not contingent on compliance with
197 services. Instead, participants must comply with a standard
198 lease agreement and are provided with the services and support
199 that are necessary to help them do so successfully.
200 3. A background check and any rehabilitation necessary to
201 combat an addiction related to alcoholism or substance abuse has
202 been completed by the individual for whom assistance or support
203 services are provided.
204 (b) The Housing First approach addresses the societal
205 causes of homelessness and advocates for the immediate return of
206 individuals and families into housing and communities. Housing
207 First provides a critical link between the emergency and
208 transitional housing system and community-based social service,
209 educational, and health care organizations and consists of four
210 components:
211 1. Crisis intervention and short-term stabilization.
212 2. Screening, intake, and needs assessment.
213 3. Provision of housing resources.
214 4. Provision of case management.
215 (3) CONTINUUMS OF CARE.—
216 (a) Local homeless assistance continuums of care that adopt
217 and implement the Housing First approach in their communities,
218 as recognized by the State Office of Homelessness, shall receive
219 priority in all funding opportunities provided through the state
220 office to the lead agencies in their continuum of care area.
221 (b) The State Office on Homelessness with the concurrence
222 of the Council on Homelessness shall develop:
223 1. A procedure for verifying through the lead agency the
224 continuum of care's adoption and implementation of the Housing
225 First approach;
226 2. A process for giving scoring and ranking priority to
227 funding applications submitted by lead agencies whose homeless
228 continuums of care have adopted and implemented the Housing
229 First approach in their community.
230 Section 5. Section 420.628, Florida Statutes, is created to
231 read:
232 420.628 Young adults leaving foster care; legislative
233 findings.—
234 (1) The Legislature finds that the transition from
235 childhood to adulthood is filled with opportunity and risk. Most
236 young people who receive adequate support make this transition
237 successfully and become healthy adults who are prepared for work
238 and are able to become responsible, fulfilled members of their
239 families and communities.
240 (2) The Legislature finds that there are also many young
241 people who enter adulthood without the knowledge, skills,
242 attitudes, habits, and relationships that enable them to be
243 productive members of society. Those young people who, through
244 no fault of their own, live in foster families, group homes, and
245 institutions are among those at greatest risk.
246 (3) The Legislature finds that these young people face
247 numerous barriers to a successful transition to adulthood. Those
248 barriers include changes in foster care placements and schools,
249 limited opportunities for participation in age-appropriate
250 activities, and the inability to achieve economic stability,
251 make connections with permanent supportive adults or family, and
252 access housing. The main barriers to safe and affordable housing
253 for youth who leave foster care due to age are cost, lack of
254 availability, the unwillingness of many landlords to rent to
255 them, and their own lack of knowledge about how to be good
256 tenants.
257 (4) The Legislature also finds that young adults who
258 emancipate from the child welfare system are at risk of becoming
259 homeless and those who were formerly in foster care are
260 disproportionately represented in the homeless population. Only
261 about two-fifths of eligible young people receive independent
262 living services and, of those who do, few receive adequate
263 housing assistance. Without the stability of safe housing, other
264 services, training, and opportunities may not be effective.
265 (5) The Legislature further finds that research on young
266 people who emancipate from foster care suggests a nexus between
267 foster care involvement and later episodes of homelessness and
268 that interventions in the foster care system might help to
269 prevent homelessness. Responding to the needs of young people
270 leaving the foster care system with developmentally appropriate
271 supportive housing models organized in a continuum of decreasing
272 supervision may increase their ability to live independently.
273 (6) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
274 encourage the Department of Children and Family Services, its
275 agents, and community-based care providers operating pursuant to
276 s. 409.1671 to develop and implement procedures designed to
277 reduce the number of young adults who become homeless after
278 leaving the child welfare system.
279 Section 6. Subsection (12) of section 1003.01, Florida
280 Statutes, is amended to read:
281 1003.01 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
282 (12) “Children and youths who are experiencing
283 homelessness,” for programs authorized under subtitle B,
284 Education for Homeless Children and Youths, of Title VII of the
285 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11431 et
286 seq., means children and youths who lack a fixed, regular, and
287 adequate nighttime residence, and includes:
288 (a) Children and youths who are sharing the housing of
289 other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a
290 similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, travel trailer
291 parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative
292 adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional
293 shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster
294 care placement.
295 (b) Children and youths who have a primary nighttime
296 residence that is a public or private place not designed for or
297 ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
298 beings.
299 (c) Children and youths who are living in cars, parks,
300 public spaces, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, or
301 similar settings.
302 (d) Migratory children who are living in circumstances
303 described in paragraphs (a)-(c). “Homeless child” means:
304 (a) One who lacks a fixed, regular nighttime residence;
305 (b) One who has a primary nighttime residence that is:
306 1. A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter
307 designed to provide temporary living accommodations, including
308 welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing
309 for the mentally ill;
310 2. An institution that provides a temporary residence for
311 individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
312 3. A public or private place not designed for, or
313 ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human
314 beings; or
315 (c) One who temporarily resides with an adult other than
316 his or her parent because the parent is suffering financial
317 hardship.
318 A child who is imprisoned, detained, or in the custody of the
319 state pursuant to a state or federal law is not a homeless
320 child.
321 Section 7. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) and paragraph
322 (g) of subsection (4) of section 1003.21, Florida Statutes, are
323 amended to read:
324 1003.21 School attendance.—
325 (1)
326 (f) Children and youths who are experiencing homelessness
327 Homeless children, as defined in s. 1003.01, must have access to
328 a free public education and must be admitted to school in the
329 school district in which they or their families live. School
330 districts shall assist such homeless children in meeting to meet
331 the requirements of subsection (4) and s. 1003.22, as well as
332 local requirements for documentation.
333 (4) Before admitting a child to kindergarten, the principal
334 shall require evidence that the child has attained the age at
335 which he or she should be admitted in accordance with the
336 provisions of subparagraph (1)(a)2. The district school
337 superintendent may require evidence of the age of any child whom
338 he or she believes to be within the limits of compulsory
339 attendance as provided for by law. If the first prescribed
340 evidence is not available, the next evidence obtainable in the
341 order set forth below shall be accepted:
342 (g) If none of these evidences can be produced, an
343 affidavit of age sworn to by the parent, accompanied by a
344 certificate of age signed by a public health officer or by a
345 public school physician, or, if neither of these are not is
346 available in the county, by a licensed practicing physician
347 designated by the district school board, which certificate
348 states that the health officer or physician has examined the
349 child and believes that the age as stated in the affidavit is
350 substantially correct. Children and youths who are experiencing
351 homelessness A homeless child, as defined in s. 1003.01, shall
352 be given temporary exemption from this section for 30 school
353 days.
354 Section 8. Subsection (1) and paragraph (e) of subsection
355 (5) of section 1003.22, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
356 1003.22 School-entry health examinations; immunization
357 against communicable diseases; exemptions; duties of Department
358 of Health.—
359 (1) Each district school board and the governing authority
360 of each private school shall require that each child who is
361 entitled to admittance to kindergarten, or is entitled to any
362 other initial entrance into a public or private school in this
363 state, present a certification of a school-entry health
364 examination performed within 1 year before prior to enrollment
365 in school. Each district school board, and the governing
366 authority of each private school, may establish a policy that
367 permits a student up to 30 school days to present a
368 certification of a school-entry health examination. Children and
369 youths who are experiencing homelessness A homeless child, as
370 defined in s. 1003.01, shall be given a temporary exemption for
371 30 school days. Any district school board that establishes such
372 a policy shall include provisions in its local school health
373 services plan to assist students in obtaining the health
374 examinations. However, a any child shall be exempted exempt from
375 the requirement of a health examination upon written request of
376 the parent of the child stating objections to the examination on
377 religious grounds.
378 (5) The provisions of this section shall not apply if:
379 (e) An authorized school official issues a temporary
380 exemption, for up to a period not to exceed 30 school days, to
381 permit a student who transfers into a new county to attend class
382 until his or her records can be obtained. Children and youths
383 who are experiencing homelessness A homeless child, as defined
384 in s. 1003.01, shall be given a temporary exemption for 30
385 school days. The public school health nurse or authorized
386 private school official is responsible for followup of each such
387 student until proper documentation or immunizations are
388 obtained. An exemption for 30 days may be issued for a student
389 who enters a juvenile justice program to permit the student to
390 attend class until his or her records can be obtained or until
391 the immunizations can be obtained. An authorized juvenile
392 justice official is responsible for followup of each student who
393 enters a juvenile justice program until proper documentation or
394 immunizations are obtained.
395 Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.