Florida Senate - 2014 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1724
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: WD .
04/08/2014 .
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following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 409.1754, Florida Statutes, is created
6 to read:
7 409.1754 Sexually exploited children; screening and
8 assessment; training; case management; task forces.—
9 (1) SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT.—
10 (a) The department shall develop or adopt one or more
11 initial screening and assessment instruments to identify,
12 determine the needs of, plan services for, and identify
13 appropriate placement for sexually exploited children. The
14 department shall consult state and local agencies,
15 organizations, and individuals involved in the identification
16 and care of sexually exploited children in developing or
17 adopting the initial screening and assessment instruments. The
18 initial screening and assessment instruments must include
19 assessment of appropriate placement, including whether placement
20 in a safe foster home is appropriate, and must consider, at a
21 minimum, the following factors:
22 1. The risk of the sexually exploited child running away.
23 2. The risk of the sexually exploited child recruiting
24 other children into the commercial sex trade.
25 3. The level of the sexually exploited child’s attachment
26 to his or her exploiter.
27 4. The level and type of trauma that the sexually exploited
28 child has endured.
29 5. The nature of the sexually exploited child’s
30 interactions with law enforcement.
31 6. The length of time that the child was sexually
32 exploited.
33 7. The extent of any substance abuse by the sexually
34 exploited child.
35 (b) The initial screening and assessment instruments shall
36 be validated, if possible, and shall be used by the department,
37 juvenile assessment centers as provided in s. 985.135, and
38 community-based care lead agencies.
39 (c) The department shall establish rules specifying the
40 initial screening and assessment instruments to be used, the
41 requirements for their use, and the reporting of data collected
42 through them.
43 (d) The department, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and
44 community-based care lead agencies are not precluded from using
45 additional assessment instruments in the course of serving
46 sexually exploited children.
47 (2) TRAINING; CASE MANAGEMENT; TASK FORCES.—
48 (a)1. The department and community-based care lead agencies
49 shall ensure that cases in which a child is alleged, suspected,
50 or known to have been sexually exploited are assigned to child
51 protective investigators and case managers who have specialized
52 intensive training in handling cases involving a sexually
53 exploited child. The department and lead agencies shall ensure
54 that child protective investigators and case managers,
55 respectively, receive this training before accepting any case
56 involving a sexually exploited child.
57 2. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall ensure that
58 juvenile probation staff or contractors administering the
59 detention risk assessment instrument receive specialized
60 intensive training in identifying and serving sexually exploited
61 children.
62 (b) The department and community-based care lead agencies
63 shall conduct regular multidisciplinary staffings for sexually
64 exploited children to ensure that all relevant information is
65 known to all parties and that services are coordinated across
66 systems. The department or community-based care lead agency, as
67 appropriate, shall coordinate these staffings and invite
68 individuals involved in the child’s care. This may include, but
69 is not limited to, the child’s guardian ad litem, juvenile
70 justice system staff, school district staff, service providers,
71 and victim advocates.
72 (c)1. Each region of the department and each community
73 based care lead agency shall jointly assess local service
74 capacity to meet the specialized service needs of sexually
75 exploited children and establish a plan to develop capacity.
76 Each plan shall be developed in consultation with local law
77 enforcement officials, local school officials, runaway and
78 homeless youth program providers, local probation departments,
79 children’s advocacy centers, public defenders, state attorney’s
80 offices, and child advocates and services providers who work
81 directly with sexually exploited children.
82 2. Each region of the department and each community-based
83 care lead agency shall establish local protocols and procedures
84 for working with sexually exploited children which are
85 responsive to the individual circumstances of each child. The
86 protocols and procedures shall take into account the varying
87 types and levels of trauma endured; whether the sexual
88 exploitation is actively occurring, occurred in the past, or
89 inactive but likely to reoccur; and the differing community
90 resources and degrees of familial support that may be available.
91 Child protective investigators and case managers must use the
92 protocols and procedures when working with a sexually exploited
93 child.
94 (3) LOCAL TRAINING AND COORDINATION.—
95 (a) The local regional director may, to the extent that
96 funds are available, provide training to local law enforcement
97 officials who are likely to encounter sexually exploited
98 children in the course of their law enforcement duties. Training
99 shall address the provisions of this section and how to identify
100 and obtain appropriate services for sexually exploited children.
101 The local circuit administrator may contract with a not-for
102 profit agency having experience working with sexually exploited
103 children to provide the training. Circuits may work
104 cooperatively to provide training, which may be provided on a
105 regional basis. The department shall assist circuits to obtain
106 any available funds for the purposes of conducting law
107 enforcement training from the Office of Juvenile Justice and
108 Delinquency Prevention of the United States Department of
109 Justice.
110 (b) Circuit administrators or their designees, chief
111 probation officers of the Department of Juvenile Justice or
112 their designees, and the chief operating officers of community
113 based care lead agencies or their designees shall participate in
114 any task force, committee, council, advisory group, coalition,
115 or other entity active in their service area for coordinating
116 responses to address human trafficking or sexual exploitation of
117 children. If such entity does not exist, the circuit
118 administrator for the department shall work to initiate one.
119 Section 2. Section 409.1678, Florida Statutes, is amended
120 to read:
121 (Substantial rewording of section. See
122 s. 409.1678, F.S., for present text).
123 409.1678 Specialized residential options for children who
124 are victims of sexual exploitation.—
125 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
126 (a) “Safe foster home” means a foster home certified by the
127 department under this section to care for sexually exploited
128 children.
129 (b) “Sexually exploited child” means a child who has
130 suffered sexual exploitation as defined in s. 39.01(67)(g) and
131 is ineligible for relief and benefits under the federal
132 Trafficking Victims Protection Act, 22 U.S.C. ss. 7101 et seq.
133 (2) CERTIFICATION OF SAFE FOSTER HOMES.—
134 (a) Safe foster homes shall provide a safe, separate, and
135 therapeutic environment tailored to the needs of sexually
136 exploited children who have endured significant trauma. Safe
137 foster homes shall use a model of treatment which includes
138 strength-based and trauma-informed approaches.
139 (b) The department shall certify safe foster homes. A
140 residential facility accepting state funds appropriated to
141 provide services to sexually exploited children or child victims
142 of sex trafficking must be certified by the department as a safe
143 foster home. An entity may not use the designation “safe foster
144 home” and hold itself out as serving sexually exploited children
145 unless the entity is certified under this section.
146 (c) To be certified, a safe foster home must hold a license
147 as a family foster home pursuant to s. 409.175. A safe foster
148 home must also:
149 1. Use trauma-informed and strength-based approaches to
150 care, to the extent possible and appropriate.
151 2. Serve exclusively one sex.
152 3. Group sexually exploited children by age or maturity
153 level.
154 4. Care for sexually exploited children in a manner that
155 separates these children from children with other needs. Safe
156 foster homes may care for other populations if the children who
157 have not experienced sexual exploitation do not interact with
158 children who have experienced sexual exploitation.
159 5. Provide appropriate security through facility design,
160 hardware, technology, staffing, and siting, including, but not
161 limited to, external video monitoring or alarmed doors, a high
162 staff-to-client ratio, or a remote facility location isolated
163 from major transportation centers and common trafficking areas.
164 However, such security must allow sexually exploited children to
165 exit the safe foster home if they choose.
166 6. Meet other criteria established by the department in
167 rule, which may include, but are not limited to, personnel
168 qualifications, staffing ratios, and services content.
169 (d) Safe foster homes shall provide services tailored to
170 the needs of sexually exploited children and shall conduct a
171 comprehensive assessment of the service needs of each resident.
172 In addition to the services required to be provided by
173 residential child-caring agencies and family foster homes, safe
174 foster homes shall provide, arrange for, or coordinate, at a
175 minimum, the following services:
176 1. Victim-witness counseling;
177 2. Family counseling;
178 3. Behavioral health care;
179 4. Treatment and intervention for sexual assault;
180 5. Education tailored to the child’s individual needs,
181 including remedial education if necessary;
182 6. Life skills training;
183 7. Mentoring by a survivor of sexual exploitation, if
184 available and appropriate for the child;
185 8. Substance abuse screening and, if necessary, access to
186 treatment;
187 9. Planning services for the successful transition of each
188 child back to the community; and
189 10. Activities in a manner that provides sexually exploited
190 children with a full schedule.
191 (e) The community-based care lead agencies shall ensure
192 that foster parents of safe foster homes complete intensive
193 training regarding, at a minimum, the needs of sexually
194 exploited children, the effects of trauma and sexual
195 exploitation, and how to address those needs using strength
196 based and trauma-informed approaches. The department shall
197 specify this training by rule and may develop or contract for a
198 standard curriculum. The department may establish in rule
199 additional criteria for the certification of safe foster homes.
200 Criteria shall address the security, therapeutic, social,
201 health, and educational needs of sexually exploited children.
202 (f) The department shall inspect safe foster homes before
203 certification and annually to ensure compliance with
204 requirements of this section. The department may place a
205 moratorium on referrals and may revoke the certification of a
206 safe foster home that fails at any time to meet the requirements
207 of this section or rules adopted pursuant to this section.
208 (g) The certification period for safe foster homes shall
209 run concurrently with the terms of their licenses.
210 (3) SERVICES.—
211 (a) This section does not prohibit any provider of services
212 for sexually exploited children from appropriately billing
213 Medicaid for services rendered, from contracting with a local
214 school district for educational services, or from obtaining
215 federal or local funding for services provided, as long as two
216 or more funding sources do not pay for the same specific service
217 that has been provided to a child.
218 (b) The lead agency shall ensure that all children residing
219 in safe foster homes have a case manager and a case plan,
220 whether or not the child is a dependent child.
221 (c) The services specified in this section may, to the
222 extent possible provided by law and with funding authorized, be
223 available to all sexually exploited children whether the
224 services are accessed voluntarily, as a condition of probation,
225 through a diversion program, through a proceeding under chapter
226 39, or through a referral from a local community-based care or
227 social service agency.
228 Section 3. Section 39.524, Florida Statutes, is amended to
229 read:
230 39.524 Safe-harbor placement.—
231 (1) Except as provided in s. 39.407 or s. 985.801, a
232 dependent child 6 years of age or older who has been found to be
233 a victim of sexual exploitation as defined in s. 39.01(67)(g)
234 must be assessed for placement in a safe foster home house as
235 provided in s. 409.1678 using the initial screening and
236 assessment instruments provided in s. 409.1754(1). The
237 assessment shall be conducted by the department or its agent and
238 shall incorporate and address current and historical information
239 from any law enforcement reports; psychological testing or
240 evaluation that has occurred; current and historical information
241 from the guardian ad litem, if one has been assigned; current
242 and historical information from any current therapist, teacher,
243 or other professional who has knowledge of the child and has
244 worked with the child; and any other information concerning the
245 availability and suitability of safe-house placement. If such
246 placement is determined to be appropriate for the child as a
247 result of this assessment, the child may be placed in a safe
248 foster home house, if one is available. However, the child may
249 be placed in another setting if it is more appropriate to his or
250 her needs and his or her behaviors can be managed in that
251 setting so that they do not endanger other children being served
252 in that setting, or if a safe foster home is unavailable As used
253 in this section, the term “available” as it relates to a
254 placement means a placement that is located within the circuit
255 or otherwise reasonably accessible.
256 (2) The results of the assessment described in s.
257 409.1754(1) subsection (1) and the actions taken as a result of
258 the assessment must be included in the next judicial review of
259 the child. At each subsequent judicial review, the court must be
260 advised in writing of the status of the child’s placement, with
261 special reference regarding the stability of the placement and
262 the permanency planning for the child.
263 (3)(a) By December 1 of each year, the department shall
264 report to the Legislature on the placement of children in safe
265 foster homes houses during the year, including the criteria used
266 to determine the placement of children, the number of children
267 who were evaluated for placement, the number of children who
268 were placed based upon the evaluation, and the number of
269 children who were not placed.
270 (b) The department shall maintain data specifying the
271 number of children who were referred to a safe foster home house
272 for whom placement was unavailable and the counties in which
273 such placement was unavailable. The department shall include
274 this data in its report under this subsection so that the
275 Legislature may consider this information in developing the
276 General Appropriations Act.
277 Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
278 39.401, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
279 39.401 Taking a child alleged to be dependent into custody;
280 law enforcement officers and authorized agents of the
281 department.—
282 (2) If the law enforcement officer takes the child into
283 custody, that officer shall:
284 (b) Deliver the child to an authorized agent of the
285 department, stating the facts by reason of which the child was
286 taken into custody and sufficient information to establish
287 probable cause that the child is abandoned, abused, or
288 neglected, or otherwise dependent. For such a child for whom
289 there is also probable cause to believe he or she has been
290 sexually exploited, the law enforcement officer shall deliver
291 the child to the department. The department may place the child
292 in an appropriate short-term safe house as provided for in s.
293 409.1678 if a short-term safe house is available.
294
295 For cases involving allegations of abandonment, abuse, or
296 neglect, or other dependency cases, within 3 days after such
297 release or within 3 days after delivering the child to an
298 authorized agent of the department, the law enforcement officer
299 who took the child into custody shall make a full written report
300 to the department.
301 Section 5. Subsection (6) of section 796.07, Florida
302 Statutes, is amended to read:
303 796.07 Prohibiting prostitution and related acts.—
304 (6) A person who violates paragraph (2)(f) shall be
305 assessed a civil penalty of $5,000 if the violation results in
306 any judicial disposition other than acquittal or dismissal. Of
307 the proceeds from each penalty assessed under this subsection,
308 the first $500 shall be paid to the circuit court administrator
309 for the sole purpose of paying the administrative costs of
310 treatment-based drug court programs provided under s. 397.334.
311 The remainder of the penalty assessed shall be deposited in the
312 Operations and Maintenance Trust Fund of the Department of
313 Children and Family Services for the sole purpose of funding
314 safe foster homes houses and short-term safe houses as provided
315 in s. 409.1678.
316 Section 6. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
317 985.115, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
318 985.115 Release or delivery from custody.—
319 (2) Unless otherwise ordered by the court under s. 985.255
320 or s. 985.26, and unless there is a need to hold the child, a
321 person taking a child into custody shall attempt to release the
322 child as follows:
323 (b) Contingent upon specific appropriation, to a shelter
324 approved by the department or to an authorized agent or short
325 term safe house under s. 39.401(2)(b).
326 Section 7. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
327 Government Accountability (OPPAGA) shall conduct a study on
328 commercial sexual exploitation of children in Florida. The study
329 shall assess the extent of commercial sexual exploitation of
330 children, including, but not limited to, its prevalence in
331 various regions of the state. The study shall also identify
332 specialized services needed by sexually exploited children and
333 any gaps in the availability of such services by region,
334 including, but not limited to, residential services and
335 specialized therapies. The study shall analyze the effectiveness
336 of safe foster homes and other residential options for serving
337 sexually exploited children in addressing their safety,
338 therapeutic, health, educational, and emotional needs,
339 including, but not limited to, the nature and appropriateness of
340 subsequent placements, the extent of sexual exploitation
341 postplacement, and the educational attainment. By July 1, 2017,
342 OPPAGA shall report its findings to the Governor, the President
343 of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
344 Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.
345
346 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
347 And the title is amended as follows:
348 Delete everything before the enacting clause
349 and insert:
350 A bill to be entitled
351 An act relating to human trafficking; creating s.
352 409.1754, F.S.; requiring the Department of Children
353 and Families to develop or adopt initial screening and
354 assessment instruments for sexually exploited
355 children; specifying the process for the department to
356 develop or adopt such screening and assessment
357 instruments; providing factors for placement in a safe
358 foster home; authorizing specified entities to use
359 additional assessment instruments; requiring that the
360 department and community-based care lead agencies
361 ensure that certain personnel receive specified
362 training in handling cases involving a sexually
363 exploited child; requiring that the Department of
364 Juvenile Justice ensure that certain juvenile
365 probation staff or contractors receive training in
366 identifying and serving sexually exploited children;
367 requiring the Department of Children and Families and
368 lead agencies to hold multidisciplinary staffings
369 under certain conditions; requiring each region of the
370 department and each lead agency to develop specified
371 plans and protocols in consultation with specified
372 entities; requiring the local regional director to
373 provide specified training to local law enforcement
374 officials; directing the department, the Department of
375 Juvenile Justice, and lead agencies to participate in
376 coalitions, task forces, or similar organizations to
377 coordinate local responses to human trafficking or the
378 sexual exploitation of children; requiring the circuit
379 administrator of the Department of Children and
380 Families to work to initiate a task force if one is
381 not active in a local area; amending s. 409.1678,
382 F.S.; defining terms; authorizing the department to
383 certify safe foster homes; providing requirements for
384 certification as safe foster homes; requiring a lead
385 agency to ensure certain training; requiring the
386 department to specify the contents of such training;
387 authorizing the department to develop or contract for
388 a standard curriculum; authorizing the department to
389 establish additional criteria for the certification of
390 safe foster homes; providing duties of the department
391 relating to the certification of safe foster homes;
392 providing requirements for services; amending s.
393 39.524, F.S.; requiring assessment or placement in a
394 safe foster home under certain circumstances;
395 authorizing placement in a setting other than a safe
396 foster home under certain conditions; conforming
397 provisions to changes made by the act; amending ss.
398 39.401, 796.07, and 985.115, F.S.; conforming
399 provisions to changes made by the act; requiring the
400 Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
401 Accountability to conduct a study on commercial
402 exploitation of children in the state and related
403 topics; requiring a report to the Governor and the
404 Legislature by a specified date; providing an
405 effective date.