Florida Senate - 2017                                    SB 1092
       
       
        
       By Senator Gainer
       
       
       
       
       
       2-01084-17                                            20171092__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to sheriffs providing child protective
    3         investigative services; amending s. 39.3065, F.S.;
    4         requiring the Walton County Sheriff to have the
    5         responsibility to provide all child protective
    6         investigations in Walton County beginning with a
    7         specified fiscal year; authorizing the Department of
    8         Children and Families to enter into a performance
    9         agreement with the Walton County Sheriff to perform
   10         child protective investigations in Walton County;
   11         requiring the state to disburse funds for providing
   12         child protective investigations in Walton County
   13         directly to the Walton County Sheriff; prohibiting
   14         such funds from being required to go through the
   15         Department of Children and Families; requiring the
   16         Walton County Sheriff to establish specific accounts
   17         to track child protective investigation budgets and
   18         expenditures in compliance with certain standards;
   19         conforming a provision to changes made by the act;
   20         providing an effective date.
   21          
   22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   23  
   24         Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 39.3065, Florida
   25  Statutes, is amended to read:
   26         39.3065 Sheriffs of certain counties to provide child
   27  protective investigative services; procedures; funding.—
   28         (3)(a) Beginning in fiscal year 1999-2000, the sheriffs of
   29  Pasco County, Manatee County, Broward County, and Pinellas
   30  County have the responsibility to provide all child protective
   31  investigations in their respective counties. Beginning with the
   32  2017-2018 fiscal year, the Walton County Sheriff has the
   33  responsibility to provide all child protective investigations in
   34  Walton County. Beginning in fiscal year 2000-2001, the
   35  Department of Children and Families is authorized to enter into
   36  grant agreements with sheriffs of other counties to perform
   37  child protective investigations in their respective counties.
   38  Beginning with the 2017-2018 fiscal year, the Department of
   39  Children and Families is authorized to enter into a performance
   40  agreement with the Walton County Sheriff to perform child
   41  protective investigations in Walton County.
   42         (b) The sheriffs shall operate, at a minimum, in accordance
   43  with the performance standards and outcome measures established
   44  by the Legislature for protective investigations conducted by
   45  the Department of Children and Families. Each individual who
   46  provides these services must complete, at a minimum, the
   47  training provided to and required of protective investigators
   48  employed by the Department of Children and Families.
   49         (c) Funds for providing child protective investigations
   50  must be identified in the annual appropriation made to the
   51  Department of Children and Families, which shall award grants
   52  for the full amount identified to the respective sheriffs’
   53  offices. Notwithstanding the provisions of ss. 216.181(16)(b)
   54  and 216.351, the Department of Children and Families may advance
   55  payments to the sheriffs for child protective investigations.
   56  Funds for the child protective investigations may not be
   57  integrated into the sheriffs’ regular budgets. Budgetary data
   58  and other data relating to the performance of child protective
   59  investigations must be maintained separately from all other
   60  records of the sheriffs’ offices and reported to the Department
   61  of Children and Families as specified in the grant agreement.
   62         (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (c), the state shall disburse
   63  funds for providing child protective investigations in Walton
   64  County directly to the Walton County Sheriff, and not through
   65  the Department of Children and Families. The Walton County
   66  Sheriff shall establish specific accounts to track child
   67  protective investigation budgets and expenditures in compliance
   68  with the standards contained in this section.
   69         (e) Program performance evaluation shall be based on
   70  criteria mutually agreed upon by the respective sheriffs and the
   71  Department of Children and Families. The program performance
   72  evaluation shall be conducted by a team of peer reviewers from
   73  the respective sheriffs’ offices that perform child protective
   74  investigations and representatives from the department. The
   75  Department of Children and Families shall submit an annual
   76  report regarding quality performance, outcome-measure
   77  attainment, and cost efficiency to the President of the Senate,
   78  the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to the Governor
   79  no later than January 31 of each year the sheriffs are receiving
   80  general appropriations or direct funding to provide child
   81  protective investigations.
   82         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.