SB 236 — Early Childhood Courts

Florida Senate - 2020 CS for SB 236 By Senatorthe BookCommittee 32-00048-20on 2020236__Children, AFamilies, billand toElder beAffairs; entitled An act relating to early childhood courts;

and Senator Book 586-00882-20 2020236c1 A bill to be entitled An act relating to early childhood courts;

requiring the Florida Institute for Child Welfare to submit certain status reports to the Governor and the Legislature by specified dates;

requiring the institute, in consultation with the department, the office, and the contracted university-based centers, to conduct an evaluation of the court programs’ impact;

requiring the evaluation to include the analysis of certain data and recommendations;

requiring the institute to submit the results of its evaluation to the Governor and the Legislature by a specified date;

3020 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

3222 Section 1. Section 39.01304, Florida Statutes, is created to read:

(c) By December 1 of 2021 and 2022, the Florida Institute for Child Welfare shall provide a status report on the level of implementation and site characteristics of each early childhood court to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(d) In consultation with the department, the Office of the State Courts Administrator, and each center, the Florida Institute for Child Welfare shall evaluate the impact of the early childhood court programs on children and families in the state’s child welfare system.

The evaluation must include the analysis of data collected by the Office of the State Courts Administrator and measurable outcomes, including, but not limited to, the impact of the early childhood court program on the future incidence of maltreatment of children, timely permanency, reunification of families, and incidents of children reentering the child welfare system.

The evaluation must provide recommendations as to whether and how the programs should be expanded, the projected costs of any such expansion, and the projected savings to the state resulting from the programs.

After providing the status reports pursuant to paragraph (c), and by October 1, 2023, the institute shall provide a report on the results of the evaluation to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.