Florida Senate - 2012 CS for SB 498 By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Lynn 591-01567-12 2012498c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to substance abuse education and 3 intervention programs; amending s. 948.15, F.S.; 4 providing that probation supervision services for 5 defendants found guilty of certain misdemeanor 6 controlled substance offenses may be provided by 7 licensed substance abuse education and intervention 8 programs; authorizing certain entities providing 9 probation services to provide licensed substance abuse 10 education and intervention programs; requiring private 11 entities providing such programs to contract with the 12 county and comply with other applicable provisions; 13 providing an effective date. 14 15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16 17 Section 1. Section 948.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to 18 read: 19 948.15 Misdemeanor probation services.— 20 (1) A defendantDefendantsfound guilty of a misdemeanor 21misdemeanorswho isareplaced on probation shall be under 22 supervision not to exceed 6 months unless otherwise specified by 23 the court. Probation supervision services for a defendant found 24 guilty of a misdemeanor for possession of a controlled substance 25 or drug paraphernalia under chapter 893 may be provided by a 26 licensed substance abuse education and intervention program, 27 which shall provide substance abuse education and intervention 28 as well as any other terms and conditions of probation. In 29 relation to any offense other than a felony in which the use of 30 alcohol is a significant factor, the period of probation may be 31 up to 1 year. 32 (2) A private entity or public entity, including a licensed 33 substance abuse education and intervention program, under the 34 supervision of the board of county commissioners or the court 35 may provide probation services and licensed substance abuse 36 education and treatment intervention programs for offenders 37 sentenced by the county court. 38 (3) Any private entity, including a licensed substance 39 abuse education and intervention program, providing services for 40 the supervision of misdemeanor probationers must contract with 41 the county in which the services are to be rendered. In a county 42 havingwitha population of fewerlessthan 70,000, the county 43 court judge, or the administrative judge of the county court in 44 a county that has more than one county court judge, must approve 45 the contract. Terms of the contract must state, but are not 46 limited to: 47 (a) The extent of the services to be rendered by the entity 48 providing supervision or rehabilitation. 49 (b) Staff qualifications and criminal record checks of 50 staff in accordance with essential standards established by the 51 American Correctional Association as of January 1, 1991. 52 (c) Staffing levels. 53 (d) The number of face-to-face contacts with the offender. 54 (e) Procedures for handling the collection of all offender 55 fees and restitution. 56 (f) Procedures for handling indigent offenders which ensure 57 placement irrespective of ability to pay. 58 (g) Circumstances under which revocation of an offender’s 59 probation may be recommended. 60 (h) Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. 61 (i) Default and contract termination procedures. 62 (j) Procedures that aid offenders with job assistance. 63 (k) Procedures for accessing criminal history records of 64 probationers. 65 66 In addition, the entity shall supply the chief judge’s office 67 with a quarterly report summarizing the number of offenders 68 supervised by the private entity, payment of the required 69 contribution under supervision or rehabilitation, and the number 70 of offenders for whom supervision or rehabilitation will be 71 terminated. All records of the entity must be open to inspection 72 upon the request of the county, the court, the Auditor General, 73 the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government 74 Accountability, or agents thereof. 75 (4) A private entity that provides court-ordered services 76 to offenders and that charges a fee for such services must 77 register with the board of county commissioners in the county in 78 which the services are offered. The entity shall provide the 79 following information for each program it operates: 80 (a) The length of time the program has been operating in 81 the county. 82 (b) A list of the staff and a summary of their 83 qualifications. 84 (c) A summary of the types of services that are offered 85 under the program. 86 (d) The fees the entity charges for court-ordered services 87 and its procedures, if any, for handling indigent offenders. 88 (5) The private entity, including a licensed substance 89 abuse education and intervention program, providing misdemeanor 90 supervision services mustshallalso comply with all other 91 applicable provisions of law. 92 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.