HB 563 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to children and young adults in out -2
of-home care; amending s. 39.4085, F.S.; revising 3
legislative findings and providing legislative intent; 4
providing construction; specifying the rights of, 5
rather than goals for, children and young adults in 6
out-of-home care; providing the roles and 7
responsibilities of the Department of Children and 8
Families, community-based care lead agencies, and 9
other agency staff; authorizing and encouraging 10
district school boards to establish certain 11
educational programs; requiring the department to 12
adopt rules; creating s. 39.4088, F.S.; designating a 13
children's ombudsman as an autonomous entity within 14
the department; providing responsibilities of the 15
ombudsman; requiring the ombudsman to collect and post 16
certain data on the department's website; requiring 17
the ombudsman, in consultation with the department and 18
other specified entities and by a specified date, to 19
develop standardized information explaining the rights 20
of children and young adults placed in out -of-home 21
care; requiring the department, community -based care 22
lead agencies, and other agency staff to use the 23
information provided by the ombudsman in carrying out 24
specified responsibilities; requiring the department 25
HB 563 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
to establish a statewide toll -free telephone numbe r 26
for the ombudsman; requiring the department to adopt 27
rules; providing an effective date. 28
29
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 30
31
Section 1. Section 39.4085, Florida Statutes, is amended 32
to read: 33
(Substantial rewording of sec tion. See 34
s. 39.4085, F.S., for present text.) 35
39.4085 Foster Children's Bill of Rights. — 36
(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. — 37
(a) The Legislature finds that the design and delivery of 38
child welfare services should be directed by the principle that 39
the health and safety of children and young adults, including 40
freedom from abuse, abandonment, or neglect, is of paramount 41
concern. 42
(b) The Legislature also finds that emotional trauma, 43
separation from family, frequent changes in placement, and 44
frequent changes in school enrollment, as well as dependency 45
upon the state to make decisions regarding current and future 46
life options, may contribute to feelings of limited control over 47
life circumstances in children and young adults in out -of-home 48
care. 49
(c) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to 50
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empower these children and young adults by helping them become 51
better informed of their rights so they can become stronger 52
self-advocates. 53
(2) CONSTRUCTION.—This section may not be used for any 54
purpose in any civil or administrative action and does not 55
expand or limit any rights or remedies provided under any other 56
law. 57
(3) BILL OF RIGHTS. —Except as otherwise provided in this 58
chapter, the rights of a child or young adult placed in out -of-59
home care are: 60
(a) To live in a safe, healthful, and comfortable home 61
where he or she is treated with respect and provided with 62
healthy food, appropriate clothing, and adequate storage space 63
for personal use and where the caregiver is aware of and 64
understands the child's or young adult's history, needs, and 65
risk factors and respects his or her preferences for attending 66
religious services and activities. 67
(b) To be free from physical, sexual, emotional, or other 68
abuse or corporal punishment. This includes the child's or young 69
adult's right to be placed away from other children or young 70
adults who are known to pose a threat of harm. 71
(c) To receive medical, dental, vision, and mental health 72
services as needed; to be free of the administration of 73
psychotropic medication or chemical substances unless the 74
administration of such medication or substances is authorized by 75
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a parent or the court; and to be free from being confined in any 76
room, building, or facility unless placed by court order in a 77
residential treatment center. 78
(d) To be able to have contact and visitation with his or 79
her parents, other family members, and fictive kin and to be 80
placed with his or her siblings or, if not placed with his or 81
her siblings, to have frequent visitation and ongoing contact 82
with his or her siblings, unless prohibited by court order; and 83
to be provided with the location of and contact information for 84
siblings and to have the court consider the appropriateness of 85
continued communication with siblings who have left care. 86
(e) To be able to contact the children's ombudsman, as 87
described in s. 39.4088, regarding violations of rights; to 88
speak to the ombudsman confidentially; and to be free from 89
threats or punishment for making complaints. 90
(f) To maintain a bank account, to work, and to manag e 91
personal income, including any allowance, consistent with his or 92
her age and developmental level, unless prohibited by the case 93
plan, and to be informed about any funds being held in the 94
master trust on behalf of the child or young adult. 95
(g) To attend school and participate in extracurricular, 96
cultural, and personal enrichment activities consistent with his 97
or her age and developmental level and to have social contact 98
with people outside of the foster care system, such as teachers, 99
church members, ment ors, and friends. 100
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(h) To attend all court hearings and address the court. 101
(i) To have fair and equal access to all available 102
services, placement, care, treatment, and benefits and to be 103
free from discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, 104
color, religion, sex, mental or physical disability, age, or 105
pregnancy. 106
(j) If he or she is 14 years of age or older or, if 107
younger, is of an appropriate age and capacity, to participate 108
in creating and reviewing his or her case plan and receive 109
information about his or her out -of-home placement and case 110
plan, including being told of changes to the plan, and to have 111
the ability to object to provisions of the case plan; and, if he 112
or she is 16 years of age or older, to provide assistance in 113
developing a transition plan. 114
(k) To participate in activities that will help develop 115
the necessary life skills to make the transition to independent 116
living and self-sufficiency as adults; and, for older youth, to 117
be informed of available independent living services and 118
community resources and how to apply for such services and 119
access resources. 120
(l) To be free from removal from an out -of-home placement 121
by the department or a community -based care lead agency unless 122
the caregiver becomes unable to care for the child or yo ung 123
adult, the child or young adult achieves permanency, or the move 124
is otherwise in the child's or young adult's best interest and, 125
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if removed, to a transition under s. 39.4023 which respects his 126
or her relationships and personal belongings. 127
(m) To have a guardian ad litem appointed to represent his 128
or her best interests and, if appropriate, to have an attorney 129
appointed to represent his or her legal interests. 130
(4) ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT, 131
COMMUNITY-BASED CARE LEAD AGENCIES, AND OT HER AGENCY STAFF; 132
AUTHORITY OF DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARDS. — 133
(a) The department shall operate with the understanding 134
that the rights of children and young adults in out -of-home care 135
are critical to their safety, permanency, and well -being. The 136
department shall work with all stakeholders to help such 137
children and young adults become knowledgeable about their 138
rights. 139
(b) The case manager or other agency staff shall provide 140
verbal and written instructions to a child or young adult 141
entering out-of-home care to educate the child or young adult on 142
identifying and reporting abuse, abandonment, or neglect and 143
shall explain and provide a copy of the Bill of Rights 144
established in subsection (3). The verbal and written 145
instructions and explanation must use words and phrasing that 146
the child or young adult can understand and must occur in a 147
manner that is most effective for that child or young adult. The 148
written instructions and Bill of Rights are required only if the 149
child or young adult is of a sufficient age and und erstanding to 150
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receive such instructions and rights. The case manager or other 151
agency staff shall afford each child or young adult the 152
opportunity to ask questions about his or her rights and how to 153
identify and report abuse, abandonment, or neglect. The ca se 154
manager or other agency staff shall document in court reports 155
and case notes the date that such instructions and the Bill of 156
Rights were provided to the child or young adult. The case 157
manager or other agency staff must review the information with 158
the child or young adult every 6 months and upon every placement 159
change until the he or she leaves shelter or foster care. 160
(c) District school boards are authorized and encouraged 161
to establish educational programs for students ages 5 through 18 162
years relating to identifying and reporting abuse, abandonment, 163
or neglect and understanding the effects of such abuse, 164
abandonment, or neglect on a child or young adult. The district 165
school boards may provide such programs in conjunction with the 166
youth mental health awa reness and assistance training program 167
required under s. 1012.584, any other mental health education 168
program offered by the school district, or any of the 169
educational instruction required under s. 1003.42(2). 170
(5) RULEMAKING.—The department shall adopt ru les to 171
implement this section. 172
Section 2. Section 39.4088, Florida Statutes, is created 173
to read: 174
39.4088 Children's ombudsman. —The children's ombudsman 175
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shall serve as an autonomous entity within the department for 176
the purpose of providing children an d young adults placed in 177
out-of-home care with a means to resolve issues related to their 178
care, placement, or services without fear of retribution. The 179
ombudsman must be given access to any record of a state or local 180
agency which is necessary to carry out his or her 181
responsibilities and may meet or communicate with any child or 182
young adult in the child or young adult's placement. 183
(1) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE OMBUDSMAN. —The 184
ombudsman shall: 185
(a) Disseminate information on the rights of children and 186
young adults in out-of-home care established under s. 39.4085 187
and the services provided by the ombudsman. 188
(b) Attempt to resolve complaints informally. 189
(c) Conduct whatever investigation he or she determines is 190
necessary to resolve a complaint. 191
(d) Update the complainant on the progress of the 192
investigation and notify the complainant of the final outcome. 193
194
The ombudsman may not investigate, challenge, or overturn a 195
court order or decision. 196
(2) DATA COLLECTION. —The ombudsman shall: 197
(a) Document the number, source, origin, location, and 198
nature of all complaints. 199
(b) Compile all data collected over the course of the 200
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year, including, but not limited to, the number of contacts to 201
the children's ombudsman toll -free telephone number; the number 202
of complaints made, including the type and source of those 203
complaints; the number of investigations performed by the 204
ombudsman; the trends and issues that arose in the course of 205
investigating complaints; the number of referrals made; and the 206
number of pending complaints. 207
(c) Post the compiled data on the department's website. 208
(3) DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION. — 209
(a) By January 1, 2023, the ombudsman, in consultation 210
with the department, children's advocacy and support groups, and 211
children and young adults in, or persons previously in, out -of-212
home care, shall develop standardized information explaining the 213
rights granted under s. 39.4085. The information must be age -214
appropriate, reviewed and updated by the ombudsman annually, and 215
made available through a variety of formats. 216
(b) The department, community -based care lead agencies, 217
and other agency staff must use the information provided by the 218
ombudsman to carry out their responsibilities to inform children 219
and young adults in out -of-home care of their rights pursuant to 220
the duties established under this section. 221
(c) The department shall establish a toll -free telephone 222
number for the children's ombudsman and post the number on the 223
homepage of the department's website. 224
(4) RULEMAKING.—The department shall adopt rules to 225
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implement this section. 226
Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2022. 227