Florida 2023 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1101 Introduced / Bill

Filed 02/23/2023

                       
 
HB 1101  	2023 
 
 
 
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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     
 
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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