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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
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An act relating to child welfare placements; amending 2
s. 39.407, F.S.; authorizing the Department of 3
Children and Families, under certain circumstances, to 4
place children in its custody in therapeutic group 5
homes for residential mental health treatment without 6
prior court approval; revising definitions; defining 7
the term "therapeutic group home"; providing that the 8
department, rather than the Agency for Healt h Care 9
Administration, shall appoint qualified evaluators to 10
conduct suitability assessments of certain children in 11
the department's custody; specifying qualifications 12
for evaluators conducting suitability assessments for 13
certain placements; revising requi rements for 14
suitability assessments; specifying when the 15
department must provide a copy of the assessment to 16
the guardian ad litem and the court; removing the 17
department's and the agency's rulemaking authority; 18
reordering and amending s. 409.166, F.S.; rev ising the 19
definition of the term "special needs child"; amending 20
ss. 63.207, 258.0142, 409.1664, and 414.045, F.S.; 21
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 22
providing an effective date. 23
24
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Flori da: 25
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Section 1. Subsection (6) of section 39.407, Florida 27
Statutes, is amended to read: 28
39.407 Medical, psychiatric, and psychological examination 29
and treatment of child; physical, mental, or substance abuse 30
examination of person with or requesting c hild custody.— 31
(6) Children who are in the legal custody of the 32
department may be placed by the department, without prior 33
approval of the court, in a residential treatment center 34
licensed under s. 394.875 or a hospital licensed under chapter 35
395 for residential mental health treatment only pursuant to 36
this section or may be placed by the court in accordance with an 37
order of involuntary examination or involuntary placement 38
entered pursuant to s. 394.463 or s. 394.467. All children 39
placed in a residential t reatment program under this subsection 40
must have a guardian ad litem appointed. 41
(a) As used in this subsection, the term: 42
2.1. "Residential treatment" or "residential treatment 43
program" means a placement for observation, diagnosis, or 44
treatment of an emotional disturbance in a residential treatment 45
center licensed under s. 394.875 or a hospital licensed under 46
chapter 395. 47
1.2. "Least restrictive alternative" means the treatment 48
and conditions of treatment that, separately and in combination, 49
are no more intrusive or restrictive of freedom than reasonably 50
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necessary to achieve a substantial therapeutic benefit or to 51
protect the child or adolescent or others from physical injury. 52
3. "Suitable for residential treatment" or "suitability" 53
means a determination concerning a child or adolescent with an 54
emotional disturbance as defined in s. 394.492(5) or a serious 55
emotional disturbance as defined in s. 394.492(6) that each of 56
the following criteria is met: 57
a. The child requires residential treatment. 58
b. The child is in need of a residential treatment program 59
and is expected to benefit from mental or behavioral health 60
treatment. 61
c. An appropriate, less restrictive alternative to 62
residential treatment is unavailable. 63
4. "Therapeutic group home" means a r esidential treatment 64
center that offers a 24 -hour residential program providing 65
community-based mental health treatment and mental health 66
support services to children who meet the criteria in s. 67
394.492(5) or (6) in a nonsecure, homelike setting. 68
(b) Whenever the department believes that a child in its 69
legal custody is emotionally disturbed and may need residential 70
treatment, an examination and suitability assessment must be 71
conducted by a qualified evaluator who is appointed by the 72
department Agency for Health Care Administration . This 73
suitability assessment must be completed before the placement of 74
the child in a residential treatment program center for 75
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emotionally disturbed children and adolescents or a hospital . 76
1. The qualified evaluator for placement in a residential 77
treatment center, other than a therapeutic group home, or a 78
hospital must be a psychiatrist or a psychologist licensed in 79
this state Florida who has at least 3 years of experience in the 80
diagnosis and treatment of serious emo tional disturbances in 81
children and adolescents and who has no actual or perceived 82
conflict of interest with any inpatient facility or residential 83
treatment center or program. 84
2. The qualified evaluator for placement in a therapeutic 85
group home must be a psychiatrist licensed under chapter 458 or 86
chapter 459, a psychologist licensed under chapter 490, or a 87
mental health counselor licensed under chapter 491 who has at 88
least 2 years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of 89
serious emotional or behavi oral disturbance in children and 90
adolescents and who has no actual or perceived conflict of 91
interest with any residential treatment center or program. 92
(c) Consistent with the requirements of this section 93
Before a child is admitted under this subsection , the child 94
shall be assessed for suitability for residential treatment by a 95
qualified evaluator who has conducted an a personal examination 96
and assessment of the child and has made written findings that: 97
1. The child appears to have an emotional disturban ce 98
serious enough to require treatment in a residential treatment 99
program and is reasonably likely to benefit from the treatment. 100
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2. The child has been provided with a clinically 101
appropriate explanation of the nature and purpose of the 102
treatment. 103
3. All available modalities of treatment less restrictive 104
than residential treatment have been considered, and a less 105
restrictive alternative that would offer comparable benefits to 106
the child is unavailable. 107
108
A copy of the written findings of the evaluation and suitability 109
assessment must be provided to the department, to the guardian 110
ad litem, and, if the child is a member of a Medicaid managed 111
care plan, to the plan that is financially responsible for the 112
child's care in residential treatment, all of whom must be 113
provided with the opportunity to discuss the findings with the 114
evaluator. 115
(d) Immediately upon placing a child in a residential 116
treatment program under this section, the department must notify 117
the guardian ad litem and the court having jurisdiction o ver the 118
child. Within 5 days after the department's receipt of the 119
assessment, the department shall and must provide the guardian 120
ad litem and the court with a copy of the assessment by the 121
qualified evaluator. 122
(e) Within 10 days after the admission of a child to a 123
residential treatment program, the director of the residential 124
treatment program or the director's designee must ensure that an 125
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individualized plan of treatment has been prepared by the 126
program and has been explained to the child, to the depart ment, 127
and to the guardian ad litem, and submitted to the department. 128
The child must be involved in the preparation of the plan to the 129
maximum feasible extent consistent with his or her ability to 130
understand and participate, and the guardian ad litem and th e 131
child's foster parents must be involved to the maximum extent 132
consistent with the child's treatment needs. The plan must 133
include a preliminary plan for residential treatment and 134
aftercare upon completion of residential treatment. The plan 135
must include specific behavioral and emotional goals against 136
which the success of the residential treatment may be measured. 137
A copy of the plan must be provided to the child, to the 138
guardian ad litem, and to the department. 139
(f) Within 30 days after admission, the resid ential 140
treatment program must review the appropriateness and 141
suitability of the child's placement in the program. The 142
residential treatment program must determine whether the child 143
is receiving benefit toward the treatment goals and whether the 144
child could be treated in a less restrictive treatment program. 145
The residential treatment program shall prepare a written report 146
of its findings and submit the report to the guardian ad litem 147
and to the department. The department must submit the report to 148
the court. The report must include a discharge plan for the 149
child. The residential treatment program must continue to 150
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evaluate the child's treatment progress every 30 days thereafter 151
and must include its findings in a written report submitted to 152
the department. The d epartment may not reimburse a facility 153
until the facility has submitted every written report that is 154
due. 155
(g)1. The department must submit, at the beginning of each 156
month, to the court having jurisdiction over the child, a 157
written report regarding the ch ild's progress toward achieving 158
the goals specified in the individualized plan of treatment. 159
2. The court must conduct a hearing to review the status 160
of the child's residential treatment plan no later than 60 days 161
after the child's admission to the resid ential treatment 162
program. An independent review of the child's progress toward 163
achieving the goals and objectives of the treatment plan must be 164
completed by a qualified evaluator and submitted to the court 165
before its 60-day review. 166
3. For any child in re sidential treatment at the time a 167
judicial review is held pursuant to s. 39.701, the child's 168
continued placement in residential treatment must be a subject 169
of the judicial review. 170
4. If at any time the court determines that the child is 171
not suitable for continued residential treatment, the court 172
shall order the department to place the child in the least 173
restrictive setting that is best suited to meet his or her 174
needs. 175
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(h) After the initial 60 -day review, the court must 176
conduct a review of the child's re sidential treatment plan every 177
90 days. 178
(i) The department must adopt rules for implementing 179
timeframes for the completion of suitability assessments by 180
qualified evaluators and a procedure that includes timeframes 181
for completing the 60 -day independent review by the qualified 182
evaluators of the child's progress toward achieving the goals 183
and objectives of the treatment plan which review must be 184
submitted to the court. The Agency for Health Care 185
Administration must adopt rules for the registration of 186
qualified evaluators, the procedure for selecting the evaluators 187
to conduct the reviews required under this section, and a 188
reasonable, cost-efficient fee schedule for qualified 189
evaluators. 190
Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 63.207, Florida 191
Statutes, is amended to read: 192
63.207 Out-of-state placement.— 193
(1) Unless the parent placing a minor for adoption files 194
an affidavit that the parent chooses to place the minor outside 195
the state, giving the reason for that placement, or the minor is 196
to be placed with a relative or with a stepparent, or the minor 197
is a difficult to place special needs child, as defined in s. 198
409.166(2) s. 409.166, or for other good cause shown, an 199
adoption entity may not: 200
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(a) Take or send a minor out of the state for the purpose 201
of placement for adoption; or 202
(b) Place or attempt to place a minor for the purpose of 203
adoption with a family who primarily lives and works outside 204
Florida in another state. If an adoption entity is acting under 205
this subsection, the adoption entity must file a p etition for 206
declaratory statement pursuant to s. 63.102 for prior approval 207
of fees and costs. The court shall review the costs pursuant to 208
s. 63.097. The petition for declaratory statement must be 209
converted to a petition for an adoption upon placement of t he 210
minor in the home. When a minor is placed for adoption with 211
prospective adoptive parents who primarily live and work outside 212
this state, the circuit court in this state may retain 213
jurisdiction over the matter until the adoption becomes final. 214
The prospective adoptive parents may finalize the adoption in 215
this state. 216
Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and subsection 217
(3) of section 258.0142, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 218
258.0142 Foster and adoptive family state park fee 219
discounts.— 220
(1) To promote awareness of the contributions made by 221
foster families and adoptive families to the vitality of the 222
state, the Division of Recreation and Parks shall provide the 223
following discounts on state park fees to persons who present 224
written documentation satisfactory to the division which 225
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evidences their eligibility for the discounts: 226
(b) Families who adopt a difficult to place special needs 227
child as described in s. 409.166(2)(d)2. s. 409.166(2)(a)2. from 228
the Department of Children and Families sha ll receive a one-time 229
family annual entrance pass at no charge at the time of the 230
adoption. 231
(3) The division shall continue its partnership with the 232
Department of Children and Families to promote fostering and 233
adoption of difficult to place special needs children with 234
events held each year during National Foster Care Month and 235
National Adoption Month. 236
Section 4. Subsection (2) of section 409.166, Florida 237
Statutes, is reordered and amended to read: 238
409.166 Children within the child welfare system; ad option 239
assistance program.— 240
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 241
(a)(b) "Adoption assistance" means financial assistance 242
and services provided to a child and his or her adoptive family. 243
Such assistance may include a maintenance subsidy, medical 244
assistance, Medicaid assistance, and reimbursement of 245
nonrecurring expenses associated with the legal adoption. The 246
term also includes a tuition exemption at a postsecondary career 247
program, community college, or state university. 248
(b)(c) "Child within the child welfare system" or "child" 249
means a difficult to place special needs child and any other 250
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child who was removed from the child's caregiver due to abuse or 251
neglect and whose permanent custody h as been awarded to the 252
department or to a licensed child -placing agency. 253
(c)(d) "Department" means the Department of Children and 254
Families. 255
(d)(a) "Difficult to place Special needs child" means: 256
1. A child whose permanent custody has been awarded to the 257
department or to a licensed child -placing agency; 258
2. A child who has established significant emotional ties 259
with his or her foster parents or is not likely to be adopted 260
because he or she is: 261
a. Eight years of age or older; 262
b. Developmentally dis abled; 263
c. Physically or emotionally handicapped; 264
d. A member of a racial group that is disproportionately 265
represented among children described in subparagraph 1. Of black 266
or racially mixed parentage ; or 267
e. A member of a sibling group of any age, prov ided two or 268
more members of a sibling group remain together for purposes of 269
adoption; and 270
3. Except when the child is being adopted by the child's 271
foster parents or relative caregivers, a child for whom a 272
reasonable but unsuccessful effort has been made to place the 273
child without providing a maintenance subsidy. 274
(e) "Licensed child -placing agency" has the same meaning 275
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as in s. 39.01. 276
(f) "Maintenance subsidy" means a monthly payment as 277
provided in subsection (4). 278
Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsec tion (1) and subsection 279
(2) of section 409.1664, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 280
409.1664 Adoption benefits for qualifying adoptive 281
employees of state agencies, veterans, and servicemembers. — 282
(1) As used in this section, the term: 283
(a) "Child within the child welfare system" has the same 284
meaning as provided in s. 409.166(2) s. 409.166. 285
(2) A qualifying adoptive employee, veteran, or 286
servicemember who adopts a child within the child welfare system 287
who is difficult to place as has special needs described in s. 288
409.166(2)(d)2. s. 409.166(2)(a)2. is eligible to receive a 289
lump-sum monetary benefit in the amount of $10,000 per such 290
child, subject to applicable taxes. A qualifying adoptive 291
employee, veteran, or servicemember who adopts a child within 292
the child welfare system who is not difficult to place as does 293
not have special needs described in s. 409.166(2)(d)2. s. 294
409.166(2)(a)2. is eligible to receive a lump -sum monetary 295
benefit in the amount of $5,000 per such child, subject to 296
applicable taxes. A qualifying adoptive employee of a charter 297
school or the Florida Virtual School may retroactively apply for 298
the monetary benefit provided in this subsection if such 299
employee was employed by a charter school or the Florida Virtual 300
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School when he or she ad opted a child within the child welfare 301
system pursuant to chapter 63 on or after July 1, 2015. A 302
veteran or servicemember may apply for the monetary benefit 303
provided in this subsection if he or she is domiciled in this 304
state and adopts a child within the c hild welfare system 305
pursuant to chapter 63 on or after July 1, 2020. 306
(a) Benefits paid to a qualifying adoptive employee who is 307
a part-time employee must be prorated based on the qualifying 308
adoptive employee's full -time equivalency at the time of 309
applying for the benefits. 310
(b) Monetary benefits awarded under this subsection are 311
limited to one award per adopted child within the child welfare 312
system. 313
(c) The payment of a lump -sum monetary benefit for 314
adopting a child within the child welfare system unde r this 315
section is subject to a specific appropriation to the department 316
for such purpose. 317
Section 6. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 318
414.045, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 319
414.045 Cash assistance program. —Cash assistance families 320
include any families receiving cash assistance payments from the 321
state program for temporary assistance for needy families as 322
defined in federal law, whether such funds are from federal 323
funds, state funds, or commingled federal and state funds. Cash 324
assistance families may also include families receiving cash 325
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assistance through a program defined as a separate state 326
program. 327
(1) For reporting purposes, families receiving cash 328
assistance shall be grouped into the following categories. The 329
department may develop additional groupings in order to comply 330
with federal reporting requirements, to comply with the data -331
reporting needs of the state board as defined in s. 445.002, or 332
to better inform the public of program progress. 333
(b) Child-only cases.—Child-only cases include cases that 334
do not have an adult or teen head of household as defined in 335
federal law. Such cases include: 336
1. Children in the care of caretaker relatives, if the 337
caretaker relatives choose to have their needs excluded in the 338
calculation of the a mount of cash assistance. 339
2. Families in the Relative Caregiver Program as provided 340
in s. 39.5085. 341
3. Families in which the only parent in a single -parent 342
family or both parents in a two -parent family receive 343
supplemental security income (SSI) benefits under Title XVI of 344
the Social Security Act, as amended. To the extent permitted by 345
federal law, individuals receiving SSI shall be excluded as 346
household members in determining the amount of cash assistance, 347
and such cases shall not be considered families containing an 348
adult. Parents or caretaker relatives who are excluded from the 349
cash assistance group due to receipt of SSI may choose to 350
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participate in work activities. An individual whose ability to 351
participate in work activities is limited who volunteers to 352
participate in work activities shall be assigned to work 353
activities consistent with such limitations. An individual who 354
volunteers to participate in a work activity may receive child 355
care or support services co nsistent with such participation. 356
4. Families in which the only parent in a single -parent 357
family or both parents in a two -parent family are not eligible 358
for cash assistance due to immigration status or other 359
limitation of federal law. To the extent requi red by federal 360
law, such cases shall not be considered families containing an 361
adult. 362
5. To the extent permitted by federal law and subject to 363
appropriations, difficult to place special needs children who 364
have been adopted pursuant to s. 409.166 and whose adopting 365
family qualifies as a needy family under the state program for 366
temporary assistance for needy families. Notwithstanding any 367
provision to the contrary in s. 414.075, s. 414.085, or s. 368
414.095, a family shall be considered a needy family if: 369
a. The family is determined by the department to have an 370
income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level; 371
b. The family meets the requirements of s. 414.095(2) and 372
(3) related to residence, citizenship, or eligible noncitizen 373
status; and 374
c. The family provides any information that may be 375
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necessary to meet federal reporting requirements specified under 376
Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act. 377
6. Families in the Guardianship Assistance Program as 378
provided in s. 39.6225. 379
380
Families described in su bparagraph 1., subparagraph 2., or 381
subparagraph 3. may receive child care assistance or other 382
supports or services so that the children may continue to be 383
cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives. Such 384
assistance or services may be funded from the temporary 385
assistance for needy families block grant to the extent 386
permitted under federal law and to the extent funds have been 387
provided in the General Appropriations Act. 388
Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 389