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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 the Task Force on the Monitoring of 2
Children in Out-of-Home Care; creating s. 39.4093, 3
F.S.; creating the Task Force on the Monitoring of 4
Children in Out-of-Home Care for specified purposes; 5
requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to provide 6
certain services; providing for membership by a 7
specified date; requiring the task force to convene by 8
a specified date; authorizing the task force to 9
conduct meetings through teleconference or other 10
electronic means; providing duties of the task force; 11
requiring the Florida Institute for Child Welfare to 12
conduct focus groups or individual interviews and 13
submit its findings to the task force by a spec ified 14
date; requiring the Department of Children and 15
Families to submit certain monthly reports to the task 16
force through a specified date; requiring the task 17
force to submit a report to the Governor and 18
Legislature by a specified date; providing for repea l 19
of the task force unless reviewed and saved by the 20
Legislature; providing an effective date. 21
22
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 23
24
Section 1. Section 39.4093, Florida Statutes, is created 25
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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 read: 26
39.4093 Task Force on the Monitoring of Children in Out -27
of-Home Care.— 28
(1) CREATION.—The Task Force on the Monitoring of Children 29
in Out-of-Home Care, a task force as defined in s. 20.03(8), is 30
established within the Department of Law Enforcement. The 31
Department of Law Enforceme nt shall provide administrative and 32
staff support services relating to the functions of the task 33
force. 34
(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the task force is to identify 35
and counter the root causes of why children go missing while in 36
out-of-home care and to ensu re that prompt and effective action 37
is taken to address such causes. The task force shall examine 38
and recommend improvements to current policies, procedures, 39
programs, and initiatives to prevent children from going missing 40
while in out-of-home care and to ensure that timely and 41
comprehensive steps are taken to find missing children who are 42
missing for any reason, including, but not limited to, running 43
away, human trafficking, and abduction by a parent or a person 44
who does not have care or custody of the chi ld. 45
(3) MEMBERSHIP; MEETINGS. — 46
(a) The task force shall be composed of the following 47
members: 48
1. A member of the Senate, appointed by the President of 49
the Senate. 50
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2. A member of the House of Representatives, appointed by 51
the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 52
3. The secretary, or his or her designee. 53
4. The Secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice, or 54
his or her designee. 55
5. The executive director of the Statewide Guardian Ad 56
Litem Office, or his or her designee. 57
6. The executive director of the Department of Law 58
Enforcement, or his or her designee. 59
7. A representative from Safe Kids Florida, appointed by 60
the State Surgeon General. 61
8. A representative from the Statewide Council on Human 62
Trafficking, appointed by the Attorney General. 63
9. A representative from a community -based care lead 64
agency that delivers child welfare services in a county defined 65
as rural by the most recent United States Census, appointed by 66
the secretary. 67
10. A representative from a community -based care lead 68
agency that delivers child welfare services in a county defined 69
as urban by the most recent United States Census, appointed by 70
the secretary. 71
11. A licensed foster parent, appointed by the secretary. 72
12. A representative from a residential group care 73
provider, appointed by the secretary. 74
13. A young adult who aged out of the foster care system, 75
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appointed by the secretary. 76
(b) Appointments to the task force must be made by August 77
1, 2023. Each member shall serve at the pleasure of the official 78
who appointed the member. A vacancy on the task force shall be 79
filled in the same manner as the original appointment. 80
(c) The task force shall elect a chair from among its 81
members. 82
(d) The task force shall convene no later than September 83
1, 2023. The task force shall meet monthly or upon the call of 84
the chair. The task force may hold its meetings through 85
teleconference or other electronic means. 86
(4) DUTIES.—The duties of the task force include all of 87
the following: 88
(a) Analyzing statistical data reg arding children in out -89
of-home care who are missing and the reasons why the children 90
are missing, if known. 91
(b) Identifying the root causes of why children go missing 92
while in out-of-home care and how to prevent children from going 93
missing while in out -of-home care. 94
(c) Assessing the relationship between children who go 95
missing from out-of-home care and the risks of such children 96
becoming victims of human trafficking. 97
(d) Assessing the comprehensiveness and effectiveness of 98
existing policies and proce dures for preventing children in out -99
of-home care from going missing, for promptly determining 100
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whether such children are missing, and for locating such 101
children. 102
(e) Evaluating the state's approaches to reporting on the 103
individual status of children miss ing from out-of-home care and 104
the results of the efforts to locate such children, including, 105
but not limited to, the use of technology, training, 106
communication, and cooperation. 107
(f) Measuring the overall performance of efforts to locate 108
and recover children who are missing from out -of-home care, 109
including, but not limited to, the communication and response 110
between community-based care lead agencies, the department, and 111
other entities. 112
(g) Collaborating with the Florida Institute for Child 113
Welfare to identify best practices used in other states for 114
monitoring the location of children in out -of-home care who go 115
missing, and evaluating whether such practices should be adopted 116
in the state. 117
(h) Submitting recommendations to improve policies, 118
procedures, and systems in the state, including, but not limited 119
to, technology, training, communication, and cooperation, so all 120
entities are effectively monitoring children in out -of-home 121
care, promptly responding when such children go missing, and 122
preventing such children from going missing while in out -of-home 123
care. 124
(5) FOCUS GROUPS AND INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS. —The Florida 125
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Institute for Child Welfare shall conduct one or more focus 126
groups or individual interviews with children in out -of-home 127
care or young adults who were formerly in out -of-home care to 128
assist the task force in fulfilling its duties. The focus groups 129
or individual interviews must, at a minimum, address the reasons 130
why such children seek to leave their out -of-home placement, 131
identify opportunities and r esources to assist and prevent 132
children from leaving their placements, and to facilitate the 133
return of such missing children. The institute shall submit the 134
findings from the focus groups and individual interviews to the 135
task force by April 1, 2024. 136
(6) REPORTS.— 137
(a) Through October 1, 2024, the department shall provide 138
monthly reports to the task force to assist the task force in 139
fulfilling its duties. The monthly reports must, at a minimum, 140
address the number and percentage of children in out -of-home 141
care who have been reported missing, the reasons why such 142
children are missing if known, and the length of time between 143
when such children are reported missing and their recovery or 144
return. The monthly report must categorize the required data by 145
age, county, community-based care lead agency, and reason, if 146
known. 147
(b) By October 1, 2024, the task force shall submit to the 148
Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 149
House of Representatives a report that compiles the findings and 150
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recommendations of the task force. 151
(7) REPEAL.—This section is repealed June 30, 2025, unless 152
reviewed and saved from repeal by the Legislature. 153
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 154