Florida Senate - 2011                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 380
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 331020                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/09/2011           .                                
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       The Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs (Detert)
       recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 402.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    6  read:
    7         402.40 Child welfare training and certification.—
    8         (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—In order to enable the state to
    9  provide a systematic approach to staff development and training
   10  for persons providing child welfare services that will meet the
   11  needs of such staff in their discharge of duties, it is the
   12  intent of the Legislature that the Department of Children and
   13  Family Services work in collaboration with the child welfare
   14  stakeholder community including department approved third party
   15  credentialing entities to ensure that staff have the knowledge,
   16  skills, and abilities necessary to competently provide child
   17  welfare services establish, maintain, and oversee the operation
   18  of child welfare training academies in the state. The
   19  Legislature further intends that the staff development and
   20  certification and training programs that are established will
   21  aid in the reduction of poor staff morale and of staff turnover,
   22  will positively impact on the quality of decisions made
   23  regarding children and families who require assistance from
   24  programs providing child welfare services, and will afford
   25  better quality care of children who must be removed from their
   26  families.
   27         (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   28         (a) "Child welfare certification" means a professional
   29  credential awarded by a department approved third-party
   30  credentialing entity, to individuals demonstrating core
   31  competency in any child welfare practice area.
   32         (b) (a) “Child welfare services” means any intake,
   33  protective investigations, preprotective services, protective
   34  services, foster care, shelter and group care, and adoption and
   35  related services program, including supportive services, and
   36  supervision, and legal services, provided to children who are
   37  alleged to have been abused, abandoned, or neglected, or who are
   38  at risk of becoming, are alleged to be, or have been found
   39  dependent pursuant to chapter 39.
   40         (c) "Core competency" means the minimum knowledge, skills,
   41  and abilities necessary to carry out work responsibilities.
   42         (d) (b) “Person providing child welfare services” means a
   43  person who has a responsibility for supervisory, legal, direct
   44  care or support related work in the provision of child welfare
   45  services pursuant to chapter 39.
   46         (e) "Pre-service curriculum" means the minimum statewide
   47  training content based upon the core competencies that is to be
   48  made available to all persons providing child welfare services.
   49         (f) "Third-party credentialing entity" means a department
   50  approved nonprofit organization that has met nationally
   51  recognized standards for developing and administering
   52  professional certification programs.
   53         (3) THIRD-PARTY CREDENTIALING ENTITIES.—The department
   54  shall approve one or more third-party credentialing entities for
   55  the purpose of developing and administering child welfare
   56  certification programs for persons who provide child welfare
   57  services. A third-party credentialing entity shall request such
   58  approval in writing from the department. In order to obtain
   59  approval, the third-party credentialing entity must:
   60         (a) Establish professional requirements and standards that
   61  applicants must achieve in order to obtain a child welfare
   62  certification and to maintain such certification;
   63         (b) Develop and apply core competencies and examination
   64  instruments according to nationally recognized certification and
   65  psychometric standards;
   66         (c) Maintain a professional code of ethics and a
   67  disciplinary process that apply to all persons holding child
   68  welfare certification;
   69         (d) Maintain a database, accessible to the public, of all
   70  persons holding child welfare certification, including any
   71  history of ethical violations;
   72         (e) Require annual continuing education requirements for
   73  persons holding child welfare certification; and
   74         (f) Administer a continuing education provider program to
   75  ensure only qualified providers offer continuing education
   76  opportunities for the certified population.
   77         (3) CHILD WELFARE TRAINING PROGRAM.—The department shall
   78  establish a program for training pursuant to the provisions of
   79  this section, and all persons providing child welfare services
   80  shall be required to participate in and successfully complete
   81  the program of training pertinent to their areas of
   82  responsibility.
   83         (4) CHILD WELFARE TRAINING TRUST FUND.—
   84         (a) There is created within the State Treasury a Child
   85  Welfare Training Trust Fund to be used by the Department of
   86  Children and Family Services for the purpose of funding the
   87  professional development a comprehensive system of child welfare
   88  training, including the securing of consultants to develop the
   89  system and the developing of child welfare training academies
   90  that include the participation of persons providing child
   91  welfare services.
   92         (b) One dollar from every noncriminal traffic infraction
   93  collected pursuant to s. 318.14(10)(b) or s. 318.18 shall be
   94  deposited into the Child Welfare Training Trust Fund.
   95         (c) In addition to the funds generated by paragraph (b),
   96  the trust fund shall receive funds generated from an additional
   97  fee on birth certificates and dissolution of marriage filings,
   98  as specified in ss. 382.0255 and 28.101, respectively, and may
   99  receive funds from any other public or private source.
  100         (d) Funds that are not expended by the end of the budget
  101  cycle or through a supplemental budget approved by the
  102  department shall revert to the trust fund.
  103         (5) CORE COMPETENCIES.—
  104         (a) The Department of Children and Family Services shall
  105  approve establish the core competencies and related pre-service
  106  curricula for a single integrated curriculum that ensures that
  107  each person delivering child welfare services obtains the
  108  knowledge, skills, and abilities to competently carry out his or
  109  her work responsibilities. This curriculum may be a compilation
  110  of different development efforts based on specific subsets of
  111  core competencies that are integrated for a comprehensive
  112  curriculum required in the provision of child welfare services
  113  in this state.
  114         (b) The identification of these core competencies and
  115  development of pre-service curricula shall be a collaborative
  116  effort to include professionals with expertise in child welfare
  117  services, department approved third-party credentialing
  118  entities, and providers that will be affected by the curriculum,
  119  to include, but not be limited to, representatives from the
  120  community-based care lead agencies, sheriffs’ offices conducting
  121  child protection investigations, and child welfare legal
  122  services providers.
  123         (c) Notwithstanding s. 287.057(3) and (21), the department
  124  shall competitively solicit and contract for the development,
  125  validation, and periodic evaluation of the training curricula
  126  for the established single integrated curriculum. No more than
  127  one training curriculum may be developed for each specific
  128  subset of the core competencies, Community-based care agencies,
  129  sheriff's offices, and the department may contract for the
  130  delivery of both pre-service and any additional training for
  131  persons delivering child welfare services as long as any
  132  curriculum satisfies the department approved core competencies.
  133         (d)Department approved credentialing entities shall, for a
  134  period of no less than 12-months from the implementation of
  135  third-party child welfare certification programs, grant
  136  reciprocity and award a child welfare certification to
  137  individuals who hold current department issued child welfare
  138  certification in good standing, at no cost to the state or the
  139  certificant.
  140         (6) ADVANCED TRAINING.—The Department of Children and
  141  Family Services shall annually examine the advanced training
  142  that is needed by persons who deliver child welfare services in
  143  the state. This examination shall address whether the current
  144  advanced training provided should be continued and shall include
  145  the development of plans for incorporating any revisions to the
  146  advanced training determined necessary. This examination shall
  147  be conducted in collaboration with professionals with expertise
  148  in child welfare services and providers that will be affected by
  149  the curriculum, to include, but not be limited to,
  150  representatives from the community-based care lead agencies,
  151  sheriffs’ offices conducting child protection investigations,
  152  and child welfare legal services providers.
  153         (7) CERTIFICATION AND TRAINER QUALIFICATIONS.— The
  154  department shall, in collaboration with the professionals and
  155  providers described in subsection (5), develop minimum standards
  156  for a certification process that ensures that participants have
  157  successfully attained the knowledge, skills, and abilities
  158  necessary to competently carry out their work responsibilities
  159  and shall develop minimum standards for trainer qualifications
  160  which must be required of training academies in the offering of
  161  the training curricula. Any person providing child welfare
  162  services shall be required to master the components of the
  163  curriculum that are particular to that person’s work
  164  responsibilities.
  165         (8) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRAINING ACADEMIES.— The department
  166  shall establish child welfare training academies as part of a
  167  comprehensive system of child welfare training. In establishing
  168  a program of training, the department may contract for the
  169  operation of one or more training academies to perform one or
  170  more of the following: to offer one or more of the training
  171  curricula developed under subsection (5); to administer the
  172  certification process; to develop, validate, and periodically
  173  evaluate additional training curricula determined to be
  174  necessary, including advanced training that is specific to a
  175  region or contractor, or that meets a particular training need;
  176  or to offer the additional training curricula. The number,
  177  location, and timeframe for establishment of training academies
  178  shall be approved by the Secretary of Children and Family
  179  Services who shall ensure that the goals for the core
  180  competencies and the single integrated curriculum, the
  181  certification process, the trainer qualifications, and the
  182  additional training needs are addressed. Notwithstanding s.
  183  287.057(3) and (21), the department shall competitively solicit
  184  all training academy contracts.
  185         (9) ADOPTION OF RULES.—The Department of Children and
  186  Family Services shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the
  187  provisions of this section.
  188         Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 402.731, Florida
  189  Statutes, is amended to read:
  190         402.731 Department of Children and Family Services
  191  certification programs for employees and service providers;
  192  employment provisions for transition to community-based care.—
  193         (1) The Department of Children and Family Services is
  194  authorized to create certification programs approve third party
  195  credentialing entities as defined in s. 402.40, for its
  196  employees and service providers to ensure that only qualified
  197  employees and service providers provide client services. The
  198  department is authorized to develop rules that include
  199  qualifications for certification, including training and testing
  200  requirements, continuing education requirements for ongoing
  201  certification, and decertification procedures to be used to
  202  determine when an individual no longer meets the qualifications
  203  for certification and to implement the decertification of an
  204  employee or agent.
  205         Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2011.
  206  
  207  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  208         And the title is amended as follows:
  209         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  210  and insert:
  211                        A bill to be entitled                      
  212         An act relating to the training and certification of
  213         child welfare personnel; amending s. 402.40, F.S.;
  214         revising legislative intent; defining the terms “child
  215         welfare certification”, "core competency", "pre
  216         service curriculum" and “third-party credentialing
  217         entity”; providing required criteria for approval of
  218         credentialing entities; revising the use of a
  219         department trust fund; revising provisions relating to
  220         pre-service curricula; requiring persons who provide
  221         child welfare services to be certified by a third
  222         party credentialing entity; allowing entities to add
  223         to or augment pre-service curriculum; allowing
  224         entities to contract for training; requiring persons
  225         to master core competencies; providing for recognition
  226         for currently certified persons; deleting requirements
  227         relating to certification and trainer qualifications;
  228         deleting provisions relating to training academies;
  229         amending s. 402.731, F.S.; authorizing approval of
  230         third party credentialing entities; providing an
  231         effective date.