Florida Senate - 2023 SB 428
By Senator Rouson
16-01040A-23 2023428__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Community Violence Intervention
3 and Prevention Grant Program; creating s. 402.88,
4 F.S.; creating the Community Violence Intervention and
5 Prevention Grant Program within the Department of
6 Children and Families; authorizing the department to
7 award grants, subject to legislative appropriation, to
8 certain organizations and entities; requiring grants
9 to be used for specified purposes; authorizing
10 applicants to apply independently or jointly;
11 specifying application requirements; requiring the
12 department to prioritize certain applicants;
13 prohibiting the department from requiring grant
14 recipients to participate in certain activities as a
15 condition of receiving a grant; requiring that funds
16 awarded be commensurate with the scope of the
17 applicant’s proposal and demonstrated need; requiring
18 grant funds to be used only for the applicant’s
19 specified purpose; prohibiting grant funds from
20 reverting to the general budget of specified entities;
21 requiring grants to be awarded for a specified
22 duration; requiring grant recipients to submit
23 specified reports to the department at prescribed
24 intervals; authorizing the department to use up to a
25 specified percentage of the appropriated funds for
26 implementing and administering the grant program;
27 requiring program costs to include a specified
28 evaluation and analysis; requiring that such
29 evaluation and analysis be made available to the
30 public; requiring the department to hold an annual
31 public hearing for specified purposes; requiring the
32 department to annually submit a report to the Governor
33 and Legislature by a specified date; authorizing the
34 department to adopt rules; providing an effective
35 date.
36
37 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
38
39 Section 1. Section 402.88, Florida Statutes, is created to
40 read:
41 402.88 Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant
42 Program.—
43 (1) There is created the Community Violence Intervention
44 and Prevention Grant Program within the Department of Children
45 and Families.
46 (2) Subject to legislative appropriation, the department
47 may provide grants on a competitive basis to nonprofit
48 organizations and community-based partnerships which serve
49 communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence to
50 support, expand, and replicate effective violence reduction
51 initiatives. The grants must be used to:
52 (a) Implement, expand, or enhance coordination between
53 evidence-informed violence reduction initiatives, including, but
54 not limited to, hospital-based violence intervention, street
55 outreach, and group violence intervention strategies that have
56 demonstrated effectiveness at reducing homicides, group
57 violence, and other interpersonal violence without contributing
58 to mass incarceration.
59 (b) Support the development and delivery of intervention
60 based strategies by entities that provide targeted services to
61 persons at risk of being victimized by or of engaging in
62 violence to interrupt cycles of violence, reinjury, and
63 retaliation.
64 (c) Support initiatives that primarily target a reduction
65 of violence among persons who have been identified as having the
66 highest risk of perpetrating or being victimized by violence in
67 the near future based on the best available medical and public
68 health research.
69 (3) Applicants may apply either independently or jointly.
70 (4) An applicant for a grant shall submit a proposal in a
71 form prescribed by the department which must include all of the
72 following:
73 (a) A statement describing how the applicant proposes to
74 use the grant to implement an evidence-informed violence
75 reduction initiative in accordance with this section.
76 (b) A statement describing how the applicant proposes to
77 use the grant to enhance coordination of existing violence
78 prevention and intervention programs and minimize duplication of
79 services.
80 (c) Evidence indicating that the proposed violence
81 reduction initiative would likely reduce homicides, group
82 violence, and other interpersonal violence.
83 (d) Clearly defined and measurable objectives for the
84 violence reduction initiative.
85 (5) In awarding grants, the department shall prioritize
86 applicants operating in areas disproportionately affected by
87 violence and whose proposals demonstrate the greatest likelihood
88 of reducing homicides, group violence, and other interpersonal
89 violence without contributing to mass incarceration. The
90 department may not require grant recipients to participate in
91 the policing, enforcement, or prosecution of any crime as a
92 condition of receiving a grant.
93 (6) The amount of funds awarded to an applicant shall be
94 commensurate with the scope of the applicant’s proposal and the
95 applicant’s demonstrated need for additional resources to reduce
96 homicides, group violence, and other interpersonal violence in
97 the community served by the applicant.
98 (7) A grant may be used only for the purposes specified in
99 the grant application. Grant funds may not revert to the general
100 budget of a law enforcement agency, municipality, or other
101 public entity participating in a community-based partnership.
102 (8) A grant must be awarded for a minimum of 3 years’
103 duration, subject to the availability of state funding.
104 (9) Each grant recipient shall report to the department, in
105 a form and at intervals prescribed by the department, the
106 recipient’s progress toward achieving the grant objectives.
107 (10)(a) The department may use up to 8 percent of the funds
108 appropriated or made available, or such percentage as may be
109 authorized under program guidelines for funding made available
110 to the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant
111 Program through federal funding sources, for the costs of
112 implementation and administration of technical assistance and
113 for the costs of implementing and administering the program,
114 including, but not limited to, employment of dedicated grants
115 management and programmatic personnel.
116 (b) The program costs under paragraph (a) must include an
117 annual program evaluation and an analysis of the effectiveness
118 of violence reduction initiatives. The evaluation and analysis
119 must be made available to the public.
120 (11) The department shall annually hold at least one public
121 hearing that provides a forum to receive information on how the
122 public funds are spent, testimony from grant recipients on the
123 effectiveness of their programs and best practices, and input
124 from the public on whether the initiatives and the grant-funded
125 programs are accomplishing their respective missions. Public
126 input must be used to assess and revise grant-making metrics and
127 processes for awarding grants.
128 (12) Beginning January 1, 2024, and on or before January 1
129 of each year thereafter, the department shall prepare and
130 transmit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
131 Speaker of the House of Representatives a report that must
132 include a listing of the grants awarded under the program,
133 descriptions of the initiatives and impact on the communities
134 served through the grants, and such other information as the
135 department deems appropriate.
136 (13) The department may adopt rules to implement this
137 section.
138 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.