HB 1101 2023
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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 education for children and young 2
adults in out-of-home care; creating s. 39.4084, F.S.; 3
providing legislative findings and intent; requiring 4
the Department of Children and Families to work with 5
stakeholders to educate children and young adults in 6
out-of-home care regarding their rights, protections, 7
and benefits; providing requirements for specified 8
staff relating to providing certain materials and 9
information to such children and young adults, 10
reviewing certain information with such chil dren and 11
young adults at specified intervals or upon each 12
placement change, and providing caregivers with a 13
written copy of the child's or young adult's rights, 14
protections, and benefits upon each placement change; 15
requiring specified facilities to post ce rtain 16
materials; requiring the department to establish the 17
Office of the Ombudsperson to serve a specified 18
purpose; specifying dates by which the office must be 19
established, certain materials must be distributed, 20
and certain training must be provided; spec ifying the 21
duties of the office; authorizing the office to access 22
certain records and work with individuals and agencies 23
to resolve complaints under certain conditions; 24
requiring the office to submit an annual report to the 25
HB 1101 2023
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Legislature and the department b y a specified date; 26
providing requirements for such report; requiring the 27
office to monitor the distribution of standardized 28
materials and survey certain individuals for specified 29
reasons; requiring the office to post the report on 30
its public website; requ iring the department to adopt 31
rules; providing an effective date. 32
33
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34
35
Section 1. Section 39.4084, Florida Statutes, is created 36
to read: 37
39.4084 Education for children and young adults in o ut-of-38
home care.— 39
(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. — 40
(a) The Legislature believes that the purpose of chapter 41
39 is to provide for the care, safety, and protection of 42
children and young adults in an environment that fosters healthy 43
social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development; to 44
ensure a secure and safe custody arrangement for children and 45
young adults in out-of-home care; to promote the health and 46
well-being of children and young adults under the state's care; 47
and to prevent the occurr ence of child abuse, neglect, and 48
abandonment. 49
(b) In furtherance of this purpose, the Legislature has 50
HB 1101 2023
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enacted numerous laws to directly benefit a child or young adult 51
who is subject to chapter 39 proceedings. The laws are located 52
throughout the Florida Statutes and are not collected in one 53
place and may not be easily understandable to a child, a young 54
adult, or his or her caregiver. Therefore, it is the 55
Legislature's intent to help such children, young adults, and 56
their caregivers understand their rights , protections, and 57
benefits existing under law by ensuring that they are provided 58
with regularly updated developmentally appropriate standardized 59
materials regarding such rights, protections, and benefits. 60
(c) The Legislature recognizes that a child or y oung adult 61
in out-of-home care can best advocate for himself or herself 62
when aware of the laws intended to benefit or protect him or 63
her. It is the intent of the Legislature to empower such 64
children or young adults to be stronger self -advocates by 65
learning, in a developmentally appropriate and understandable 66
way, about the laws enacted to benefit and protect them. 67
(d) Further, the Legislature finds that given the 68
complexity of the child welfare system in the state and the laws 69
that govern the system, a ch ild or young adult in out -of-home 70
care may need the assistance of an ombudsperson in understanding 71
and accessing their rights, protections, and benefits afforded 72
by the law. 73
(e) Finally, it is not the intent of the Legislature that 74
this section be used f or any purpose in a civil or an 75
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administrative action. This section does not expand or limit any 76
rights, protections, benefits, or remedies provided under any 77
other law. The rights, protections, and benefits described in 78
this section are broad expressions of the rights, protections, 79
and benefits of children and young adults in the state's care 80
and are not exhaustive of all rights, protections, and benefits 81
set forth in the United States Constitution, in the State 82
Constitution, or under federal or state law. 83
(2) DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT. — 84
(a) The department shall operate with the understanding 85
that the rights, protections, and benefits of children and young 86
adults in out-of-home care are critical to their safety, 87
permanency, and well -being. The department shall work with 88
stakeholders to ensure that a child or young adult in out -of-89
home care learns about his or her available rights and state and 90
federal laws enacted to protect and benefit such children and 91
young adults, including, but not limited to, laws r elating to 92
all of the following: 93
1. Safety. 94
2. Education. 95
3. Placement, visitation, and contact with siblings, 96
family, and other individuals who are important to the child or 97
young adult. 98
4. Participation in court proceedings. 99
5. Participation in permanency planning, transition 100
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planning, and other case planning. 101
6. Access to food, clothing, shelter, and health care. 102
7. The topic of normalcy and what that means for children 103
and young adults in out -of-home care. 104
(b) The case manager, child protective investigator, or 105
other staff member must provide each child or young adult in 106
out-of-home care with a developmentally appropriate copy of 107
standardized materials prepared by the Office of the 108
Ombudsperson and explain to such chil d or young adult his or her 109
rights, protections, and benefits. Such case manager, child 110
protective investigator, or other staff member must also provide 111
the child or young adult with information and instructions about 112
the Office of the Ombudsperson and exp lain available options if 113
the child or young adult feels that his or her rights, 114
protections, or benefits are being violated or denied or his or 115
her needs are not being met. Such explanations must consist of 116
words and phrasing that each child or young adul t can understand 117
and must occur in a manner that is most effective for each child 118
or young adult. The case manager, child protective investigator, 119
or other staff member must give each child or young adult the 120
opportunity to ask questions. The case manager, child protective 121
investigator, or other staff member shall document, in court 122
reports and case notes, the date on which the information and 123
instructions were provided and the date on which the available 124
options were explained to the child or young adult. The case 125
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manager, the child protective investigator, or other staff 126
member must review the information, instructions, and options, 127
including a developmentally appropriate copy of the standardized 128
materials, with the child or young adult at least every 6 mo nths 129
or upon each placement change that results in a new caregiver 130
for the child or young adult until he or she leaves out -of-home 131
care. Upon each placement change, the case manager, child 132
protective investigator, or other staff member must provide the 133
child's caregiver with a written copy of the child's or young 134
adult's rights, protections, and benefits. A facility licensed 135
to care for six or more children or young adults in out -of-home 136
care must post the standardized materials created by the Office 137
of the Ombudsperson in a prominent place in the facility. 138
(3) OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSPERSON. — 139
(a) By September 1, 2023, the department shall establish 140
the Office of the Ombudsperson to serve as an autonomous entity 141
within the department to assist children and y oung adults in 142
out-of-home care with resolving issues when they feel their 143
rights, protections, or benefits are being violated or denied or 144
their needs are not being met. In addition to overseeing the 145
resolution process, the office shall develop and distri bute 146
standardized materials and oversee the process of ensuring that 147
such children and young adults are educated about their rights, 148
protections, and benefits. The department shall ensure that the 149
office has sufficient staff to meet its goals and perform i ts 150
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duties. By January 30, 2024, the office shall distribute the 151
standardized materials to the department and other stakeholders 152
and begin providing training and processes for the department 153
and stakeholders to comply with this section. 154
(b) The duties of the office include, but are not limited 155
to: 156
1. Developing a process for receiving, processing, and 157
resolving complaints by a child or young adult in out -of-home 158
care when the child or young adult feels his or her rights, 159
protections, or benefits are bein g violated or denied or his or 160
her needs are not being met. Such process must be developed in 161
consultation with children and youth advocacy organizations. 162
2. Educating children and young adults in out -of-home care 163
about their rights, protections, and ben efits under state and 164
federal law as well as the purpose, contact information, and 165
services of the office. 166
3. Developing standardized materials for children and 167
young adults in out-of-home care which explain their rights, 168
protections, and benefits and th e process for resolving 169
complaints. Such materials must be updated annually to reflect 170
legislative, administrative rule, and policy changes. Such 171
materials must be developed in consultation with the department, 172
children and youth advocacy organizations, an d individuals who 173
are or were children or young adults in out -of-home care. 174
4. Providing such materials to courts, community -based 175
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care lead agencies and their contracted and subcontracted 176
providers, case workers, guardians ad litem and the Guardian Ad 177
Litem Program, and other individuals to assist in educating 178
children and young adults in out -of-home care about their 179
rights, protections, and benefits. 180
5. Maintaining a publicly available website and telephone 181
number; publicizing and conducting community outreach efforts; 182
and informing individuals about the office's services, 183
resolution processes, and standardized materials outlining the 184
rights, protections, and benefits of children and young adults 185
in out-of-home care. 186
6. Making inquiries and reviewing relevant information and 187
records as necessary to conduct investigations. 188
7. Developing and facilitating training for case managers, 189
child protective investigators, and other staff members on 190
educating children and young adults in out -of-home care about 191
their rights, protections, and benefits. Case managers, child 192
protective investigators, and other staff members must complete 193
annual training relating to such rights, protections, and 194
benefits. 195
(c) The office may access all relevant records maintained 196
by the department and its contracted and subcontracted providers 197
relating to complaints received. With the permission of the 198
child or young adult, the office may work with individuals and 199
agencies as needed to resolve the complaint. 200
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(d) Beginning July 30, 2024, and each July 30 thereafter, 201
the office shall submit a report to the President of the Senate, 202
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the department 203
which includes an analysis of data collected during the year by 204
the office and, consistent w ith such data, recommendations for 205
internal policy changes and improvements to the child welfare 206
system and the delivery of services. The data collected by the 207
office must include, but is not limited to, the number of 208
contacts with the office by children a nd young adults in out -of-209
home care; the number of complaints received, including the type 210
and source of such complaints; the number of investigations 211
conducted by the office; complainant satisfaction with the 212
results of the office's investigations and res olutions; issues 213
that arose while the office was investigating complaints and, if 214
applicable, trends associated with such issues; the number of 215
referrals to services made by the office; and the number of 216
pending complaints. The office shall monitor the dis tribution of 217
the standardized materials throughout the state and periodically 218
survey stakeholders to evaluate and improve the degree to which 219
children and young adults in out -of-home care are adequately 220
informed of their rights, protections, and benefits. The report 221
must be posted on the office's public website. 222
(4) RULEMAKING.—The department shall adopt rules to 223
implement this section. 224
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 225