HB 5305

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to child welfare; creating s. 402.7306,
3	F.S.; requiring the Department of Children and Family
4	Services, the Department of Health, the Agency for Persons
5	with Disabilities, the Agency for Health Care
6	Administration, and community-based care lead agencies to
7	adopt policies for the administrative monitoring of child
8	welfare providers; authorizing private-sector entities to
9	establish an Internet-based data warehouse and archive for
10	the maintenance of specified records of child welfare
11	providers; providing agency and provider requirements;
12	amending s. 402.7305, F.S.; providing a limitation on the
13	frequency of monitoring of child-caring and child-placing
14	service providers; prohibiting certain duplicative
15	monitoring; amending s. 409.1451, F.S.; providing that
16	certain services provided to young adults formerly in
17	foster care are subject to a specific appropriation;
18	revising provisions relating to calculating the amount of,
19	issuing, and terminating an award granted under the Road-
20	to-Independence Program; repealing s. 409.1663, F.S.,
21	relating to adoption benefits for qualifying adoptive
22	employees of state agencies; amending s. 409.1671, F.S.;
23	revising provisions relating to funding for contracts
24	established between the Department of Children and Family
25	Services and community-based care lead agencies;
26	authorizing the department to outsource certain functions;
27	authorizing a community-based care lead agency to make
28	certain expenditures; amending s. 409.166, F.S.;
29	conforming a reference to changes made by the act;
30	providing an effective date.
31
32	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
33
34	Section 1.  Section 402.7306, Florida Statutes, is created
35	to read:
36	402.7306  Administrative monitoring for child welfare
37	providers.-The Department of Children and Family Services, the
38	Department of Health, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities,
39	the Agency for Health Care Administration, and community-based
40	care lead agencies shall identify and implement changes that
41	improve the efficiency of administrative monitoring of child
42	welfare services. To assist with that goal, each such agency
43	shall adopt the following policies:
44	(1)  Limit administrative monitoring to once every 3 years
45	if the child welfare provider is accredited by the Joint
46	Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the
47	Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, or the
48	Council on Accreditation of Children and Family Services.
49	Notwithstanding the survey or inspection of an accrediting
50	organization specified in this subsection, an agency specified
51	in and subject to this section may continue to monitor the
52	provider as necessary with respect to:
53	(a)  Ensuring that services for which the agency is paying
54	are being provided.
55	(b)  Investigating complaints or suspected problems and
56	monitoring the provider's compliance with any resulting
57	negotiated terms and conditions, including provisions relating
58	to consent decrees that are unique to a specific service and are
59	not statements of general applicability.
60	(c)  Ensuring compliance with federal and state laws,
61	federal regulations, or state rules if such monitoring does not
62	duplicate the accrediting organization's review pursuant to
63	accreditation standards.
64	(2)  Allow private-sector development and implementation of
65	an Internet-based, secure, and consolidated data warehouse and
66	archive for maintaining corporate, fiscal, and administrative
67	records of child welfare providers. A provider shall ensure that
68	the data is up to date and accessible to the applicable agency
69	under this section and the appropriate agency subcontractor. A
70	provider shall submit any revised, updated information to the
71	data warehouse within 10 business days after receiving the
72	request. An agency that conducts administrative monitoring of
73	child welfare providers under this section must use the data
74	warehouse for document requests. If the information provided to
75	the agency by the provider's data warehouse is not current or is
76	unavailable from the data warehouse and archive, the agency may
77	contact the provider directly. At a minimum, the records must
78	include the provider's:
79	(a)  Articles of incorporation.
80	(b)  Bylaws.
81	(c)  Governing board and committee minutes.
82	(d)  Financial audits.
83	(e)  Expenditure reports.
84	(f)  Compliance audits.
85	(g)  Organizational charts.
86	(h)  Governing board membership information.
87	(i)  Human resource policies and procedures.
88	Section 2.  Subsection (4) of section 402.7305, Florida
89	Statutes, is amended to read:
90	402.7305  Department of Children and Family Services;
91	procurement of contractual services; contract management.-
92	(4)  CONTRACT MONITORING REQUIREMENTS AND PROCESS.-The
93	department shall establish contract monitoring units staffed by
94	career service employees who report to a member of the Selected
95	Exempt Service or Senior Management Service and who have been
96	properly trained to perform contract monitoring., with At least
97	one member of the contract monitoring unit must possess
98	possessing specific knowledge and experience in the contract's
99	program area. The department shall establish a contract
100	monitoring process that includes must include, but is need not
101	be limited to, the following requirements:
102	(a)  Performing a risk assessment at the start of each
103	fiscal year and preparing an annual contract monitoring schedule
104	that considers includes consideration for the level of risk
105	assigned. The department may monitor any contract at any time
106	regardless of whether such monitoring was originally included in
107	the annual contract monitoring schedule.
108	(b)  Preparing a contract monitoring plan, including
109	sampling procedures, before performing onsite monitoring at
110	external locations of a service provider. The plan must include
111	a description of the programmatic, fiscal, and administrative
112	components that will be monitored on site. If appropriate,
113	clinical and therapeutic components may be included.
114	(c)  Conducting analyses of the performance and compliance
115	of an external service provider by means of desk reviews if the
116	external service provider will not be monitored on site during a
117	fiscal year.
118	(d)  Unless the department sets forth in writing the need
119	for an extension, providing a written report presenting the
120	results of the monitoring within 30 days after the completion of
121	the onsite monitoring or desk review.
122	(e)  Developing and maintaining a set of procedures
123	describing the contract monitoring process.
124
125	Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
126	department shall limit monitoring of a child-caring or child-
127	placing services provider under this subsection to only once per
128	year. Such monitoring may not duplicate administrative
129	monitoring that is included in the survey of a child welfare
130	provider conducted by a national accreditation organization
131	specified under s. 402.7306(1).
132	Section 3.  Subsection (5) of section 409.1451, Florida
133	Statutes, is amended to read:
134	409.1451  Independent living transition services.-
135	(5)  SERVICES FOR YOUNG ADULTS FORMERLY IN FOSTER CARE.-
136	Subject to a specific appropriation Based on the availability of
137	funds, the department shall provide or arrange for the following
138	services to young adults formerly in foster care who meet the
139	prescribed conditions and are determined eligible by the
140	department. The department, or a community-based care lead
141	agency when the agency is under contract with the department to
142	provide the services described under this subsection, shall
143	develop a plan to implement those services. A plan shall be
144	developed for each community-based care service area in the
145	state. Each plan that is developed by a community-based care
146	lead agency shall be submitted to the department. Each plan
147	shall include the number of young adults to be served each month
148	of the fiscal year and specify the number of young adults who
149	will reach 18 years of age who will be eligible for the plan and
150	the number of young adults who will reach 23 years of age and
151	will be ineligible for the plan or who are otherwise ineligible
152	during each month of the fiscal year; staffing requirements and
153	all related costs to administer the services and program;
154	expenditures to or on behalf of the eligible recipients; costs
155	of services provided to young adults through an approved plan
156	for housing, transportation, and employment; reconciliation of
157	these expenses and any additional related costs with the funds
158	allocated for these services; and an explanation of and a plan
159	to resolve any shortages or surpluses in order to end the fiscal
160	year with a balanced budget. The categories of services
161	available to assist a young adult formerly in foster care to
162	achieve independence are:
163	(a)  Aftercare support services.-
164	1.  Aftercare support services are available to assist
165	young adults who were formerly in foster care in their efforts
166	to continue to develop the skills and abilities necessary for
167	independent living. The aftercare support services available
168	include, but are not limited to, the following:
169	a.  Mentoring and tutoring.
170	b.  Mental health services and substance abuse counseling.
171	c.  Life skills classes, including credit management and
172	preventive health activities.
173	d.  Parenting classes.
174	e.  Job and career skills training.
175	f.  Counselor consultations.
176	g.  Temporary financial assistance.
177	h.  Financial literacy skills training.
178
179	The specific services to be provided under this subparagraph
180	shall be determined by an aftercare services assessment and may
181	be provided by the department or through referrals in the
182	community.
183	2.  Temporary assistance provided to prevent homelessness
184	shall be provided as expeditiously as possible and within the
185	limitations defined by the department.
186	3.  A young adult who has reached 18 years of age but is
187	not yet 23 years of age who leaves foster care at 18 years of
188	age but who requests services prior to reaching 23 years of age
189	is eligible for such services.
190	(b)  Road-to-Independence Program.-
191	1.  The Road-to-Independence Program is intended to help
192	eligible students who are former foster children in this state
193	to receive the educational and vocational training needed to
194	achieve independence. The amount of the award may shall be based
195	on the living and educational needs of the young adult and may
196	be up to, but may not exceed $675 per month. Payment for a
197	partial month shall be prorated on the basis of a 30-day month,
198	the amount of earnings that the student would have been eligible
199	to earn working a 40-hour-a-week federal minimum wage job.
200	2.  A young adult who has earned a standard high school
201	diploma or its equivalent as described in s. 1003.43 or s.
202	1003.435, has earned a special diploma or special certificate of
203	completion as described in s. 1003.438, or has reached 18 years
204	of age but is not yet 21 years of age is eligible for the
205	initial award, and a young adult under 23 years of age is
206	eligible for renewal awards, if he or she:
207	a.  Was a dependent child, under chapter 39, and was living
208	in licensed foster care or in subsidized independent living at
209	the time of his or her 18th birthday or is currently living in
210	licensed foster care or subsidized independent living, or, after
211	reaching the age of 16, was adopted from foster care or placed
212	with a court-approved dependency guardian and has spent a
213	minimum of 6 months in foster care immediately preceding such
214	placement or adoption;
215	b.  Spent at least 6 months living in foster care before
216	reaching his or her 18th birthday;
217	c.  Is a resident of this state as defined in s. 1009.40;
218	and
219	d.  Meets one of the following qualifications:
220	(I)  Has earned a standard high school diploma or its
221	equivalent as described in s. 1003.43 or s. 1003.435, or has
222	earned a special diploma or special certificate of completion as
223	described in s. 1003.438, and has been admitted for full-time
224	enrollment in an eligible postsecondary education institution as
225	defined in s. 1009.533;
226	(II)  Is enrolled full time in an accredited high school;
227	or
228	(III)  Is enrolled full time in an accredited adult
229	education program designed to provide the student with a high
230	school diploma or its equivalent.
231	3.  A young adult applying for the Road-to-Independence
232	Program must apply for any other grants and scholarships for
233	which he or she may qualify. The department shall assist the
234	young adult in the application process and may use the federal
235	financial aid grant process to determine the funding needs of
236	the young adult.
237	4.  An award shall be available to a young adult who is
238	considered a full-time student or its equivalent by the
239	educational institution in which he or she is enrolled, unless
240	that young adult has a recognized disability preventing full-
241	time attendance. The amount of the award, whether it is being
242	used by a young adult working toward completion of a high school
243	diploma or its equivalent or working toward completion of a
244	postsecondary education program, shall be determined based on an
245	assessment of the funding needs of the young adult. This
246	assessment must consider the young adult's living and
247	educational costs and other grants, scholarships, waivers,
248	earnings, and other income to be received by the young adult. An
249	award shall be available only to the extent that other grants
250	and scholarships are not sufficient to meet the living and
251	educational needs of the young adult, but an award may not be
252	less than $25 in order to maintain Medicaid eligibility for the
253	young adult as provided in s. 409.903.
254	5.  The amount of the award may be disregarded for purposes
255	of determining the eligibility for, or the amount of, any other
256	federal or federally supported assistance.
257	6.a.  The department must advertise the criteria,
258	application procedures, and availability of the program to:
259	(I)  Children and young adults in, leaving, or formerly in
260	foster care.
261	(II)  Case managers.
262	(III)  Guidance and family services counselors.
263	(IV)  Principals or other relevant school administrators.
264	(V)  Guardians ad litem.
265	(VI)  Foster parents.
266	b.  The department shall issue awards from the program for
267	each young adult who meets all the requirements of the program
268	subject to a specific appropriation to the extent funding is
269	available.
270	c.  An award shall be issued on the day at the time the
271	eligible student reaches 18 years of age.
272	d.  A young adult who is eligible for the Road-to-
273	Independence Program, transitional support services, or
274	aftercare services and who so desires shall be allowed to reside
275	with the licensed foster family or group care provider with whom
276	he or she was residing at the time of attaining his or her 18th
277	birthday or to reside in another licensed foster home or with a
278	group care provider arranged by the department.
279	e.  If the award recipient transfers from one eligible
280	institution to another and continues to meet eligibility
281	requirements, the award must be transferred with the recipient.
282	f.  Funds awarded to any eligible young adult under this
283	program are in addition to any other services or funds provided
284	to the young adult by the department through transitional
285	support services or aftercare services.
286	g.  The department shall provide information concerning
287	young adults receiving funding through the Road-to-Independence
288	Program to the Department of Education for inclusion in the
289	student financial assistance database, as provided in s.
290	1009.94.
291	h.  Funds are intended to help eligible young adults who
292	are former foster children in this state to receive the
293	educational and vocational training needed to become independent
294	and self-supporting. The funds shall be terminated when the
295	young adult has attained one of four postsecondary goals under
296	subsection (3) or reaches 23 years of age, whichever occurs
297	earlier. In order to initiate postsecondary education, to allow
298	for a change in career goal, or to obtain additional skills in
299	the same educational or vocational area, a young adult may earn
300	no more than two diplomas, certificates, or credentials. A young
301	adult attaining an associate of arts or associate of science
302	degree shall be permitted to work toward completion of a
303	bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree or an
304	equivalent undergraduate degree. Road-to-Independence Program
305	funds may not be used for education or training after a young
306	adult has attained a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science
307	degree or an equivalent undergraduate degree.
308	i.  The department shall evaluate and renew each award
309	annually during the 90-day period before the young adult's
310	birthday. In order to be eligible for a renewal award for the
311	subsequent year, the young adult must:
312	(I)  Complete the number of hours, or the equivalent
313	considered full time by the educational institution, unless that
314	young adult has a recognized disability preventing full-time
315	attendance, in the last academic year in which the young adult
316	earned an award, except for a young adult who meets the
317	requirements of s. 1009.41.
318	(II)  Maintain appropriate progress as required by the
319	educational institution, except that, if the young adult's
320	progress is insufficient to renew the award at any time during
321	the eligibility period, the young adult may restore eligibility
322	by improving his or her progress to the required level.
323	j.  Funds shall may be terminated during the interim
324	between an award and the evaluation for a renewal award if the
325	department determines that the award recipient is no longer
326	enrolled in an educational institution as defined in sub-
327	subparagraph 2.d., or is no longer a state resident. The
328	department shall notify a recipient who is terminated and inform
329	the recipient of his or her right to appeal.
330	k.  An award recipient who does not qualify for a renewal
331	award or who chooses not to renew the award may subsequently
332	apply for reinstatement. An application for reinstatement must
333	be made before the young adult reaches 23 years of age, and a
334	student may not apply for reinstatement more than once. In order
335	to be eligible for reinstatement, the young adult must meet the
336	eligibility criteria and the criteria for award renewal for the
337	program.
338	(c)  Transitional support services.-
339	1.  In addition to any services provided through aftercare
340	support or the Road-to-Independence Program, a young adult
341	formerly in foster care may receive other appropriate short-term
342	funding and services, which may include financial, housing,
343	counseling, employment, education, mental health, disability,
344	and other services, if the young adult demonstrates that the
345	services are critical to the young adult's own efforts to
346	achieve self-sufficiency and to develop a personal support
347	system. The department or community-based care provider shall
348	work with the young adult in developing a joint transition plan
349	that is consistent with a needs assessment identifying the
350	specific need for transitional services to support the young
351	adult's own efforts. The young adult must have specific tasks to
352	complete or maintain included in the plan and be accountable for
353	the completion of or making progress towards the completion of
354	these tasks. If the young adult and the department or community-
355	based care provider cannot come to agreement regarding any part
356	of the plan, the young adult may access a grievance process to
357	its full extent in an effort to resolve the disagreement.
358	2.  A young adult formerly in foster care is eligible to
359	apply for transitional support services if he or she has reached
360	18 years of age but is not yet 23 years of age, was a dependent
361	child pursuant to chapter 39, was living in licensed foster care
362	or in subsidized independent living at the time of his or her
363	18th birthday, and had spent at least 6 months living in foster
364	care before that date.
365	3.  If at any time the services are no longer critical to
366	the young adult's own efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and to
367	develop a personal support system, they shall be terminated.
368	(d)  Payment of aftercare, Road-to-Independence Program, or
369	transitional support funds.-
370	1.  Payment of aftercare, Road-to-Independence Program, or
371	transitional support funds shall be made directly to the
372	recipient unless the recipient requests in writing to the
373	community-based care lead agency, or the department, that the
374	payments or a portion of the payments be made directly on the
375	recipient's behalf in order to secure services such as housing,
376	counseling, education, or employment training as part of the
377	young adult's own efforts to achieve self-sufficiency.
378	2.  After the completion of aftercare support services that
379	satisfy the requirements of sub-subparagraph (a)1.h., payment of
380	awards under the Road-to-Independence Program shall be made by
381	direct deposit to the recipient, unless the recipient requests
382	in writing to the community-based care lead agency or the
383	department that:
384	a.  The payments be made directly to the recipient by check
385	or warrant;
386	b.  The payments or a portion of the payments be made
387	directly on the recipient's behalf to institutions the recipient
388	is attending to maintain eligibility under this section; or
389	c.  The payments be made on a two-party check to a business
390	or landlord for a legitimate expense, whether reimbursed or not.
391	A legitimate expense for the purposes of this sub-subparagraph
392	shall include automobile repair or maintenance expenses;
393	educational, job, or training expenses; and costs incurred,
394	except legal costs, fines, or penalties, when applying for or
395	executing a rental agreement for the purposes of securing a home
396	or residence.
397	3.  The community-based care lead agency may purchase
398	housing, transportation, or employment services to ensure the
399	availability and affordability of specific transitional services
400	thereby allowing an eligible young adult to utilize these
401	services in lieu of receiving a direct payment. Prior to
402	purchasing such services, the community-based care lead agency
403	must have a plan approved by the department describing the
404	services to be purchased, the rationale for purchasing the
405	services, and a specific range of expenses for each service that
406	is less than the cost of purchasing the service by an individual
407	young adult. The plan must include a description of the
408	transition of a young adult using these services into
409	independence and a timeframe for achievement of independence. An
410	eligible young adult who prefers a direct payment shall receive
411	such payment. The plan must be reviewed annually and evaluated
412	for cost-efficiency and for effectiveness in assisting young
413	adults in achieving independence, preventing homelessness among
414	young adults, and enabling young adults to earn a livable wage
415	in a permanent employment situation.
416	4.  The young adult who resides with a foster family may
417	not be included as a child in calculating any licensing
418	restriction on the number of children in the foster home.
419	(e)  Appeals process.-
420	1.  The Department of Children and Family Services shall
421	adopt by rule a procedure by which a young adult may appeal an
422	eligibility determination or the department's failure to provide
423	aftercare, Road-to-Independence Program, or transitional support
424	services, or the termination of such services, if such funds are
425	available.
426	2.  The procedure developed by the department must be
427	readily available to young adults, must provide timely
428	decisions, and must provide for an appeal to the Secretary of
429	Children and Family Services. The decision of the secretary
430	constitutes final agency action and is reviewable by the court
431	as provided in s. 120.68.
432	Section 4.  Section 409.1663, Florida Statutes, is
433	repealed.
434	Section 5.  Subsections (8), (9), (10), and (11) of section
435	409.1671, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (10),
436	(14), (15), and (16), respectively, and new subsections (8),
437	(9), (11), (12), and (13) are added to that section to read:
438	409.1671  Foster care and related services; outsourcing.-
439	(8)  A contract established between the department and a
440	community-based care lead agency under this section must be
441	funded by a grant of general revenue, other applicable state
442	funds, or applicable federal funding sources. A community-based
443	care lead agency may carry forward documented unexpended state
444	funds from one fiscal year to the next. Any unexpended funds
445	that remain at the end of the contract period shall be returned
446	to the department. Funds carried forward may be retained through
447	any contract renewals and any new procurements as long as the
448	community-based care lead agency is retained by the department.
449	(9)  The method of payment for a fixed-price contract with
450	a community-based care lead agency shall provide for a 2-month
451	advance payment at the beginning of each fiscal year and equal
452	monthly payments thereafter.
453	(11)  Notwithstanding subsection (10), the amount of the
454	annual contract for a community-based care lead agency may be
455	increased by excess federal funds earned in accordance with s.
456	216.181(11).
457	(12)  The department may outsource programmatic,
458	administrative, or fiscal monitoring oversight of community-
459	based care lead agencies.
460	(13)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
461	community-based care lead agency may make expenditures for staff
462	cellular telephone allowances, contracts requiring deferred
463	payments and maintenance agreements, security deposits for
464	office leases, related agency but not personal professional
465	membership dues, promotional materials, and grant writing
466	services. Expenditures for food and refreshments, other than
467	those provided to clients in the care of the agency and to
468	foster parents, adoptive parents, and caseworkers during
469	training sessions, are not allowable.
470	Section 6.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
471	409.166, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
472	409.166  Children within the child welfare system; adoption
473	assistance program.-
474	(2)  DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term:
475	(b)  "Adoption assistance" means financial assistance and
476	services provided to a child and his or her adoptive family.
477	Such assistance may include a maintenance subsidy, medical
478	assistance, Medicaid assistance, and reimbursement of
479	nonrecurring expenses associated with the legal adoption. The
480	term also includes a tuition exemption at a postsecondary career
481	program, community college, or state university, and a state
482	employee adoption benefit under s. 409.1663.
483	Section 7.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

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