SB 1650 — Child Welfare

and (c) Approved by the department to be operating for the benefit of and in a manner consistent with the goals of the cabinet and in the best interest of the state.

(2) The board of directors of the direct-support organization shall consist of seven members appointed by the Governor.

Each member of the board of directors shall be appointed to a 4-year term.

(3) The direct-support organization shall operate under written contract with the department.

(4) All moneys received by the direct-support organization shall be deposited into an account of the direct-support organization and shall be used by the organization in a manner consistent with the goals of the cabinet.

(5) This section is repealed October 1, 2024, unless reviewed and saved from repeal by the Legislature.

Section 2. Subsection (37) of section 39.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

Section 2. Paragraph3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 39.4015,39.201, Florida Statutes, is amendedamended, and paragraph (l) is added to that subsection, to read:

39.201 Mandatory reports of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect;

mandatory reports of death;

central abuse hotline.— (2) (d) If the report is of an instance of known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect which that occurred out of state and the alleged perpetrator and the child alleged to be a victim live out of state, the central abuse hotline may shall not accept the report or call for investigation unless the child is currently being evaluated in a medical facility in this state.

1. If the child is currently being evaluated in a medical facility in this state, the central abuse hotline shall accept the report or call for investigation and shall transfer the information on the report or call to the appropriate state or country.

2. If the child is not currently being evaluated in a medical facility in this state, the central abuse hotline, but shall transfer the information on the report to or call to the appropriate state or country.

(l) The department shall initiate an investigation when it receives a report from an emergency room physician.

Section 4. Paragraph (i) is added to subsection (4) of section 39.303, Florida Statutes, to read:

39.303 Child Protection Teams and sexual abuse treatment programs;

services;

eligible cases.— (4) The child abuse, abandonment, and neglect reports that must be referred by the department to Child Protection Teams of the Department of Health for an assessment and other appropriate available support services as set forth in subsection (3) must include cases involving:

(i) A child who does not live in this state who is currently being evaluated in a medical facility in this state.

Section 5. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 39.4015, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

Section 3. Paragraph6. Paragraph (h) of subsection (8) of section 39.402, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

Section 4. Subsection7. Subsection (3) and paragraphs (g), (h), and (i) of subsection (6) of section 39.407, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

Section 5. Present8. Present paragraphs (a) through (h) of subsection (2) of section 39.5085, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as paragraphs (b) through (i), respectively, paragraph (a) of subsection (1) is amended, and a new paragraph (a) is added to subsection (2) of that section, to read:

(2) (a) Relatives orand nonrelatives whomust arebe caringinformed forof athe childavailability of, and dothe notrequirements meetand benefits of, the eligibilityRelative requirementsCaregiver forProgram Leveland Ithe licensureGuardianship underAssistance s.Program and must be informed that they may choose which program to enroll in that best suits the particular needs of the caregiver.

409.175Section may9. Paragraph apply(a) forof thesubsection Relative(1) Caregiverof Program.section 39.5086, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 39.5086, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

Section 7. Subsections10. Subsections (6)(1), (2), (6), and (10) of section 39.6225, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

39.6225 Guardianship Assistance Program.— (6) Guardianship(1) The assistancedepartment benefits shall beestablish terminatedand ifoperate the guardianGuardianship isAssistance noProgram longerto providingprovide supportguardianship assistance payments to relatives, as defined in this subsection, next of kin, and fictive kin who meet the child.eligibility requirements established in this section.

For purposes of thisadministering subsection,the aprogram, guardian is considered to no longer be providing support to the childterm: if:

(a) The(a) “Child” childmeans isan absentindividual fromwho thehas homenot ofattained the21 guardianyears for a period of atage. least 60 consecutive calendar days, unless the child:

1. Is(b) “Young absentadult” duemeans toan medicalindividual care,who schoolhas attendance,attained runaway18 status,years orof detentionage inbut awho Departmenthas ofnot Juvenileattained Justice21 facility;years of age.

(c) “Relative” means fictive kin, a relative as defined in s.

39.01(73), or next of kin.

(2) To approve an application for the program, the department shall determine that all of the following requirements have been met:

(a) The child’s placement with the guardian has been approved by the court.

(b) The court has granted legal custody to the guardian pursuant to s.

39.6221 39.521 or s.

39.522.

(c) The guardian has been licensed to care for the child as provided in s.

409.175.

(d) The child was eligible for foster care room and board payments pursuant to s.

409.145 for at least 6 consecutive months while the child resided in the home of the guardian and the guardian was licensed as a foster parent.

(6) Guardianship assistance benefits shall be terminated if:

(a) The child has attained the age of 18, or such greater age as the department may elect;

(b) The child has not attained the age of 18 and the relative guardians are no longer legally responsible for the support of the child;

or (c) The child is no longer receiving support from the guardian (a) The child is absent from the home of the guardian for a period of at least 60 consecutive calendar days, unless the child:

1.

Is absent due to medical care, school attendance, runaway status, or detention in a Department of Juvenile Justice facility;

Section 8. Subsections11. Subsections (2) and (3), paragraph (a) of subsection (4), and subsection (6) of section 39.6251, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (10) is added to that section, to read:

518644 The young adult must furnish documentation to the department or lead agency of his or her participation in one of the programs or activities listed in paragraphs (a)-(d), or his or her inability to participate in one of the programs or activities as provided in paragraph (e), or authorize the release of his or her records to the department or lead agency.

Section 9. Paragraph12. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 39.701, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraphs (f) and (g) are added to subsection (4) of that section, to read:

Section 10. Present13. Paragraph subsections(a) (9)of andsubsection (10)(4) of section 409.1451,402.56, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (10) and (11), respectively, paragraph (b) of subsection (2) is amended,amended and a new subsection (9) is added to that section, to read:

402.56 Children’s cabinet;

organization;

responsibilities;

annual report.— (4) MEMBERS.—The cabinet shall consist of 16 members including the Governor and the following persons:

(a)1. The Secretary of Children and Families;

2. The Secretary of Juvenile Justice;

3. The director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities;

4. The director of the Office of Early Learning;

5. The State Surgeon General;

6. The Secretary of Health Care Administration;

7. The Commissioner of Education;

8. The director of the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office;

9. A representative The director of the Office of Adoption and Child Protection;

10. A superintendent of schools, appointed by the Governor;

and 11. Five members who represent children and youth advocacy organizations and who are not service providers, appointed by the Governor.

Section 14. Present subsections (9) and (10) of section 409.1451, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (10) and (11), respectively, paragraph (b) of subsection (2) is amended, and a new subsection (9) is added to that section, to read:

39.6251 may be disregarded for purposes of determining the eligibility for, or the amount of, any other federal or federally supported assistance.assistance for which the department is required to determine eligibility for to administer the program.

Section 11. Paragraphs15. Paragraphs (e), (j), and (m) of subsection (2), paragraph (b) of subsection (5), paragraphparagraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (6), subsection (7), paragraph (b) of subsection (9), paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (12), and paragraphs (b) and (d) of subsection (14) of section 409.175, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

(6) (c) A(b) Upon licensedapplication, familythe fosterdepartment home, child-placing agency, or residential child-caring agency which applies for renewal of its license shall submitconduct to the department a listlicensing ofstudy personnelbased or household members who have worked or resided on aits continuouslicensing basisrules; at the applicant family foster home or agency since submitting fingerprints to the department, identifying those for whom a written assurance of compliance was provided by the department and identifying those personnel or household members who have recently begun working or residing at the family foster home or agency and are awaiting the results of the required fingerprint check, along with the date of the submission of those fingerprints for processing.

shall inspect the home or the agency and the records, including financial records, of the agency;

and shall interview the applicant.

The department may authorize a licensed child-placing agency to conduct the licensing study of a family foster home to be used exclusively by that agency and to verify to the department that the home meets the licensing requirements established by the department.

The department shall post on its website a list of the agencies authorized to conduct such studies.

Upon certification by a licensed child-placing agency that a family foster home meets the licensing requirements and upon receipt of a letter from a community-based care lead agency in the service area where the home will be licensed which indicates that the family foster home meets the criteria established by the lead agency, the department shall issue the license.

A letter from the lead agency is not required if the lead agency where the proposed home is located is directly supervising foster homes in the same service area.

(c) A licensed family foster home, child-placing agency, or residential child-caring agency which applies for renewal of its license shall submit to the department a list of personnel or household members who have worked or resided on a continuous basis at the applicant family foster home or agency since submitting fingerprints to the department, identifying those for whom a written assurance of compliance was provided by the department and identifying those personnel or household members who have recently begun working or residing at the family foster home or agency and are awaiting the results of the required fingerprint check, along with the date of the submission of those fingerprints for processing.

Section 12. Subsection16. Subsection (4) of section 409.903, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

Section 13. Paragraph17. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 409.991, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

Section 14. Paragraph18. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 414.045, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

10431212 Families described in subparagraph 1., subparagraph 2., or subparagraph 3.

Section 15. Paragraph19. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 1009.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

Section 16. This20. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.