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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 functions 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 documen ts; 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 ti meframe; authorizing 19
certain employees to transfer their employment to the 20
department; requiring the department to establish 21
positions for such employees; providing certain 22
benefits to employees who transfer their employment to 23
the department; requiring th at the defense and 24
indemnification of certain claims be in accordance 25
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with certain agreements; requiring that the department 26
defend and indemnify certain claims; providing certain 27
construction; providing effective dates. 28
29
Be It Enacted by the Legislatu re of the State of Florida: 30
31
Section 1. Section 39.3065, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 32
Section 2. Subsection (12) of section 39.013, Florida 33
Statutes, is amended to read: 34
39.013 Procedures and jurisdiction; right to counsel. — 35
(12) The department shall be represented by counsel in 36
each dependency proceeding. Through its attorneys, the 37
department shall make recommendations to the court on issues 38
before the court and may support its recommendations through 39
testimony and other evidence by its own e mployees, employees of 40
sheriff's offices providing child protection services, employees 41
of its contractors, employees of its contractor's 42
subcontractors, or from any other relevant source. 43
Section 3. Section 39.0141, Florida Statutes, is amended 44
to read: 45
39.0141 Missing children; report required. —Whenever the 46
whereabouts of a child involved with the department become 47
unknown, the department or, the community-based care provider, 48
or the sheriff's office providing investigative services for the 49
department shall make reasonable efforts, as defined by rule, to 50
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locate the child. If, pursuant to criteria established by rule, 51
the child is determined to be missing, the department or, the 52
community-based care provider, or the sheriff's office shall 53
file a report that the child is missing in accordance with s. 54
937.021. 55
Section 4. Subsection (9) of section 39.301, Florida 56
Statutes, is amended to read: 57
39.301 Initiation of protective investigations. — 58
(9)(a) For each report received from the central abuse 59
hotline and accepted for investigation, the department or the 60
sheriff providing child protective investigative services under 61
s. 39.3065, shall perform the following child protective 62
investigation activities to determine child safety: 63
1. Conduct a review o f all relevant, available information 64
specific to the child , and family, and alleged maltreatment; 65
family child welfare history; local, state, and federal criminal 66
records checks; and requests for law enforcement assistance 67
provided by the abuse hotline. B ased on a review of available 68
information, including the allegations in the current report, a 69
determination shall be made as to whether immediate consultation 70
should occur with law enforcement, the Child Protection Team, a 71
domestic violence shelter or advo cate, or a substance abuse or 72
mental health professional. Such consultations should include 73
discussion as to whether a joint response is necessary and 74
feasible. A determination shall be made as to whether the person 75
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making the report should be contacted be fore the face-to-face 76
interviews with the child and family members. 77
2. Conduct face-to-face interviews with the child; other 78
siblings, if any; and the parents, legal custodians, or 79
caregivers. 80
3. Assess the child's residence, including a determination 81
of the composition of the family and household, including the 82
name, address, date of birth, social security number, sex, and 83
race of each child named in the report; any siblings or other 84
children in the same household or in the care of the same 85
adults; the parents, legal custodians, or caregivers; and any 86
other adults in the same household. 87
4. Determine whether there is any indication that any 88
child in the family or household has been abused, abandoned, or 89
neglected; the nature and extent of present or prior injuries, 90
abuse, or neglect, and any evidence thereof; and a determination 91
as to the person or persons apparently responsible for the 92
abuse, abandonment, or neglect, including the name, address, 93
date of birth, social security number, sex, and race of each 94
such person. 95
5. Complete assessment of immediate child safety for each 96
child based on available records, interviews, and observations 97
with all persons named in subparagraph 2. and appropriate 98
collateral contacts, which may include other professionals, and 99
continually assess the child's safety throughout the 100
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investigation. The department's child protection investigators 101
are hereby designated a criminal justice agency for the purpose 102
of accessing criminal justice information to be used for 103
enforcing this state's laws concerning the crimes of child 104
abuse, abandonment, and neglect. This information shall be used 105
solely for purposes supporting the detection, apprehension, 106
prosecution, pretrial release, posttr ial release, or 107
rehabilitation of criminal offenders or persons accused of the 108
crimes of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect and may not be 109
further disseminated or used for any other purpose. 110
6. Document the present and impending dangers to each 111
child based on the identification of inadequate protective 112
capacity through utilization of a standardized safety assessment 113
instrument. If present or impending danger is identified, the 114
child protective investigator must implement a safety plan or 115
take the child into custody. If present danger is identified and 116
the child is not removed, the child protective investigator 117
shall create and implement a safety plan before leaving the home 118
or the location where there is present danger. If impending 119
danger is identified, the child protective investigator shall 120
create and implement a safety plan as soon as necessary to 121
protect the safety of the child. The child protective 122
investigator may modify the safety plan if he or she identifies 123
additional impending danger. 124
a. If the child protective investigator implements a 125
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safety plan, the plan must be specific, sufficient, feasible, 126
and sustainable in response to the realities of the present or 127
impending danger. A safety plan may be an in -home plan or an 128
out-of-home plan, or a combination of both. A safety plan may 129
include tasks or responsibilities for a parent, caregiver, or 130
legal custodian. However, a safety plan may not rely on 131
promissory commitments by the parent, caregiver, or legal 132
custodian who is currently not able to pro tect the child or on 133
services that are not available or will not result in the safety 134
of the child. A safety plan may not be implemented if for any 135
reason the parents, guardian, or legal custodian lacks the 136
capacity or ability to comply with the plan. If t he department 137
is not able to develop a plan that is specific, sufficient, 138
feasible, and sustainable, the department shall file a shelter 139
petition. A child protective investigator shall implement 140
separate safety plans for the perpetrator of domestic violenc e, 141
if the investigator, using reasonable efforts, can locate the 142
perpetrator to implement a safety plan, and for the parent who 143
is a victim of domestic violence as defined in s. 741.28. 144
Reasonable efforts to locate a perpetrator include, but are not 145
limited to, a diligent search pursuant to the same requirements 146
as in s. 39.503. If the perpetrator of domestic violence is not 147
the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of any child in the 148
home and if the department does not intend to file a shelter 149
petition or dependency petition that will assert allegations 150
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against the perpetrator as a parent of a child in the home, the 151
child protective investigator shall seek issuance of an 152
injunction authorized by s. 39.504 to implement a safety plan 153
for the perpetrator and i mpose any other conditions to protect 154
the child. The safety plan for the parent who is a victim of 155
domestic violence may not be shared with the perpetrator. If any 156
party to a safety plan fails to comply with the safety plan 157
resulting in the child being uns afe, the department shall file a 158
shelter petition. 159
b. The child protective investigator shall collaborate 160
with the community-based care lead agency in the development of 161
the safety plan as necessary to ensure that the safety plan is 162
specific, sufficient, feasible, and sustainable. The child 163
protective investigator shall identify services necessary for 164
the successful implementation of the safety plan. The child 165
protective investigator and the community -based care lead agency 166
shall mobilize service resource s to assist all parties in 167
complying with the safety plan. The community -based care lead 168
agency shall prioritize safety plan services to families who 169
have multiple risk factors, including, but not limited to, two 170
or more of the following: 171
(I) The parent or legal custodian is of young age; 172
(II) The parent or legal custodian, or an adult currently 173
living in or frequently visiting the home, has a history of 174
substance abuse, mental illness, or domestic violence; 175
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(III) The parent or legal custodian, or an adult currently 176
living in or frequently visiting the home, has been previously 177
found to have physically or sexually abused a child; 178
(IV) The parent or legal custodian, or an adult currently 179
living in or frequently visiting the home, has been the subject 180
of multiple allegations by reputable reports of abuse or 181
neglect; 182
(V) The child is physically or developmentally disabled; 183
or 184
(VI) The child is 3 years of age or younger. 185
c. The child protective investigator shall monitor the 186
implementation of the pl an to ensure the child's safety until 187
the case is transferred to the lead agency at which time the 188
lead agency shall monitor the implementation. 189
d. The department may file a petition for shelter or 190
dependency without a new child protective investigation or the 191
concurrence of the child protective investigator if the child is 192
unsafe but for the use of a safety plan and the parent or 193
caregiver has not sufficiently increased protective capacities 194
within 90 days after the transfer of the safety plan to the lea d 195
agency. 196
(b) For each report received from the central abuse 197
hotline, the department or the sheriff providing child 198
protective investigative services under s. 39.3065, shall 199
determine the protective, treatment, and ameliorative services 200
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necessary to safeguard and ensure the child's safety and well -201
being and development, and cause the delivery of those services 202
through the early intervention of the department or its agent. 203
If Whenever a delay or disability of the child is suspected, the 204
parent must be referred to a local child developmental screening 205
program, such as the Child Find program of the Florida 206
Diagnostic and Learning Resource System, for screening of the 207
child. As applicable, child protective investigators must inform 208
parents and caregivers how and when to use the injunction 209
process under s. 741.30 to remove a perpetrator of domestic 210
violence from the home as an intervention to protect the child. 211
1. If the department or the sheriff providing child 212
protective investigative services determines that the interests 213
of the child and the public will be best served by providing the 214
child care or other treatment voluntarily accepted by the child 215
and the parents or legal custodians, the parent or legal 216
custodian and child may be referred for such care, ca se 217
management, or other community resources. 218
2. If the department or the sheriff providing child 219
protective investigative services determines that the child is 220
in need of protection and supervision, the department may file a 221
petition for dependency. 222
3. If a petition for dependency is not being filed by the 223
department, the person or agency originating the report shall be 224
advised of the right to file a petition pursuant to this part. 225
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4. At the close of an investigation, the department or the 226
sheriff providing child protective services shall provide to the 227
person who is alleged to have caused the abuse, neglect, or 228
abandonment and the parent or legal custodian a summary of 229
findings from the investigation and provide information about 230
their right to access confidential reports in accordance with s. 231
39.202. 232
Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 39.3068, Florida 233
Statutes, is amended to read: 234
39.3068 Reports of medical neglect. — 235
(1) Upon receiving a report alleging medical neglect, the 236
department or sheriff's office shall assign the case to a child 237
protective investigator who has specialized training in 238
addressing medical neglect or working with medically complex 239
children if such investigator is available. If a child 240
protective investigator with speciali zed training is not 241
available, the child protective investigator shall consult with 242
department staff with such expertise. 243
Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 39.307, Florida 244
Statutes, is amended to read: 245
39.307 Reports of child -on-child sexual abuse.— 246
(2) The department, contracted sheriff's office providing 247
protective investigation services, or contracted case management 248
personnel responsible for providing services, at a minimum, 249
shall adhere to the following procedures: 250
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(a) The purpose of the r esponse to a report alleging 251
juvenile sexual abuse behavior or inappropriate sexual behavior 252
shall be explained to the caregiver. 253
1. The purpose of the response shall be explained in a 254
manner consistent with legislative purpose and intent provided 255
in this chapter. 256
2. The name and office telephone number of the person 257
responding shall be provided to the caregiver of the alleged 258
abuser or child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior 259
and the victim's caregiver. 260
3. The possible consequences of th e department's response, 261
including outcomes and services, shall be explained to the 262
caregiver of the alleged abuser or child who has exhibited 263
inappropriate sexual behavior and the victim's caregiver. 264
(b) The caregiver of the alleged abuser or child who has 265
exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior and the victim's 266
caregiver shall be involved to the fullest extent possible in 267
determining the nature of the sexual behavior concerns and the 268
nature of any problem or risk to other children. 269
(c) The assessment of risk and the perceived treatment 270
needs of the alleged abuser or child who has exhibited 271
inappropriate sexual behavior, the victim, and respective 272
caregivers shall be conducted by the district staff, the Child 273
Protection Team of the D epartment of Health, and other providers 274
under contract with the department to provide services to the 275
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caregiver of the alleged offender, the victim, and the victim's 276
caregiver. 277
(d) The assessment shall be conducted in a manner that is 278
sensitive to the social, economic, and cultural environment of 279
the family. 280
(e) If necessary, the Child Protection Team of the 281
Department of Health shall conduct a physical examination of the 282
victim, which is sufficient to meet forensic requirements. 283
(f) Based on the inf ormation obtained from the alleged 284
abuser or child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior, 285
his or her caregiver, the victim, and the victim's caregiver, an 286
assessment of service and treatment needs must be completed and, 287
if needed, a case plan dev eloped within 30 days. 288
(g) The department shall classify the outcome of the 289
report as follows: 290
1. Report closed. Services were not offered because the 291
department determined that there was no basis for intervention. 292
2. Services accepted by alleged abu ser. Services were 293
offered to the alleged abuser or child who has exhibited 294
inappropriate sexual behavior and accepted by the caregiver. 295
3. Report closed. Services were offered to the alleged 296
abuser or child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavio r, 297
but were rejected by the caregiver. 298
4. Notification to law enforcement. The risk to the 299
victim's safety and well -being cannot be reduced by the 300
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provision of services or the caregiver rejected services, and 301
notification of the alleged delinquent act or violation of law 302
to the appropriate law enforcement agency was initiated. 303
5. Services accepted by victim. Services were offered to 304
the victim and accepted by the caregiver. 305
6. Report closed. Services were offered to the victim but 306
were rejected by the caregiver. 307
Section 7. Section 39.308, Florida Statutes, is amended to 308
read: 309
39.308 Guidelines for onsite child protective 310
investigation.—The Department of Children and Families , in 311
collaboration with the sheriffs' offices, shall develop 312
guidelines for conducting an onsite child protective 313
investigation that specifically does not require the additional 314
activities required by the department and for conducting an 315
enhanced child protective investigation, including determining 316
whether compelling evidence exists that no maltreatment 317
occurred, conducting collateral contacts, contacting the 318
reporter, updating the risk assessment, and providing for 319
differential levels of documentation between an onsite and an 320
enhanced onsite child protective investigation. 321
Section 8. Subsection (3) of section 39.4015, Florida 322
Statutes, is amended to read: 323
39.4015 Family finding. — 324
(3) FAMILY-FINDING PROGRAM.—The department, in 325
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collaboration with sheriffs' offices that conduct child 326
protective investigations and community-based care lead 327
agencies, shall develop a formal family -finding program to be 328
implemented by child protective investigators and community -329
based care lead agencies. 330
(a) Family-finding efforts shall begin as soon as a child 331
is taken into custody of the de partment, pursuant to s. 39.401, 332
and throughout the duration of the case as necessary, finding 333
and engaging with as many family members and fictive kin as 334
possible for each child who may help with care or support for 335
the child. The department or community -based care lead agency 336
must specifically document strategies taken to locate and engage 337
relatives and fictive kin. Strategies of engagement may include, 338
but are not limited to, asking the relatives and fictive kin to: 339
1. Participate in a family group dec isionmaking 340
conference, family team conferencing, or other family meetings 341
aimed at developing or supporting the family service plan; 342
2. Attend visitations with the child; 343
3. Assist in transportation of the child; 344
4. Provide respite or child care ser vices; or 345
5. Provide actual kinship care. 346
(b) The family-finding program shall provide the 347
department and the community -based care lead agencies with best 348
practices for identifying family and fictive kin. The family -349
finding program must use diligent ef forts in family finding and 350
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must continue those efforts until multiple relatives and fictive 351
kin are identified. Family -finding efforts by the department and 352
the community-based care lead agency may include, but are not 353
limited to: 354
1. Searching for and l ocating adult relatives and fictive 355
kin. 356
2. Identifying and building positive connections between 357
the child and the child's relatives and fictive kin. 358
3. Supporting the engagement of relatives and fictive kin 359
in social service planning and delivery of services and creating 360
a network of extended family support to assist in remedying the 361
concerns that led to the child becoming involved with the child 362
welfare system, when appropriate. 363
4. Maintaining family connections, when possible. 364
5. Keeping siblings together in care, when in the best 365
interest of each child and when possible. 366
(c) To be compliant with this section, family -finding 367
efforts must go beyond basic searching tools by exploring 368
alternative tools and methodologies. A basic computer search 369
using the Internet or attempts to contact known relatives at a 370
last known address or telephone number do not constitute 371
effective family finding. 372
Section 9. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section 373
39.523, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 374
39.523 Placement in out-of-home care.— 375
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(2) ASSESSMENT AND PLACEMENT. —When any child is removed 376
from a home and placed in out -of-home care, a comprehensive 377
placement assessment process shall be completed in accordance 378
with s. 39.4022 to determine the level of c are needed by the 379
child and match the child with the most appropriate placement. 380
(e) The department, a sheriff's office acting under s. 381
39.3065, a community-based care lead agency, or a case 382
management organization must document all placement assessments 383
and placement decisions in the Florida Safe Families Network. 384
Section 10. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection 385
(3) of section 39.524, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 386
39.524 Safe-harbor placement.— 387
(1) Except as provided in s. 39.4 07 or s. 985.801, a 388
dependent child 6 years of age or older who is suspected of 389
being or has been found to be a victim of commercial sexual 390
exploitation as defined in s. 409.016 must be assessed, and the 391
department or a sheriff's office acting under s. 39. 3065 must 392
conduct a multidisciplinary staffing pursuant to s. 409.1754(2), 393
to determine the child's need for services and his or her need 394
for placement in a safe house or safe foster home as provided in 395
s. 409.1678 using the initial screening and assessmen t 396
instruments provided in s. 409.1754(1). If such placement is 397
determined to be appropriate for the child as a result of this 398
assessment, the child may be placed in a safe house or safe 399
foster home, if one is available. However, the child may be 400
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placed in another setting, if the other setting is more 401
appropriate to the child's needs or if a safe house or safe 402
foster home is unavailable, as long as the child's behaviors are 403
managed so as not to endanger other children served in that 404
setting. 405
(3)(a) By October 1 of each year, the department, with 406
information from community -based care agencies and certain 407
sheriff's offices acting under s. 39.3065 , shall report to the 408
Legislature on the prevalence of child commercial sexual 409
exploitation; the specialized servic es provided and placement of 410
such children; the local service capacity assessed pursuant to 411
s. 409.1754; the placement of children in safe houses and safe 412
foster homes during the year, including the criteria used to 413
determine the placement of children; the number of children who 414
were evaluated for placement; the number of children who were 415
placed based upon the evaluation; the number of children who 416
were not placed; and the department's response to the findings 417
and recommendations made by the Office of Prog ram Policy 418
Analysis and Government Accountability in its annual study on 419
commercial sexual exploitation of children, as required by s. 420
409.16791. 421
Section 11. Paragraph (h) of subsection (3) and paragraphs 422
(b) and (c) of subsection (5) of section 402.40, Florida 423
Statutes, are amended to read: 424
402.40 Child welfare training and certification. — 425
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(3) THIRD-PARTY CREDENTIALING ENTITIES. —The department 426
shall approve one or more third -party credentialing entitie s for 427
the purpose of developing and administering child welfare 428
certification programs for persons who provide child welfare 429
services. A third-party credentialing entity shall request such 430
approval in writing from the department. In order to obtain 431
approval, the third-party credentialing entity must: 432
(h) Maintain an advisory committee, including 433
representatives from each region of the department , each 434
sheriff's office providing child protective services, and each 435
community-based care lead agency, who shal l be appointed by the 436
organization they represent. The third -party credentialing 437
entity may appoint additional members to the advisory committee. 438
(5) CORE COMPETENCIES AND SPECIALIZATIONS. — 439
(b) The identification of these core competencies and 440
development of preservice curricula shall be a collaborative 441
effort that includes professionals who have expertise in child 442
welfare services, department -approved third-party credentialing 443
entities, and providers that will be affected by the curriculum, 444
including, but not limited to, representatives from the 445
community-based care lead agencies, the Florida Alcohol and Drug 446
Abuse Association, the Florida Council for Community Mental 447
Health, sheriffs' offices conducting child protection 448
investigations, and child welfare legal services providers. 449
(c) Community-based care agencies, sheriffs' offices, and 450
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the department may contract for the delivery of preservice and 451
any additional training for persons delivering child welfare 452
services if the curriculum satisfies the dep artment-approved 453
core competencies. 454
Section 12. Subsection (2) of section 402.402, Florida 455
Statutes, is amended to read: 456
402.402 Child protection and child welfare personnel; 457
attorneys employed by the department. — 458
(2) SPECIALIZED TRAINING. —All child protective 459
investigators and child protective investigation supervisors 460
employed by the department or a sheriff's office must complete 461
the following specialized training: 462
(a) Training on the recognition of and responses to head 463
trauma and brain injury in a child under 6 years of age 464
developed by the Child Protection Team Program within the 465
Department of Health. 466
(b) Training that is either focused on serving a specific 467
population, including, but not limited to, medically fragile 468
children, sexually expl oited children, children under 3 years of 469
age, or families with a history of domestic violence, mental 470
illness, or substance abuse, or focused on performing certain 471
aspects of child protection practice, including, but not limited 472
to, investigation techniqu es and analysis of family dynamics. 473
474
The specialized training may be used to fulfill continuing 475
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education requirements under s. 402.40(3)(e). Individuals hired 476
on or after July 1, 2014, shall complete the specialized 477
training within 2 years after hire. An individual may receive 478
specialized training in multiple areas. 479
Section 13. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1), paragraphs 480
(a), (b), (d), and (e) of subsection (2), and paragraph (a) of 481
subsection (3) of section 409.1754, Florida Statutes, are 482
amended to read: 483
409.1754 Commercial sexual exploitation of children; 484
screening and assessment; training; multidisciplinary staffings; 485
service plans.— 486
(1) SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT. — 487
(d) The department, or a sheriff's office acting under s. 488
39.3065, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and community -based 489
care lead agencies may use additional assessment instruments in 490
the course of serving sexually exploited children. 491
(2) MULTIDISCIPLINARY STAFFINGS AND SERVICE PLANS. — 492
(a) The department, or a sheriff's office acting under s. 493
39.3065, shall conduct a multidisciplinary staffing for each 494
child who is a suspected or verified victim of commercial sexual 495
exploitation. The department or sheriff's office shall 496
coordinate the staffing and invite individuals involved in the 497
child's care, including, but not limited to, the child, if 498
appropriate; the child's family or legal guardian; the child's 499
guardian ad litem; Department of Juvenile Justice staff; school 500
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district staff; local health and human services providers; 501
victim advocates; and any other persons who may be able to 502
assist the child. 503
(b) The staffing must use the assessment, local services, 504
and local protocols required by this section to develop a 505
service plan. The service plan must identify the needs of the 506
child and his or her family, the local services available to 507
meet those needs, and whether placement in a safe house or safe 508
foster home is needed. If the child is dependent, the case plan 509
required by s. 39.6011 may meet the requirement for a service 510
plan, but must be amended to incorporate the results of the 511
multidisciplinary staffing. If the child is not dependent, the 512
service plan is voluntary, and the department or sheriff's 513
office shall provide the plan to the victim and his or her 514
family or legal guardian a nd offer to make any needed referrals 515
to local service providers. 516
(d) The department, or a sheriff's office acting under s. 517
39.3065, shall follow up with all verified victims of commercial 518
sexual exploitation who are dependent within 6 months of the 519
completion of the child abuse investigation, and such 520
information must be included in the report required under s. 521
39.524. The followup must determine the following: 522
1. Whether a referral was made for the services 523
recommended in the service plan; 524
2. Whether the services were received and, if not, the 525
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reasons why; 526
3. Whether the services or treatments were completed and, 527
if not, the reasons why; 528
4. Whether the victim has experienced commercial sexual 529
exploitation since the verified report; 530
5. Whether the victim has run away since the verified 531
report; 532
6. The type and number of placements, if applicable; 533
7. The educational status of the child; 534
8. The employment status of the child; and 535
9. Whether the child has been involved in the juvenile or 536
criminal justice system. 537
(e) The department, or a sheriff's office acting under s. 538
39.3065, shall follow up with all verified victims of commercial 539
sexual exploitation who are not dependent within 6 months after 540
the child abuse investigation is completed , and the information 541
must be used in the report required under s. 39.524. The 542
followup for nondependent victims and their families is 543
voluntary, and the victim, family, or legal guardian is not 544
required to respond. The followup must attempt to determine t he 545
following: 546
1. Whether a referral was made for the services 547
recommended in the service plan; 548
2. Whether the services were received and, if not, the 549
reasons why; 550
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3. Whether the services or treatments were completed and, 551
if not, the reasons why; 552
4. Whether the victim has experienced commercial sexual 553
exploitation since the verified report; 554
5. Whether the victim has run away since the verified 555
report; 556
6. The educational status of the child; 557
7. The employment status of the child; and 558
8. Whether the child has been involved in the juvenile or 559
criminal justice system. 560
(3) TRAINING; LOCAL PROTOCOLS. — 561
(a) The department, or a sheriff's office acting under s. 562
39.3065, and community-based care lead agencies shall ensure 563
that cases in which a child is alleged, suspected, or known to 564
be a victim of commercial sexual exploitation are assigned to 565
child protective investigators and case managers who have 566
specialized intensive training in handling cases involving a 567
sexually exploited child. The departmen t, sheriff's office, and 568
lead agencies shall ensure that child protective investigators 569
and case managers receive this training before accepting a case 570
involving a commercially sexually exploited child. 571
Section 14. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of se ction 572
937.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 573
937.021 Missing child and missing adult reports. — 574
(4)(a) Upon the filing of a police report that a child is 575
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missing by the parent or guardian, the Department of Children 576
and Families, or a community-based care provider, or a sheriff's 577
office providing investigative services for the department, the 578
law enforcement agency receiving the report shall immediately 579
inform all on-duty law enforcement officers of the missing child 580
report, communicate the repor t to every other law enforcement 581
agency having jurisdiction in the county, and within 2 hours 582
after receipt of the report, transmit the report for inclusion 583
within the Florida Crime Information Center and the National 584
Crime Information Center databases. A law enforcement agency may 585
not require a reporter to present an order that a child be taken 586
into custody or any other such order before accepting a report 587
that a child is missing. 588
Section 15. Subsection (3) and paragraph (a) of subsection 589
(9) of section 1004.615, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 590
1004.615 Florida Institute for Child Welfare. — 591
(3) The institute shall work with the department, sheriffs 592
providing child protective investigative services, community-593
based care lead agencies, communit y-based care provider 594
organizations, the court system, the Department of Juvenile 595
Justice, and other partners who contribute to and participate in 596
providing child protection and child welfare services. 597
(9) By October 1 of each year, the institute shall p rovide 598
a written report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 599
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which outlines 600
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its activities in the preceding year, reports significant 601
research findings, as well as results of other programs, and 602
provides specific recommendations for improving child protection 603
and child welfare services. 604
(a) The institute shall include an evaluation of the 605
results of the educational and training requirements for child 606
protection and child welfare personnel establishe d under this 607
act and recommendations for application of the results to child 608
protection personnel employed by sheriff's offices providing 609
child protection services in its report due October 1, 2017. 610
Section 16. Notwithstanding s. 39.3065, Florida Statutes, 611
the sheriffs providing child protective investigative services 612
in Pinellas County, Manatee County, Broward County, Pasco 613
County, Hillsborough County, Seminole County, and Walton County 614
shall transfer such funct ions to the Department of Children and 615
Families. 616
(1) The department and each sheriff must mutually agree on 617
a date, no later than December 31, 2023, by which the transfer 618
of child protective investigative service functions must be 619
finalized. On the dates agreed to by each sheriff and the 620
department for the finalization of the transfer of functions, 621
the department becomes the custodian of all department files and 622
documents previously maintained by each sheriff related to the 623
provision of child protective i nvestigative services. The 624
sheriffs remain the custodians of all nondepartment files and 625
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documents created by the sheriffs before the date of transfer. 626
(2) The department and each sheriff providing child 627
protective investigative services must complete an inventory of 628
grant-related assets and each sheriff must transfer all 629
applicable assets to the department. A financial close -out of 630
each grant must be completed no later than March 31, 2024. 631
(3) Notwithstanding s. 287.057, Florida Statutes, the 632
department may extend the private lease of a facility currently 633
used by a sheriff for child protective investigative services 634
for up to 1 year after the date the transfer of functions is 635
finalized without undergoing a procurement. The department and 636
each sheriff may enter an agreement to allow department 637
employees to remain in office space owned or leased by the 638
sheriff for up to 6 months after the date the transfer of 639
functions is finalized. 640
(4) An employee in good standing, as defined by the office 641
policies of each applicable sheriff, who is employed by a 642
sheriff for the provision of child protective investigative 643
services and is employed before the effective date of this act 644
may transfer his or her employment to the department. The 645
department shall establish pos itions using existing guidelines 646
from the Department of Management Services for similarly 647
established positions. An employee who transfers his or her 648
employment to the department: 649
(a) Notwithstanding ss. 110.1128, 110.201, 110.211, 650
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110.213, 110.2135, 110 .219, and 110.221, Florida Statutes, is 651
not required to go through an open competitive process and must 652
be employed in a position with duties and responsibilities 653
comparable to those which he or she performed within the 654
sheriff's office. 655
(b) Notwithstanding s. 110.1127, Florida Statutes, and 656
chapter 435, Florida Statutes, is not required to undergo an 657
initial employee background screening as a condition of his or 658
her employment with the department, if the employee is in 659
compliance with the employee backgr ound screening requirements 660
of the applicable sheriff's office at the time of the employee's 661
transfer. 662
(c) Shall remain in an equivalent broadband level as 663
defined in s. 110.107, Florida Statutes, and in a similarly 664
established position, maintaining the same rate of pay and 665
comparable duties and responsibilities that he or she had at the 666
sheriff's office at the time of the employee's transfer. 667
(d) Notwithstanding s. 110.217, Florida Statutes, is 668
considered to have attained permanent status by the depart ment 669
if the employee has completed the probationary period for the 670
applicable sheriff's office, if any, or has been continuously 671
employed in the same position at the applicable sheriff's office 672
for more than 12 months as of the date of the employee's 673
transfer. 674
(e) Shall remain in the Florida Retirement System and is 675
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not considered to have experienced a break in service. 676
(f) Notwithstanding s. 110.219, Florida Statutes, may 677
transfer all accrued leave to the department. All creditable 678
service months the e mployee worked at the sheriff's office will 679
be transferred for the purpose of annual leave accrual. 680
(g) Shall continue on family and medical leave or other 681
approved extended leave status, if any, contingent upon the 682
department receiving supporting docume ntation. 683
(h) Is eligible for all benefits afforded a state employee 684
applicable to the position he or she will occupy after the 685
employee's transfer. 686
(5) Any claims or causes of action brought against a 687
sheriff under state or federal law relating to the sheriff's 688
provision of child protective investigative services filed: 689
(a) Before the applicable transfer date must be defended 690
and indemnified in accordance with the provisions of the state 691
or grant agreement applicable at the time of the alleged 692
incident. 693
(b) After the applicable transfer date must be defended 694
and indemnified by the department. 695
696
This subsection may not be construed as a waiver of s. 768.28, 697
Florida Statutes. 698
(6) This section shall take effect upon becoming law. 699
Section 17. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 700
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act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon 701
this act becoming a law, this act shall take effect January 1, 702
2024. 703