Bill Text: FL S0354 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Child Care Subsidies for Foster Parents

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2020-03-14 - Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services [S0354 Detail]

Download: Florida-2020-S0354-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2020                                     SB 354
       
       
        
       By Senator Montford
       
       
       
       
       
       3-00111-20                                             2020354__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to child care subsidies for foster
    3         parents; amending s. 409.145, F.S.; providing an early
    4         education or child care subsidy for certain foster
    5         parents; providing an effective date.
    6          
    7  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    8  
    9         Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 409.145, Florida
   10  Statutes, is amended to read:
   11         409.145 Care of children; quality parenting; “reasonable
   12  and prudent parent” standard.—The child welfare system of the
   13  department shall operate as a coordinated community-based system
   14  of care which empowers all caregivers for children in foster
   15  care to provide quality parenting, including approving or
   16  disapproving a child’s participation in activities based on the
   17  caregiver’s assessment using the “reasonable and prudent parent”
   18  standard.
   19         (4) FOSTER CARE ROOM AND BOARD RATES; ADDITIONAL SUBSIDY
   20  FOR CHILD CARE EXPENSES.—
   21         (a) Effective July 1, 2018, room and board rates shall be
   22  paid to foster parents as follows:
   23  
   24                       Monthly Foster Care Rate                      
   25       0-5 YearsAge         6-12 YearsAge         13-21 YearsAge    
   26         $457.95               $469.68               $549.74        
   27         (b) Each January, foster parents shall receive an annual
   28  cost of living increase. The department shall calculate the new
   29  room and board rate increase equal to the percentage change in
   30  the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. City
   31  Average, All Items, not seasonally adjusted, or successor
   32  reports, for the preceding December compared to the prior
   33  December as initially reported by the United States Department
   34  of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The department shall make
   35  available the adjusted room and board rates annually.
   36         (c) Effective July 1, 2019, foster parents of level I
   37  family foster homes, as defined in s. 409.175(5)(a), shall
   38  receive a room and board rate of $333.
   39         (d) Effective July 1, 2019, the foster care room and board
   40  rate for level II family foster homes, as defined in s.
   41  409.175(5)(a), shall be the same as the new rate established for
   42  family foster homes as of January 1, 2019.
   43         (e) Effective January 1, 2020, paragraph (b) shall only
   44  apply to level II through level V family foster homes, as
   45  defined in s. 409.175(5)(a).
   46         (f) The amount of the monthly foster care room and board
   47  rate may be increased upon agreement among the department, the
   48  community-based care lead agency, and the foster parent.
   49         (g) From July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, community
   50  based care lead agencies providing care under contract with the
   51  department shall pay a supplemental room and board payment to
   52  foster care parents of all family foster homes, on a per-child
   53  basis, for providing independent life skills and normalcy
   54  supports to children who are 13 through 17 years of age placed
   55  in their care. The supplemental payment shall be paid monthly to
   56  the foster care parents in addition to the current monthly room
   57  and board rate payment. The supplemental monthly payment shall
   58  be based on 10 percent of the monthly room and board rate for
   59  children 13 through 21 years of age as provided under this
   60  section and adjusted annually. Effective July 1, 2019, such
   61  supplemental payments shall only be paid to foster parents of
   62  level II through level V family foster homes.
   63         (h) In addition to the foster care room and board rate, a
   64  foster parent who is required under s. 39.604 to place a child
   65  in an early education or a child care program and who chooses a
   66  program in which the state subsidy from an early learning
   67  coalition under part VI of chapter 1002 is insufficient to pay
   68  the full cost shall receive a payment of up to $300 per month to
   69  pay the difference between the amount of the early learning
   70  coalition subsidy and the full cost of the services.
   71         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.