This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
STORAGE NAME: h0625.CFS
DATE: 3/24/2023
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 625 Children's Initiative Projects
SPONSOR(S): Bracy Davis and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS:
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee Speas Brazzell
2) Health & Human Services Committee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The Legislature created children’s initiatives in 2008 to assist disadvantaged areas within the state in creating
a community-based service network that develops, coordinates, and provides quality education, accessible
health care, youth development programs, opportunities for employment, and safe and affordable housing for
children and families living within that area. Children’s initiatives are designed to encompass an area large
enough to include all of the necessary components of community life, yet small enough to allow programs and
services to reach every member of the neighborhood who is willing to participate in the project.
Florida law assigns the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, Inc., (Ounce) the responsibility of reviewing and
approving requests from counties, or municipalities, or designated areas to obtain a children's initiative
designation. Section 409.147, F.S., outlines the process to apply to Ounce to designate an area as a children’s
initiative. Each children’s initiative is managed by an entity that is registered, incorporated, organized, and
operated as a corporation not for profit.
Unless otherwise specified in the general appropriations act, children’s initiatives must be awarded state
funding through performance-based contracts that link payments to achievement of outcomes directly related
to the goals, objectives, strategies, and tasks outlined in the strategic community plan. Ounce oversees these
contracts and has a $4.2 million contract with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to fund new and
existing initiatives. Current law provides that counties without a children’s initiative that are trying to establish
an initiative have priority for funding.
The bill codifies in statute two new children’s initiatives, the Mercy Drive Kidz Zone and the Englewood Kidz
Zone, both located in the city of Orlando in Orange County. The bill specifies that these initiatives are 10-year
projects managed by an entity organized as a corporation not for profit, identical to the model of existing
initiatives.
The bill applies current requirements and exemptions for existing children’s initiatives to the two new proposed
initiatives, including public records and meetings requirements and Chapter 287 requirements related to
procurement of commodities or contractual services.
The bill has no fiscal impact on state or local governments.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
FULL ANALYSIS STORAGE NAME: h0625.CFS PAGE: 2
DATE: 3/24/2023
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Florida Children’s Initiatives
In 2008, the Legislature created s. 409.147, F.S., which established children’s initiatives. Florida
children’s initiatives assist disadvantaged areas within the state in creating a community-based service
network that develops, coordinates, and provides quality education, accessible health care, youth
development programs, opportunities for employment, and safe and affordable housing for children and
families living within that area.
1
Section 409.147, F.S., outlines the process for a county or municipality (or designated area) to apply to
the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, Inc. to designate an area as a children’s initiative. The
governing body of the county or municipality must first adopt a resolution finding the area has issues
related to poverty, that changes are necessary for the area to improve, and that resources are
necessary for revitalization of the area.
2
The county or municipality must then establish a children’s
initiative planning team and develop and adopt a strategic community plan.
3
Once a county or
municipality has completed these steps, it must create a not-for-profit corporation to facilitate
fundraising and secure broad community ownership of the children’s initiative.
4
There are five children’s initiatives in Florida:
5
New Town Success Zone in Jacksonville.
Miami Children’s Initiative.
Parramore Kidz Zone in Orlando.
Sulphur Springs Neighborhood of Promise in Tampa.
Overtown Children and Youth Coalition in Miami.
Section 409.147, F.S., sets requirements for children’s initiatives to receive funding. Unless otherwise
specified in the general appropriations act, children’s initiatives must be awarded state funding through
performance-based contracts that link payments to achievement of outcomes directly related to the
goals, objectives, strategies, and tasks outlined in the strategic community plan. Counites that do not
currently have an initiative and are trying to establish one have priority for funding.
6
Children’s initiatives must update strategic community plans every five years to reflect, at a minimum,
the current status of the area served by the children’s initiative, the goals, objectives, and strategies for
each focus area, and the tasks required to implement the strategies the following year. Existing
children’s initiatives are designated in statute as 10-year projects, but some initiatives have been
around longer than 10 years, such as the New Town Success Zone.
7
To facilitate achievement of the
strategic community plans, the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida (the Ounce) must provide technical
assistance to the children’s initiative corporations.
8
The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida
1
S. 409.147(1)(b), F.S.
2
S. 409.147(4)(a), F.S.
3
S. 409.147(5), 409.147(6), F.S.
4
S. 409.147(7), F.S.
5
The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, Children’s Initiative Communities in Florida, https://ounce.org/fci_communities.html (last
visited Feb. 1, 2022).
6
S. 409.147(8)(b), F.S.
7
New Town Success Zone, Five Year Report to the Community, Spring 2012, ntsz-5yr-report.aspx (coj.net) (last visited March 23,
2023).
8
S. 409.147(3)(b), F.S. STORAGE NAME: h0625.CFS PAGE: 3
DATE: 3/24/2023
The Ounce is a private, nonprofit corporation dedicated to shaping prevention policy and investing in
innovative prevention programs that provide measurable benefits to Florida’s children, families, and
communities.
9
The Ounce identifies, funds, supports, and tests programs to improve the life outcomes
of children, preserve and strengthen families, and promote healthy behavior and functioning in
society.
10
Current law identifies the Ounce as the only organization able to designate areas in Florida
as children’s initiatives.
11
The Ounce has a $4.2 million contract with DCF to fund new and existing
initiatives.
12
Exemptions and Requirements for Children’s Initiatives
Florida law states that each children’s initiative shall be managed by an entity that is registered,
incorporated, organized, and operated in compliance with Chapter 617, F.S., relating to corporations
not for profit. Children’s initiatives are designed to encompass an area large enough to include all of the
necessary components of community life, including, but not limited to, schools, places of worship,
recreational facilities, commercial areas, and common space, yet small enough to allow programs and
services to reach every member of the neighborhood who is willing to participate in the project.
Non-profit corporations created and designated as children’s initiatives are not subject to the control,
supervision, or direction by any department of the state in any manner. However, the corporations are
subject to Chapter 119, relating to public records, Chapter 286, relating to public meetings and records,
and Chapter 287, relating to procurement of commodities or contractual services. Corporations must
comply with these requirements to “operate in the most open and accessible manner,” consistent with
their public purpose.
13
New Children’s Initiatives
Mercy Drive and Englewood Kidz Zones aim to reduce juvenile crime, teen pregnancies, child abuse
and neglect and high school drop-out rates among Orlando’s most vulnerable youth.
14
The initiatives
are modeled after successful initiatives such as the Harlem Children’s Zone and the Parramore Kidz
Zone. From its inception in 2009 to 2019, the Parramore Zone recorded that:
15
It had served more than 6,000 children.
Juvenile arrests in were down 78.3 percent.
Teen births were down 63.4 percent.
Infants, toddlers and preschoolers attending early learning programs were up 117 percent.
Verified cases of child abuse and neglect were down 62.4 percent.
The geographic area of the new initiatives was carefully selected based on need and consideration of
areas where infrastructure and programming were already being built out.
16
Effect of the Bill
9
The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, https://www.ounce.org/ (last visited Jan. 28, 2022).
10
Id.
11
S. 409.147(4), F.S.
12
Department of Financial Services, Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System, Grant Disbursement Information,
https://facts.fldfs.com/Search/ContractDetail.aspx?AgencyId=600000&ContractId=LJ210, (last visited March 23, 2023).
13
S. 409.147, F.S.
14
City of Orlando, Orlando Kidz Zones, https://www.orlando.gov/Our-Government/Departments-Offices/FPR/Orlando-Kidz-Zones, (last
visited March 24, 2023).
15
Id.
16
Fox 35, Orlando, Orlando expanding Kidz Zone model to 3 neighborhoods to help at-risk youth,
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/orlando-expanding-kidz-zone-model-to-3-neighborhoods-to-help-at-risk-youth, June 15, 2021 (last
visited March 24, 2023). STORAGE NAME: h0625.CFS PAGE: 4
DATE: 3/24/2023
The bill recognizes two new children’s initiatives, the Mercy Drive Kidz Zone and the Englewood Kidz
Zone, both in the city of Orlando in Orange County. The bill specifies that these initiatives are 10-year
projects managed by an entity organized as a corporation, identical to the model of existing initiatives.
The bill states that the two new initiatives, similar to the goals of the existing initiatives, are also
designed to encompass an area that is large enough to include all of the necessary components of
community life, including, but not limited to, schools, places of worship, recreational facilities,
commercial areas, and common space, yet small enough to allow programs and services to reach
every member of the neighborhood who is willing to participate in the project.
The bill applies current requirements and exemptions for existing children’s initiatives, including public
records and meetings requirements and Chapter 287 requirements related to procurement of
commodities or contractual services.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1: Amends s. 409.147, F.S., relating to children’s initiatives.
Section 2: Provides effective date.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
The Department of Children and Families receives $4.2 million in recurring general revenue to fund
new or existing Children’s Initiatives. The bill will add two new initiatives to this already-existing
budget.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
None.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES: STORAGE NAME: h0625.CFS PAGE: 5
DATE: 3/24/2023
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
Not Applicable. This bill does not appear to affect county or municipal governments.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
The bill does not confer rulemaking authority nor require the promulgation of rules.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES