The Florida Senate

415.5016  Purpose and legislative intent.--

(1)  The purpose of this part is to provide procedures which allow the Department of Children and Family Services to respond to reports of child abuse or neglect by providing, when appropriate, services to families without the need for protective investigations, classification of reports, or other procedures required in part IV. To achieve this purpose, a family services response system is established under this part. It is the intent of the Legislature that the department respond to reports of child abuse or neglect in the most efficient and effective manner that ensures the safety of children and the integrity of families.

(2)  The Legislature recognizes that most families desire to be competent caregivers and providers for their children and that children achieve their greatest potential when families are able to support and nurture the growth and development of their children.

(3)  The Legislature finds that policies and procedures that provide for intervention through the department's family services response system should be based on the following principles:

(a)  The intervention should ensure the safety of children.

(b)  The intervention should engage families in constructive, supportive, and nonadversarial relationships.

(c)  The intervention should intrude as little as possible into the life of the family, be focused on clearly defined objectives, and take the most parsimonious path to remedy a family's problems.

(d)  The intervention should be based upon outcome evaluation results that demonstrate success in supporting families and protecting children.

(4)  It is the intent of the Legislature:

(a)  That the mission of the child protection system shall be to work in partnership with local communities to ensure that Florida children are growing up in permanent and stable families, free from abuse and neglect.

(b)  That every Florida child shall have a permanent family to support and nurture his or her growth and development and be free from abuse and neglect.

(c)  That most families shall have the opportunity to receive assistance on a voluntary basis in the least intrusive and most positive manner possible.

(d)  That the best methods for protecting children involve early assessment and family-centered supportive services for purposes of family preservation.

(e)  That communities have a responsibility to provide safe and secure neighborhoods where needed services and support are available and accessible for family members.

(f)  That services shall ensure that children who cannot continue to live with their birth families are placed with responsible relatives, with another family, or in an independent living arrangement.

(g)  That the key function of services funded by the department shall be child and family assessments and the provision of needed services to protect the child and support the family.

(5)  It is the goal of the Legislature under this part:

(a)  To develop a family services response system that reflects a partnership between the department, other agencies, and local communities.

(b)  To develop a family services response system that emphasizes the reduction of risk, rather than the removal of children from their homes.

(c)  To develop a family services response system that is sensitive to the social and cultural diversity of the state.

(d)  To develop a family services response system that reflects the interest and needs of local communities.

(e)  To develop methods for protecting at-risk children, including early assessment, early intervention, and family-centered supportive services, for the purpose of family preservation.

(f)  To establish policies that limit confirmed classification of reports of abuse and neglect to cases not appropriate for a family services response system approach.

(6)  It is not the intent of the Legislature to "widen the net" and develop a system that potentially brings more families unnecessarily under the child protective investigation system.

(7)  To achieve the goals of this part, it is the intent of the Legislature to allow the department the flexibility to demonstrate the efficacy of a family services response system approach to reports of child abuse and neglect.

History.--s. 3, ch. 93-25; s. 19, ch. 95-228; s. 130, ch. 97-101.