Florida Senate - 2022 CS for SB 1120
By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
Senator Rodriguez
586-02285-22 20221120c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to child welfare; amending s. 39.407,
3 F.S.; authorizing the Department of Children and
4 Families, under certain circumstances, to place
5 children in its custody in therapeutic group homes for
6 residential mental health treatment without prior
7 court approval; revising definitions; defining the
8 term “therapeutic group home”; providing that the
9 department, rather than the Agency for Health Care
10 Administration, shall appoint qualified evaluators to
11 conduct suitability assessments of certain children in
12 the department’s custody; specifying qualifications
13 for evaluators conducting suitability assessments for
14 placement in a therapeutic group home; revising
15 requirements for suitability assessments; specifying
16 when the department must provide a copy of the
17 assessment to the guardian ad litem and the court;
18 revising the department’s and the agency’s rulemaking
19 authority; providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Subsection (6) of section 39.407, Florida
24 Statutes, is amended to read:
25 39.407 Medical, psychiatric, and psychological examination
26 and treatment of child; physical, mental, or substance abuse
27 examination of person with or requesting child custody.—
28 (6) Children who are in the legal custody of the department
29 may be placed by the department, without prior approval of the
30 court, in a residential treatment center licensed under s.
31 394.875, a therapeutic group home, or a hospital licensed under
32 chapter 395 for residential mental health treatment only
33 pursuant to this section or may be placed by the court in
34 accordance with an order of involuntary examination or
35 involuntary placement entered pursuant to s. 394.463 or s.
36 394.467. All children placed in a residential treatment program
37 under this subsection must have a guardian ad litem appointed.
38 (a) As used in this subsection, the term:
39 2.1. “Residential treatment” or “residential treatment
40 program” means a placement for observation, diagnosis, or
41 treatment of an emotional disturbance in a residential treatment
42 center licensed under s. 394.875, a therapeutic group home, or a
43 hospital licensed under chapter 395.
44 1.2. “Least restrictive alternative” means the treatment
45 and conditions of treatment that, separately and in combination,
46 are no more intrusive or restrictive of freedom than reasonably
47 necessary to achieve a substantial therapeutic benefit or to
48 protect the child or adolescent or others from physical injury.
49 3. “Suitable for residential treatment” or “suitability”
50 means a determination concerning a child or adolescent with an
51 emotional disturbance as defined in s. 394.492(5) or a serious
52 emotional disturbance as defined in s. 394.492(6) that each of
53 the following criteria is met:
54 a. The child requires residential treatment.
55 b. The child is in need of a residential treatment program
56 and is expected to benefit from mental, emotional, or behavioral
57 health treatment.
58 c. An appropriate, less restrictive alternative to
59 residential treatment is unavailable.
60 4. “Therapeutic group home” means a 24-hour residential
61 program providing community-based mental health treatment and
62 mental health support services to children who meet the criteria
63 in s. 394.492(5) or (6) in a nonsecure, homelike setting.
64 (b) Whenever the department believes that a child in its
65 legal custody is emotionally disturbed and may need residential
66 treatment, an examination and suitability assessment must be
67 conducted by a qualified evaluator who is appointed by the
68 department Agency for Health Care Administration. This
69 suitability assessment must be completed before the placement of
70 the child in a residential treatment program center for
71 emotionally disturbed children and adolescents or a hospital.
72 1. The qualified evaluator for placement in a residential
73 treatment center or a hospital must be a psychiatrist or a
74 psychologist licensed in this state Florida who has at least 3
75 years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of serious
76 emotional disturbances in children and adolescents and who has
77 no actual or perceived conflict of interest with any inpatient
78 facility or residential treatment center or program.
79 2. The qualified evaluator for placement in a therapeutic
80 group home must be a psychiatrist licensed under chapter 458 or
81 chapter 459, a psychologist licensed under chapter 490, or a
82 mental health counselor licensed under chapter 491 who has at
83 least 2 years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of
84 serious emotional or behavioral disturbance in children and
85 adolescents and who has no actual or perceived conflict of
86 interest with any residential treatment center or program.
87 (c) Consistent with the requirements of this section Before
88 a child is admitted under this subsection, the child shall be
89 assessed for suitability for residential treatment by a
90 qualified evaluator who has conducted an a personal examination
91 and assessment of the child and has made written findings that:
92 1. The child appears to have an emotional disturbance
93 serious enough to require treatment in a residential treatment
94 program and is reasonably likely to benefit from the treatment.
95 2. The child has been provided with a clinically
96 appropriate explanation of the nature and purpose of the
97 treatment.
98 3. All available modalities of treatment less restrictive
99 than residential treatment have been considered, and a less
100 restrictive alternative that would offer comparable benefits to
101 the child is unavailable.
102
103 A copy of the written findings of the evaluation and suitability
104 assessment must be provided to the department, to the guardian
105 ad litem, and, if the child is a member of a Medicaid managed
106 care plan, to the plan that is financially responsible for the
107 child’s care in residential treatment, all of whom must be
108 provided with the opportunity to discuss the findings with the
109 evaluator.
110 (d) Immediately upon placing a child in a residential
111 treatment program under this section, the department must notify
112 the guardian ad litem and the court having jurisdiction over the
113 child. Within 5 days after the department’s receipt of the
114 assessment, the department shall and must provide the guardian
115 ad litem and the court with a copy of the assessment by the
116 qualified evaluator.
117 (e) Within 10 days after the admission of a child to a
118 residential treatment program, the director of the residential
119 treatment program or the director’s designee must ensure that an
120 individualized plan of treatment has been prepared by the
121 program and has been explained to the child, to the department,
122 and to the guardian ad litem, and submitted to the department.
123 The child must be involved in the preparation of the plan to the
124 maximum feasible extent consistent with his or her ability to
125 understand and participate, and the guardian ad litem and the
126 child’s foster parents must be involved to the maximum extent
127 consistent with the child’s treatment needs. The plan must
128 include a preliminary plan for residential treatment and
129 aftercare upon completion of residential treatment. The plan
130 must include specific behavioral and emotional goals against
131 which the success of the residential treatment may be measured.
132 A copy of the plan must be provided to the child, to the
133 guardian ad litem, and to the department.
134 (f) Within 30 days after admission, the residential
135 treatment program must review the appropriateness and
136 suitability of the child’s placement in the program. The
137 residential treatment program must determine whether the child
138 is receiving benefit toward the treatment goals and whether the
139 child could be treated in a less restrictive treatment program.
140 The residential treatment program shall prepare a written report
141 of its findings and submit the report to the guardian ad litem
142 and to the department. The department must submit the report to
143 the court. The report must include a discharge plan for the
144 child. The residential treatment program must continue to
145 evaluate the child’s treatment progress every 30 days thereafter
146 and must include its findings in a written report submitted to
147 the department. The department may not reimburse a facility
148 until the facility has submitted every written report that is
149 due.
150 (g)1. The department must submit, at the beginning of each
151 month, to the court having jurisdiction over the child, a
152 written report regarding the child’s progress toward achieving
153 the goals specified in the individualized plan of treatment.
154 2. The court must conduct a hearing to review the status of
155 the child’s residential treatment plan no later than 60 days
156 after the child’s admission to the residential treatment
157 program. An independent review of the child’s progress toward
158 achieving the goals and objectives of the treatment plan must be
159 completed by a qualified evaluator and submitted to the court
160 before its 60-day review.
161 3. For any child in residential treatment at the time a
162 judicial review is held pursuant to s. 39.701, the child’s
163 continued placement in residential treatment must be a subject
164 of the judicial review.
165 4. If at any time the court determines that the child is
166 not suitable for continued residential treatment, the court
167 shall order the department to place the child in the least
168 restrictive setting that is best suited to meet his or her
169 needs.
170 (h) After the initial 60-day review, the court must conduct
171 a review of the child’s residential treatment plan every 90
172 days.
173 (i) The department may adopt rules to administer this
174 subsection must adopt rules for implementing timeframes for the
175 completion of suitability assessments by qualified evaluators
176 and a procedure that includes timeframes for completing the 60
177 day independent review by the qualified evaluators of the
178 child’s progress toward achieving the goals and objectives of
179 the treatment plan which review must be submitted to the court.
180 The Agency for Health Care Administration must adopt rules for
181 the registration of qualified evaluators, the procedure for
182 selecting the evaluators to conduct the reviews required under
183 this section, and a reasonable, cost-efficient fee schedule for
184 qualified evaluators.
185 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.