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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to sheriffs providing child protective 2
investigative services; repealing s. 39.3065, F.S., 3
relating to sheriffs of certain counties providing 4
child protective investigative services; amending ss. 5
39.013, 39.0141, 39.301, 39.3068, 39.307, 39 .308, 6
39.4015, 39.523, 39.524, 402.40, 402.402, 409.1754, 7
937.021, and 1004.615, F.S.; conforming provisions to 8
changes made by the act; requiring sheriffs in certain 9
counties who provide child protective investigative 10
services functions to transfer such f unctions to the 11
Department of Children and Families by a mutually 12
agreed upon date; specifying which entity becomes the 13
custodian of certain files and documents; providing 14
requirements for all grants and grant -related assets; 15
authorizing the department to extend certain private 16
leases for a certain amount of time; authorizing the 17
department and each sheriff to enter into a specified 18
agreement for a specified timeframe; authorizing 19
certain employees to transfer their employment to the 20
department; requiring t he department to establish 21
positions for such employees; providing certain 22
benefits to employees who transfer their employment to 23
the department; providing for the defense and 24
indemnification of certain claims; providing 25
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construction; providing effective d ates. 26
27
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28
29
Section 1. Section 39.3065, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 30
Section 2. Subsection (12) of section 39.013, Florida 31
Statutes, is amended to read: 32
39.013 Procedures and jurisdictio n; right to counsel. — 33
(12) The department shall be represented by counsel in 34
each dependency proceeding. Through its attorneys, the 35
department shall make recommendations to the court on issues 36
before the court and may support its recommendations through 37
testimony and other evidence by its own employees, employees of 38
sheriff's offices providing child protection services, employees 39
of its contractors, employees of its contractor's 40
subcontractors, or from any other relevant source. 41
Section 3. Section 39. 0141, Florida Statutes, is amended 42
to read: 43
39.0141 Missing children; report required. —Whenever the 44
whereabouts of a child involved with the department become 45
unknown, the department or, the community-based care provider, 46
or the sheriff's office providin g investigative services for the 47
department shall make reasonable efforts, as defined by rule, to 48
locate the child. If, pursuant to criteria established by rule, 49
the child is determined to be missing, the department or, the 50
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community-based care provider, or the sheriff's office shall 51
file a report that the child is missing in accordance with s. 52
937.021. 53
Section 4. Subsection (9) of section 39.301, Florida 54
Statutes, is amended to read: 55
39.301 Initiation of protective investigations. — 56
(9)(a) For each report received from the central abuse 57
hotline and accepted for investigation, the department or the 58
sheriff providing child protective investigative services under 59
s. 39.3065, shall perform the following child protective 60
investigation activities to determ ine child safety: 61
1. Conduct a review of all relevant, available information 62
specific to the child , and family, and alleged maltreatment; 63
family child welfare history; local, state, and federal criminal 64
records checks; and requests for law enforcement as sistance 65
provided by the abuse hotline. Based on a review of available 66
information, including the allegations in the current report, a 67
determination shall be made as to whether immediate consultation 68
should occur with law enforcement, the Child Protection Team, a 69
domestic violence shelter or advocate, or a substance abuse or 70
mental health professional. Such consultations should include 71
discussion as to whether a joint response is necessary and 72
feasible. A determination shall be made as to whether the person 73
making the report should be contacted before the face -to-face 74
interviews with the child and family members. 75
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2. Conduct face-to-face interviews with the child; other 76
siblings, if any; and the parents, legal custodians, or 77
caregivers. 78
3. Assess the child's residence, including a determination 79
of the composition of the family and household, including the 80
name, address, date of birth, social security number, sex, and 81
race of each child named in the report; any siblings or other 82
children in the same househo ld or in the care of the same 83
adults; the parents, legal custodians, or caregivers; and any 84
other adults in the same household. 85
4. Determine whether there is any indication that any 86
child in the family or household has been abused, abandoned, or 87
neglected; the nature and extent of present or prior injuries, 88
abuse, or neglect, and any evidence thereof; and a determination 89
as to the person or persons apparently responsible for the 90
abuse, abandonment, or neglect, including the name, address, 91
date of birth, social security number, sex, and race of each 92
such person. 93
5. Complete assessment of immediate child safety for each 94
child based on available records, interviews, and observations 95
with all persons named in subparagraph 2. and appropriate 96
collateral contacts, which may include other professionals, and 97
continually assess the child's safety throughout the 98
investigation. The department's child protection investigators 99
are hereby designated a criminal justice agency for the purpose 100
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of accessing criminal justice information to be used for 101
enforcing this state's laws concerning the crimes of child 102
abuse, abandonment, and neglect. This information shall be used 103
solely for purposes supporting the detection, apprehension, 104
prosecution, pretrial release, posttr ial release, or 105
rehabilitation of criminal offenders or persons accused of the 106
crimes of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect and may not be 107
further disseminated or used for any other purpose. 108
6. Document the present and impending dangers to each 109
child based on the identification of inadequate protective 110
capacity through utilization of a standardized safety assessment 111
instrument. If present or impending danger is identified, the 112
child protective investigator must implement a safety plan or 113
take the child into custody. If present danger is identified and 114
the child is not removed, the child protective investigator 115
shall create and implement a safety plan before leaving the home 116
or the location where there is present danger. If impending 117
danger is identified, the child protective investigator shall 118
create and implement a safety plan as soon as necessary to 119
protect the safety of the child. The child protective 120
investigator may modify the safety plan if he or she identifies 121
additional impending danger. 122
a. If the child protective investigator implements a 123
safety plan, the plan must be specific, sufficient, feasible, 124
and sustainable in response to the realities of the present or 125
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impending danger. A safety plan may be an in -home plan or an 126
out-of-home plan, or a combination of both. A safety plan may 127
include tasks or responsibilities for a parent, caregiver, or 128
legal custodian. However, a safety plan may not rely on 129
promissory commitments by the parent, caregiver, or legal 130
custodian who is currently not able to pro tect the child or on 131
services that are not available or will not result in the safety 132
of the child. A safety plan may not be implemented if for any 133
reason the parents, guardian, or legal custodian lacks the 134
capacity or ability to comply with the plan. If t he department 135
is not able to develop a plan that is specific, sufficient, 136
feasible, and sustainable, the department shall file a shelter 137
petition. A child protective investigator shall implement 138
separate safety plans for the perpetrator of domestic violenc e, 139
if the investigator, using reasonable efforts, can locate the 140
perpetrator to implement a safety plan, and for the parent who 141
is a victim of domestic violence as defined in s. 741.28. 142
Reasonable efforts to locate a perpetrator include, but are not 143
limited to, a diligent search pursuant to the same requirements 144
as in s. 39.503. If the perpetrator of domestic violence is not 145
the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of any child in the 146
home and if the department does not intend to file a shelter 147
petition or dependency petition that will assert allegations 148
against the perpetrator as a parent of a child in the home, the 149
child protective investigator shall seek issuance of an 150
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injunction authorized by s. 39.504 to implement a safety plan 151
for the perpetrator and i mpose any other conditions to protect 152
the child. The safety plan for the parent who is a victim of 153
domestic violence may not be shared with the perpetrator. If any 154
party to a safety plan fails to comply with the safety plan 155
resulting in the child being uns afe, the department shall file a 156
shelter petition. 157
b. The child protective investigator shall collaborate 158
with the community-based care lead agency in the development of 159
the safety plan as necessary to ensure that the safety plan is 160
specific, sufficient, feasible, and sustainable. The child 161
protective investigator shall identify services necessary for 162
the successful implementation of the safety plan. The child 163
protective investigator and the community -based care lead agency 164
shall mobilize service resource s to assist all parties in 165
complying with the safety plan. The community -based care lead 166
agency shall prioritize safety plan services to families who 167
have multiple risk factors, including, but not limited to, two 168
or more of the following: 169
(I) The parent or legal custodian is of young age; 170
(II) The parent or legal custodian, or an adult currently 171
living in or frequently visiting the home, has a history of 172
substance abuse, mental illness, or domestic violence; 173
(III) The parent or legal custodian, or an adult currently 174
living in or frequently visiting the home, has been previously 175
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found to have physically or sexually abused a child; 176
(IV) The parent or legal custodian, or an adult currently 177
living in or frequently visiting the home, has been the subject 178
of multiple allegations by reputable reports of abuse or 179
neglect; 180
(V) The child is physically or developmentally disabled; 181
or 182
(VI) The child is 3 years of age or younger. 183
c. The child protective investigator shall monitor the 184
implementation of the pl an to ensure the child's safety until 185
the case is transferred to the lead agency at which time the 186
lead agency shall monitor the implementation. 187
d. The department may file a petition for shelter or 188
dependency without a new child protective investigation or the 189
concurrence of the child protective investigator if the child is 190
unsafe but for the use of a safety plan and the parent or 191
caregiver has not sufficiently increased protective capacities 192
within 90 days after the transfer of the safety plan to the lea d 193
agency. 194
(b) For each report received from the central abuse 195
hotline, the department or the sheriff providing child 196
protective investigative services under s. 39.3065, shall 197
determine the protective, treatment, and ameliorative services 198
necessary to safeguard and ensure the child's safety and well -199
being and development, and cause the delivery of those services 200
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through the early intervention of the department or its agent. 201
If Whenever a delay or disability of the child is suspected, the 202
parent must be referred to a local child developmental screening 203
program, such as the Child Find program of the Florida 204
Diagnostic and Learning Resource System, for screening of the 205
child. As applicable, child protective investigators must inform 206
parents and caregivers how and when to use the injunction 207
process under s. 741.30 to remove a perpetrator of domestic 208
violence from the home as an intervention to protect the child. 209
1. If the department or the sheriff providing child 210
protective investigative services determines that the interests 211
of the child and the public will be best served by providing the 212
child care or other treatment voluntarily accepted by the child 213
and the parents or legal custodians, the parent or legal 214
custodian and child may be referred for such care, ca se 215
management, or other community resources. 216
2. If the department or the sheriff providing child 217
protective investigative services determines that the child is 218
in need of protection and supervision, the department may file a 219
petition for dependency. 220
3. If a petition for dependency is not being filed by the 221
department, the person or agency originating the report shall be 222
advised of the right to file a petition pursuant to this part. 223
4. At the close of an investigation, the department or the 224
sheriff providing child protective services shall provide to the 225
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person who is alleged to have caused the abuse, neglect, or 226
abandonment and the parent or legal custodian a summary of 227
findings from the investigation and provide information about 228
their right to access confidential reports in accordance with s. 229
39.202. 230
Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 39.3068, Florida 231
Statutes, is amended to read: 232
39.3068 Reports of medical neglect. — 233
(1) Upon receiving a report alleging medical neglect, the 234
department or sheriff's office shall assign the case to a child 235
protective investigator who has specialized training in 236
addressing medical neglect or working with medically complex 237
children if such investigator is available. If a child 238
protective investigator with speciali zed training is not 239
available, the child protective investigator shall consult with 240
department staff with such expertise. 241
Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 39.307, Florida 242
Statutes, is amended to read: 243
39.307 Reports of child -on-child sexual abuse.— 244
(2) The department, contracted sheriff's office providing 245
protective investigation services, or contracted case management 246
personnel responsible for providing services, at a minimum, 247
shall adhere to the following procedures: 248
(a) The purpose of the r esponse to a report alleging 249
juvenile sexual abuse behavior or inappropriate sexual behavior 250
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shall be explained to the caregiver. 251
1. The purpose of the response shall be explained in a 252
manner consistent with legislative purpose and intent provided 253
in this chapter. 254
2. The name and office telephone number of the person 255
responding shall be provided to the caregiver of the alleged 256
abuser or child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior 257
and the victim's caregiver. 258
3. The possible consequences of th e department's response, 259
including outcomes and services, shall be explained to the 260
caregiver of the alleged abuser or child who has exhibited 261
inappropriate sexual behavior and the victim's caregiver. 262
(b) The caregiver of the alleged abuser or child who has 263
exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior and the victim's 264
caregiver shall be involved to the fullest extent possible in 265
determining the nature of the sexual behavior concerns and the 266
nature of any problem or risk to other children. 267
(c) The assessment of risk and the perceived treatment 268
needs of the alleged abuser or child who has exhibited 269
inappropriate sexual behavior, the victim, and respective 270
caregivers shall be conducted by the district staff, the Child 271
Protection Team of the Department of Health, and other providers 272
under contract with the department to provide services to the 273
caregiver of the alleged offender, the victim, and the victim's 274
caregiver. 275
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(d) The assessment shall be conducted in a manner that is 276
sensitive to the social, economic, and cultural environment of 277
the family. 278
(e) If necessary, the Child Protection Team of the 279
Department of Health shall conduct a physical examination of the 280
victim, which is sufficient to meet forensic requirements. 281
(f) Based on the information obtained fr om the alleged 282
abuser or child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior, 283
his or her caregiver, the victim, and the victim's caregiver, an 284
assessment of service and treatment needs must be completed and, 285
if needed, a case plan developed within 30 day s. 286
(g) The department shall classify the outcome of the 287
report as follows: 288
1. Report closed. Services were not offered because the 289
department determined that there was no basis for intervention. 290
2. Services accepted by alleged abuser. Services were 291
offered to the alleged abuser or child who has exhibited 292
inappropriate sexual behavior and accepted by the caregiver. 293
3. Report closed. Services were offered to the alleged 294
abuser or child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior, 295
but were rejected by the caregiver. 296
4. Notification to law enforcement. The risk to the 297
victim's safety and well -being cannot be reduced by the 298
provision of services or the caregiver rejected services, and 299
notification of the alleged delinquent act or violation of law 300
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to the appropriate law enforcement agency was initiated. 301
5. Services accepted by victim. Services were offered to 302
the victim and accepted by the caregiver. 303
6. Report closed. Services were offered to the victim but 304
were rejected by the caregiver. 305
Section 7. Section 39.308, Florida Statutes, is amended to 306
read: 307
39.308 Guidelines for onsite child protective 308
investigation.—The Department of Children and Families , in 309
collaboration with the sheriffs' offices, shall develop 310
guidelines for conducting an ons ite child protective 311
investigation that specifically does not require the additional 312
activities required by the department and for conducting an 313
enhanced child protective investigation, including determining 314
whether compelling evidence exists that no maltr eatment 315
occurred, conducting collateral contacts, contacting the 316
reporter, updating the risk assessment, and providing for 317
differential levels of documentation between an onsite and an 318
enhanced onsite child protective investigation. 319
Section 8. Subsecti on (3) of section 39.4015, Florida 320
Statutes, is amended to read: 321
39.4015 Family finding. — 322
(3) FAMILY-FINDING PROGRAM.—The department, in 323
collaboration with sheriffs' offices that conduct child 324
protective investigations and community-based care lead 325
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agencies, shall develop a formal family -finding program to be 326
implemented by child protective investigators and community -327
based care lead agencies. 328
(a) Family-finding efforts shall begin as soon as a child 329
is taken into custody of the department, pursuant t o s. 39.401, 330
and throughout the duration of the case as necessary, finding 331
and engaging with as many family members and fictive kin as 332
possible for each child who may help with care or support for 333
the child. The department or community -based care lead agen cy 334
must specifically document strategies taken to locate and engage 335
relatives and fictive kin. Strategies of engagement may include, 336
but are not limited to, asking the relatives and fictive kin to: 337
1. Participate in a family group decisionmaking 338
conference, family team conferencing, or other family meetings 339
aimed at developing or supporting the family service plan; 340
2. Attend visitations with the child; 341
3. Assist in transportation of the child; 342
4. Provide respite or child care services; or 343
5. Provide actual kinship care. 344
(b) The family-finding program shall provide the 345
department and the community -based care lead agencies with best 346
practices for identifying family and fictive kin. The family -347
finding program must use diligent efforts in family find ing and 348
must continue those efforts until multiple relatives and fictive 349
kin are identified. Family -finding efforts by the department and 350
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the community-based care lead agency may include, but are not 351
limited to: 352
1. Searching for and locating adult relati ves and fictive 353
kin. 354
2. Identifying and building positive connections between 355
the child and the child's relatives and fictive kin. 356
3. Supporting the engagement of relatives and fictive kin 357
in social service planning and delivery of services and creatin g 358
a network of extended family support to assist in remedying the 359
concerns that led to the child becoming involved with the child 360
welfare system, when appropriate. 361
4. Maintaining family connections, when possible. 362
5. Keeping siblings together in care, when in the best 363
interest of each child and when possible. 364
(c) To be compliant with this section, family -finding 365
efforts must go beyond basic searching tools by exploring 366
alternative tools and methodologies. A basic computer search 367
using the Internet or attempts to contact known relatives at a 368
last known address or telephone number do not constitute 369
effective family finding. 370
Section 9. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section 371
39.523, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 372
39.523 Placement in out-of-home care.— 373
(2) ASSESSMENT AND PLACEMENT. —When any child is removed 374
from a home and placed in out -of-home care, a comprehensive 375
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placement assessment process shall be completed in accordance 376
with s. 39.4022 to determine the level of care needed by the 377
child and match the child with the most appropriate placement. 378
(e) The department, a sheriff's office acting under s. 379
39.3065, a community-based care lead agency, or a case 380
management organization must document all placement assessments 381
and placement decisions in the Florida Safe Families Network. 382
Section 10. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection 383
(3) of section 39.524, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 384
39.524 Safe-harbor placement.— 385
(1) Except as provided in s. 39.407 or s. 985.8 01, a 386
dependent child 6 years of age or older who is suspected of 387
being or has been found to be a victim of commercial sexual 388
exploitation as defined in s. 409.016 must be assessed, and the 389
department or a sheriff's office acting under s. 39.3065 must 390
conduct a multidisciplinary staffing pursuant to s. 409.1754(2), 391
to determine the child's need for services and his or her need 392
for placement in a safe house or safe foster home as provided in 393
s. 409.1678 using the initial screening and assessment 394
instruments provided in s. 409.1754(1). If such placement is 395
determined to be appropriate for the child as a result of this 396
assessment, the child may be placed in a safe house or safe 397
foster home, if one is available. However, the child may be 398
placed in another settin g, if the other setting is more 399
appropriate to the child's needs or if a safe house or safe 400
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foster home is unavailable, as long as the child's behaviors are 401
managed so as not to endanger other children served in that 402
setting. 403
(3)(a) By October 1 of each year, the department, with 404
information from community -based care agencies and certain 405
sheriff's offices acting under s. 39.3065 , shall report to the 406
Legislature on the prevalence of child commercial sexual 407
exploitation; the specialized services provided an d placement of 408
such children; the local service capacity assessed pursuant to 409
s. 409.1754; the placement of children in safe houses and safe 410
foster homes during the year, including the criteria used to 411
determine the placement of children; the number of chi ldren who 412
were evaluated for placement; the number of children who were 413
placed based upon the evaluation; the number of children who 414
were not placed; and the department's response to the findings 415
and recommendations made by the Office of Program Policy 416
Analysis and Government Accountability in its annual study on 417
commercial sexual exploitation of children, as required by s. 418
409.16791. 419
Section 11. Paragraph (h) of subsection (3) and paragraphs 420
(b) and (c) of subsection (5) of section 402.40, Florida 421
Statutes, are amended to read: 422
402.40 Child welfare training and certification. — 423
(3) THIRD-PARTY CREDENTIALING ENTITIES. —The department 424
shall approve one or more third -party credentialing entities for 425
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the purpose of developing and administering child welfa re 426
certification programs for persons who provide child welfare 427
services. A third-party credentialing entity shall request such 428
approval in writing from the department. In order to obtain 429
approval, the third-party credentialing entity must: 430
(h) Maintain an advisory committee, including 431
representatives from each region of the department , each 432
sheriff's office providing child protective services, and each 433
community-based care lead agency, who shall be appointed by the 434
organization they represent. The third -party credentialing 435
entity may appoint additional members to the advisory committee. 436
(5) CORE COMPETENCIES AND SPECIALIZATIONS. — 437
(b) The identification of these core competencies and 438
development of preservice curricula shall be a collaborative 439
effort that includes professionals who have expertise in child 440
welfare services, department -approved third-party credentialing 441
entities, and providers that will be affected by the curriculum, 442
including, but not limited to, representatives from the 443
community-based care lead agencies, the Florida Alcohol and Drug 444
Abuse Association, the Florida Council for Community Mental 445
Health, sheriffs' offices conducting child protection 446
investigations, and child welfare legal services providers. 447
(c) Community-based care agencies, sheriffs' offices, and 448
the department may contract for the delivery of preservice and 449
any additional training for persons delivering child welfare 450
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services if the curriculum satisfies the department -approved 451
core competencies. 452
Section 12. Subsectio n (2) of section 402.402, Florida 453
Statutes, is amended to read: 454
402.402 Child protection and child welfare personnel; 455
attorneys employed by the department. — 456
(2) SPECIALIZED TRAINING. —All child protective 457
investigators and child protective investigation supervisors 458
employed by the department or a sheriff's office must complete 459
the following specialized training: 460
(a) Training on the recognition of and responses to head 461
trauma and brain injury in a child under 6 years of age 462
developed by the Child Protec tion Team Program within the 463
Department of Health. 464
(b) Training that is either focused on serving a specific 465
population, including, but not limited to, medically fragile 466
children, sexually exploited children, children under 3 years of 467
age, or families with a history of domestic violence, mental 468
illness, or substance abuse, or focused on performing certain 469
aspects of child protection practice, including, but not limited 470
to, investigation techniques and analysis of family dynamics. 471
472
The specialized training may be used to fulfill continuing 473
education requirements under s. 402.40(3)(e). Individuals hired 474
on or after July 1, 2014, shall complete the specialized 475
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training within 2 years after hire. An individual may receive 476
specialized training in multiple areas . 477
Section 13. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1), paragraphs 478
(a), (b), (d), and (e) of subsection (2), and paragraph (a) of 479
subsection (3) of section 409.1754, Florida Statutes, are 480
amended to read: 481
409.1754 Commercial sexual exploitation of children; 482
screening and assessment; training; multidisciplinary staffings; 483
service plans.— 484
(1) SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT. — 485
(d) The department, or a sheriff's office acting under s. 486
39.3065, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and community -based 487
care lead agencies may use additional assessment instruments in 488
the course of serving sexually exploited children. 489
(2) MULTIDISCIPLINARY STAFFINGS AND SERVICE PLANS. — 490
(a) The department, or a sheriff's office acting under s. 491
39.3065, shall conduct a multidisciplinary s taffing for each 492
child who is a suspected or verified victim of commercial sexual 493
exploitation. The department or sheriff's office shall 494
coordinate the staffing and invite individuals involved in the 495
child's care, including, but not limited to, the child, if 496
appropriate; the child's family or legal guardian; the child's 497
guardian ad litem; Department of Juvenile Justice staff; school 498
district staff; local health and human services providers; 499
victim advocates; and any other persons who may be able to 500
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assist the child. 501
(b) The staffing must use the assessment, local services, 502
and local protocols required by this section to develop a 503
service plan. The service plan must identify the needs of the 504
child and his or her family, the local services available to 505
meet those needs, and whether placement in a safe house or safe 506
foster home is needed. If the child is dependent, the case plan 507
required by s. 39.6011 may meet the requirement for a service 508
plan, but must be amended to incorporate the results of the 509
multidisciplinary staffing. If the child is not dependent, the 510
service plan is voluntary, and the department or sheriff's 511
office shall provide the plan to the victim and his or her 512
family or legal guardian and offer to make any needed referrals 513
to local service provi ders. 514
(d) The department, or a sheriff's office acting under s. 515
39.3065, shall follow up with all verified victims of commercial 516
sexual exploitation who are dependent within 6 months of the 517
completion of the child abuse investigation, and such 518
information must be included in the report required under s. 519
39.524. The followup mu st determine the following: 520
1. Whether a referral was made for the services 521
recommended in the service plan; 522
2. Whether the services were received and, if not, the 523
reasons why; 524
3. Whether the services or treatments were completed and, 525
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if not, the reasons why; 526
4. Whether the victim has experienced commercial sexual 527
exploitation since the verified report; 528
5. Whether the victim has run away since the verified 529
report; 530
6. The type and number of placements, if applicable; 531
7. The educational status o f the child; 532
8. The employment status of the child; and 533
9. Whether the child has been involved in the juvenile or 534
criminal justice system. 535
(e) The department, or a sheriff's office acting under s. 536
39.3065, shall follow up with all verified victims of commercial 537
sexual exploitation who are not dependent within 6 months after 538
the child abuse investigation is completed, and the information 539
must be used in the report required under s. 39.524. The 540
followup for nondependent victims and their families is 541
voluntary, and the victim, family, or legal guardian is not 542
required to respond. The followup must attempt to determine the 543
following: 544
1. Whether a referral was made for the services 545
recommended in the service plan; 546
2. Whether the services were received a nd, if not, the 547
reasons why; 548
3. Whether the services or treatments were completed and, 549
if not, the reasons why; 550
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4. Whether the victim has experienced commercial sexual 551
exploitation since the verified report; 552
5. Whether the victim has run away since t he verified 553
report; 554
6. The educational status of the child; 555
7. The employment status of the child; and 556
8. Whether the child has been involved in the juvenile or 557
criminal justice system. 558
(3) TRAINING; LOCAL PROTOCOLS. — 559
(a) The department, or a sheriff's office acting under s. 560
39.3065, and community-based care lead agencies shall ensure 561
that cases in which a child is alleged, suspected, or known to 562
be a victim of commercial sexual exploitation are assigned to 563
child protective investigators and case managers who have 564
specialized intensive training in handling cases involving a 565
sexually exploited child. The department , sheriff's office, and 566
lead agencies shall ensure that child protective investigators 567
and case managers receive this training before acc epting a case 568
involving a commercially sexually exploited child. 569
Section 14. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 570
937.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 571
937.021 Missing child and missing adult reports. — 572
(4)(a) Upon the filing of a pol ice report that a child is 573
missing by the parent or guardian, the Department of Children 574
and Families, or a community-based care provider, or a sheriff's 575
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office providing investigative services for the department, the 576
law enforcement agency receiving the r eport shall immediately 577
inform all on-duty law enforcement officers of the missing child 578
report, communicate the report to every other law enforcement 579
agency having jurisdiction in the county, and within 2 hours 580
after receipt of the report, transmit the re port for inclusion 581
within the Florida Crime Information Center and the National 582
Crime Information Center databases. A law enforcement agency may 583
not require a reporter to present an order that a child be taken 584
into custody or any other such order before ac cepting a report 585
that a child is missing. 586
Section 15. Subsection (3) and paragraph (a) of subsection 587
(9) of section 1004.615, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 588
1004.615 Florida Institute for Child Welfare. — 589
(3) The institute shall work with th e department, sheriffs 590
providing child protective investigative services, community-591
based care lead agencies, community -based care provider 592
organizations, the court system, the Department of Juvenile 593
Justice, and other partners who contribute to and partic ipate in 594
providing child protection and child welfare services. 595
(9) By October 1 of each year, the institute shall provide 596
a written report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 597
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which outlines 598
its activities in the preceding year, reports significant 599
research findings, as well as results of other programs, and 600
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provides specific recommendations for improving child protection 601
and child welfare services. 602
(a) The institute shall include an evaluation o f the 603
results of the educational and training requirements for child 604
protection and child welfare personnel established under this 605
act and recommendations for application of the results to child 606
protection personnel employed by sheriff's offices providing 607
child protection services in its report due October 1, 2017. 608
Section 16. Notwithstanding s. 39.3065, Florida Statutes, 609
the sheriffs providing child protective investigative services 610
in Pinellas County, Manatee County, Broward County, Pasco 611
County, Hillsborough County, Seminole County, and Walton County 612
shall transfer such functions to the Department of Children and 613
Families. 614
(1) The department and each sheriff must mutually agree on 615
a date, no later than December 31, 2023, by which the transfer 616
of child protective investigative service functions must be 617
finalized. On the dates agreed to by each sheriff and the 618
department for the finalization of the transfer of functions, 619
the department becomes the custodian of all department files and 620
documents previously maintained by each sheriff related to the 621
provision of child protective investigative services. The 622
sheriffs remain the custodians of all nondepartment files and 623
documents created by the sheriffs before the date of transfer. 624
(2) The department an d each sheriff providing child 625
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protective investigative services must complete an inventory of 626
grant-related assets and each sheriff must transfer all 627
applicable assets to the department. A financial close -out of 628
each grant must be completed no later than March 31, 2024. 629
(3) Notwithstanding s. 287.057, Florida Statutes, the 630
department may extend the private lease of a facility currently 631
used by a sheriff for child protective investigative services 632
for up to 1 year after the date the transfer of functions is 633
finalized without undergoing a procurement. The department and 634
each sheriff may enter an agreement to allow department 635
employees to remain in office space owned or leased by the 636
sheriff for up to 6 months after the date the transfer of 637
functions is finalized. 638
(4) An employee in good standing, as defined by the office 639
policies of each applicable sheriff, who is employed by a 640
sheriff for the provision of child protective investigative 641
services and is employed before the effective date of this act 642
may transfer his or her employment to the department. The 643
department shall establish positions using existing guidelines 644
from the Department of Management Services for similarly 645
established positions. An employee who transfers his or her 646
employment to the departm ent: 647
(a) Notwithstanding ss. 110.1128, 110.201, 110.211, 648
110.213, 110.2135, 110.219, and 110.221, Florida Statutes, is 649
not required to go through an open competitive process and must 650
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be employed in a position with duties and responsibilities 651
comparable to those which he or she performed within the 652
sheriff's office. 653
(b) Notwithstanding s. 110.1127, Florida Statutes, and 654
chapter 435, Florida Statutes, is not required to undergo an 655
initial employee background screening as a condition of his or 656
her employment with the department, if the employee is in 657
compliance with the employee background screening requirements 658
of the applicable sheriff's office at the time of the employee's 659
transfer. 660
(c) Shall remain in an equivalent broadband level as 661
defined in s. 110.107, Florida Statutes, and in a similarly 662
established position, maintaining the same rate of pay and 663
comparable duties and responsibilities that he or she had at the 664
sheriff's office at the time of the employee's transfer. 665
(d) Notwithstanding s. 110.217 , Florida Statutes, is 666
considered to have attained permanent status by the department 667
if the employee has completed the probationary period for the 668
applicable sheriff's office, if any, or has been continuously 669
employed in the same position at the applicabl e sheriff's office 670
for more than 12 months as of the date of the employee's 671
transfer. 672
(e) Shall remain in the Florida Retirement System and is 673
not considered to have experienced a break in service. 674
(f) Notwithstanding s. 110.219, Florida Statutes, may 675
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transfer all accrued leave to the department. All creditable 676
service months the employee worked at the sheriff's office will 677
be transferred for the purpose of annual leave accrual. 678
(g) Shall continue on family and medical leave or other 679
approved extended leave status, if any, contingent upon the 680
department receiving supporting documentation. 681
(h) Is eligible for all benefits afforded a state employee 682
applicable to the position he or she will occupy after the 683
employee's transfer. 684
(5) Claims that have ac crued but have not been filed must 685
be defended and indemnified in accordance with the grant 686
agreement applicable at the time of the alleged incident. This 687
subsection may not be construed as a waiver of s. 768.28. 688
(6) This section shall take effect upon b ecoming law. 689
Section 17. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 690
act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon 691
this act becoming a law, this act shall take effect January 1, 692
2024. 693