Florida Senate - 2024 CS for SB 1442
By the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services;
and Senator Grall
603-03306-24 20241442c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to pregnancy support services;
3 creating s. 414.1611, F.S.; establishing the Florida
4 State Maternity Housing Grant Program within the
5 Department of Children and Families for a specified
6 purpose; providing specifications for sources of, and
7 limitations on, funding for the program; requiring the
8 State Office of Homelessness administering the grant
9 funds to rank grant applicants competitively and give
10 preference to certain grant applicants; specifying
11 eligibility criteria for lead agencies applying for
12 grants under the program; specifying requirements for
13 lead agencies that receive grants under the program;
14 specifying expenses for which grant funds may be used;
15 requiring lead agencies to track, monitor, and report
16 on each woman or family assisted with the grant funds
17 for a specified timeframe; specifying performance
18 goals for lead agencies administering grant funds;
19 authorizing the department to adopt rules necessary to
20 administer the program; providing an effective date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Section 414.1611, Florida Statutes, is created
25 to read:
26 414.1611 Florida State Maternity Housing Grant Program.—
27 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—There is created the Florida
28 State Maternity Housing Grant Program within the department to
29 provide housing resources and approved living arrangements for
30 resident women and families of this state experiencing
31 homelessness during pregnancy, regardless of age or marital
32 status, whose financial resources have been determined
33 inadequate to meet residential costs. The State Office on
34 Homelessness, with the concurrence of the Council on
35 Homelessness, may accept and administer funds appropriated to
36 the department to provide maternity housing grants annually to
37 lead agencies for local homeless assistance continuums of care,
38 as recognized by the State Office on Homelessness. These funds
39 shall consist of any sums that the state may appropriate, as
40 well as those received from donations, gifts, bequests, or
41 otherwise from any public or private source which are intended
42 to assist women and families experiencing homelessness during
43 pregnancy. The total amount of grants awarded may not exceed the
44 funding appropriated or received for the grant program under
45 this section.
46 (2) GRANT APPLICATIONS.—The State Office on Homelessness
47 shall rank lead agency grant applicants competitively and give
48 preference to applicants that leverage additional private and
49 public funds, demonstrate the effectiveness of their maternity
50 housing programs in housing homeless women and families
51 experiencing pregnancy, and demonstrate the commitment of the
52 lead agency to offer other assistance and services to address
53 family health, employment, and education needs to prevent future
54 homelessness.
55 (3) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to qualify for a grant, a lead
56 agency must develop and implement a local homeless assistance
57 continuum of care plan for its designated catchment area, to
58 include a maternity housing program.
59 (4) GRANT LIMITS.—The maternity housing program funded by
60 the grant must require a case plan for each woman or family to
61 be assisted, setting forth which costs will be covered and the
62 maximum level of assistance to be offered. The grant assistance
63 may be used to pay for expenses related to any of the following:
64 (a) Housing in an authorized living arrangement. Housing
65 assistance may be provided for a maximum of 8 months, of which 8
66 weeks may be postpartum.
67 (b) Services recommended by the lead agency for women and
68 families approved for the grant program to encourage economic
69 independence and positive health outcomes for participants.
70 (c) Staffing and reimbursements for providers of authorized
71 living arrangements.
72 (d) All other related costs for the administration of the
73 program, not to exceed 5 percent of the total grant funds
74 awarded to the lead agency.
75 (5) PERFORMANCE.—The lead agency shall track, monitor, and
76 report on each woman or family assisted for at least 12 months
77 after the last assistance provided. The lead agency’s maternity
78 housing program shall seek to enable at least 85 percent of the
79 women and families assisted to avoid becoming homeless during
80 this time period.
81 (6) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The department may adopt rules
82 necessary to administer the program. The rules may include, but
83 need not be limited to, eligibility criteria for homeless
84 mothers and families experiencing pregnancy who are seeking
85 maternity housing services.
86 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.