Florida 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1337 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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3	3	HB 1337 2023
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10	10	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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14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to the Step into Success Workforce 2
16	16	Education and Internship Pilot Program; creating s. 3
17	17	409.1455, F.S.; providing a short title; establishing 4
18	18	the Step into Success Workforce Education and 5
19	19	Internship Pilot Program within the Department of 6
20	20	Children and Families for eligible foster youth; 7
21	21	specifying the purpose and structure of the program; 8
22	22	requiring the program to include qualified designated 9
23	23	personnel who are responsible for specified services; 10
24	24	providing definitions; requiring the department to 11
25	25	establish and the Office of Continuing Care to develop 12
26	26	and administer the program for eligible foster youth 13
27	27	and former foster youth; providing requirements for 14
28	28	the program; requiring the department to include in 15
29	29	the annual independent living report a section 16
30	30	regarding the program; providing requirements for such 17
31	31	report; requiring the department to adopt rules; 18
32	32	amending s. 414.56, F.S.; revising the duties of the 19
33	33	Office of Continuing Care to include establishing and 20
34	34	operating the pilot program; providing an effective 21
35	35	date. 22
36	36	23
37	37	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
38	38	25
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47	47	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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51	51	Section 1. Section 409.1455, Florida Statutes, is created 26
52	52	to read: 27
53	53	409.1455 Step into Success Workforce Education and 28
54	54	Internship Pilot Program for foster youth and former foster 29
55	55	youth.— 30
56	56	(1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the "Step 31
57	57	into Success Act." 32
58	58	(2) CREATION.—The department shall establish the 3 -year 33
59	59	Step into Success Workforce Education and Internship Pilot 34
60	60	Program to give eligible foster youth and former foster youth an 35
61	61	opportunity to learn and develop essential workforce and 36
62	62	professional skills, to transition from the custody of the 37
63	63	department to indepe ndent living, and to become better prepared 38
64	64	for an independent and successful future. The pilot program must 39
65	65	consist of an independent living, professionalism, and workforce 40
66	66	education component and, for former foster youth who complete 41
67	67	such component, an o nsite workforce training internship 42
68	68	component. In consultation with subject -matter experts and the 43
69	69	community-based care lead agencies, the Office of Continuing 44
70	70	Care shall develop and administer the pilot program for 45
71	71	interested foster youth and former foste r youth; however, the 46
72	72	department may contract with entities that have demonstrable 47
73	73	subject-matter expertise in the transition to adulthood for 48
74	74	foster youth and former foster youth, workforce training and 49
75	75	preparedness, professional skills, and related subje cts to 50
76	76
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84	84	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	88	collaborate with the office in the development and 51
89	89	administration of the pilot program. The independent living, 52
90	90	professionalism, and workforce education component of the 53
91	91	program must result in a certificate that allows former foster 54
92	92	youth to participate in the onsite workforce training 55
93	93	internship. 56
94	94	(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term: 57
95	95	(a) "Community-based care lead agency" has the same 58
96	96	meaning as in s. 409.986(3). 59
97	97	(b) "Former foster youth" means an individual 18 years of 60
98	98	age or older but younger than 26 years of age who is currently 61
99	99	or was previously placed in licensed care, excluding Level I 62
100	100	licensed placements under s. 409.175(5)(a)1., for at least 60 63
101	101	days within the state. 64
102	102	(c) "Foster youth" means an individual at least 1 6 years 65
103	103	of age but younger than 18 years of age who is currently in 66
104	104	licensed care, excluding Level I licensed placements under s. 67
105	105	409.175(5)(a)1. 68
106	106	(d) "Office" means the Office of Continuing Care. 69
107	107	(e) "Participating organization" means a state agency, a 70
108	108	corporation under chapter 607 or chapter 617, or another 71
109	109	relevant entity that has agreed to collaborate with the office 72
110	110	in the development and implementation of a trauma -informed 73
111	111	onsite workforce training internship program pursuant to 74
112	112	subsections (6) and (7). 75
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121	121	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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125	125	(4) REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT AND OFFICE. —The 76
126	126	department shall establish and the office shall develop and 77
127	127	administer the pilot program for eligible foster youth and 78
128	128	former foster youth. The pilot program must be administered as 79
129	129	part of an eligible foster youth's regular transition planning 80
130	130	under s. 39.6035 or as a post -transition service for eligible 81
131	131	former foster youth. The office must begin the professionalism 82
132	132	and workforce education component of the program on or before 83
133	133	January 1, 2024, and the onsite workforce training internship 84
134	134	component of the program on or before July 1, 2024. 85
135	135	(5) INDEPENDENT LIVING PROFESSIONALISM AND WORKFORCE 86
136	136	EDUCATION COMPONENT REQUIREMENTS. —For the independent living, 87
137	137	professionalism, and workforce education compo nent of the 88
138	138	program, the office shall: 89
139	139	(a) Designate and ensure that the number of qualified 90
140	140	staff is sufficient to implement and administer the component, 91
141	141	which may be part of a larger independent living or life skills 92
142	142	training program if such program m eets the requirements of this 93
143	143	subsection. 94
144	144	(b)1. Develop all workshops, presentations, and curricula 95
145	145	for the component, including, but not limited to, all written 96
146	146	educational and training materials for foster youth and former 97
147	147	foster youth. 98
148	148	2. Resources may include, but are not limited to, 99
149	149	workshops and materials to assist with preparing resumes, mock 100
150	150
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158	158	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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162	162	interviews, experiential training, and assistance with securing 101
163	163	an internship or employment. 102
164	164	3. The office must review and update these mate rials as 103
165	165	necessary. The training materials must address, but are not 104
166	166	limited to, all of the following: 105
167	167	a. Interview skills. 106
168	168	b. Professionalism. 107
169	169	c. Teamwork. 108
170	170	d. Leadership. 109
171	171	e. Problem solving. 110
172	172	f. Conflict resolution in the workplace. 111
173	173	(c) Require that the training provided in the component be 112
174	174	in addition to any other life skills or employment training 113
175	175	required by general law. The training may be developed or 114
176	176	administered by the department, community -based care lead 115
177	177	agencies or subcontracted prov iders of the community -based care 116
178	178	lead agencies, or in collaboration with colleges or universities 117
179	179	or other nonprofit organizations in the community with workforce 118
180	180	education and training resources. 119
181	181	(d) Provide relevant written materials and any relevant 120
182	182	tools developed for the component to ensure a successful 121
183	183	transition from the program into internships in all 122
184	184	participating organizations that offer workforce training 123
185	185	internship opportunities. 124
186	186	(e) Provide materials to inform eligible foster youth and 125
187	187
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195	195	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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199	199	former foster youth of the program, the requirements for 126
200	200	participation, and contact information for enrollment. The 127
201	201	community-based care lead agencies shall ensure that any 128
202	202	subcontracted providers that directly serve foster youth and 129
203	203	former foster youth recei ve this information. 130
204	204	(f) Advertise and promote the availability of the program 131
205	205	to engage as many eligible foster youth and former foster youth 132
206	206	as possible. 133
207	207	(g) Assess the career interests of each eligible foster 134
208	208	youth and former foster youth who expres ses an interest in 135
209	209	participating in the program and determine the most appropriate 136
210	210	internship and postinternship opportunities for each youth based 137
211	211	on his or her expressed interests. 138
212	212	(6) ONSITE WORKFORCE TRAINING INTERNSHIP COMPONENT 139
213	213	REQUIREMENTS.—For the onsite workforce training internship 140
214	214	program for eligible former foster youth, the office shall: 141
215	215	(a) Develop processes and procedures to implement a 142
216	216	trauma-informed onsite workforce training internship component. 143
217	217	The processes and procedures of the int ernship component must be 144
218	218	designed to be replicated and scaled to meet various 145
219	219	organizational structures and sizes. The component must include 146
220	220	all of the following: 147
221	221	1. Recruitment of agencies, corporations, and other 148
222	222	entities to host interns as participa ting organizations. 149
223	223	2. Assisting participating organizations with mentor 150
224	224
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232	232	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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236	236	recruitment, training, and matching. 151
237	237	3. Mentor-led performance reviews, including a review of 152
238	238	the intern's work product, professionalism, time management, 153
239	239	communication style, and stress management strategies. 154
240	240	4. Daily mentorship and coaching on topics including: 155
241	241	a. Professionalism. 156
242	242	b. Teamwork. 157
243	243	c. Leadership. 158
244	244	d. Problem solving. 159
245	245	e. Conflict resolution in the workplace. 160
246	246	5. Development of opportunities for participatin g former 161
247	247	foster youth to become employees of the participating 162
248	248	organization. 163
249	249	6. Reporting requirements specified in subsection (11). 164
250	250	(b) Develop at least 1 hour of required trauma -informed 165
251	251	training for mentors to teach the skills necessary to engage 166
252	252	with participating former foster youth. 167
253	253	(c) Provide assistance to eligible former foster youth 168
254	254	interested in participating in the internship component, 169
255	255	including, but not limited to, identifying and monitoring 170
256	256	internship opportunities, being knowledgeable of the training 171
257	257	and skills needed to match eligible former foster youth with 172
258	258	appropriate internships, and assisting eligible former foster 173
259	259	youth with applying for postinternship employment opportunities. 174
260	260	(d) Publicize specific internship positions in an easily 175
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269	269	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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273	273	accessible manner and inform eligible former foster youth of how 176
274	274	to locate such information. 177
275	275	(e) Provide a participating former foster youth with 178
276	276	financial assistance in the amount of $1,517 month ly and develop 179
277	277	a process and schedule for the distribution of payments to 180
278	278	former foster youth participating in the component, subject to 181
279	279	the availability of funds. 182
280	280	(f) Distribute funds appropriated for the compensation of 183
281	281	mentors who are participating in the component as provided in 184
282	282	paragraph (7)(b). 185
283	283	(g) By May 1, 2024, provide to the Board of Governors and 186
284	284	the State Board of Education all relevant internship information 187
285	285	necessary to support the award of postsecondary credit or career 188
286	286	education clock hours for internship positions held by 189
287	287	participating former foster youth. 190
288	288	(h) Develop and conduct followup surveys with: 191
289	289	1. Former foster youth within 3 months after his or her 192
290	290	internship start date to ensure successful transition into the 193
291	291	work environment and to gather feedback on how to improve the 194
292	292	experience for future participants. 195
293	293	2. Mentors assigned to participating former foster youth. 196
294	294	Such data must be collected by October 1, 2024, and by October 1 197
295	295	annually thereafter, for inclusion in the indep endent living 198
296	296	services annual report. 199
297	297	3. Any other persons the office deems relevant for 200
298	298
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306	306	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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310	310	purposes of continued improvement of the component. 201
311	311	(7) REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS. —Each 202
312	312	participating organization shall: 203
313	313	(a) Collaborate with the office to implement a trauma -204
314	314	informed approach to mentoring and training former foster youth. 205
315	315	(b)1. Recruit employees to serve as mentors for 206
316	316	participating interns within such organizations. To serve as a 207
317	317	mentor, an employee must: 208
318	318	a. Have worked for the participating organization for at 209
319	319	least 1 year. 210
320	320	b. Have experience relevant to the job and task 211
321	321	responsibilities of the intern. 212
322	322	c. Sign a monthly statement documenting hours worked for 213
323	323	the intern. 214
324	324	d. Allocate at least 1 hour per month to condu ct mentor-215
325	325	led performance reviews, including a review of the intern's work 216
326	326	product, professionalism, time management, communication style, 217
327	327	and stress-management strategies. 218
328	328	e. Complete at least 1 hour of trauma -informed training to 219
329	329	gain skills critical f or successfully engaging with former 220
330	330	foster youth. 221
331	331	2. Subject to available funding, an employee who serves as 222
332	332	a mentor and receives the required trauma -informed training is 223
333	333	eligible for a maximum payment of $1,200 per intern per fiscal 224
334	334	year, to be issued as a $100 monthly payment for every month of 225
335	335
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343	343	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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347	347	service as a mentor. 226
348	348	3. An employee may serve as a mentor for a maximum of 227
349	349	three interns at one time and may not receive more than $3,600 228
350	350	in compensation per fiscal year for serving as a mentor. Any 229
351	351	time spent serving as a mentor to an intern under this section 230
352	352	counts toward the minimum service required for eligibility for 231
353	353	payments under subparagraph 2. and this subparagraph. 232
354	354	(c) When necessary, have a discussion with an intern's 233
355	355	assigned mentor, the partici pating organization's internship 234
356	356	program liaison, and the office about the creation of a 235
357	357	corrective action plan to address issues related to the intern's 236
358	358	professionalism, work product, or performance and, if 237
359	359	applicable, after giving the intern a reasonable opportunity to 238
360	360	comply with the corrective action plan, document the intern's 239
361	361	failure to do so before discharging such intern. 240
362	362	(d) Provide relevant feedback to the office at least 241
363	363	annually for the office to comply with paragraph (6)(h). 242
364	364	(e) Collaborate with the department to provide any 243
365	365	requested information necessary to prepare the annual report 244
366	366	required under subsection (11). 245
367	367	(8) TIME LIMITATIONS FOR PARTICIPATION. —A former foster 246
368	368	youth who obtains an internship with a participating 247
369	369	organization may participate in the internship component for no 248
370	370	more than 1 year, calculated as 12 monthly payment periods. The 249
371	371	year begins on his or her start date as an intern with a 250
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380	380	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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384	384	participating organization. A former foster youth may only 251
385	385	intern at one participating organization at one time. A 252
386	386	participating organization may hire a participating intern as an 253
387	387	employee, but a former foster youth may not be hired as an 254
388	388	employee for an internship under this section. 255
389	389	(9) AWARD OF POSTSECONDARY CREDIT OR CAREER EDUCATION 256
390	390	CLOCK HOURS.—The Board of Governors and the State Board of 257
391	391	Education shall adopt rules and regulations, respectively, to 258
392	392	award postsecondary credit or career education clock hours for 259
393	393	eligible former foster youth participating in the internship 260
394	394	component. The rules and regulations must include procedures for 261
395	395	the award of postsecondary credit or career education clock 262
396	396	hours, including, but not limited to, equivalency and alignment 263
397	397	of the internship component with appropriate postsecondary 264
398	398	courses and course d escriptions. 265
399	399	(10) CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE INTERNSHIP 266
400	400	COMPONENT.— 267
401	401	(a) To become a participant in the internship component of 268
402	402	the program, the applicant must be a foster youth or a former 269
403	403	foster youth at the time such youth applies for an inte rnship 270
404	404	position with a participating organization. A foster youth or 271
405	405	former foster youth who has completed the training component 272
406	406	with the department may apply for a position with a 273
407	407	participating organization but only a former foster youth may be 274
408	408	offered and accept an internship. 275
409	409
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421	421	(b) If offered an internship, a former foster youth must 276
422	422	be classified as an intern and must work at least 80 hours per 277
423	423	month to be eligible for the monthly payment. 278
424	424	(c) A former foster youth must spend any payment funds 279
425	425	specified for clothing on clothing that is in compliance with 280
426	426	the dress code requirements of the participating organization 281
427	427	with which he or she is interning. Notwithstanding any 282
428	428	limitation on payment funds provided to purchase clothing, the 283
429	429	former foster youth must comply with any dress code requirements 284
430	430	of the participating organization with which he or she is 285
431	431	interning. 286
432	432	(d) Money earned pursuant to the internship component may 287
433	433	not be considered earned income for purposes of computing 288
434	434	eligibility for federal or state benefits, including, but not 289
435	435	limited to, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a 290
436	436	housing choice assistance voucher program, the Temporary Cash 291
437	437	Assistance Program, the Medicaid program, or the school 292
438	438	readiness program. Notwithstanding this paragraph, any reduction 293
439	439	in amount of benefits or loss of benefits due to receipt of the 294
440	440	Step into Success workforce education and internship pilot 295
441	441	program payments may be offset by an additional payment equal to 296
442	442	the value of the maximum benefit amount fo r a single person 297
443	443	allowed under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 298
444	444	(e) A former foster youth may, at the discretion of a 299
445	445	postsecondary institution in which such youth is enrolled, earn 300
446	446
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454	454	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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458	458	postsecondary credit or career education clock hours for work 301
459	459	performed as an intern under the onsite workforce training 302
460	460	internship component. Postsecondary credit and career education 303
461	461	clock hours earned for work performed under the onsite workforce 304
462	462	training internship component may be in addition to any 305
463	463	compensation earned for the same work performed under that 306
464	464	component and may be awarded for completion of all or any part 307
465	465	of the such component. Participating organizations shall 308
466	466	cooperate with postsecondary educational institutions to provide 309
467	467	any information about internship positions which is necessary to 310
468	468	enable the institutions to determine whether to grant the 311
469	469	participating former foster youth postsecondary credit or career 312
470	470	education clock hours toward his or her degree. 313
471	471	(f) A former foster youth who accepts an internship with a 314
472	472	participating organization pursuant to this section may only be 315
473	473	discharged from the internship component after the participating 316
474	474	organization engages the intern's assigned mentor and the 317
475	475	participating organization's internship program staff to assist 318
476	476	the intern in performing the duties of the internship. Before 319
477	477	discharging the former foster youth, the participating 320
478	478	organization must also document the intern's failure to comply 321
479	479	with a corrective act ion plan after being given a reasonable 322
480	480	opportunity to do so. 323
481	481	(11) REPORT.—The department shall include a section on the 324
482	482	Step into Success workforce education and internship pilot 325
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491	491	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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495	495	program in the independent living annual report prepared 326
496	496	pursuant to s. 409.1451(6) which includes, but is not limited 327
497	497	to, all of the following: 328
498	498	(a) Whether the pilot program is in compliance with this 329
499	499	section and, if not, the barriers to compliance. 330
500	500	(b) A list of participating organizations and the number 331
501	501	of interns at each participating organization. 332
502	502	(c) A summary of recruitment efforts to increase the 333
503	503	number of participating organizations. 334
504	504	(d) A summary of the feedback and surveys received under 335
505	505	paragraph (6)(h) from participating former foster youth, 336
506	506	assigned mentors, and internship program staff. 337
507	507	(e) Recommendations, if any, for actions necessary to 338
508	508	improve the quality, effectiveness, and outcomes of the pilot 339
509	509	program. 340
510	510	(f) Employment outcomes of former foster youth who 341
511	511	participated in the pilot program, including employment status 342
512	512	after completion of the program, whether he or she is employed 343
513	513	by the participating organization in which he or she interned or 344
514	514	by another entity, and a job description and salary, if 345
515	515	available. 346
516	516	(12) RULEMAKING.—The department shall ado pt rules 347
517	517	necessary to implement this section. 348
518	518	Section 2. Subsection (5) is added to section 414.56, 349
519	519	Florida Statutes, to read: 350
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528	528	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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532	532	414.56 Office of Continuing Care. —The department shall 351
533	533	establish an Office of Continuing Care to ensure young adults 352
534	534	who age out of the foster care system between 18 and 21 years of 353
535	535	age, or 22 years of age with a documented disability, have a 354
536	536	point of contact until the young adult reaches the age of 26 in 355
537	537	order to receive ongoing support and care coordination needed to 356
538	538	achieve self-sufficiency. Duties of the office include, but are 357
539	539	not limited to: 358
540	540	(5) Developing and administering the Step into Success 359
541	541	Workforce Education and Internship Pilot Program for foster 360
542	542	youth and former foster youth as provided under s. 409.1455. 361
543	543	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 362