Bill Text: FL S0680 | 2021 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Batterers' Intervention Programs
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Failed) 2021-04-30 - Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services [S0680 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S0680-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2021 CS for SB 680 By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and Senators Bracy and Stewart 586-02351-21 2021680c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to batterers’ intervention programs; 3 amending s. 741.325, F.S.; requiring the Department of 4 Children and Families to certify and monitor certain 5 batterers’ intervention programs; providing that the 6 department’s certification and monitoring activities 7 will be funded by specified fees; requiring batterers’ 8 intervention programs to satisfy specified 9 requirements for certification by the department; 10 requiring programs to have certain safety measures in 11 place; requiring programs to employ certain measures 12 to hold batterers accountable; providing requirements 13 for program orientation and weekly group sessions; 14 revising program content requirements; specifying 15 elements and techniques that programs may not include; 16 prohibiting programs from admitting batterers who have 17 not paid the user fee, with an exception; requiring 18 the department to annually review programs for 19 compliance with certification requirements; 20 authorizing the department to reject or suspend 21 certification of a program for failure to comply with 22 the requirements; requiring the department to annually 23 provide a list of certified programs and to 24 immediately notify the courts if it suspends a 25 program’s certification; requiring the department to 26 adopt specified rules; amending ss. 741.281, 741.2902, 27 741.30, 741.31, and 948.038, F.S.; conforming 28 provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 29 effective date. 30 31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 32 33 Section 1. Section 741.325, Florida Statutes, is amended to 34 read: 35 741.325 Requirements for batterers’ intervention programs.— 36 (1) The Department of Children and Families shall certify 37 and monitor batterers’ intervention programs that provide direct 38 intervention services to those persons who are adjudged to have 39 committed an act of domestic violence as defined in s. 741.28, 40 those against whom an injunction for protection against domestic 41 violence is entered, those referred by the department, and those 42 who voluntarily attend such programs. The certification and 43 monitoring shall be funded by certification application and user 44 fees as provided in s. 741.327. 45 (2) To be certified, a batterers’ intervention program must 46 meet all of the following requirements: 47 (a) The primary purpose of the program mustshallbe victim 48 safety and the safety of children, if present. Safety measures 49 must include, but need not be limited to, all of the following: 50 1. Coordination with the criminal justice system, domestic 51 violence centers, social service agencies, and state and local 52 governmental agencies. 53 2. A requirement that all program personnel undergo a level 54 2 background screening in accordance with chapter 435. 55 a. Fees for state and federal fingerprint processing and 56 retention must be borne by the applicant. The state cost for 57 fingerprint processing must be as provided in s. 943.053(3)(e) 58 for records provided to persons or entities other than those 59 specified as exceptions therein. 60 b. Fingerprints submitted to the Department of Law 61 Enforcement pursuant to this paragraph must be retained as 62 provided in s. 435.12 and, when the Department of Law 63 Enforcement begins participation in the program, must be 64 enrolled in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s national 65 retained fingerprint arrest notification program as provided in 66 s. 943.05(4). Any arrest record identified must be reported to 67 the department. 68 3. A prohibition on the employment of perpetrators of 69 domestic violence as program personnel. 70 4. Requirements and procedures for victim notification when 71 a batterer is enrolled in or discharged from the program. 72 5. Extensive recordkeeping requirements. 73 6. Written operating policies and manuals. 74 7. Rigorous facilitator credentialing procedures and 75 continuing education requirements. 76 (b) The batterer mustshallbe held accountable for acts of 77 domestic violence. The program must include measures that do all 78 of the following: 79 1. Assign responsibility to batterers for their acts of 80 domestic violence. 81 2. Provide a strategy to assist batterers in taking 82 responsibility for their acts of domestic violence. 83 3. Improve batterers’ ability to articulate and identify 84 emotions. 85 4. Encourage batterers to develop critical thinking skills 86 and healthier behavior patterns. 87 5. Teach batterers the effects domestic violence has on 88 children. 89 6. Improve batterers’ negotiation and conflict resolution 90 skills. 91 7. Teach batterers communication skills and how to listen 92 to others with empathy. 93 8. Challenge batterers’ gender role expectations. 94 9. Educate batterers on the relationship between substance 95 abuse and domestic violence. 96 10. Support the principle that domestic violence is 97 primarily a learned behavior and is not a natural response to 98 provocation. 99 11. Teach batterers how distorted thinking can affect a 100 person’s emotions and behavior. 101 (c) The program mustshallbe at least 29 weeks in length 102 and include at least 24 weekly group sessions, plus appropriate 103 intake, assessment, and orientation programming. 104 1. Orientation sessions must be at least 90 minutes in 105 length, with breaks at appropriate intervals, and must include 106 all of the following content: 107 a. The definition of domestic violence. 108 b. Statistics related to domestic violence. 109 c. An explanation of the cycle of abuse and introduction of 110 the power and control wheel. 111 d. An overview of the program’s rules and expectations. 112 e. An introduction to the program’s content, which must 113 include the dynamics of power and control in domestic violence; 114 the effects of domestic violence on the victim, children, and 115 others; and the connection between gender roles, socialization, 116 and the nature of domestic violence. 117 2. Each weekly group session must be at least 90 minutes in 118 length, with breaks at appropriate intervals. A group session 119 must consist of at least 3 participants and a maximum of 24 120 participants with 2 facilitators or a maximum of 15 participants 121 with 1 facilitator. A program may accept new participants into 122 the weekly group sessions on an ongoing basis. However, programs 123 must ensure that all participants of a group session are of the 124 same gender. 125 3. If a participant in the group session is not fluent in 126 the English language, at least one facilitator must be able to 127 translate or effectively communicate in the participant’s native 128 language. A program may not allow a person who is not affiliated 129 with the program to serve as an interpreter for a participant 130 during a group session. 131 (d) The program content mustshallbe based on an 132 interventiona psychoeducationalmodel that recognizes the use 133addresses tacticsof power and control tactics by one person to 134 inflict emotional or physical abuse onoveranother. The program 135 content must be submitted to the department at the time of 136 application for certification for review of compliance with 137 program standards under this section. The program content may 138 not include any of the following: 139 1. Couples, marriage, or family therapy or any technique 140 that requires victim participation. 141 2. Anger management techniques that identify anger as the 142 cause of domestic violence. 143 3. Identification of poor impulse control as a primary 144 cause of domestic violence. 145 4. Identification of psychopathology on the part of the 146 perpetrator or the victim as a primary cause of domestic 147 violence. 148 5. Instruction on fair fighting techniques. 149 6. Any other content the department deems inappropriate for 150 the program. 151 (e) The program mustshallbe funded by user fees paid by 152 the batterers who attend the program, which allows them to take 153 responsibility for their acts of violence. An exception must 154shallbe made for local, state, or federal programs that fund 155 batterers’ intervention programs in whole or in part. The 156 program may not admit a batterer into the program until he or 157 she has paid the user fee. However, the program may not refuse 158 to admit a batterer into the program if the batterer has been 159 deemed indigent by the court and is unable to pay the user fee. 160 (3)(2)The requirements of this section apply only to 161 programs that address the perpetration of violence between 162 intimate partners, spouses, ex-spouses, or those who share a 163 child in common or who are cohabitants in intimate relationships 164 for the purpose of exercising power and control by one over the 165 other. It will endanger victims if courts and other referral 166 agencies refer family and household members who are not 167 perpetrators of the type of domestic violence encompassed by 168 these requirements. Accordingly, the court and others who make 169 referrals should refer perpetrators only to programming that 170 appropriately addresses the violence committed. 171 (4) The department shall annually review certified 172 batterers’ intervention programs to ensure that they continue to 173 meet the requirements of this section. The department may reject 174 or suspend certification of a program if it fails to meet the 175 requirements of this section. 176 (5) The department shall annually provide to the courts a 177 list of certified batterers’ intervention programs and 178 immediately notify the courts of any suspension of a certified 179 batterers’ program. 180 (6) The department shall adopt rules to implement this 181 section, including, at a minimum, all of the following: 182 (a) The programs’ purpose, policies, and standards of care. 183 (b) The intervention approaches considered appropriate for 184 use by programs. 185 (c) Policies addressing conflicts of interest and ethical 186 standards. 187 (d) Curriculum and assessments for programs. 188 (e) The qualifications of providers and credentials for 189 program facilitators, supervisors, and trainees. 190 (f) The standards for program operations, including 191 administrative, personnel, and fiscal operations. 192 (g) Record maintenance and retention policies for victim 193 and batterer records. 194 (h) Procedures for educating, evaluating, and referring 195 program participants for treatment. 196 Section 2. Section 741.281, Florida Statutes, is amended to 197 read: 198 741.281 Court to order batterers’ intervention program 199 attendance.—If a person is found guilty of, has adjudication 200 withheld on, or pleads nolo contendere to a crime of domestic 201 violence, as defined in s. 741.28, that person shall be ordered 202 by the court to a minimum term of 1 year’s probation and the 203 court shall order that the defendant attend and complete a 204 batterers’ intervention program certified under s. 741.325 as a 205 condition of probation. The court must impose the condition of 206 the batterers’ intervention program for a defendant under this 207 section, but the court, in its discretion, may determine not to 208 impose the condition if it states on the record why a batterers’ 209 intervention program might be inappropriate. The court must 210 impose the condition of the batterers’ intervention program for 211 a defendant placed on probation unless the court determines that 212 the person does not qualify for the batterers’ intervention 213 program pursuant to s. 741.325. The imposition of probation 214 under this section does not preclude the court from imposing any 215 sentence of imprisonment authorized by s. 775.082. 216 Section 3. Paragraph (g) of subsection (2) of section 217 741.2902, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 218 741.2902 Domestic violence; legislative intent with respect 219 to judiciary’s role.— 220 (2) It is the intent of the Legislature, with respect to 221 injunctions for protection against domestic violence, issued 222 pursuant to s. 741.30, that the court shall: 223 (g) Consider requiring the perpetrator to complete a 224 batterers’ intervention program certified under. It is preferred225that such program meet the requirements specified ins. 741.325. 226 Section 4. Subsection (3) and paragraphs (a) and (e) of 227 subsection (6) of section 741.30, Florida Statutes, are amended 228 to read: 229 741.30 Domestic violence; injunction; powers and duties of 230 court and clerk; petition; notice and hearing; temporary 231 injunction; issuance of injunction; statewide verification 232 system; enforcement; public records exemption.— 233 (3)(a) The sworn petition mustshallallege the existence 234 of such domestic violence and mustshallinclude the specific 235 facts and circumstances upon the basis of which relief is 236 sought. 237 (b) The sworn petition mustshallbe in substantially the 238 following form: 239 240 PETITION FOR 241 INJUNCTION FOR PROTECTION 242 AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 243 244 Before me, the undersigned authority, personally appeared 245 Petitioner ...(Name)..., who has been sworn and says that the 246 following statements are true: 247 (a) Petitioner resides at: ...(address)... 248 (Petitioner may furnish address to the court in a separate 249 confidential filing if, for safety reasons, the petitioner 250 requires the location of the current residence to be 251 confidential.) 252 (b) Respondent resides at: ...(last known address)... 253 (c) Respondent’s last known place of employment: ...(name 254 of business and address)... 255 (d) Physical description of respondent:.... 256 Race.... 257 Sex.... 258 Date of birth.... 259 Height.... 260 Weight.... 261 Eye color.... 262 Hair color.... 263 Distinguishing marks or scars.... 264 (e) Aliases of respondent:.... 265 (f) Respondent is the spouse or former spouse of the 266 petitioner or is any other person related by blood or marriage 267 to the petitioner or is any other person who is or was residing 268 within a single dwelling unit with the petitioner, as if a 269 family, or is a person with whom the petitioner has a child in 270 common, regardless of whether the petitioner and respondent are 271 or were married or residing together, as if a family. 272 (g) The following describes any other cause of action 273 currently pending between the petitioner and respondent:........ 274 ................................................................ 275 The petitioner should also describe any previous or pending 276 attempts by the petitioner to obtain an injunction for 277 protection against domestic violence in this or any other 278 circuit, and the results of that attempt:....................... 279 ................................................................ 280 Case numbers should be included if available. 281 (h) Petitioner is either a victim of domestic violence or 282 has reasonable cause to believe he or she is in imminent danger 283 of becoming a victim of domestic violence because respondent 284 has: (mark all sections that apply and describe in the spaces 285 below the incidents of violence or threats of violence, 286 specifying when and where they occurred, including, but not 287 limited to, locations such as a home, school, place of 288 employment, or visitation exchange) 289 ....committed or threatened to commit domestic violence 290 defined in s. 741.28, Florida Statutes, as any assault, 291 aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, 292 sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false 293 imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical 294 injury or death of one family or household member by another. 295 With the exception of persons who are parents of a child in 296 common, the family or household members must be currently 297 residing or have in the past resided together in the same single 298 dwelling unit. 299 ....previously threatened, harassed, stalked, or physically 300 abused the petitioner. 301 ....attempted to harm the petitioner or family members or 302 individuals closely associated with the petitioner. 303 ....threatened to conceal, kidnap, or harm the petitioner’s 304 child or children. 305 ....intentionally injured or killed a family pet. 306 ....used, or has threatened to use, against the petitioner 307 any weapons such as guns or knives. 308 ....physically restrained the petitioner from leaving the 309 home or calling law enforcement. 310 ....a criminal history involving violence or the threat of 311 violence (if known). 312 ....another order of protection issued against him or her 313 previously or from another jurisdiction (if known). 314 ....destroyed personal property, including, but not limited 315 to, telephones or other communication equipment, clothing, or 316 other items belonging to the petitioner. 317 ....engaged in any other behavior or conduct that leads the 318 petitioner to have reasonable cause to believe he or she is in 319 imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence. 320 (i) Petitioner alleges the following additional specific 321 facts: (mark appropriate sections) 322 ....A minor child or minor children reside with the 323 petitioner whose names and ages are as follows: 324 325 ......................................................... 326 ....Petitioner needs the exclusive use and possession of 327 the dwelling that the parties share. 328 ....Petitioner is unable to obtain safe alternative housing 329 because: 330 ....Petitioner genuinely fears that respondent imminently 331 will abuse, remove, or hide the minor child or children from 332 petitioner because: 333 334 (j) Petitioner genuinely fears imminent domestic violence 335 by respondent. 336 (k) Petitioner seeks an injunction: (mark appropriate 337 section or sections) 338 ....Immediately restraining the respondent from committing 339 any acts of domestic violence. 340 ....Restraining the respondent from committing any acts of 341 domestic violence. 342 ....Awarding to the petitioner the temporary exclusive use 343 and possession of the dwelling that the parties share or 344 excluding the respondent from the residence of the petitioner. 345 ....Providing a temporary parenting plan, including a 346 temporary time-sharing schedule, with regard to the minor child 347 or children of the parties which might involve prohibiting or 348 limiting time-sharing or requiring that it be supervised by a 349 third party. 350 ....Establishing temporary support for the minor child or 351 children or the petitioner. 352 ....Directing the respondent to participate in a batterers’ 353 intervention program certified under s. 741.325, Florida 354 Statutes, or other treatment pursuant to s. 39.901, Florida 355 Statutes. 356 ....Providing any terms the court deems necessary for the 357 protection of a victim of domestic violence, or any minor 358 children of the victim, including any injunctions or directives 359 to law enforcement agencies. 360 361 (c) Every petition for an injunction against domestic 362 violence mustshallcontain, directly above the signature line, 363 a statement in all capital letters and bold type not smaller 364 than the surrounding text, as follows: 365 366 I HAVE READ EVERY STATEMENT MADE IN THIS PETITION AND 367 EACH STATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT. I UNDERSTAND THAT 368 THE STATEMENTS MADE IN THIS PETITION ARE BEING MADE 369 UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY, PUNISHABLE AS PROVIDED IN 370 SECTION 837.02, FLORIDA STATUTES. 371 ...(initials)... 372 373 (d) If the sworn petition seeks to determine a parenting 374 plan and time-sharing schedule with regard to the minor child or 375 children of the parties, the sworn petition mustshallbe 376 accompanied by or mustshallincorporate the allegations 377 required by s. 61.522 of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction 378 and Enforcement Act. 379 (6)(a) Upon notice and hearing, when it appears to the 380 court that the petitioner is either the victim of domestic 381 violence as defined by s. 741.28 or has reasonable cause to 382 believe he or she is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of 383 domestic violence, the court may grant such relief as the court 384 deems proper, including an injunction: 385 1. Restraining the respondent from committing any acts of 386 domestic violence. 387 2. Awarding to the petitioner the exclusive use and 388 possession of the dwelling that the parties share or excluding 389 the respondent from the residence of the petitioner. 390 3. On the same basis as provided in chapter 61, providing 391 the petitioner with 100 percent of the time-sharing in a 392 temporary parenting plan that remains in effect until the order 393 expires or an order is entered by a court of competent 394 jurisdiction in a pending or subsequent civil action or 395 proceeding affecting the placement of, access to, parental time 396 with, adoption of, or parental rights and responsibilities for 397 the minor child. 398 4. On the same basis as provided in chapter 61, 399 establishing temporary support for a minor child or children or 400 the petitioner. An order of temporary support remains in effect 401 until the order expires or an order is entered by a court of 402 competent jurisdiction in a pending or subsequent civil action 403 or proceeding affecting child support. 404 5. Ordering the respondent to participate in treatment, 405 intervention, or counseling services to be paid for by the 406 respondent. When the court orders the respondent to participate 407 in a batterers’ intervention program certified under s. 741.325, 408 the court, or any entity designated by the court, must provide 409 the respondent with a list of batterers’ intervention programs 410 from which the respondent must choose a program in which to 411 participate. 412 6. Referring a petitioner to a certified domestic violence 413 center. The court must provide the petitioner with a list of 414 certified domestic violence centers in the circuit which the 415 petitioner may contact. 416 7. Awarding to the petitioner the exclusive care, 417 possession, or control of an animal that is owned, possessed, 418 harbored, kept, or held by the petitioner, the respondent, or a 419 minor child residing in the residence or household of the 420 petitioner or respondent. The court may order the respondent to 421 have no contact with the animal and prohibit the respondent from 422 taking, transferring, encumbering, concealing, harming, or 423 otherwise disposing of the animal. This subparagraph does not 424 apply to an animal owned primarily for a bona fide agricultural 425 purpose, as defined under s. 193.461, or to a service animal, as 426 defined under s. 413.08, if the respondent is the service 427 animal’s handler. 428 8. Ordering such other relief as the court deems necessary 429 for the protection of a victim of domestic violence, including 430 injunctions or directives to law enforcement agencies, as 431 provided in this section. 432 (e) An injunction for protection against domestic violence 433 entered under this section, on its face, may order that the 434 respondent attend a batterers’ intervention program certified 435 under s. 741.325 as a condition of the injunction. Unless the 436 court makes written factual findings in its judgment or order 437 which are based on substantial evidence, stating why batterers’ 438 intervention programs would be inappropriate, the court shall 439 order the respondent to attend a batterers’ intervention program 440 if: 441 1. It finds that the respondent willfully violated the ex 442 parte injunction; 443 2. The respondent, in this state or any other state, has 444 been convicted of, had adjudication withheld on, or pled nolo 445 contendere to a crime involving violence or a threat of 446 violence; or 447 3. The respondent, in this state or any other state, has 448 had at any time a prior injunction for protection entered 449 against the respondent after a hearing with notice. 450 Section 5. Subsection (5) of section 741.31, Florida 451 Statutes, is amended to read: 452 741.31 Violation of an injunction for protection against 453 domestic violence.— 454 (5) Whether or not there is a criminal prosecution under 455 subsection (4), the court shall order the respondent to attend a 456 batterers’ intervention program certified under s. 741.325 if it 457 finds a willful violation of a domestic violence injunction, 458 unless the court makes written factual findings in its judgment 459 or order which are based on substantial evidence, stating why a 460 batterers’ intervention program would be inappropriate. 461 Section 6. Section 948.038, Florida Statutes, is amended to 462 read: 463 948.038 Batterers’ intervention program as a condition of 464 probation, community control, or other court-ordered community 465 supervision.—As a condition of probation, community control, or 466 any other court-ordered community supervision, the court shall 467 order a person convicted of an offense of domestic violence, as 468 defined in s. 741.28, to attend and successfully complete a 469 batterers’ intervention program certified under s. 741.325 470 unless the court determines that the person does not qualify for 471 the batterers’ intervention program underpursuant tos. 472 741.325. The offender must pay the cost of attending the 473 program. 474 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.