Florida Senate - 2020 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1326
Ì621500]Î621500
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: WD/2R .
03/06/2020 03:57 PM .
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Senator Simpson moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 141 - 569
4 and insert:
5 (7) OFFICE OF QUALITY.—Subject to an appropriation, the
6 department shall establish an enterprise-wide Office of Quality
7 to ensure that the department and contracted service providers
8 meet the highest levels of performance standards.
9 (a) Duties of the office include, but are not limited to,
10 all of the following:
11 1. Identifying performance standards and metrics for
12 department programs and all other service providers, including,
13 but not limited to, behavioral health managing entities,
14 community-based care lead agencies, and attorney services.
15 2. Conducting ongoing quality assurance reviews of
16 department programs and contracted service providers on at least
17 a quarterly basis using cases randomly selected by the
18 department.
19 3. Strengthening the department’s data and analytic
20 capabilities to identify systemic strengths and deficiencies.
21 4. In consultation with the department’s program offices,
22 recommending unique and varied initiatives to correct
23 programmatic and systemic deficiencies.
24 5. Collaborating and engaging partners of the department to
25 improve service quality, efficiency, and effectiveness.
26 6. Reporting any persistent failure by the department or
27 contracted providers to meet performance standards and
28 recommending corrective actions to the secretary.
29 7. By each December 1, developing and submitting an annual
30 report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
31 Speaker of the House of Representatives for the preceding fiscal
32 year which encompasses all legislatively mandated statewide
33 reports required to be issued by the department.
34 (b) The department may adopt rules to administer this
35 subsection.
36 Section 2. Section 402.402, Florida Statutes, is amended to
37 read:
38 402.402 Child protection and child welfare personnel;
39 attorneys employed by the department.—
40 (1) CHILD PROTECTIVE INVESTIGATION PROFESSIONAL STAFF
41 REQUIREMENTS.—The department is responsible for recruitment of
42 qualified professional staff to serve as child protective
43 investigators and child protective investigation supervisors.
44 The department shall make every effort to recruit and hire
45 persons qualified by their education and experience to perform
46 social work functions. The department’s efforts shall be guided
47 by the goal that by July 1, 2019, at least half of all child
48 protective investigators and supervisors will have a bachelor’s
49 degree or a master’s degree in social work from a college or
50 university social work program accredited by the Council on
51 Social Work Education. The department, in collaboration with the
52 lead agencies, subcontracted provider organizations, the Florida
53 Institute for Child Welfare created pursuant to s. 1004.615, and
54 other partners in the child welfare system, shall develop a
55 protocol for screening candidates for child protective positions
56 which reflects the preferences specified in paragraphs (a)-(f).
57 The following persons shall be given preference in the
58 recruitment of qualified professional staff, but the preferences
59 serve only as guidance and do not limit the department’s
60 discretion to select the best available candidates:
61 (a) Individuals with baccalaureate degrees in social work
62 and child protective investigation supervisors with master’s
63 degrees in social work from a college or university social work
64 program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
65 (b) Individuals with baccalaureate or master’s degrees in
66 psychology, sociology, counseling, special education, education,
67 human development, child development, family development,
68 marriage and family therapy, and nursing.
69 (c) Individuals with baccalaureate degrees who have a
70 combination of directly relevant work and volunteer experience,
71 preferably in a public service field related to children’s
72 services, demonstrating critical thinking skills, formal
73 assessment processes, communication skills, problem solving, and
74 empathy; a commitment to helping children and families; a
75 capacity to work as part of a team; an interest in continuous
76 development of skills and knowledge; and personal strength and
77 resilience to manage competing demands and handle workplace
78 stresses.
79 (2) SPECIALIZED TRAINING.—All child protective
80 investigators and child protective investigation supervisors
81 employed by the department or a sheriff’s office must complete
82 specialized training either focused on serving a specific
83 population, including, but not limited to, medically fragile
84 children, sexually exploited children, children under 3 years of
85 age, or families with a history of domestic violence, mental
86 illness, or substance abuse, or focused on performing certain
87 aspects of child protection practice, including, but not limited
88 to, investigation techniques and analysis of family dynamics.
89 The specialized training may be used to fulfill continuing
90 education requirements under s. 402.40(3)(e). Individuals hired
91 before July 1, 2014, shall complete the specialized training by
92 June 30, 2016, and individuals hired on or after July 1, 2014,
93 shall complete the specialized training within 2 years after
94 hire. An individual may receive specialized training in multiple
95 areas.
96 (3) STAFF SUPPORT.—The department shall implement policies
97 and programs that mitigate and prevent the impact of secondary
98 traumatic stress and burnout among child protective
99 investigations staff, including, but not limited to:
100 (a) Initiatives to encourage and inspire child protective
101 investigations staff, including recognizing their achievements
102 on a recognition wall within their unit.
103 (b) Formal procedures for providing support to child
104 protective investigations staff after a critical incident such
105 as a child fatality.
106 (c) Initial training upon appointment to a supervisory
107 position and annual continuing education for all supervisors on
108 how to prevent secondary traumatic stress and burnout among the
109 employees they supervise.
110 (d) Monitoring levels of secondary traumatic stress and
111 burnout among individual employees and intervening as needed.
112 The department shall closely monitor and respond to levels of
113 secondary traumatic stress and burnout among employees during
114 the first 2 years after hire.
115 (e) Ongoing training in self-care for all child protective
116 investigations staff.
117
118 Such programs may also include, but are not limited, to formal
119 peer counseling and support programs.
120 (4)(3) REPORT.—By each October 1, the department shall
121 submit a report on the educational qualifications, turnover,
122 professional advancement, and working conditions of the child
123 protective investigators and supervisors to the Governor, the
124 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
125 Representatives.
126 (5)(4) ATTORNEYS EMPLOYED BY OR CONTRACTING WITH THE
127 DEPARTMENT TO HANDLE CHILD WELFARE CASES.—Attorneys hired or
128 contracted with on or after July 1, 2014, whose primary
129 responsibility is representing the department in child welfare
130 cases shall, within the first 6 months of employment, receive
131 training in:
132 (a) The dependency court process, including the attorney’s
133 role in preparing and reviewing documents prepared for
134 dependency court for accuracy and completeness.;
135 (b) Preparing and presenting child welfare cases, including
136 at least 1 week shadowing an experienced children’s legal
137 services attorney preparing and presenting cases.;
138 (c) Safety assessment, safety decisionmaking tools, and
139 safety plans.;
140 (d) Developing information presented by investigators and
141 case managers to support decisionmaking in the best interest of
142 children.; and
143 (e) The experiences and techniques of case managers and
144 investigators, including shadowing an experienced child
145 protective investigator and an experienced case manager for at
146 least 8 hours.
147 Section 3. Paragraph (l) is added to subsection (1) of
148 section 409.988, Florida Statutes, to read:
149 409.988 Lead agency duties; general provisions.—
150 (1) DUTIES.—A lead agency:
151 (l) Shall identify an employee to serve as a liaison with
152 the community alliance and community-based and faith-based
153 organizations interested in collaborating with the lead agency
154 or offering services or other assistance on a volunteer basis to
155 the children and families served by the lead agency. The lead
156 agency shall ensure that appropriate lead agency staff and
157 subcontractors, including, but not limited to, case managers,
158 are informed of the specific services or assistance available
159 from community-based and faith-based organizations.
160 Section 4. Section 409.991, Florida Statutes, is amended to
161 read:
162 (Substantial rewording of section. See s. 409.991,
163 F.S., for present text.)
164 409.991 Allocation of funds for community-based care lead
165 agencies.—
166 (1) As used in this section, the term “core services funds”
167 means all funds allocated to lead agencies operating under
168 contract with the department pursuant to s. 409.987, with the
169 following exceptions:
170 (a) Funds appropriated for independent living services;
171 (b) Funds appropriated for maintenance adoption subsidies;
172 (c) Funds allocated by the department for child protective
173 investigative service training;
174 (d) Nonrecurring funds;
175 (e) Designated mental health wrap-around service funds;
176 (f) Funds for special projects for a designated lead
177 agency; and
178 (g) Funds appropriated for the Guardianship Assistance
179 Program established under s. 39.6225.
180 (2) The department shall use an objective, workload-based
181 methodology to identify and report the optimal level of funding
182 for each lead agency considering demand for each of the
183 following:
184 (a) Prevention services;
185 (b) Client services;
186 (c) Licensed out-of-home care costs; and
187 (d) Staffing, using the ratio for case managers compared to
188 the caseload requirements specified in s. 20.19(4)(c)2.
189 (3) The allocation of core services funds must be based on
190 the following:
191 (a) The total optimal funding amount as determined by
192 adding together the funding for prevention services, client
193 services, licensed out-of-home care, and staffing.
194 (b) A comparison of the total optimal funding amount to the
195 actual allocated funding for the most recent fiscal year to
196 determine the percentage of optimal funding the lead agency is
197 currently receiving.
198 (4) By November 1 of each year, the secretary must submit a
199 report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
200 Speaker of the House of Representatives which includes the
201 current funding level of each lead agency based on the optimal
202 funding level as determined by using each lead agency workload
203 using the department’s methodology. The report must identify any
204 lead agency that is persistently funded at less than the optimal
205 funding level and recommend strategies to address the shortfall
206 including, but not limited to, business process redesign, the
207 adoption of best practices, and requesting additional funding.
208 (5) The department may adopt rules to establish the optimal
209 funding levels for lead agencies.
210 (6) Unless otherwise specified in the General
211 Appropriations Act, the department shall allocate any new
212 funding for core services, based on the department’s
213 methodology, to achieve optimal funding for all lead agencies
214 inversely proportional to each lead agency optimal funding
215 percentage.
216 (7) Unless otherwise specified in the General
217 Appropriations Act, the department shall consider a lead
218 agency’s funding level compared to its optimal funding level
219 when allocating funding from the risk pool, as provided in s.
220 409.990.
221 Section 5. Present subsections (18) through (23) of section
222 409.996, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (19)
223 through (24), respectively, a new subsection (18) and
224 subsections (25) and (26) are added to that section, and
225 paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsection (17) of that
226 section are amended, to read:
227 409.996 Duties of the Department of Children and Families.
228 The department shall contract for the delivery, administration,
229 or management of care for children in the child protection and
230 child welfare system. In doing so, the department retains
231 responsibility for the quality of contracted services and
232 programs and shall ensure that services are delivered in
233 accordance with applicable federal and state statutes and
234 regulations.
235 (1) The department shall enter into contracts with lead
236 agencies for the performance of the duties by the lead agencies
237 pursuant to s. 409.988. At a minimum, the contracts must:
238 (a) Provide for the services needed to accomplish the
239 duties established in s. 409.988 and provide information to the
240 department which is necessary to meet the requirements for a
241 quality assurance program pursuant to subsection (19) (18) and
242 the child welfare results-oriented accountability system
243 pursuant to s. 409.997.
244 (17) The department shall directly or through contract
245 provide attorneys to prepare and present cases in dependency
246 court and shall ensure that the court is provided with adequate
247 information for informed decisionmaking in dependency cases,
248 including, at a minimum, a face sheet for each case which lists
249 the names and contact information for any child protective
250 investigator, child protective investigation supervisor, case
251 manager, and case manager supervisor, and the regional
252 department official responsible for the lead agency contract.
253 The department shall provide to the court the case information
254 and recommendations provided by the lead agency or
255 subcontractor. For the Sixth Judicial Circuit, the department
256 shall contract with the state attorney for the provision of
257 these services.
258 (18)(a) The department may contract for the provision of
259 children’s legal services to prepare and present cases in
260 dependency court. The contracted attorneys shall ensure that the
261 court is provided with adequate information for informed
262 decisionmaking in dependency cases, including, at a minimum, a
263 face sheet for each case which lists the names and contact
264 information for any child protective investigator, child
265 protective investigator supervisor, and the regional department
266 official responsible for the lead agency contract. The
267 contracted attorneys shall provide to the court the case
268 information and recommendations provided by the lead agency or
269 subcontractor. For the Sixth Judicial Circuit, the department
270 shall contract with the state attorney for the provision of
271 these services.
272 (b) The contracted attorneys shall adopt the child welfare
273 practice model, as periodically updated by the department, that
274 is used by attorneys employed by the department. The contracted
275 attorneys shall operate in accordance with the same federal and
276 state performance standards and metrics imposed on children’s
277 legal services attorneys employed by the department.
278 (c) The department and contracted attorneys providing
279 children’s legal services shall collaborate to monitor program
280 performance on an ongoing basis. The department and contracted
281 attorneys, or a representative from such contracted attorneys’
282 offices, shall meet at least quarterly to collaborate on federal
283 and state quality assurance and quality improvement initiatives.
284 (d) The department shall conduct an annual program
285 performance evaluation which shall be based on the same child
286 welfare practice model principles and federal and state
287 performance standards that are imposed on children’s legal
288 services attorneys employed by the department. The program
289 performance evaluation must be standardized statewide and the
290 department shall select random cases for evaluation. The program
291 performance evaluation shall be conducted by a team of peer
292 reviewers from the respective contracted attorneys’ offices that
293 perform children’s legal services and representatives from the
294 department.
295 (e) The department shall publish an annual report
296 regarding, at a minimum, performance quality, outcome-measure
297 attainment, and cost efficiency of the services provided by the
298 contracted attorneys. The annual report must include data and
299 information on the performance of both the contracted attorneys’
300 and the department’s attorneys. The department shall submit the
301 annual report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
302 the Speaker of the House of Representatives no later than
303 November 1 of each year that the contracted attorneys are
304 receiving appropriations to provide children’s legal services
305 for the department.
306 (25) In collaboration with lead agencies, service
307 providers, and other community stakeholders, the department
308 shall develop a statewide accountability system based on
309 measurable quality standards. The accountability system must be
310 implemented by July 1, 2021.
311 (a) The accountability system must:
312 1. Assess the overall health of the child welfare system,
313 by circuit, using grading criteria established by the
314 department.
315 2. Include a quality measurement system with domains and
316 clearly defined levels of quality. The system must measure the
317 performance standards for child protective investigators, lead
318 agencies, and children’s legal services throughout the system of
319 care, using criteria established by the department, and, at a
320 minimum, address applicable federal- and state-mandated metrics.
321 3. Align with the principles of the results-oriented
322 accountability program established under s. 409.997.
323 (b) After the development and implementation of the
324 accountability system under this subsection, the department and
325 each lead agency shall use the information from the
326 accountability system to promote enhanced quality service
327 delivery within their respective areas of responsibility.
328 (c) By December 1 of each year, the department shall submit
329 a report on the overall health of the child welfare system to
330 the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
331 the House of Representatives.
332 (d) The department may adopt rules to implement this
333 subsection.
334 (26) Subject to an appropriation, for the 2020-2021 and
335 2021-2022 fiscal years, the department shall implement a pilot
336 project in the Sixth and Thirteenth Judicial Circuits,
337 respectively, aimed at improving child welfare outcomes.
338 (a) In implementing the pilot projects, the department
339 shall establish performance metrics and performance standards to
340 assess improvements in safety, permanency, and the well-being of
341 children in the local system of care for the lead agencies in
342 those judicial circuits. Such metrics and standards must be
343 aligned with indicators used in the most recent federal Child
344 and Family Services Reviews.
345 (b) The lead agencies in the Sixth and Thirteenth Judicial
346 Circuits shall provide performance data to the department each
347 quarter. The department shall review the data for accuracy and
348 completeness and then shall compare the actual performance of
349 the lead agencies to the established performance metrics and
350 standards. Each lead agency that exceeds performance metrics and
351 standards is eligible for incentive funding.
352 (c) For the first quarter of each fiscal year, the
353 department may advance incentive funding to the lead agencies in
354 an amount equal to one quarter of the total allocated to the
355 pilot project. After each quarter, the department shall assess
356 the performance of the lead agencies for that quarter and adjust
357 the subsequent quarter’s incentive funding based on its actual
358 prior quarter performance.
359 (d) The department shall include the results of the pilot
360 projects in the report required under s. 20.19(7). The report
361 must include the department’s findings and recommendations
362 relating to the pilot projects.
363 (e) This subsection expires July 1, 2022.
364 Section 6. Present subsections (6) and (7) of section
365 1004.615, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (9)
366 and (10), respectively, and new subsections (6) and (7) and
367 subsection (8) are added to that section, to read:
368 1004.615 Florida Institute for Child Welfare.—
369 (6) The institute and the Florida State University College
370 of Social Work shall design and implement a curriculum that
371 enhances knowledge and skills for the child welfare practice.
372 The institute and the college shall create the curriculum using
373 interactive and interdisciplinary approaches and include
374 opportunities for students to gain an understanding of real
375 world child welfare cases. The institute shall disseminate the
376 curriculum to other interested state universities and colleges
377 and provide implementation support. The institute shall contract
378 with a person or entity of its choosing, by November 1, 2020, to
379 evaluate the curriculum and make recommendations for
380 improvement. The college shall implement the curriculum during
381 the 2021-2022 school year. This subsection is subject to an
382 appropriation.
383 (7) The institute, in collaboration with the department,
384 community-based care lead agencies, providers of case management
385 services, and other child welfare stakeholders, shall design and
386 implement a career-long professional development curriculum for
387 child welfare professionals at all levels and from all
388 disciplines. The professional development curriculum must
389 enhance the performance of the current child welfare workforce,
390 address issues related to retention, complement the social work
391 curriculum, and be developed using social work principles. The
392 professional development curriculum shall provide career-long
393 coaching, training, certification, and mentorship. The institute
394 must provide the professional support on a continuous basis
395 through online and in-person services. The professional
396 development curriculum must be available by July 1, 2021. The
397 Department of Children and Families must approve the curriculum
398 prior to implementation. This subsection is subject to an
399 appropriation.
400 (8) The institute shall establish a consulting program for
401 child welfare organizations to enhance workforce culture,
402 supervision, and related management processes to improve
403 retention, effectiveness, and overall well-being of staff to
404 support improved child welfare outcomes. The institute shall
405 select child welfare organizations through a competitive
406 application process and provide ongoing analysis,
407 recommendations, and support from a team of experts on a long
408 term basis to address systemic and operational workforce
409 challenges. This subsection is subject to an appropriation.
410 Section 7. The Department of Children and Families, in
411 collaboration with the Florida Institute of Child Welfare, shall
412 develop an expanded career ladder for child protective
413 investigations staff. The career ladder shall include multiple
414 levels of child protective investigator classifications,
415 corresponding milestones and professional development
416 opportunities necessary for advancement, and compensation
417 ranges. The department must submit a proposal for the expanded
418 career ladder to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
419 the Speaker of the House of Representatives no later than
420 November 1, 2020.
421
422 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
423 And the title is amended as follows:
424 Delete lines 5 - 95
425 and insert:
426 department, subject to legislative appropriation, to
427 establish an Office of Quality; providing duties of
428 the office; requiring the office to develop and submit
429 a report to the Governor and the Legislature annually
430 by a specified date; authorizing the department to
431 adopt rules; amending s. 402.402, F.S.; deleting
432 obsolete language; requiring the department to
433 implement certain policies and programs; expanding
434 requirements for an annual report required to be
435 submitted by the department to the Governor and the
436 Legislature; requiring that attorneys contracted with
437 the department receive certain training; amending s.
438 409.988, F.S.; requiring community-based care lead
439 agencies to identify an employee to serve as a liaison
440 with the community alliance and community-based and
441 faith-based organizations; requiring community-based
442 care lead agencies to ensure that appropriate lead
443 agency staff and subcontractors are informed of
444 specified services and assistance; amending s.
445 409.991, F.S.; defining the term “core services
446 funds”; requiring the department to develop a
447 methodology to identify and report the optimal level
448 of funding for community-based care lead agencies;
449 providing requirements for the allocation of core
450 services funds; requiring the Secretary of Children
451 and Families to submit a report to the Governor and
452 Legislature annually by a specified date; providing
453 requirements for such report; authorizing the
454 department to adopt rules; requiring certain funding
455 to be allocated based on the department’s methodology,
456 unless otherwise specified in the General
457 Appropriations Act; amending s. 409.996, F.S.;
458 deleting a provision requiring the department to
459 contract with the state attorney for certain services;
460 authorizing the department to contract for the
461 provision of children’s legal services; providing
462 requirements for contracted attorneys; requiring the
463 department and contracted attorneys to collaborate to
464 monitor program performance; requiring the department
465 to conduct annual program performance evaluations;
466 providing requirements for such evaluations; requiring
467 the department to annually publish a report; providing
468 requirements for such report; requiring the department
469 to annually submit such report to the Governor and
470 Legislature by a specified date; requiring the
471 department to develop a statewide accountability
472 system; requiring that such system be implemented by a
473 specified date; providing requirements for such
474 accountability system; requiring the department and
475 lead agencies to promote enhanced quality service
476 delivery; requiring the department to submit a report
477 to the Governor and the Legislature annually by a
478 specified date; authorizing the department to adopt
479 rules; requiring the department to implement pilot
480 projects to improve child welfare outcomes in
481 specified judicial circuits; requiring the department
482 to establish performance metrics and standards to
483 implement the pilot projects; requiring lead agencies
484 in specified judicial circuits to provide certain data
485 to the department each quarter; requiring the
486 department to review such data; authorizing the
487 department to advance incentive funding to certain
488 lead agencies that meet specified requirements;
489 requiring the department to include certain results in
490 a specified report; providing for future expiration;
491 amending s. 1004.615, F.S.; requiring the Florida
492 Institute for Child Welfare and the Florida State
493 University College of Social Work to design and
494 implement a child welfare practice curriculum;
495 requiring the institute to disseminate the curriculum
496 to certain state universities and colleges; requiring
497 the institute to contract with a person or entity by a
498 specified date to evaluate the curriculum and make
499 recommendations for improvement; requiring the college
500 to implement the curriculum during a specified school
501 year; requiring the institute, in collaboration with
502 specified entities and individuals, to design and
503 implement professional development curriculum for
504 child welfare professionals; providing requirements
505 for such curriculum; requiring that such curriculum be
506 available by a specified date; requiring the
507 department to approve the curriculum before
508 implementation; requiring the institute to establish a
509 consulting program; providing that specified
510 provisions are subject to an appropriation; requiring
511 the department, in collaboration with the institute,
512 to develop a proposal for a career ladder for child
513 protective investigations staff; providing
514 requirements for such career ladder; requiring the
515 department to submit a proposal for such career ladder
516 to the Governor and the Legislature by a specified
517 date; providing a short