Florida Senate - 2023 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for CS for SB 1690
Ì141058*Î141058
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: 1/AD/2R .
04/27/2023 03:09 PM .
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Senator Ingoglia moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 70 - 147
4 and insert:
5 402.88 Adult safe houses.—
6 (1) As used in this section, the term:
7 (a) “Adult safe house” means a group residential facility
8 that provides housing and care specifically for adult survivors
9 of human trafficking.
10 (b) “Adult survivor of human trafficking” or “survivor”
11 means an individual who has reached the age of 18 and who has
12 been subjected to human trafficking as defined in s. 787.06.
13 (c) “Department” means the Department of Children and
14 Families.
15 (2) The Services and Resources Committee of the Statewide
16 Council on Human Trafficking established under s. 16.617 shall
17 conduct a study and make recommendations regarding the
18 regulation of adult safe houses, as provided in this section.
19 (a) The department shall provide administrative and staff
20 support to the committee in meeting the requirements of this
21 section.
22 (b) The committee shall submit an interim report regarding
23 its activities and findings by October 1, 2023, to the Governor,
24 the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
25 Representatives. The committee shall submit a final report
26 addressing all requirements of this subsection by December 31,
27 2023, to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
28 Speaker of the House of Representatives.
29 (3) The committee shall survey operators of existing adult
30 safe houses in the state to determine the following information
31 regarding their operation. The information may be obtained and
32 presented on a categorical or high-level basis, as appropriate.
33 (a) The number of adult safe houses in Florida and the
34 regions of the state where they are located.
35 (b) The number of beds in adult safe houses and number of
36 individuals served per year.
37 (c) The policies and criteria regarding which adult
38 survivors of human trafficking may be served and the processes
39 for intake and discharge, such as for how referrals are
40 received.
41 (d) The amount of revenues supporting adult safe house
42 operation and the sources of such funds, including, but not
43 limited to, the amount of state and federal funds received and
44 the specific source of such state and federal funds.
45 (e) Services and supports provided to adult survivors of
46 human trafficking directly by the adult safe house and services
47 to which residents are referred, including while they are
48 residing in the adult safe house and after transitioning out of
49 the adult safe house.
50 (f) Training requirements for staff and volunteers.
51 (g) The nature of and mechanisms for coordination with law
52 enforcement.
53 (h) Whether the adult safe houses allow children of adult
54 survivors of human trafficking to also reside in the houses, and
55 if so, policies regarding their residence in the house and
56 services directly provided to them or to which they may be
57 referred.
58 (i) Policies of adult safe houses that ensure that adult
59 survivors of human trafficking are served in a respectful and
60 trauma-informed manner.
61 (j) Challenges faced by adult safe houses in providing a
62 safe and therapeutic environment that is trauma-informed and in
63 providing services to residents and their children.
64 (k) Any accreditations held by adult safe houses, external
65 standards promulgated by outside bodies which houses meet, or
66 other industry certifications held by adult safe houses.
67 (l) Identification of ineffective or problematic practices
68 in existing adult safe houses in the state and recommendations
69 regarding minimum standards for regulation.
70 (4) As part of the study, the committee shall also:
71 (a) Identify and review standards recommended by national
72 organizations or experts specializing in adult safe house
73 service provision or shelter or housing for adult survivors of
74 human trafficking.
75 (b) Obtain recommendations from adult survivors of human
76 trafficking and law enforcement agencies regarding regulation of
77 adult safe houses.
78 (5) The committee shall develop recommendations for
79 regulation of adult safe houses in Florida based on, at a
80 minimum, the information obtained by the committee under this
81 section.
82 (6) After December 31, 2023, the department shall initiate
83 rulemaking and adopt rules establishing minimum standards for
84 certification of adult safe houses to ensure that they provide a
85 safe and therapeutic environment and operate in a survivor
86 centered and trauma-informed manner. After rules are adopted to
87 certify adult safe houses, only adult safe houses certified by
88 the department may provide group residential housing and care
89 specifically for adult survivors of human trafficking. Adult
90 safe houses in operation as of the date that rules initially
91 adopted under this section become effective shall have 6 months
92 from such date to become certified.
93 (a) The department shall adopt rules for the operation of
94 adult safe houses, including standards for, at a minimum, the
95 following:
96 1. Safe and therapeutic environments to receive and house
97 adult survivors of human trafficking.
98 2. Appropriate security.
99 3. Coordination with local law enforcement agencies.
100 4. Safe and appropriate sheltering of minor children and
101 other dependents of an adult survivor of human trafficking.
102 5. Operations based on trauma-informed and survivor
103 centered principles.
104 6. Trauma-informed, survivor-centered services that must,
105 at a minimum, be provided, and other services that may be
106 provided or to which adult survivors of human trafficking may be
107 referred.
108 7. Appropriate training, background screening, and
109 compliance with policies and procedures by owners, directors,
110 board members, personnel, and volunteers of the adult safe
111 house, as applicable.
112 (b) The department shall require complete applications for
113 certification and for recertification, which must be renewed
114 every 2 years, using forms furnished by the department, and
115 provide all required information.
116 (c) The department shall inspect adult safe houses before
117 certification and at least annually thereafter to ensure
118 compliance with the requirements of this section.
119 (d) An adult safe house may provide to the department a
120 list of the names of the human trafficking advocates who are
121 employed or who volunteer at the adult safe house who may claim
122 a privilege under s. 90.5037 to refuse to disclose a
123 confidential communication between a victim of human trafficking
124 and the advocate regarding the human trafficking inflicted upon
125 the adult survivor of human trafficking. If a list is filed, the
126 list must include the title of the position held by the advocate
127 whose name is listed and a description of the duties of that
128 position. An adult safe house shall file amendments to this list
129 as necessary.
130 (e) If the department finds failure by an adult safe house
131 to comply with the requirements established in or rules adopted
132 under this section, the department may subject the adult safe
133 house to disciplinary action, including, but not limited to,
134 requiring a corrective action plan, imposing administrative
135 fines, or denying, suspending, or revoking the certification of
136 the adult safe house.
137
138 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
139 And the title is amended as follows:
140 Delete lines 9 - 18
141 and insert:
142 requiring the Services and Resources Committee of the
143 Statewide Council on Human Trafficking to conduct a
144 study and make certain recommendations; requiring the
145 department to provide administrative and staff
146 support; requiring the committee to submit certain
147 reports by specified dates; requiring the committee to
148 survey operators of existing adult safe houses in the
149 state to make specified determinations; providing
150 requirements for the information the committee must
151 obtain and the recommendations it must develop;
152 requiring the department to establish a process to
153 certify adult safe houses that provide housing and
154 care to adult survivors of human trafficking;
155 requiring that adult safe houses be certified by the
156 department after certification rules are adopted;
157 requiring the department to adopt rules; providing
158 application and renewal requirements; requiring the
159 department to inspect adult safe houses before
160 certification and annually thereafter; allowing adult
161 safe houses to provide lists of advocates who are
162 employed or who volunteer at the adult safe house who
163 may claim a privilege under s. 90.5037, F.S.;
164 authorizing the department to take certain
165 disciplinary actions for noncompliance; amending s.
166 409.1678, F.S.;