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.