HB 1557 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1557-00
Page 1 of 9
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 sexual exploitation and human 2
trafficking; amending s. 787.29, F.S.; requiring the 3
Department of Children and Families to develop age-4
appropriate public awareness signs for display in 5
specified locations that provide shelter and care for 6
dependent children; providing sign requirements; 7
making technical changes; creating s. 402.88, F.S.; 8
defining terms; requiring the Department of Chi ldren 9
and Families to develop a process to certify adult 10
safe houses that provide housing and care to adult 11
survivors of human trafficking; providing 12
certification requirements; authorizing rulemaking; 13
requiring the department to inspect adult safe houses 14
before certification and annually thereafter; 15
requiring the department to ensure the staff of each 16
adult safe house completes specified intensive 17
training; providing for department actions for 18
noncompliance; amending s. 409.1678, F.S.; providing 19
security requirements for certain group homes and safe 20
houses; creating s. 409.16781, F.S.; requiring the 21
Department of Children and Families to develop age -22
appropriate educational programming for children in 23
certain facilities concerning human trafficking; 24
providing an effective date. 25
HB 1557 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1557-00
Page 2 of 9
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
26
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 27
28
Section 1. Subsections (3) and (5) of section 787.29, 29
Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (4) of that 30
section is republished, to read: 31
787.29 Human traffic king public awareness signs. — 32
(3)(a) The employer at each of the following 33
establishments shall display a public awareness sign developed 34
under subsection (4) in a conspicuous location that is clearly 35
visible to the public and employees of the establishm ent: 36
1.(a) A strip club or other adult entertainment 37
establishment. 38
2.(b) A business or establishment that offers massage or 39
bodywork services for compensation that is not owned by a health 40
care practitioner regulated pursuant to chapter 456 and define d 41
in s. 456.001. 42
(b) In addition to enforcement by the Department of 43
Children and Families, the county commission may adopt an 44
ordinance to enforce this subsection. A violation of this 45
subsection is a noncriminal violation and punishable by a fine 46
only as provided in s. 775.083. 47
(4) The required public awareness sign must be at least 48
8.5 inches by 11 inches in size, must be printed in at least a 49
16-point type, and must state substantially the following in 50
HB 1557 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1557-00
Page 3 of 9
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
English and Spanish: 51
52
"If you or someone you kno w is being forced to engage 53
in an activity and cannot leave —whether it is 54
prostitution, housework, farm work, factory work, 55
retail work, restaurant work, or any other activity —56
call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 57
1-888-373-7888 or text INFO or HELP to 233-733 to 58
access help and services. Victims of slavery and human 59
trafficking are protected under United States and 60
Florida law." 61
62
(5) In conjunction with its development of educational 63
programming on human trafficking under s. 409.16781, t he 64
Department of Children and Families shall develop age -65
appropriate public awareness signs on that topic for display in 66
each emergency shelter, runaway shelter, group home, agency -67
operated group treatment home, nonpsychiatric residential group 68
care facility, psychiatric residential treatment facility, safe 69
house as defined in s. 409.1678(1), and other appropriate 70
facilities that provide shelter and care for dependent children. 71
The department shall have the signs conspicuously placed in each 72
such location to warn youth of the dangers of human trafficking 73
and to encourage the reporting of individuals observed 74
attempting to engage in human trafficking activity. The signs 75
HB 1557 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1557-00
Page 4 of 9
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
must contain the telephone number for either the National Human 76
Trafficking Resource Cente r or such other number that the 77
Department of Law Enforcement uses to detect and stop human 78
trafficking The county commission may adopt an ordinance to 79
enforce subsection (3). A violation of subsection (3) is a 80
noncriminal violation and punishable by a fin e only as provided 81
in s. 775.083. 82
Section 2. Section 402.88, Florida Statutes, is created to 83
read: 84
402.88 Adult safe houses for adults who have been sexually 85
exploited or trafficked. — 86
(1) As used in this section the term: 87
(a) "Adult safe house" means a group residential facility 88
certified by the department under this section to care for 89
adults who have been sexually exploited or trafficked. 90
(b) "Department" means the Department of Children and 91
Families. 92
(2) The department shall establish a pr ocess to certify 93
adult safe houses that provide housing and care to adult 94
survivors of human trafficking as defined in s. 787.06. The 95
adult safe houses certified under this section must: 96
(a) Provide a facility which will serve as an adult safe 97
house to receive and house persons who are victims of human 98
trafficking. For the purpose of this section, minor children and 99
other dependents of a victim, when such dependents are partly or 100
HB 1557 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1557-00
Page 5 of 9
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
wholly dependent on the victim for support or services, may be 101
sheltered with the victim in an adult safe house. 102
(b) Receive the annual written endorsement of local law 103
enforcement agencies. 104
(c) Provide minimum services that include, but are not 105
limited to, information and referral services, licensed 106
counseling and case manage ment services, substance abuse 107
screening and, when necessary, access or referral to treatment, 108
temporary emergency shelter for more than 24 hours, a 24 -hour 109
hotline, nonresidential outreach services, training for law 110
enforcement personnel, assessment and a ppropriate referral of 111
resident children, and educational services for community 112
awareness relative to the incidence of human trafficking, the 113
prevention of such crimes, and the services available for 114
persons subject to human trafficking. If a 24 -hour hotline, 115
professional training, or community education is already 116
provided by an adult safe house within its designated service 117
area, the department may exempt such certification requirements 118
for a new center serving the same service area to avoid 119
duplication of services. 120
(d) Participate in the provision of orientation and 121
training programs developed for law enforcement officers, social 122
workers, and other professionals and paraprofessionals who work 123
with human trafficking victims to better enable such persons to 124
deal effectively with incidents of human trafficking. 125
HB 1557 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1557-00
Page 6 of 9
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
(e) Provide a safe, therapeutic environment tailored to 126
the needs of commercially sexually exploited or trafficked 127
adults who have endured significant trauma. Adult safe houses 128
shall use a model of treatment that includes strength -based and 129
trauma-informed approaches. 130
(f) File with the department a list of the names of the 131
human trafficking advocates who are employed or who volunteer at 132
the adult safe house who may claim a privilege under s. 90.5 037 133
to refuse to disclose a confidential communication between a 134
victim of human trafficking and the advocate regarding the human 135
trafficking inflicted upon the victim. The list must include the 136
title of the position held by the advocate whose name is list ed 137
and a description of the duties of that position. An adult safe 138
house shall file amendments to this list as necessary. 139
(g) Comply with rules adopted under this section. 140
(3) The department may adopt rules to implement this 141
section. 142
(4) The department shall inspect adult safe houses before 143
certification and annually thereafter to ensure compliance with 144
the requirements of this section. 145
(5) The department shall ensure the staff of each adult 146
safe house completes intensive training that, at a minimum , 147
includes the needs of victims of commercial sexual exploitation, 148
the effects of trauma and sexual exploitation, and how to 149
address victims' needs using strength -based and trauma-informed 150
HB 1557 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1557-00
Page 7 of 9
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
approaches. The department shall specify by rule the contents of 151
this training and may develop or contract for a standard 152
curriculum. 153
(6) If the department finds that there is failure by an 154
adult safe house to comply with the requirements established, or 155
rules adopted, under this section, the department may deny, 156
suspend, or revoke the certification of the adult safe house. 157
Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 158
409.1678, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 159
409.1678 Specialized residential options for children who 160
are victims of commercial sexual e xploitation.— 161
(2) CERTIFICATION OF SAFE HOUSES AND SAFE FOSTER HOMES. — 162
(c) To be certified, a safe house must hold a license as a 163
residential child-caring agency, as defined in s. 409.175, and a 164
safe foster home must hold a license as a family foster h ome, as 165
defined in s. 409.175. A safe house or safe foster home must 166
also: 167
1. Use strength-based and trauma-informed approaches to 168
care, to the extent possible and appropriate. 169
2. Serve exclusively one sex. 170
3. Group child victims of commercial sexual exploitation 171
by age or maturity level. 172
4. Care for child victims of commercial sexual 173
exploitation in a manner that separates those children from 174
children with other needs. Safe houses and safe foster homes may 175
HB 1557 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1557-00
Page 8 of 9
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
care for other populations if the children who have not 176
experienced commercial sexual exploitation do not interact with 177
children who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation. 178
5. Have awake staff members on duty 24 hours a day, if a 179
safe house. 180
6. Provide appropriate security through fac ility design, 181
hardware, technology, staffing, and siting, including, but not 182
limited to, external video monitoring or door exit alarms, a 183
high staff-to-client ratio, or being situated in a remote 184
location that is isolated from major transportation centers and 185
common trafficking areas. Appropriate security must include at 186
least one individual on staff that has law enforcement, 187
investigative, or other similar training, as established by rule 188
by the department, for the detection of possible trafficking 189
activity around a facility, to be an emergency responder to look 190
for absent or missing children, and for coordination with law 191
enforcement. 192
7. Meet other criteria established by department rule, 193
which may include, but are not limited to, personnel 194
qualifications, staffing ratios, and types of services offered. 195
Section 4. Section 409.16781, Florida Statutes, is created 196
to read: 197
409.16781 Educating children in facilities regarding human 198
trafficking; age-appropriate educational programming. — 199
(1) As used in this section the term "facility" means 200
HB 1557 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1557-00
Page 9 of 9
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
either a licensed residential facility, as defined in s. 201
393.063, or a safe house or safe foster home as defined in s. 202
409.1678(1). 203
(2) The department shall develop age -appropriate 204
educational programming for facilities educating children 205
regarding the signs and dangers of human trafficking and how to 206
report human trafficking. 207
(3) Each facility with teenage children, at least 208
annually, shall use the department's educational programming 209
regarding human traffic king. 210
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 211