Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1690 By Senator Ingoglia 11-00446B-23 20231690__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to human trafficking; amending s. 3 787.29, F.S.; requiring the Department of Children and 4 Families to develop age-appropriate public awareness 5 signs for display in specified locations that provide 6 shelter and care for dependent children; providing 7 sign requirements; making technical changes; creating 8 s. 402.88, F.S.; defining terms; requiring the 9 Department of Children and Families to develop a 10 process to certify adult safe houses that provide 11 housing and care to adult survivors of human 12 trafficking; providing certification requirements; 13 authorizing rulemaking; requiring the department to 14 inspect adult safe houses before certification and 15 annually thereafter; requiring the department to 16 ensure the staff of each adult safe house completes 17 specified intensive training; providing for department 18 actions for noncompliance; amending s. 409.1678, F.S.; 19 providing security requirements for certain group 20 homes and safe houses; creating s. 409.16781, F.S.; 21 requiring the Department of Children and Families to 22 develop age-appropriate educational programming for 23 children in certain facilities concerning human 24 trafficking; providing an effective date. 25 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: 31 787.29Human trafficking public awareness signs. 32 (3)(a)The employer at each of the following establishments 33 shall display a public awareness sign developed under subsection 34 (4) in a conspicuous location that is clearly visible to the 35 public and employees of the establishment: 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 defined 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 8.5 48 inches by 11 inches in size, must be printed in at least a 16 49 point type, and must state substantially the following in 50 English and Spanish: 51 52 If you or someone you know is being forced to engage 53 in an activity and cannot leavewhether 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, the 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 must contain the telephone number for either the National Human 76 Trafficking Resource Center 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 fine only as provided 81 in s. 775.083. 82 Section 2.Section 402.88, Florida Statutes, is created to 83 read: 84 402.88Adult 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 process 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 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 management 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 appropriate 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 (e)Provide a safe, therapeutic environment tailored to the 126 needs of commercially sexually exploited or trafficked adults 127 who have endured significant trauma. Adult safe houses shall use 128 a model of treatment that includes strength-based and trauma 129 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. 90.5037 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 listed 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 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: 159 409.1678Specialized residential options for children who 160 are victims of commercial sexual exploitation. 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 home, 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 by 171 age or maturity level. 172 4.Care for child victims of commercial sexual exploitation 173 in a manner that separates those children from children with 174 other needs. Safe houses and safe foster homes may care for 175 other populations if the children who have not experienced 176 commercial sexual exploitation do not interact with children who 177 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 facility 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: 197 409.16781Educating children in facilities regarding human 198 trafficking; age-appropriate educational programming. 199 (1)As used in this section the term facility means 200 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 annually, 208 shall use the departments educational programming regarding 209 human trafficking. 210 Section 5.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.