ENROLLED
       2023 Legislature                    CS for CS for CS for SB 1064
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                             20231064er
    1  
    2         An act relating to trauma screening for children
    3         removed from caregivers; amending s. 39.523, F.S.;
    4         revising legislative findings; requiring the
    5         Department of Children and Families or community-based
    6         care lead agency to conduct a trauma screening after a
    7         child’s removal from his or her home within a certain
    8         timeframe; requiring the department or community-based
    9         care lead agency to refer the child for a trauma
   10         assessment, if indicated appropriate or necessary by
   11         the screening, within a certain timeframe; requiring
   12         the department or community-based lead agency to refer
   13         the child to services and intervention, as needed;
   14         requiring that the trauma screening, assessment, and
   15         services and intervention be integrated into the
   16         child’s overall treatment planning and services;
   17         requiring the department or the community-based care
   18         lead agency to provide certain information and support
   19         for a specified purpose; providing an effective date.
   20          
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Subsections (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection
   24  (2) of section 39.523, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   25         39.523 Placement in out-of-home care.—
   26         (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
   27         (a) The Legislature finds that it is a basic tenet of child
   28  welfare practice and the law that a child be placed in the least
   29  restrictive, most family-like setting available in close
   30  proximity to the home of his or her parents which meets the
   31  needs of the child, and that a child be placed in a permanent
   32  home in a timely manner.
   33         (b) The Legislature also finds that there is an association
   34  between placements that do not meet the needs of the child and
   35  adverse outcomes for the child, that mismatching placements to
   36  children’s needs has been identified as a factor that negatively
   37  impacts placement stability, and that identifying the right
   38  placement for each child requires effective assessment.
   39         (c) The Legislature also finds that the timely
   40  identification of and therapeutic response to acute presentation
   41  of symptoms indicative of trauma can reduce adverse outcomes for
   42  a child, aid in the identification of services to enhance
   43  initial placement stability and of supports to caregivers, and
   44  reduce placement disruption.
   45         (d) It is the intent of the Legislature that whenever a
   46  child is unable to safely remain at home with a parent, the most
   47  appropriate available out-of-home placement shall be chosen
   48  after an assessment of the child’s needs and the availability of
   49  caregivers qualified to meet the child’s needs.
   50         (2) ASSESSMENT AND PLACEMENT.—When any child is removed
   51  from a home and placed in out-of-home care, a comprehensive
   52  placement assessment process shall be completed in accordance
   53  with s. 39.4022 to determine the level of care needed by the
   54  child and match the child with the most appropriate placement.
   55         (a) In accordance with rules adopted by the department, the
   56  department or community-based care lead agency or subcontracted
   57  agency with the responsibility for assessment and placement
   58  must:
   59         1. Coordinate a multidisciplinary team staffing as
   60  established in s. 39.4022 with the necessary participants for
   61  the stated purpose of the staffing.
   62         2. Conduct a trauma screening as soon as practicable after
   63  the child’s removal from his or her home but no later than 21
   64  days after the shelter hearing. If indicated as appropriate or
   65  necessary by the screening, the department or community-based
   66  care lead agency must, at a minimum:
   67         a. Promptly refer the child to appropriate trauma
   68  assessment, which must be completed within 30 days, and if
   69  appropriate, services and intervention as needed. To the extent
   70  possible, the trauma screening, the assessment, and services and
   71  intervention must be integrated into the child’s overall
   72  behavioral health treatment planning and services.
   73         b. In accordance with s. 409.1415(2)(b)3.f., provide
   74  information and support, which may include, but need not be
   75  limited to, consultation, coaching, training, and referrals to
   76  services, to the caregiver of the child to help the caregiver
   77  respond to and care for the child in a trauma-informed and
   78  therapeutic manner.
   79         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.