FL
Florida House Bill H1101

Florida 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1101 Compare Versions

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1010 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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1414 A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to education for children and young 2
1616 adults in out-of-home care; amending s. 39.4085, F.S.; 3
1717 requiring a case manager or other staff member to 4
1818 provide a child with verbal and written information 5
1919 about certain topics; removing limitations on the type 6
2020 of questions a child may ask; establishing the Office 7
2121 of the Children's Ombudsman within the Department of 8
2222 Children and Families; specifying responsi bilities of 9
2323 the office; requiring the department to consult with 10
2424 specified children and young adults when creating or 11
2525 revising certain print or digital written information; 12
2626 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 13
2727 providing an effective date. 14
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2929 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16
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3131 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 18
3232 39.4085, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsections (4) and 19
3333 (5) are added to that section, to read: 20
3434 39.4085 Goals for dependent chi ldren; responsibilities; 21
3535 education; Office of the Children's Ombudsman .— 22
3636 (3)(a) The case manager or other staff shall provide , at a 23
3737 minimum, verbal and written: 24
3838 1. Instructions to a child entering shelter or foster care 25
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4747 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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5151 to educate the child on identify ing and reporting abuse, 26
5252 abandonment, or neglect. 27
5353 2. Information to a child about laws and requirements 28
54-relating to the topics of nurturing care, personal safety, and 29
55-protection from abuse, abandonment, and neglect; normalcy and 30
56-what that means for a chi ld in out-of-home care; education; 31
57-participation in court proceedings; participation in permanency 32
58-planning, transition planning, and other case planning; 33
59-placement, visitation, and contact with siblings, family, and 34
60-other individuals who are important to the child; and access to 35
61-food, clothing, shelter, and health care. 36
62- 37
63-The verbal and written instructions and information must use 38
64-words and phrasing that each child can understand and must occur 39
65-in a manner that is most effective for each child. The written 40
66-instructions and information are only required if the child is 41
67-of a sufficient age and understanding to receive such 42
68-instructions and information. The case manager or other staff 43
69-must give each child the opportunity to ask questions about his 44
70-or her rights and how to identify and report abuse, abandonment, 45
71-or neglect. The case manager or other staff shall document in 46
72-court reports and case notes the date the instructions and 47
73-information were was provided to the child. The case manager or 48
74-other staff must review the instructions and information with 49
75-the child every 6 months and upon every placement change until 50
54+relating to the topic of normalcy and what that means for a 29
55+child in out-of-home care; education; participation in court 30
56+proceedings; participation in permanency planning, transition 31
57+planning, and other case planning; placement, visitation, and 32
58+contact with siblings, family, and other individuals who are 33
59+important to the child; and access to food, clothing, shelter, 34
60+and health care. 35
61+ 36
62+The verbal and written instructions and information must use 37
63+words and phrasing that each child can understand and must occur 38
64+in a manner that is most effective for each child. The written 39
65+instructions and information are only required if the child is 40
66+of a sufficient age and understanding to receive such 41
67+instructions and information. The case manager or other staff 42
68+must give each child the opportunity to ask questions about his 43
69+or her rights and how to identify and report abuse, abandonment, 44
70+or neglect. The case manager or ot her staff shall document in 45
71+court reports and case notes the date the instructions and 46
72+information were was provided to the child. The case manager or 47
73+other staff must review the instructions and information with 48
74+the child every 6 months and upon every pla cement change until 49
75+the child leaves shelter or foster care. 50
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8484 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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88-the child leaves shelter or foster care. 51
89- (4) The Office of the Children's Ombudsman is established 52
90-within the department. To the extent permitted b y available 53
91-resources, the office shall, at a minimum: 54
92- (a) Receive complaints from children and young adults 55
93-about placement, care, and services and assist in mediating such 56
94-concerns. 57
95- (b) Be a resource to identify and explain relevant polices 58
96-or procedures to children, young adults, and their caregivers. 59
97- (c) Provide recommendations to the department to address 60
98-systemic problems that are leading to complaints from children 61
99-and young adults. 62
100- (5) The department shall consult with children and young 63
101-adults who are currently or have formerly been in out -of-home 64
102-care when creating or revising any print or digital written 65
103-information used in implementing this section and use any 66
104-responses or feedback to ensure that such print or digital 67
105-written information is understandable by and appropriate and 68
106-useful for the children and young adults of the ages for which 69
107-such print or digital written information is intended. 70
108- Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 71
88+ (4) The Office of the Children's Ombudsman is established 51
89+within the department. To the extent permitted by available 52
90+resources, the office shall, at a minimum: 53
91+ (a) Receive complaints from ch ildren and young adults 54
92+about placement, care, and services and assist in mediating such 55
93+concerns. 56
94+ (b) Be a resource to identify and explain relevant polices 57
95+or procedures to children, young adults, and their caregivers. 58
96+ (c) Provide recommendations to the department to address 59
97+systemic problems that are leading to complaints from children 60
98+and young adults. 61
99+ (5) The department shall consult with children and young 62
100+adults who are currently or have formerly been in out -of-home 63
101+care when creating or revisi ng any print or digital written 64
102+information used in implementing this section and use any 65
103+responses or feedback to ensure that such print or digital 66
104+written information is understandable by and appropriate and 67
105+useful for the children and young adults of th e ages for which 68
106+such print or digital written information is intended. 69
107+ Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 70