Florida Senate - 2013                                    SB 1834
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs
       
       
       
       
       586-03368-13                                          20131834__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to crossover youth; creating a pilot
    3         project to serve youth in common to the Department of
    4         Children and Families and the Department of Juvenile
    5         Justice; providing for selection of a county for the
    6         project; requiring the Secretary of Children and
    7         Families to seek proposals from interested providers;
    8         specifying elements to be included in the project;
    9         requiring reports to the Governor and the Legislature;
   10         providing an effective date.
   11  
   12         WHEREAS, hundreds of youth each month in this state are
   13  served in both the child welfare system and juvenile justice
   14  system, and
   15         WHEREAS, a significant number of these children who reside
   16  in residential group homes have felony arrest records, and
   17         WHEREAS, these youth tend to have a greater need for
   18  specialized services and can have a negative effect on other
   19  youth in the same group residential settings, and
   20         WHEREAS, the state needs to assess the impact of these
   21  youth on the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and to
   22  develop better integrated systems of care and improved services
   23  to respond to the needs of these youth, NOW, THEREFORE,
   24  
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. Crossover Youth pilot project.–The Crossover
   28  Youth pilot project is established as a collaborative initiative
   29  of the Department of Children and Families and the Department of
   30  Juvenile Justice. The project will demonstrate a more effective
   31  service model for crossover youth, efficient coordination of
   32  services between agencies, and the evidence of improved outcomes
   33  for youth residing in the pilot project facility. The term
   34  “crossover youth” means youth younger than 18 years of age who
   35  receive services from the Department of Children and Families
   36  and the Department of Juvenile Justice.
   37         (1) The pilot project shall be in one county with a high
   38  rate of crossover youth which is mutually agreed upon by the
   39  Secretary of Children and Families and the Secretary of Juvenile
   40  Justice. Counties that have a unified family court shall be
   41  given preference.
   42         (2) The Secretary of Children and Families shall seek
   43  proposals from interested child welfare service providers to
   44  elicit innovative approaches for the pilot project. The
   45  Secretary of Children and Families, in consultation with the
   46  Secretary of Juvenile Justice, shall select one or more
   47  residential homes from the pilot county to participate in the
   48  project.
   49         (3) The pilot project must include, but need not be limited
   50  to, the following:
   51         (a) Training provided by the Department of Juvenile Justice
   52  to pilot home staff.
   53         (b) Intervention services by the Department of Juvenile
   54  Justice to youth on probation who reside in pilot homes.
   55         (c) Enhanced security measures at pilot homes.
   56         (d) Unified treatment plans for crossover youth served by
   57  multiple state and local agencies.
   58         (e) Interventions to ensure that youth at low risk of
   59  reoffending are not negatively affected by high-risk crossover
   60  youth.
   61         (4) The pilot project must begin no later than July 1,
   62  2013, and must end June 30, 2014.
   63         (5) The Department of Children and Families and the
   64  Department of Juvenile Justice shall jointly prepare an interim
   65  report and final report on findings and recommendations relating
   66  to the pilot project. The reports must include performance
   67  measure data, including, but not limited to:
   68         (a)The number of youth served by the pilot project,
   69  including demographic information, prior offense history, and
   70  relative risk to reoffend at time of placement as determined by
   71  the Department of Juvenile Justice.
   72         (b)The number of youth who receive a charge for a new
   73  violation of law while under supervision of the pilot project.
   74         (c)The number of youth who receive a violation of
   75  probation while under supervision of the pilot project.
   76         (d)The reduction in risk factors.
   77         (e)The increase in protective factors.
   78         (f)The number of youth who transfer out of the pilot home
   79  for behavioral reasons.
   80         (g)The number of calls to law enforcement as a result of
   81  incidents involving youth in the pilot home.
   82         (h)The academic performance of youth in the pilot home.
   83  
   84  The interim report is due December 31, 2013, and the final
   85  report is due August 31, 2014. The Department of Children and
   86  Families and the Department of Juvenile Justice shall submit the
   87  reports to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
   88  Speaker of the House of Representatives.
   89         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.