Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1046 By Senator Rodriguez 40-01680A-25 20251046__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to Relative Caregiver Program 3 payments; amending s. 39.5085, F.S.; providing that 4 relatives and nonrelatives who have a child placed 5 with them in out-of-home care under the Relative 6 Caregiver Program may start receiving a monthly 7 payment at the time the child is placed in such out 8 of-home care, instead of starting when the child is 9 found to be dependent; providing that certain 10 relatives and nonrelatives who have a child placed 11 with them may start receiving monthly payments after a 12 specified time period; providing an effective date. 13 14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15 16 Section 1.Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 17 39.5085, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 18 39.5085Relative Caregiver Program. 19 (2) 20 (d)1.Relatives or nonrelatives who have a child placed 21 with them in out-of-home care and who have obtained licensure as 22 a child-specific level I foster placement, regardless of whether 23 a court has found the child to be dependent, shall receive a 24 monthly payment in accordance with s. 409.145(3) from the date 25 the child is placed in out-of-home care with his or her 26 relatives or with nonrelatives until the child achieves 27 permanency as determined by the court pursuant to s. 39.621. 28 2.Relatives or nonrelatives who have a child who has been 29 found to be dependent placed with them in out-of-home care, 30 regardless of whether a court has found the child to be 31 dependent, shall receive a monthly payment at a rate equal to 32 the rate established in s. 409.145(3) for licensed foster 33 parents, regardless of whether the relatives or nonrelatives 34 have obtained a child-specific level I foster license, starting 35 from the date the child is found to be dependent or from the 36 date the child is placed with them in out-of-home care, 37 whichever is later, for a period of no more than 6 months or 38 until the child achieves permanency as determined by the court 39 pursuant to s. 39.621, whichever occurs first. 40 3.Relatives or nonrelatives who have a child who has been 41 found to be dependent placed with them in out-of-home care, 42 regardless of whether a court has found the child to be 43 dependent, and who have not obtained a child-specific level I 44 foster license within 1 month after 6 months from the date of 45 such placement shall receive a monthly payment in an amount 46 determined by department rule starting 1 month from 6 months 47 after the date the child is found to be dependent or from 6 48 months after the child is placed with them in out-of-home care, 49 whichever is later, until the relatives or nonrelatives obtain a 50 child-specific level I foster license or until the child 51 achieves permanency as determined by the court pursuant to s. 52 39.621, whichever occurs first. The monthly payment amount paid 53 to relatives or nonrelatives pursuant to this subparagraph must 54 be less than the monthly payment amount provided to a 55 participant enrolled in the Guardianship Assistance Program 56 pursuant to s. 39.6225. 57 4.Relatives or nonrelatives who have a child placed in 58 their care by permanent guardianship pursuant to s. 39.6221, in 59 a permanent placement with a fit and willing relative pursuant 60 to s. 39.6231, or under former s. 39.622 if the placement was 61 made before July 1, 2006, and who are not enrolled in the 62 Guardianship Assistance Program pursuant to s. 39.6225 shall 63 receive a monthly payment in an amount determined by department 64 rule which must be less than the monthly payment amount provided 65 to a participant enrolled in the Guardianship Assistance Program 66 under s. 39.6225. 67 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.