Bill Text: FL S1044 | 2017 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Child Welfare
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-03 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 1121 (Ch. 2017-151) [S1044 Detail]
Download: Florida-2017-S1044-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2017 CS for CS for CS for SB 1044 By the Committees on Appropriations; Judiciary; and Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and Senators Garcia and Campbell 576-04403A-17 20171044c3 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to child welfare; amending s. 39.01, 3 F.S.; defining the term “legal father” and redefining 4 the term “parent”; amending s. 39.201, F.S.; providing 5 that central abuse hotline information may be used for 6 employment screening of residential group home 7 caregivers; amending s. 39.202, F.S.; providing that 8 confidential records held by the Department of 9 Children and Families concerning reports of child 10 abandonment, abuse, or neglect, including reports made 11 to the central abuse hotline and all records generated 12 as a result of such reports, may be accessed for 13 employment screening of residential group home 14 caregivers; changing the time period for the release 15 of records to certain individuals; amending s. 39.301, 16 F.S.; requiring a safety plan to be issued for a 17 perpetrator of domestic violence only if the 18 perpetrator can be located; specifying what 19 constitutes reasonable efforts; requiring that a child 20 new to a family under investigation be added to the 21 investigation and assessed for safety; amending s. 22 39.302, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; providing 23 that central abuse hotline information may be used for 24 certain employment screenings; amending s. 39.402, 25 F.S.; requiring a court to inquire as to the identity 26 and location of a child’s legal father at the shelter 27 hearing; specifying the types of information that fall 28 within the scope of such inquiry; amending s. 39.503, 29 F.S.; requiring a court to conduct under oath the 30 inquiry to determine the identity or location of an 31 unknown parent; requiring a court to seek additional 32 information relating to a father’s identity in such 33 inquiry; requiring the diligent search to determine a 34 parent’s or prospective parent’s location to include a 35 search of the Florida Putative Father Registry; 36 authorizing the court to order scientific testing to 37 determine parentage if certain conditions exist; 38 amending s. 39.504, F.S.; requiring the same judge to 39 hear a pending dependency proceeding and an injunction 40 proceeding; providing that the court may enter an 41 injunction based on specified evidence; amending s. 42 39.507, F.S.; requiring a court to consider 43 maltreatment allegations against a parent in an 44 evidentiary hearing relating to a dependency petition; 45 amending s. 39.5085, F.S.; revising eligibility 46 guidelines for the Relative Caregiver Program with 47 respect to relative and nonrelative caregivers; 48 amending s. 39.521, F.S.; providing new time 49 guidelines for filing with the court and providing 50 copies of case plans and family functioning 51 assessments; providing for assessment and program 52 compliance for a parent who caused harm to a child by 53 exposing the child to a controlled substance; 54 providing in-home safety plan requirements; providing 55 requirements for family functioning assessments; 56 providing supervision requirements after 57 reunification; amending s. 39.522, F.S.; providing 58 conditions for returning a child to the home with an 59 in-home safety plan; amending s. 39.523, F.S.; 60 providing legislative findings and intent; requiring 61 children placed in out-of-home care to be assessed to 62 determine the most appropriate placement; requiring 63 the placement assessments to be documented in the 64 Florida Safe Families Network; requiring a court to 65 review and approve placements; requiring the 66 department to post specified information relating to 67 assessment and placement on its website and update 68 that information annually on specified dates; 69 authorizing the department to adopt rules; creating s. 70 39.6001, F.S.; requiring the department, in 71 partnership with the Department of Health, the Agency 72 for Health Care Administration, and other state 73 agencies and community partners, to develop a strategy 74 for certain coordinated services; providing for 75 creation of a safe care plan that addresses the health 76 and substance abuse disorder treatment needs of a 77 newborn and affected family or caregivers and provides 78 for the monitoring of services provided under the 79 plan; amending s. 39.6011, F.S.; providing 80 requirements for confidential information in a case 81 planning conference; providing restrictions; amending 82 s. 39.6012, F.S.; providing for assessment and program 83 compliance for a parent who caused harm to a child by 84 exposing the child to a controlled substance; amending 85 s. 39.6221, F.S.; providing that relocation 86 requirements for parents in dissolution proceedings do 87 not apply to certain permanent guardianships; amending 88 s. 39.701, F.S.; providing safety assessment 89 requirements for children coming into a home under 90 court jurisdiction; granting rulemaking authority; 91 amending s. 39.801, F.S.; providing an exception to 92 the notice requirement regarding the advisory hearing 93 for a petition to terminate parental rights; amending 94 s. 39.803, F.S.; requiring a court to conduct under 95 oath the inquiry to determine the identity or location 96 of an unknown parent after the filing of a termination 97 of parental rights petition; requiring a court to seek 98 additional information relating to a legal father’s 99 identity in such inquiry; revising minimum 100 requirements for the diligent search to determine the 101 location of a parent or prospective parent; 102 authorizing the court to order scientific testing to 103 determine parentage if certain conditions exist; 104 amending s. 39.806, F.S.; revising circumstances under 105 which grounds for the termination of parental rights 106 may be established; amending s. 39.811, F.S.; revising 107 circumstances under which the rights of one parent may 108 be terminated without terminating the rights of the 109 other parent; amending s. 125.901, F.S.; creating an 110 exception to the requirement that, for an independent 111 special district in existence on a certain date and 112 serving a population of a specified size, the 113 governing body of the county submit the question of 114 the district’s retention or dissolution to the 115 electorate in a specified general election; amending 116 s. 322.051, F.S., requiring that an identification 117 card for certified unaccompanied homeless youth 118 include a specified statement; amending s. 395.3025, 119 F.S.; revising requirements for access to patient 120 records; amending s. 402.40, F.S.; defining the term 121 “child welfare trainer”; providing rulemaking 122 authority; creating s. 409.16741, F.S.; providing 123 legislative findings and intent; requiring the 124 Department of Children and Families to develop or 125 adopt one or more initial screening assessment 126 instruments to identify and determine the needs of, 127 and plan services for, substance-exposed newborns and 128 their families; requiring the department to conduct 129 certain staffings relating to services for substance 130 exposed newborns and their families; requiring that 131 certain local service capacity be assessed; requiring 132 that child protective investigators receive 133 specialized training in working with substance-exposed 134 newborns and their families before they accept such 135 cases when possible; providing for consultation; 136 creating s. 409.16742, F.S.; providing legislative 137 findings and intent; establishing a shared family care 138 residential services pilot program for substance 139 exposed newborns; amending s. 409.992, F.S.; limiting 140 compensation from state-appropriated funds for 141 administrative employees of community-based care 142 agencies; amending s. 456.057, F.S.; revising 143 requirements for access to patient records; repealing 144 s. 409.141, F.S., relating to equitable reimbursement 145 methodology; repealing s. 409.1677, F.S., relating to 146 model comprehensive residential services programs; 147 amending s. 743.067, F.S.; defining the term 148 “certified unaccompanied homeless youth”; requiring 149 the Office on Homelessness within the Department of 150 Children and Families to develop a standardized form 151 to be used in the certification process; providing 152 information that must be included in the form; 153 authorizing a certified unaccompanied homeless youth 154 to apply at no charge to the Department of Highway 155 Safety and Motor Vehicles for an identification card; 156 conforming terminology; amending s. 1009.25, F.S.; 157 revising the exemption from the payment of tuition and 158 fees for homeless students; amending ss. 39.524, 159 394.495, 409.1678, and 960.065, F.S.; conforming 160 cross-references; amending ss. 409.1679 and 1002.3305, 161 F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 162 act; reenacting s. 483.181(2), F.S., relating to 163 acceptance, collection, identification, and 164 examination of specimens, to incorporate the amendment 165 made to s. 456.057, F.S., in a reference thereto; 166 providing an appropriation; providing effective dates. 167 168 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 169 170 Section 1. Present subsections (35) through (80) of section 171 39.01, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (36) 172 through (81), respectively, a new subsection (35) is added to 173 that section, and subsections (10) and (32) and present 174 subsection (49) of that section are amended, to read: 175 39.01 Definitions.—When used in this chapter, unless the 176 context otherwise requires: 177 (10) “Caregiver” means the parent, legal custodian, 178 permanent guardian, adult household member, or other person 179 responsible for a child’s welfare as defined in subsection (48) 180(47). 181 (32) “Institutional child abuse or neglect” means 182 situations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect in which 183 the person allegedly perpetrating the child abuse or neglect is 184 an employee of a private school, public or private day care 185 center, residential home, institution, facility, or agency or 186 any other person at such institution responsible for the child’s 187 care as defined in subsection (48)(47). 188 (35) “Legal father” means a man married to the mother at 189 the time of conception or birth of their child, unless paternity 190 has been otherwise determined by a court of competent 191 jurisdiction. If no man was married to the mother at the time of 192 birth or conception of the child, the term “legal father” means 193 a man named on the birth certificate of the child pursuant to s. 194 382.013(2), a man determined by a court order to be the father 195 of the child, or a man determined by an administrative 196 proceeding to be the father of the child. 197 (50)(49)“Parent” means a woman who gives birth to a child 198 and a man whose consent to the adoption of the child would be 199 required under s. 63.062(1). “Parent” also means a man married 200 to the mother at the time of conception or birth of their child, 201 unless paternity has been otherwise determined by a court of 202 competent jurisdiction. If no man was married to the mother at 203 the time of birth or conception of the child, the term “legal 204 father” means a man named on the birth certificate of the child 205 pursuant to s. 382.013(2), a man determined by court order to be 206 the father of the child, or a man determined by an 207 administrative proceeding to be the father of the child. If a 208 child has been legally adopted, the term “parent” means the 209 adoptive mother or father of the child. For purposes of this 210 chapter only, when the phrase “parent or legal custodian” is 211 used, it refers to rights or responsibilities of the parent and, 212 only if there is no living parent with intact parental rights, 213 to the rights or responsibilities of the legal custodian who has 214 assumed the role of the parent. The term does not include an 215 individual whose parental relationship to the child has been 216 legally terminated, or an alleged or prospective parent, unless: 217 (a) The parental status falls within the terms of s. 218 39.503(1) or s. 63.062(1); or 219 (b) Parental status is applied for the purpose of 220 determining whether the child has been abandoned. 221 Section 2. Subsection (6) of section 39.201, Florida 222 Statutes, is amended to read: 223 39.201 Mandatory reports of child abuse, abandonment, or 224 neglect; mandatory reports of death; central abuse hotline.— 225 (6) Information in the central abuse hotline may not be 226 used for employment screening, except as provided in s. 227 39.202(2)(a) and (h) or s. 402.302(15). Information in the 228 central abuse hotline and the department’s automated abuse 229 information system may be used by the department, its authorized 230 agents or contract providers, the Department of Health, or 231 county agencies as part of the licensure or registration process 232 pursuant to ss. 402.301-402.319 and ss. 409.175-409.176. 233 Pursuant to s. 39.202(2)(q), the information in the central 234 abuse hotline may also be used by the Department of Education 235 for purposes of educator certification discipline and review. 236 Additionally, in accordance with s. 409.145(2)(e), the 237 information in the central abuse hotline may be used for 238 employment screening for caregivers at residential group homes. 239 Section 3. Paragraphs (a), (d), and (e) of subsection (2) 240 of section 39.202, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 241 39.202 Confidentiality of reports and records in cases of 242 child abuse or neglect.— 243 (2) Except as provided in subsection (4), access to such 244 records, excluding the name of the reporter which shall be 245 released only as provided in subsection (5), shall be granted 246 only to the following persons, officials, and agencies: 247 (a) Employees, authorized agents, or contract providers of 248 the department, the Department of Health, the Agency for Persons 249 with Disabilities, the Office of Early Learning, or county 250 agencies responsible for carrying out: 251 1. Child or adult protective investigations; 252 2. Ongoing child or adult protective services; 253 3. Early intervention and prevention services; 254 4. Healthy Start services; 255 5. Licensure or approval of adoptive homes, foster homes, 256 child care facilities, facilities licensed under chapter 393, 257 family day care homes, providers who receive school readiness 258 funding under part VI of chapter 1002, or other homes used to 259 provide for the care and welfare of children;or260 6. Employment screening for caregivers in residential group 261 homes; or 262 7.6.Services for victims of domestic violence when 263 provided by certified domestic violence centers working at the 264 department’s request as case consultants or with shared clients. 265 266 Also, employees or agents of the Department of Juvenile Justice 267 responsible for the provision of services to children, pursuant 268 to chapters 984 and 985. 269 (d) The parent or legal custodian of any child who is 270 alleged to have been abused, abandoned, or neglected, and the 271 child, and their attorneys, including any attorney representing 272 a child in civil or criminal proceedings. This access shall be 273 made available no later than 6030days after the department 274 receives the initial report of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. 275 However, any information otherwise made confidential or exempt 276 by law shall not be released pursuant to this paragraph. 277 (e) Any person alleged in the report as having caused the 278 abuse, abandonment, or neglect of a child. This access shall be 279 made available no later than 6030days after the department 280 receives the initial report of abuse, abandonment, or neglect 281 and, when the alleged perpetrator is not a parent, shall be 282 limited to information involving the protective investigation 283 only and shall not include any information relating to 284 subsequent dependency proceedings. However, any information 285 otherwise made confidential or exempt by law shall not be 286 released pursuant to this paragraph. 287 Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of section 288 39.301, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (23) is 289 added to that section, to read: 290 39.301 Initiation of protective investigations.— 291 (9)(a) For each report received from the central abuse 292 hotline and accepted for investigation, the department or the 293 sheriff providing child protective investigative services under 294 s. 39.3065, shall perform the following child protective 295 investigation activities to determine child safety: 296 1. Conduct a review of all relevant, available information 297 specific to the child and family and alleged maltreatment; 298 family child welfare history; local, state, and federal criminal 299 records checks; and requests for law enforcement assistance 300 provided by the abuse hotline. Based on a review of available 301 information, including the allegations in the current report, a 302 determination shall be made as to whether immediate consultation 303 should occur with law enforcement, the child protection team, a 304 domestic violence shelter or advocate, or a substance abuse or 305 mental health professional. Such consultations should include 306 discussion as to whether a joint response is necessary and 307 feasible. A determination shall be made as to whether the person 308 making the report should be contacted before the face-to-face 309 interviews with the child and family members. 310 2. Conduct face-to-face interviews with the child; other 311 siblings, if any; and the parents, legal custodians, or 312 caregivers. 313 3. Assess the child’s residence, including a determination 314 of the composition of the family and household, including the 315 name, address, date of birth, social security number, sex, and 316 race of each child named in the report; any siblings or other 317 children in the same household or in the care of the same 318 adults; the parents, legal custodians, or caregivers; and any 319 other adults in the same household. 320 4. Determine whether there is any indication that any child 321 in the family or household has been abused, abandoned, or 322 neglected; the nature and extent of present or prior injuries, 323 abuse, or neglect, and any evidence thereof; and a determination 324 as to the person or persons apparently responsible for the 325 abuse, abandonment, or neglect, including the name, address, 326 date of birth, social security number, sex, and race of each 327 such person. 328 5. Complete assessment of immediate child safety for each 329 child based on available records, interviews, and observations 330 with all persons named in subparagraph 2. and appropriate 331 collateral contacts, which may include other professionals. The 332 department’s child protection investigators are hereby 333 designated a criminal justice agency for the purpose of 334 accessing criminal justice information to be used for enforcing 335 this state’s laws concerning the crimes of child abuse, 336 abandonment, and neglect. This information shall be used solely 337 for purposes supporting the detection, apprehension, 338 prosecution, pretrial release, posttrial release, or 339 rehabilitation of criminal offenders or persons accused of the 340 crimes of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect and may not be 341 further disseminated or used for any other purpose. 342 6. Document the present and impending dangers to each child 343 based on the identification of inadequate protective capacity 344 through utilization of a standardized safety assessment 345 instrument. If present or impending danger is identified, the 346 child protective investigator must implement a safety plan or 347 take the child into custody. If present danger is identified and 348 the child is not removed, the child protective investigator 349 shall create and implement a safety plan before leaving the home 350 or the location where there is present danger. If impending 351 danger is identified, the child protective investigator shall 352 create and implement a safety plan as soon as necessary to 353 protect the safety of the child. The child protective 354 investigator may modify the safety plan if he or she identifies 355 additional impending danger. 356 a. If the child protective investigator implements a safety 357 plan, the plan must be specific, sufficient, feasible, and 358 sustainable in response to the realities of the present or 359 impending danger. A safety plan may be an in-home plan or an 360 out-of-home plan, or a combination of both. A safety plan may 361 include tasks or responsibilities for a parent, caregiver, or 362 legal custodian. However, a safety plan may not rely on 363 promissory commitments by the parent, caregiver, or legal 364 custodian who is currently not able to protect the child or on 365 services that are not available or will not result in the safety 366 of the child. A safety plan may not be implemented if for any 367 reason the parents, guardian, or legal custodian lacks the 368 capacity or ability to comply with the plan. If the department 369 is not able to develop a plan that is specific, sufficient, 370 feasible, and sustainable, the department shall file a shelter 371 petition. A child protective investigator shall implement 372 separate safety plans for the perpetrator of domestic violence, 373 if the investigator, using reasonable efforts, is able to locate 374 the perpetrator to implement a safety plan, and for the parent 375 who is a victim of domestic violence as defined in s. 741.28. 376 Reasonable efforts to locate a perpetrator include, but are not 377 limited to, a diligent search pursuant to the same requirements 378 as in s. 39.503. If the perpetrator of domestic violence is not 379 the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of any child in the 380 home and if the department does not intend to file a shelter 381 petition or dependency petition that will assert allegations 382 against the perpetrator as a parent of a child in the homethe383child, the child protective investigator shall seek issuance of 384 an injunction authorized by s. 39.504 to implement a safety plan 385 for the perpetrator and impose any other conditions to protect 386 the child. The safety plan for the parent who is a victim of 387 domestic violence may not be shared with the perpetrator. If any 388 party to a safety plan fails to comply with the safety plan 389 resulting in the child being unsafe, the department shall file a 390 shelter petition. 391 b. The child protective investigator shall collaborate with 392 the community-based care lead agency in the development of the 393 safety plan as necessary to ensure that the safety plan is 394 specific, sufficient, feasible, and sustainable. The child 395 protective investigator shall identify services necessary for 396 the successful implementation of the safety plan. The child 397 protective investigator and the community-based care lead agency 398 shall mobilize service resources to assist all parties in 399 complying with the safety plan. The community-based care lead 400 agency shall prioritize safety plan services to families who 401 have multiple risk factors, including, but not limited to, two 402 or more of the following: 403 (I) The parent or legal custodian is of young age; 404 (II) The parent or legal custodian, or an adult currently 405 living in or frequently visiting the home, has a history of 406 substance abuse, mental illness, or domestic violence; 407 (III) The parent or legal custodian, or an adult currently 408 living in or frequently visiting the home, has been previously 409 found to have physically or sexually abused a child; 410 (IV) The parent or legal custodian or an adult currently 411 living in or frequently visiting the home has been the subject 412 of multiple allegations by reputable reports of abuse or 413 neglect; 414 (V) The child is physically or developmentally disabled; or 415 (VI) The child is 3 years of age or younger. 416 c. The child protective investigator shall monitor the 417 implementation of the plan to ensure the child’s safety until 418 the case is transferred to the lead agency at which time the 419 lead agency shall monitor the implementation. 420 (23) If, at any time during a child protective 421 investigation, a child is born into a family under investigation 422 or a child moves into the home under investigation, the child 423 protective investigator shall add the child to the investigation 424 and assess the child’s safety pursuant to subsection (7) and 425 paragraph (9)(a). 426 Section 5. Subsections (1) and (7) of section 39.302, 427 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 428 39.302 Protective investigations of institutional child 429 abuse, abandonment, or neglect.— 430 (1) The department shall conduct a child protective 431 investigation of each report of institutional child abuse, 432 abandonment, or neglect. Upon receipt of a report that alleges 433 that an employee or agent of the department, or any other entity 434 or person covered by s. 39.01(32) or (48)s. 39.01(32) or (47), 435 acting in an official capacity, has committed an act of child 436 abuse, abandonment, or neglect, the department shall initiate a 437 child protective investigation within the timeframe established 438 under s. 39.201(5) and notify the appropriate state attorney, 439 law enforcement agency, and licensing agency, which shall 440 immediately conduct a joint investigation, unless independent 441 investigations are more feasible. When conducting investigations 442 or having face-to-face interviews with the child, investigation 443 visits shall be unannounced unless it is determined by the 444 department or its agent that unannounced visits threaten the 445 safety of the child. If a facility is exempt from licensing, the 446 department shall inform the owner or operator of the facility of 447 the report. Each agency conducting a joint investigation is 448 entitled to full access to the information gathered by the 449 department in the course of the investigation. A protective 450 investigation must include an interview with the child’s parent 451 or legal guardian. The department shall make a full written 452 report to the state attorney within 3 working days after making 453 the oral report. A criminal investigation shall be coordinated, 454 whenever possible, with the child protective investigation of 455 the department. Any interested person who has information 456 regarding the offenses described in this subsection may forward 457 a statement to the state attorney as to whether prosecution is 458 warranted and appropriate. Within 15 days after the completion 459 of the investigation, the state attorney shall report the 460 findings to the department and shall include in the report a 461 determination of whether or not prosecution is justified and 462 appropriate in view of the circumstances of the specific case. 463 (7) When an investigation of institutional abuse, neglect, 464 or abandonment is closed and a person is not identified as a 465 caregiver responsible for the abuse, neglect, or abandonment 466 alleged in the report, the fact that the person is named in some 467 capacity in the report may not be used in any way to adversely 468 affect the interests of that person. This prohibition applies to 469 any use of the information in employment screening, licensing, 470 child placement, adoption, or any other decisions by a private 471 adoption agency or a state agency or its contracted providers. 472 (a) However, if such a person is a licensee of the 473 department and is named in any capacity in three or more reports 474 within a 5-year period, the department may review those reports 475 and determine whether the information contained in the reports 476 is relevant for purposes of determining whether the person’s 477 license should be renewed or revoked. If the information is 478 relevant to the decision to renew or revoke the license, the 479 department may rely on the information contained in the report 480 in making that decision. 481 (b) Likewise, if a person is employed as a caregiver in a 482 residential group home licensed pursuant to s. 409.175 and is 483 named in any capacity in three or more reports within a 5-year 484 period, all reports may be reviewed for the purposes of the 485 employment screening required pursuant to s. 409.145(2)(e). 486 Section 6. Paragraph (c) of subsection (8) of section 487 39.402, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 488 39.402 Placement in a shelter.— 489 (8) 490 (c) At the shelter hearing, the court shall: 491 1. Appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the best 492 interest of the child, unless the court finds that such 493 representation is unnecessary; 494 2. Inform the parents or legal custodians of their right to 495 counsel to represent them at the shelter hearing and at each 496 subsequent hearing or proceeding, and the right of the parents 497 to appointed counsel, pursuant to the procedures set forth in s. 498 39.013;and499 3. Give the parents or legal custodians an opportunity to 500 be heard and to present evidence; and 501 4. Inquire of those present at the shelter hearing as to 502 the identity and location of the legal father. In determining 503 who the legal father of the child may be, the court shall 504 inquire under oath of those present at the shelter hearing 505 whether they have any of the following information: 506 a. Whether the mother of the child was married at the 507 probable time of conception of the child or at the time of birth 508 of the child. 509 b. Whether the mother was cohabiting with a male at the 510 probable time of conception of the child. 511 c. Whether the mother has received payments or promises of 512 support with respect to the child or because of her pregnancy 513 from a man who claims to be the father. 514 d. Whether the mother has named any man as the father on 515 the birth certificate of the child or in connection with 516 applying for or receiving public assistance. 517 e. Whether any man has acknowledged or claimed paternity of 518 the child in a jurisdiction in which the mother resided at the 519 time of or since conception of the child or in which the child 520 has resided or resides. 521 f. Whether a man is named on the birth certificate of the 522 child pursuant to s. 382.013(2). 523 g. Whether a man has been determined by a court order to be 524 the father of the child. 525 h. Whether a man has been determined by an administrative 526 proceeding to be the father of the child. 527 Section 7. Subsections (1), (6), and (8) of section 39.503, 528 Florida Statutes, are amended, subsection (9) is added to that 529 section, and subsection (7) of that section is republished, to 530 read: 531 39.503 Identity or location of parent unknown; special 532 procedures.— 533 (1) If the identity or location of a parent is unknown and 534 a petition for dependency or shelter is filed, the court shall 535 conduct under oath the following inquiry of the parent or legal 536 custodian who is available, or, if no parent or legal custodian 537 is available, of any relative or custodian of the child who is 538 present at the hearing and likely to have any of the following 539 information: 540 (a) Whether the mother of the child was married at the 541 probable time of conception of the child or at the time of birth 542 of the child. 543 (b) Whether the mother was cohabiting with a male at the 544 probable time of conception of the child. 545 (c) Whether the mother has received payments or promises of 546 support with respect to the child or because of her pregnancy 547 from a man who claims to be the father. 548 (d) Whether the mother has named any man as the father on 549 the birth certificate of the child or in connection with 550 applying for or receiving public assistance. 551 (e) Whether any man has acknowledged or claimed paternity 552 of the child in a jurisdiction in which the mother resided at 553 the time of or since conception of the child, or in which the 554 child has resided or resides. 555 (f) Whether a man is named on the birth certificate of the 556 child pursuant to s. 382.013(2). 557 (g) Whether a man has been determined by a court order to 558 be the father of the child. 559 (h) Whether a man has been determined by an administrative 560 proceeding to be the father of the child. 561 (6) The diligent search required by subsection (5) must 562 include, at a minimum, inquiries of all relatives of the parent 563 or prospective parent made known to the petitioner, inquiries of 564 all offices of program areas of the department likely to have 565 information about the parent or prospective parent, inquiries of 566 other state and federal agencies likely to have information 567 about the parent or prospective parent, inquiries of appropriate 568 utility and postal providers, a thorough search of at least one 569 electronic database specifically designed for locating persons, 570 a search of the Florida Putative Father Registry, and inquiries 571 of appropriate law enforcement agencies. Pursuant to s. 453 of 572 the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. s. 653(c)(4), the department, 573 as the state agency administering Titles IV-B and IV-E of the 574 act, shall be provided access to the federal and state parent 575 locator service for diligent search activities. 576 (7) Any agency contacted by a petitioner with a request for 577 information pursuant to subsection (6) shall release the 578 requested information to the petitioner without the necessity of 579 a subpoena or court order. 580 (8) If the inquiry and diligent search identifies a 581 prospective parent, that person must be given the opportunity to 582 become a party to the proceedings by completing a sworn 583 affidavit of parenthood and filing it with the court or the 584 department. A prospective parent who files a sworn affidavit of 585 parenthood while the child is a dependent child but no later 586 than at the time of or beforeprior tothe adjudicatory hearing 587 in any termination of parental rights proceeding for the child 588 shall be considered a parent for all purposes under this section 589 unless the other parent contests the determination of 590 parenthood. If the prospective parent does not file a sworn 591 affidavit of parenthood or if the other parent contests the 592 determination of parenthood, the court may, after considering 593 the best interest of the child, order scientific testing to 594 determine the maternity or paternity of the child. The court 595 shall assess the cost of the maternity or paternity 596 determination as a cost of litigation. If the court finds the 597 prospective parent to be a parent as a result of the scientific 598 testing, the court shall enter a judgment of maternity or 599 paternity, shall assess the cost of the scientific testing to 600 the parent, and shall enter an amount of child support to be 601 paid by the parent as determined under s. 61.30. If the known 602 parent contests the recognition of the prospective parent as a 603 parent, the prospective parent shall not be recognized as a 604 parent until proceedings to determine maternity or paternity 605under chapter 742have been concluded. However, the prospective 606 parent shall continue to receive notice of hearings as a 607 participant untilpending results of the chapter 742proceedings 608 to determine maternity or paternity have been concluded. 609 (9) If the diligent search under subsection (5) fails to 610 identify and locate a prospective parent, the court shall so 611 find and may proceed without further notice. 612 Section 8. Section 39.504, Florida Statutes, is amended to 613 read: 614 39.504 Injunctionpending disposition of petition; 615 penalty.— 616 (1) At any time after a protective investigation has been 617 initiated pursuant to part III of this chapter, the court, upon 618 the request of the department, a law enforcement officer, the 619 state attorney, or other responsible person, or upon its own 620 motion, may, if there is reasonable cause, issue an injunction 621 to prevent any act of child abuse. Reasonable cause for the 622 issuance of an injunction exists if there is evidence of child 623 abuse or if there is a reasonable likelihood of such abuse 624 occurring based upon a recent overt act or failure to act. If 625 there is a pending dependency proceeding regarding the child 626 whom the injunction is sought to protect, the judge hearing the 627 dependency proceeding must also hear the injunction proceeding 628 regarding the child. 629 (2) The petitioner seeking the injunction shall file a 630 verified petition, or a petition along with an affidavit, 631 setting forth the specific actions by the alleged offender from 632 which the child must be protected and all remedies sought. Upon 633 filing the petition, the court shall set a hearing to be held at 634 the earliest possible time. Pending the hearing, the court may 635 issue a temporary ex parte injunction, with verified pleadings 636 or affidavits as evidence. The temporary ex parte injunction 637 pending a hearing is effective for up to 15 days and the hearing 638 must be held within that period unless continued for good cause 639 shown, which may include obtaining service of process, in which 640 case the temporary ex parte injunction shall be extended for the 641 continuance period. The hearing may be held sooner if the 642 alleged offender has received reasonable notice. 643 (3) Before the hearing, the alleged offender must be 644 personally served with a copy of the petition, all other 645 pleadings related to the petition, a notice of hearing, and, if 646 one has been entered, the temporary injunction. If the 647 petitioner is unable to locate the alleged offender for service 648 after a diligent search pursuant to the same requirements as in 649 s. 39.503 and the filing of an affidavit of diligent search, the 650 court may enter the injunction based on the sworn petition and 651 any affidavits. At the hearing, the court may base its 652 determination on a sworn petition, testimony, or an affidavit 653 and may hear all relevant and material evidence, including oral 654 and written reports, to the extent of its probative value even 655 though it would not be competent evidence at an adjudicatory 656 hearing. Following the hearing, the court may enter a final 657 injunction. The court may grant a continuance of the hearing at 658 any time for good cause shown by any party. If a temporary 659 injunction has been entered, it shall be continued during the 660 continuance. 661 (4) If an injunction is issued under this section, the 662 primary purpose of the injunction must be to protect and promote 663 the best interests of the child, taking the preservation of the 664 child’s immediate family into consideration. 665 (a) The injunction applies to the alleged or actual 666 offender in a case of child abuse or acts of domestic violence. 667 The conditions of the injunction shall be determined by the 668 court, which may include ordering the alleged or actual offender 669 to: 670 1. Refrain from further abuse or acts of domestic violence. 671 2. Participate in a specialized treatment program. 672 3. Limit contact or communication with the child victim, 673 other children in the home, or any other child. 674 4. Refrain from contacting the child at home, school, work, 675 or wherever the child may be found. 676 5. Have limited or supervised visitation with the child. 677 6. Vacate the home in which the child resides. 678 7. Comply with the terms of a safety plan implemented in 679 the injunction pursuant to s. 39.301. 680 (b) Upon proper pleading, the court may award the following 681 relief in a temporary ex parte or final injunction: 682 1. Exclusive use and possession of the dwelling to the 683 caregiver or exclusion of the alleged or actual offender from 684 the residence of the caregiver. 685 2. Temporary support for the child or other family members. 686 3. The costs of medical, psychiatric, and psychological 687 treatment for the child incurred due to the abuse, and similar 688 costs for other family members. 689 690 This paragraph does not preclude an adult victim of domestic 691 violence from seeking protection for himself or herself under s. 692 741.30. 693 (c) The terms of the final injunction shall remain in 694 effect until modified or dissolved by the court. The petitioner, 695 respondent, or caregiver may move at any time to modify or 696 dissolve the injunction. Notice of hearing on the motion to 697 modify or dissolve the injunction must be provided to all 698 parties, including the department. The injunction is valid and 699 enforceable in all counties in the state. 700 (5) Service of process on the respondent shall be carried 701 out pursuant to s. 741.30. The department shall deliver a copy 702 of any injunction issued pursuant to this section to the 703 protected party or to a parent, caregiver, or individual acting 704 in the place of a parent who is not the respondent. Law 705 enforcement officers may exercise their arrest powers as 706 provided in s. 901.15(6) to enforce the terms of the injunction. 707 (6) Any person who fails to comply with an injunction 708 issued pursuant to this section commits a misdemeanor of the 709 first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 710 775.083. 711 (7) The person against whom an injunction is entered under 712 this section does not automatically become a party to a 713 subsequent dependency action concerning the same child. 714 Section 9. Paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section 715 39.507, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 716 39.507 Adjudicatory hearings; orders of adjudication.— 717 (7) 718 (b) However, the court must determine whether each parent 719 or legal custodian identified in the case abused, abandoned, or 720 neglected the child or engaged in conduct that placed the child 721 at substantial risk of imminent abuse, abandonment, or neglect 722in a subsequent evidentiary hearing. If a second parent is 723 served and brought into the proceeding after the adjudication, 724 and antheevidentiary hearing for the second parent is 725 conductedsubsequent to the adjudication of the child, the court 726 shall supplement the adjudicatory order, disposition order, and 727 the case plan, as necessary. The petitioner is not required to 728 prove actual harm or actual abuse by the second parent in order 729 for the court to make supplemental findings regarding the 730 conduct of the second parent. The court is not required to 731 conduct an evidentiary hearing for the second parent in order to 732 supplement the adjudicatory order, the disposition order, and 733 the case plan if the requirements of s. 39.506(3) or (5) are 734 satisfied. With the exception of proceedings pursuant to s. 735 39.811, the child’s dependency status may not be retried or 736 readjudicated. 737 Section 10. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 738 39.5085, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 739 39.5085 Relative Caregiver Program.— 740 (2)(a) The Department of Children and Families shall 741 establish,andoperate, and implement the Relative Caregiver 742 Programpursuant to eligibility guidelines established in this743section as further implementedby rule of the department. The 744 Relative Caregiver Program shall, within the limits of available 745 funding, provide financial assistance to: 746 1. Relatives who are within the fifth degree by blood or 747 marriage to the parent or stepparent of a child and who are 748 caring full-time for that dependent child in the role of 749 substitute parent as a result of a court’s determination of 750 child abuse, neglect, or abandonment and subsequent placement 751 with the relative under this chapter. 752 2. Relatives who are within the fifth degree by blood or 753 marriage to the parent or stepparent of a child and who are 754 caring full-time for that dependent child, and a dependent half 755 brother or half-sister of that dependent child, in the role of 756 substitute parent as a result of a court’s determination of 757 child abuse, neglect, or abandonment and subsequent placement 758 with the relative under this chapter. 759 3. Nonrelatives who are willing to assume custody and care 760 of a dependent child in the role of substitute parent as a 761 result of a court’s determination of child abuse, neglect, or 762 abandonment and subsequent placement with the nonrelative 763 caregiver under this chapter. The court must find that a 764 proposed placement under this subparagraph is in the best 765 interest of the child. 766 4. The relative or nonrelative caregiver may not receive a 767 Relative Caregiver Program payment if the parent or stepparent 768 of the child resides in the home. However, a relative or 769 nonrelative may receive the Relative Caregiver Program payment 770 for a minor parent who is in his or her care, as well as for the 771 minor parent’s child, if both children have been adjudicated 772 dependent and meet all other eligibility requirements. If the 773 caregiver is currently receiving the payment, the Relative 774 Caregiver Program payment must be terminated no later than the 775 first of the following month after the parent or stepparent 776 moves into the home, allowing for 10-day notice of adverse 777 action. 778 779 The placement may be court-ordered temporary legal custody to 780 the relative or nonrelative under protective supervision of the 781 department pursuant to s. 39.521(1)(c)3.s. 39.521(1)(b)3., or 782 court-ordered placement in the home of a relative or nonrelative 783 as a permanency option under s. 39.6221 or s. 39.6231 or under 784 former s. 39.622 if the placement was made before July 1, 2006. 785 The Relative Caregiver Program shall offer financial assistance 786 to caregivers who would be unable to serve in that capacity 787 without the caregiver payment because of financial burden, thus 788 exposing the child to the trauma of placement in a shelter or in 789 foster care. 790 Section 11. Subsections (1), (2), (6), and (7) of section 791 39.521, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 792 39.521 Disposition hearings; powers of disposition.— 793 (1) A disposition hearing shall be conducted by the court, 794 if the court finds that the facts alleged in the petition for 795 dependency were proven in the adjudicatory hearing, or if the 796 parents or legal custodians have consented to the finding of 797 dependency or admitted the allegations in the petition, have 798 failed to appear for the arraignment hearing after proper 799 notice, or have not been located despite a diligent search 800 having been conducted. 801 (a) A written case plan and a family functioning assessment 802predisposition studyprepared by an authorized agent of the 803 department must be approved byfiled withthe court. The 804 department must file the case plan and the family functioning 805 assessment with the court, serve a copy of the case plan on,806served uponthe parents of the child, and provide a copy of the 807 case planprovidedto the representative of the guardian ad 808 litem program, if the program has been appointed, and provide a 809 copyprovidedto all other parties: 810 1. Not less than 72 hours before the disposition hearing, 811 if the disposition hearing occurs on or after the 60th day after 812 the child was placed in out-of-home care. All such case plans 813 must be approved by the court. 814 2. Not less than 72 hours before the case plan acceptance 815 hearing, if the disposition hearing occurs before the 60th day 816 after the date the child was placed in out-of-home care and a 817 case plan has not been submitted pursuant to this paragraph, or 818 if the court does not approve the case plan at the disposition 819 hearing. The case plan acceptance hearing must occur,the court820must set a hearingwithin 30 days after the disposition hearing 821 to review and approve the case plan. 822 (b) The court may grant an exception to the requirement for 823 a family functioning assessmentpredisposition studyby separate 824 order or within the judge’s order of disposition upon finding 825 that all the family and child information required by subsection 826 (2) is available in other documents filed with the court. 827 (c)(b)When any child is adjudicated by a court to be 828 dependent, the court having jurisdiction of the child has the 829 power by order to: 830 1. Require the parent and, when appropriate, the legal 831 custodian and the child to participate in treatment and services 832 identified as necessary. The court may require the person who 833 has custody or who is requesting custody of the child to submit 834 to a mental health or substance abuse disorder assessment or 835 evaluation. The order may be made only upon good cause shown and 836 pursuant to notice and procedural requirements provided under 837 the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure. The mental health 838 assessment or evaluation must be administered by a qualified 839 professional as defined in s. 39.01, and the substance abuse 840 assessment or evaluation must be administered by a qualified 841 professional as defined in s. 397.311. The court may also 842 require such person to participate in and comply with treatment 843 and services identified as necessary, including, when 844 appropriate and available, participation in and compliance with 845 a mental health court program established under chapter 394 or a 846 treatment-based drug court program established under s. 397.334. 847 Adjudication of a child as dependent based upon evidence of harm 848 as defined in s. 39.01(30)(g) demonstrates good cause, and the 849 court shall require the parent whose actions caused the harm to 850 submit to a substance abuse disorder assessment or evaluation 851 and to participate and comply with treatment and services 852 identified in the assessment or evaluation as being necessary. 853 In addition to supervision by the department, the court, 854 including the mental health court program or the treatment-based 855 drug court program, may oversee the progress and compliance with 856 treatment by a person who has custody or is requesting custody 857 of the child. The court may impose appropriate available 858 sanctions for noncompliance upon a person who has custody or is 859 requesting custody of the child or make a finding of 860 noncompliance for consideration in determining whether an 861 alternative placement of the child is in the child’s best 862 interests. Any order entered under this subparagraph may be made 863 only upon good cause shown. This subparagraph does not authorize 864 placement of a child with a person seeking custody of the child, 865 other than the child’s parent or legal custodian, who requires 866 mental health or substance abuse disorder treatment. 867 2. Require, if the court deems necessary, the parties to 868 participate in dependency mediation. 869 3. Require placement of the child either under the 870 protective supervision of an authorized agent of the department 871 in the home of one or both of the child’s parents or in the home 872 of a relative of the child or another adult approved by the 873 court, or in the custody of the department. Protective 874 supervision continues until the court terminates it or until the 875 child reaches the age of 18, whichever date is first. Protective 876 supervision shall be terminated by the court whenever the court 877 determines that permanency has been achieved for the child, 878 whether with a parent, another relative, or a legal custodian, 879 and that protective supervision is no longer needed. The 880 termination of supervision may be with or without retaining 881 jurisdiction, at the court’s discretion, and shall in either 882 case be considered a permanency option for the child. The order 883 terminating supervision by the department must set forth the 884 powers of the custodian of the child and include the powers 885 ordinarily granted to a guardian of the person of a minor unless 886 otherwise specified. Upon the court’s termination of supervision 887 by the department, further judicial reviews are not required if 888 permanency has been established for the child. 889 (d)(c)At the conclusion of the disposition hearing, the 890 court shall schedule the initial judicial review hearing which 891 must be held no later than 90 days after the date of the 892 disposition hearing or after the date of the hearing at which 893 the court approves the case plan, whichever occurs earlier, but 894 in no event shall the review hearing be held later than 6 months 895 after the date of the child’s removal from the home. 896 (e)(d)The court shall, in its written order of 897 disposition, include all of the following: 898 1. The placement or custody of the child. 899 2. Special conditions of placement and visitation. 900 3. Evaluation, counseling, treatment activities, and other 901 actions to be taken by the parties, if ordered. 902 4. The persons or entities responsible for supervising or 903 monitoring services to the child and parent. 904 5. Continuation or discharge of the guardian ad litem, as 905 appropriate. 906 6. The date, time, and location of the next scheduled 907 review hearing, which must occur within the earlier of: 908 a. Ninety days after the disposition hearing; 909 b. Ninety days after the court accepts the case plan; 910 c. Six months after the date of the last review hearing; or 911 d. Six months after the date of the child’s removal from 912 his or her home, if no review hearing has been held since the 913 child’s removal from the home. 914 7. If the child is in an out-of-home placement, child 915 support to be paid by the parents, or the guardian of the 916 child’s estate if possessed of assets which under law may be 917 disbursed for the care, support, and maintenance of the child. 918 The court may exercise jurisdiction over all child support 919 matters, shall adjudicate the financial obligation, including 920 health insurance, of the child’s parents or guardian, and shall 921 enforce the financial obligation as provided in chapter 61. The 922 state’s child support enforcement agency shall enforce child 923 support orders under this section in the same manner as child 924 support orders under chapter 61. Placement of the child shall 925 not be contingent upon issuance of a support order. 926 8.a. If the court does not commit the child to the 927 temporary legal custody of an adult relative, legal custodian, 928 or other adult approved by the court, the disposition order 929 shall include the reasons for such a decision and shall include 930 a determination as to whether diligent efforts were made by the 931 department to locate an adult relative, legal custodian, or 932 other adult willing to care for the child in order to present 933 that placement option to the court instead of placement with the 934 department. 935 b. If no suitable relative is found and the child is placed 936 with the department or a legal custodian or other adult approved 937 by the court, both the department and the court shall consider 938 transferring temporary legal custody to an adult relative 939 approved by the court at a later date, but neither the 940 department nor the court is obligated to so place the child if 941 it is in the child’s best interest to remain in the current 942 placement. 943 944 For the purposes of this section, “diligent efforts to locate an 945 adult relative” means a search similar to the diligent search 946 for a parent, but without the continuing obligation to search 947 after an initial adequate search is completed. 948 9. Other requirements necessary to protect the health, 949 safety, and well-being of the child, to preserve the stability 950 of the child’s educational placement, and to promote family 951 preservation or reunification whenever possible. 952 (f)(e)If the court finds that an in-home safety plan 953 prepared or approved by the departmentthe prevention or954reunification efforts of the departmentwill allow the child to 955 remain safely at home or that conditions for return have been 956 met and an in-home safety plan prepared or approved by the 957 department will allow the child to be safely returned to the 958 home, the court shall allow the child to remain in or return to 959 the home after making a specific finding of fact thatthe960reasons for removal have been remedied to the extent thatthe 961 child’s safety, well-being, and physical, mental, and emotional 962 health will not be endangered. 963 (g)(f)If the court places the child in an out-of-home 964 placement, the disposition order must include a written 965 determination that the child cannot safely remain at home with 966 an in-home safety planreunification or family preservation967servicesand that removal of the child is necessary to protect 968 the child. If the child is removed before the disposition 969 hearing, the order must also include a written determination as 970 to whether, after removal, the department made a reasonable 971 effort to reunify the parent and child. Reasonable efforts to 972 reunify are not required if the court finds that any of the acts 973 listed in s. 39.806(1)(f)-(l) have occurred. The department has 974 the burden of demonstrating that it made reasonable efforts. 975 1. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “reasonable 976 effort” means the exercise of reasonable diligence and care by 977 the department to provide the services ordered by the court or 978 delineated in the case plan. 979 2. In support of its determination as to whether reasonable 980 efforts have been made, the court shall: 981 a. Enter written findings as to whether an in-home safety 982 plan could have prevented removalprevention or reunification983efforts were indicated. 984 b. If an in-home safety plan wasprevention or985reunification efforts wereindicated, include a brief written 986 description of what appropriate and available safety management 987 servicesprevention and reunification effortswere initiated 988made. 989 c. Indicate in writing why further efforts could or could 990 not have prevented or shortened the separation of the parent and 991 child. 992 3. A court may find that the department made a reasonable 993 effort to prevent or eliminate the need for removal if: 994 a. The first contact of the department with the family 995 occurs during an emergency; 996 b. The department’s assessmentappraisal by the department997 of the home situation indicates a substantial and immediate 998 danger to the child’s safety or physical, mental, or emotional 999 health which cannot be mitigated by the provision of safety 1000 managementpreventiveservices; 1001 c. The child cannot safely remain at home, because there 1002 are no safety managementpreventiveservices that can ensure the 1003 health and safety of the child or, even with appropriate and 1004 available services being provided, the health and safety of the 1005 child cannot be ensured; or 1006 d. The parent is alleged to have committed any of the acts 1007 listed as grounds for expedited termination of parental rights 1008 under s. 39.806(1)(f)-(l). 1009 4. A reasonable effort by the department for reunification 1010 has been made if the appraisal of the home situation by the 1011 department indicates that the severity of the conditions of 1012 dependency is such that reunification efforts are inappropriate. 1013 The department has the burden of demonstrating to the court that 1014 reunification efforts were inappropriate. 1015 5. If the court finds that the provision of safety 1016 management services byprevention or reunification effort ofthe 1017 department would not have permitted the child to remain safely 1018 at home, the court may commit the child to the temporary legal 1019 custody of the department or take any other action authorized by 1020 this chapter. 1021 (2) The family functioning assessmentpredisposition study1022 must provide the court with the following documented 1023 information: 1024 (a) Evidence of maltreatment and the circumstances 1025 accompanying the maltreatment. 1026 (b) Identification of all danger threats active in the 1027 home. 1028 (c) An assessment of the adult functioning of the parents. 1029 (d) An assessment of general parenting practices and the 1030 parent’s disciplinary approach and behavior management methods. 1031 (e) An assessment of the parent’s behavioral, emotional, 1032 and cognitive protective capacities. 1033 (f) An assessment of child functioning. 1034 (g) A safety analysis describing the capacity for an in 1035 home safety plan to control the conditions that result in the 1036 child being unsafe and the specific actions necessary to keep 1037 the child safe. 1038 (h) Identification of the conditions for return which would 1039 allow the child to be placed safely back into the home with an 1040 in-home safety plan and any safety management services necessary 1041 to ensure the child’s safety. 1042(a) The capacity and disposition of the parents to provide1043the child with food, clothing, medical care, or other remedial1044care recognized and permitted under the laws of this state in1045lieu of medical care, and other material needs.1046(b) The length of time the child has lived in a stable,1047satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining1048continuity.1049(c) The mental and physical health of the parents.1050(d) The home, school, and community record of the child.1051 (i)(e)The reasonable preference of the child, if the court 1052 deems the child to be of sufficient intelligence, understanding, 1053 and experience to express a preference. 1054(f) Evidence of domestic violence or child abuse.1055(g) An assessment defining the dangers and risks of1056returning the child home, including a description of the changes1057in and resolutions to the initial risks.1058(h) A description of what risks are still present and what1059resources are available and will be provided for the protection1060and safety of the child.1061(i) A description of the benefits of returning the child1062home.1063(j) A description of all unresolved issues.1064 (j)(k)Child welfareA Florida Abuse Hotline Information1065System (FAHIS)history from the Statewide Automated Child 1066 Welfare Information System (SACWIS) and criminal records check 1067 for all caregivers, family members, and individuals residing 1068 within the household from which the child was removed. 1069 (k)(l)The complete report and recommendation of the child 1070 protection team of the Department of Health or, if no report 1071 exists, a statement reflecting that no report has been made. 1072 (l)(m)All opinions or recommendations from other 1073 professionals or agencies that provide evaluative, social, 1074 reunification, or other services to the parent and child. 1075 (m)(n)A listing of appropriate and available safety 1076 managementprevention and reunificationservices for the parent 1077 and child to prevent the removal of the child from the home or 1078 to reunify the child with the parent after removal and anto1079reunify the child with the parent after removal, including the1080availability of family preservation services and anexplanation 1081 of the following: 1082 1. If the services were or were not provided. 1083 2. If the services were provided, the outcome of the 1084 services. 1085 3. If the services were not provided, why they were not 1086 provided. 1087 4. If the services are currently being provided and if they 1088 need to be continued. 1089(o) A listing of other prevention and reunification1090services that were available but determined to be inappropriate1091and why.1092(p) Whether dependency mediation was provided.1093 (n)(q)If the child has been removed from the home and 1094 there is a parent who may be considered for custody pursuant to 1095 this section, a recommendation as to whether placement of the 1096 child with that parent would be detrimental to the child. 1097 (o)(r)If the child has been removed from the home and will 1098 be remaining with a relative, parent, or other adult approved by 1099 the court, a home study report concerning the proposed placement 1100 shall be provided to the courtincluded in the predisposition1101report. Before recommending to the court any out-of-home 1102 placement for a child other than placement in a licensed shelter 1103 or foster home, the department shall conduct a study of the home 1104 of the proposed legal custodians, which must include, at a 1105 minimum: 1106 1. An interview with the proposed legal custodians to 1107 assess their ongoing commitment and ability to care for the 1108 child. 1109 2. Records checks through the State Automated Child Welfare 1110 Information System (SACWIS), and local and statewide criminal 1111 and juvenile records checks through the Department of Law 1112 Enforcement, on all household members 12 years of age or older. 1113 In addition, the fingerprints of any household members who are 1114 18 years of age or older may be submitted to the Department of 1115 Law Enforcement for processing and forwarding to the Federal 1116 Bureau of Investigation for state and national criminal history 1117 information. The department has the discretion to request State 1118 Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) and local, 1119 statewide, and national criminal history checks and 1120 fingerprinting of any other visitor to the home who is made 1121 known to the department. Out-of-state criminal records checks 1122 must be initiated for any individual who has resided in a state 1123 other than Florida if that state’s laws allow the release of 1124 these records. The out-of-state criminal records must be filed 1125 with the court within 5 days after receipt by the department or 1126 its agent. 1127 3. An assessment of the physical environment of the home. 1128 4. A determination of the financial security of the 1129 proposed legal custodians. 1130 5. A determination of suitable child care arrangements if 1131 the proposed legal custodians are employed outside of the home. 1132 6. Documentation of counseling and information provided to 1133 the proposed legal custodians regarding the dependency process 1134 and possible outcomes. 1135 7. Documentation that information regarding support 1136 services available in the community has been provided to the 1137 proposed legal custodians. 1138 8. The reasonable preference of the child, if the court 1139 deems the child to be of sufficient intelligence, understanding, 1140 and experience to express a preference. 1141 1142 The department may not place the child or continue the placement 1143 of the child in a home under shelter or postdisposition 1144 placement if the results of the home study are unfavorable, 1145 unless the court finds that this placement is in the child’s 1146 best interest. 1147 (p)(s)If the child has been removed from the home, a 1148 determination of the amount of child support each parent will be 1149 required to pay pursuant to s. 61.30. 1150(t) If placement of the child with anyone other than the1151child’s parent is being considered, the predisposition study1152shall include the designation of a specific length of time as to1153when custody by the parent will be reconsidered.1154 1155 Any other relevant and material evidence, including other 1156 written or oral reports, may be received by the court in its 1157 effort to determine the action to be taken with regard to the 1158 child and may be relied upon to the extent of its probative 1159 value, even though not competent in an adjudicatory hearing. 1160 Except as otherwise specifically provided, nothing in this 1161 section prohibits the publication of proceedings in a hearing. 1162 (6) With respect to a child who is the subject in 1163 proceedings under this chapter, the court may issue to the 1164 department an order to show cause why it should not return the 1165 child to the custody of the parents upon the presentation of 1166 evidence that the conditions for return of the child have been 1167 metexpiration of the case plan, or sooner if the parents have1168substantially complied with the case plan. 1169 (7) The court may enter an order ending its jurisdiction 1170 over a child when a child has been returned to the parents, 1171 provided the court shall not terminate its jurisdiction or the 1172 department’s supervision over the child until 6 months after the 1173 child’s return. The department shall supervise the placement of 1174 the child after reunification for at least 6 months with each 1175 parent or legal custodian from whom the child was removed. The 1176 court shall determine whether its jurisdiction should be 1177 continued or terminated in such a case based on a report of the 1178 department or agency or the child’s guardian ad litem, and any 1179 other relevant factors; if its jurisdiction is to be terminated, 1180 the court shall enter an order to that effect. 1181 Section 12. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 39.522, 1182 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1183 39.522 Postdisposition change of custody.—The court may 1184 change the temporary legal custody or the conditions of 1185 protective supervision at a postdisposition hearing, without the 1186 necessity of another adjudicatory hearing. 1187 (2) In cases where the issue before the court is whether a 1188 child should be reunited with a parent, the court shall review 1189 the conditions for return and determine whether the 1190 circumstances that caused the out-of-home placement and issues 1191 subsequently identified have been remediedparent has1192substantially complied with the terms of the case planto the 1193 extent that the return of the child to the home with an in-home 1194 safety plan prepared or approved by the department will not be 1195 detrimental to the child’s safety, well-being, and physical, 1196 mental, and emotional healthof the child is not endangered by1197the return of the child to the home. 1198 (3) In cases where the issue before the court is whether a 1199 child who is placed in the custody of a parent should be 1200 reunited with the other parent upon a finding that the 1201 circumstances that caused the out-of-home placement and issues 1202 subsequently identified have been remedied to the extent that 1203 the return of the child to the home of the other parent with an 1204 in-home safety plan prepared or approved by the department will 1205 not be detrimental to the childof substantial compliance with1206the terms of the case plan, the standard shall be that the 1207 safety, well-being, and physical, mental, and emotional health 1208 of the child would not be endangered by reunification and that 1209 reunification would be in the best interest of the child. 1210 Section 13. Effective January 1, 2018, section 39.523, 1211 Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1212 (Substantial rewording of section. See 1213 s. 39.523, F.S., for present text.) 1214 39.523 Placement in out-of-home care.— 1215 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.— 1216 (a) The Legislature finds that it is a basic tenet of child 1217 welfare practice and the law that children be placed in the 1218 least restrictive, most family-like setting available in close 1219 proximity to the home of their parents, consistent with the best 1220 interests and needs of the child, and that children be placed in 1221 permanent homes in a timely manner. 1222 (b) The Legislature also finds that there is an association 1223 between frequent placement changes and adverse outcomes for the 1224 child, that mismatching placements to children’s needs has been 1225 identified as a factor that negatively impacts placement 1226 stability, and that identifying the right placement for each 1227 child requires effective assessment. 1228 (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that whenever a 1229 child is unable to safely remain at home with a parent, the most 1230 appropriate available out-of-home placement shall be chosen 1231 after an assessment of the child’s needs and the availability of 1232 caregivers qualified to meet the child’s needs. 1233 (2) ASSESSMENT AND PLACEMENT.—When any child is removed 1234 from a home and placed into out-of-home care, a comprehensive 1235 placement assessment process shall be completed to determine the 1236 level of care needed by the child and match the child with the 1237 most appropriate placement. 1238 (a) The community-based care lead agency or subcontracted 1239 agency with the responsibility for assessment and placement must 1240 coordinate a multi-disciplinary team staffing with any available 1241 individual currently involved with the child including, but not 1242 limited to, a representative from the department and the case 1243 manager for the child; a therapist, attorney ad-litem, guardian 1244 ad litem, teachers, coaches, Children’s Medical Services; and 1245 other community providers of services to the child or 1246 stakeholders as applicable. The team should also include clergy, 1247 relatives and fictive kin. Team participants must gather data 1248 and information on the child that is known at the time 1249 including, but not limited to: 1250 1. Mental, medical, behavioral health and medication 1251 history; 1252 2. Community ties and school placement; 1253 3. Current placement decisions relating to any siblings; 1254 4. Alleged type of abuse or neglect including sexual abuse 1255 and trafficking history; and 1256 5. The child’s age, maturity, strengths, hobbies or 1257 activities, and the child’s preference for placement. 1258 (b) The comprehensive placement assessment process may also 1259 include the use of an assessment instrument or tool that is best 1260 suited for the individual child. 1261 (c) The most appropriate available out-of-home placement 1262 shall be chosen after consideration by all members of the multi 1263 disciplinary team of all of the information and data gathered, 1264 including the results and recommendations of any evaluations 1265 conducted. 1266 (d) Placement decisions for each child in out-of-home 1267 placement must be reviewed as often as necessary to ensure that 1268 permanency issues related to this population of children are 1269 addressed. 1270 (e) The department shall document all placement assessments 1271 and placement decisions in the Florida Safe Families Network. 1272 (f) If it is determined during the comprehensive placement 1273 assessment process that residential treatment as defined in s. 1274 39.407 would be suitable for the child, the procedures in that 1275 section must be followed. 1276 (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—At each judicial review, the court 1277 shall consider the results of the assessment, the placement 1278 decision made for the child, and the services provided to the 1279 child as required under s. 39.701. 1280 (4) DATA COLLECTION.—The department shall collect the 1281 following information by community-based care lead agency and 1282 post it on the Department of Children and Families’ website. The 1283 information must be updated on January 1 and July 1 of each 1284 year. 1285 (a) The number of children placed with relatives and 1286 nonrelatives, in family foster homes, and in residential group 1287 care. 1288 (b) An inventory of available services that are necessary 1289 to maintain children in the least restrictive settings and a 1290 plan for filling any identified gap in those services. 1291 (c) The number of children who were placed based upon the 1292 assessment. 1293 (d) An inventory of existing placements for children by 1294 type and by community-based care lead agency. 1295 (e) The strategies being used by community-based care lead 1296 agencies to recruit, train, and support an adequate number of 1297 families to provide home-based family care. 1298 (5) RULEMAKING.—The department may adopt rules necessary to 1299 carry out the provisions of this section. 1300 Section 14. Section 39.6001, Florida Statutes, is created 1301 to read: 1302 39.6001 Safe care plans for substance-exposed newborns.—The 1303 department, in partnership with the Department of Health, the 1304 Agency for Health Care Administration, other state agencies, and 1305 community partners, shall develop a strategy for coordinated 1306 services to ensure the safety and well-being of newborns with 1307 prenatal substance exposure by creating, implementing, and 1308 monitoring safe care plans. A safe care plan is a written plan 1309 for a newborn with prenatal substance abuse exposure following 1310 the newborn’s release from the care of a health care provider. 1311 The plan must address the health and substance abuse disorder 1312 treatment needs of the newborn through infancy and the affected 1313 family or caregiver. The department shall monitor such plans to 1314 ensure appropriate referrals are made and services are delivered 1315 to the newborn and the affected family or caregiver. 1316 Section 15. Subsection (1) of section 39.6011, Florida 1317 Statutes, is amended to read: 1318 39.6011 Case plan development.— 1319 (1) The department shall prepare a draft of the case plan 1320 for each child receiving services under this chapter. A parent 1321 of a child may not be threatened or coerced with the loss of 1322 custody or parental rights for failing to admit in the case plan 1323 of abusing, neglecting, or abandoning a child. Participating in 1324 the development of a case plan is not an admission to any 1325 allegation of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, and it is not a 1326 consent to a finding of dependency or termination of parental 1327 rights. The case plan shall be developed subject to the 1328 following requirements: 1329 (a) The case plan must be developed in a face-to-face 1330 conference with the parent of the child, any court-appointed 1331 guardian ad litem, and, if appropriate, the child and the 1332 temporary custodian of the child. 1333 (b) Notwithstanding s. 39.202, the department may discuss 1334 confidential information during the case planning conference in 1335 the presence of individuals who participate in the conference. 1336 All individuals who participate in the conference shall maintain 1337 the confidentiality of all information shared during the case 1338 planning conference. 1339 (c)(b)The parent may receive assistance from any person or 1340 social service agency in preparing the case plan. The social 1341 service agency, the department, and the court, when applicable, 1342 shall inform the parent of the right to receive such assistance, 1343 including the right to assistance of counsel. 1344 (d)(c)If a parent is unwilling or unable to participate in 1345 developing a case plan, the department shall document that 1346 unwillingness or inability to participate. The documentation 1347 must be provided in writing to the parent when available for the 1348 court record, and the department shall prepare a case plan 1349 conforming as nearly as possible with the requirements set forth 1350 in this section. The unwillingness or inability of the parent to 1351 participate in developing a case plan does not preclude the 1352 filing of a petition for dependency or for termination of 1353 parental rights. The parent, if available, must be provided a 1354 copy of the case plan and be advised that he or she may, at any 1355 time before the filing of a petition for termination of parental 1356 rights, enter into a case plan and that he or she may request 1357 judicial review of any provision of the case plan with which he 1358 or she disagrees at any court hearing set for the child. 1359 Section 16. Subsection (1) of section 39.6012, Florida 1360 Statutes, is amended to read: 1361 39.6012 Case plan tasks; services.— 1362 (1) The services to be provided to the parent and the tasks 1363 that must be completed are subject to the following: 1364 (a) The services described in the case plan must be 1365 designed to improve the conditions in the home and aid in 1366 maintaining the child in the home, facilitate the child’s safe 1367 return to the home, ensure proper care of the child, or 1368 facilitate the child’s permanent placement. The services offered 1369 must be the least intrusive possible into the life of the parent 1370 and child, must focus on clearly defined objectives, and must 1371 provide the most efficient path to quick reunification or 1372 permanent placement given the circumstances of the case and the 1373 child’s need for safe and proper care. 1374 (b) The case plan must describe each of the tasks with 1375 which the parent must comply and the services to be provided to 1376 the parent, specifically addressing the identified problem, 1377 including: 1378 1. The type of services or treatment. 1379 2. The date the department will provide each service or 1380 referral for the service if the service is being provided by the 1381 department or its agent. 1382 3. The date by which the parent must complete each task. 1383 4. The frequency of services or treatment provided. The 1384 frequency of the delivery of services or treatment provided 1385 shall be determined by the professionals providing the services 1386 or treatment on a case-by-case basis and adjusted according to 1387 their best professional judgment. 1388 5. The location of the delivery of the services. 1389 6. The staff of the department or service provider 1390 accountable for the services or treatment. 1391 7. A description of the measurable objectives, including 1392 the timeframes specified for achieving the objectives of the 1393 case plan and addressing the identified problem. 1394 (c) If there is evidence of harm as defined in s. 1395 39.01(30)(g), the case plan must include as a required task for 1396 the parent whose actions caused the harm that the parent submit 1397 to a substance abuse disorder assessment or evaluation and 1398 participate and comply with treatment and services identified in 1399 the assessment or evaluation as being necessary. 1400 Section 17. Subsection (7) is added to section 39.6221, 1401 Florida Statutes, to read: 1402 39.6221 Permanent guardianship of a dependent child.— 1403 (7) The requirements of s. 61.13001 do not apply to 1404 permanent guardianships established under this section. 1405 Section 18. Paragraph (h) is added to subsection (1) of 1406 section 39.701, Florida Statutes, to read: 1407 39.701 Judicial review.— 1408 (1) GENERAL PROVISIONS.— 1409 (h) If a child is born into a family that is under the 1410 court’s jurisdiction or a child moves into a home that is under 1411 the court’s jurisdiction, the department shall assess the 1412 child’s safety and provide notice to the court. 1413 1. The department shall complete an assessment to determine 1414 how the addition of a child will impact family functioning. The 1415 assessment must be completed at least 30 days before a child is 1416 expected to be born or to move into a home, or within 72 hours 1417 after the department learns of the pregnancy or addition if the 1418 child is expected to be born or to move into the home in less 1419 than 30 days. The assessment shall be filed with the court. 1420 2. Once a child is born into a family or a child moves into 1421 the home, the department shall complete a progress update and 1422 file it with the court. 1423 3. The court has the discretion to hold a hearing on the 1424 progress update filed by the department. 1425 4. The department shall adopt rules to implement this 1426 subsection. 1427 Section 19. Subsection (3) of section 39.801, Florida 1428 Statutes, is amended to read: 1429 39.801 Procedures and jurisdiction; notice; service of 1430 process.— 1431 (3) Before the court may terminate parental rights, in 1432 addition to the other requirements set forth in this part, the 1433 following requirements must be met: 1434 (a) Notice of the date, time, and place of the advisory 1435 hearing for the petition to terminate parental rights and a copy 1436 of the petition must be personally served upon the following 1437 persons, specifically notifying them that a petition has been 1438 filed: 1439 1. The parents of the child. 1440 2. The legal custodians of the child. 1441 3. If the parents who would be entitled to notice are dead 1442 or unknown, a living relative of the child, unless upon diligent 1443 search and inquiry no such relative can be found. 1444 4. Any person who has physical custody of the child. 1445 5. Any grandparent entitled to priority for adoption under 1446 s. 63.0425. 1447 6. Any prospective parent who has been identified under s. 1448 39.503 or s. 39.803, unless a court order has been entered 1449 pursuant to s. 39.503(4) or (9) or s. 39.803(4) or (9) which 1450 indicates no further notice is required. Except as otherwise 1451 provided in this section, if there is not a legal father, notice 1452 of the petition for termination of parental rights must be 1453 provided to any known prospective father who is identified under 1454 oath before the court or who is identified by a diligent search 1455 of the Florida Putative Father Registry. Service of the notice 1456 of the petition for termination of parental rights is not 1457 required if the prospective father executes an affidavit of 1458 nonpaternity or a consent to termination of his parental rights 1459 which is accepted by the court after notice and opportunity to 1460 be heard by all parties to address the best interests of the 1461 child in accepting such affidavit. 1462 7. The guardian ad litem for the child or the 1463 representative of the guardian ad litem program, if the program 1464 has been appointed. 1465 1466 The document containing the notice to respond or appear must 1467 contain, in type at least as large as the type in the balance of 1468 the document, the following or substantially similar language: 1469 “FAILURE TO PERSONALLY APPEAR AT THIS ADVISORY HEARING 1470 CONSTITUTES CONSENT TO THE TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS OF 1471 THIS CHILD (OR CHILDREN). IF YOU FAIL TO APPEAR ON THE DATE AND 1472 TIME SPECIFIED, YOU MAY LOSE ALL LEGAL RIGHTS AS A PARENT TO THE 1473 CHILD OR CHILDREN NAMED IN THE PETITION ATTACHED TO THIS 1474 NOTICE.” 1475 (b) If a party required to be served with notice as 1476 prescribed in paragraph (a) cannot be served, notice of hearings 1477 must be given as prescribed by the rules of civil procedure, and 1478 service of process must be made as specified by law or civil 1479 actions. 1480 (c) Notice as prescribed by this section may be waived, in 1481 the discretion of the judge, with regard to any person to whom 1482 notice must be given under this subsection if the person 1483 executes, before two witnesses and a notary public or other 1484 officer authorized to take acknowledgments, a written surrender 1485 of the child to a licensed child-placing agency or the 1486 department. 1487 (d) If the person served with notice under this section 1488 fails to personally appear at the advisory hearing, the failure 1489 to personally appear shall constitute consent for termination of 1490 parental rights by the person given notice. If a parent appears 1491 for the advisory hearing and the court orders that parent to 1492 personally appear at the adjudicatory hearing for the petition 1493 for termination of parental rights, stating the date, time, and 1494 location of said hearing, then failure of that parent to 1495 personally appear at the adjudicatory hearing shall constitute 1496 consent for termination of parental rights. 1497 Section 20. Section 39.803, Florida Statutes, is amended to 1498 read: 1499 39.803 Identity or location of parent unknown after filing 1500 of termination of parental rights petition; special procedures.— 1501 (1) If the identity or location of a parent is unknown and 1502 a petition for termination of parental rights is filed, the 1503 court shall conduct under oath the following inquiry of the 1504 parent who is available, or, if no parent is available, of any 1505 relative, caregiver, or legal custodian of the child who is 1506 present at the hearing and likely to have the information: 1507 (a) Whether the mother of the child was married at the 1508 probable time of conception of the child or at the time of birth 1509 of the child. 1510 (b) Whether the mother was cohabiting with a male at the 1511 probable time of conception of the child. 1512 (c) Whether the mother has received payments or promises of 1513 support with respect to the child or because of her pregnancy 1514 from a man who claims to be the father. 1515 (d) Whether the mother has named any man as the father on 1516 the birth certificate of the child or in connection with 1517 applying for or receiving public assistance. 1518 (e) Whether any man has acknowledged or claimed paternity 1519 of the child in a jurisdiction in which the mother resided at 1520 the time of or since conception of the child, or in which the 1521 child has resided or resides. 1522 (f) Whether a man is named on the birth certificate of the 1523 child pursuant to s. 382.013(2). 1524 (g) Whether a man has been determined by a court order to 1525 be the father of the child. 1526 (h) Whether a man has been determined by an administrative 1527 proceeding to be the father of the child. 1528 (2) The information required in subsection (1) may be 1529 supplied to the court or the department in the form of a sworn 1530 affidavit by a person having personal knowledge of the facts. 1531 (3) If the inquiry under subsection (1) identifies any 1532 person as a parent or prospective parent, the court shall 1533 require notice of the hearing to be provided to that person. 1534 (4) If the inquiry under subsection (1) fails to identify 1535 any person as a parent or prospective parent, the court shall so 1536 find and may proceed without further notice. 1537 (5) If the inquiry under subsection (1) identifies a parent 1538 or prospective parent, and that person’s location is unknown, 1539 the court shall direct the petitioner to conduct a diligent 1540 search for that person before scheduling an adjudicatory hearing 1541 regarding the petition for termination of parental rights to the 1542 child unless the court finds that the best interest of the child 1543 requires proceeding without actual notice to the person whose 1544 location is unknown. 1545 (6) The diligent search required by subsection (5) must 1546 include, at a minimum, inquiries of all known relatives of the 1547 parent or prospective parent, inquiries of all offices of 1548 program areas of the department likely to have information about 1549 the parent or prospective parent, inquiries of other state and 1550 federal agencies likely to have information about the parent or 1551 prospective parent, inquiries of appropriate utility and postal 1552 providers, a thorough search of at least one electronic database 1553 specifically designed for locating persons, a search of the 1554 Florida Putative Father Registry, and inquiries of appropriate 1555 law enforcement agencies. Pursuant to s. 453 of the Social 1556 Security Act, 42 U.S.C. s. 653(c)(4), the department, as the 1557 state agency administering Titles IV-B and IV-E of the act, 1558 shall be provided access to the federal and state parent locator 1559 service for diligent search activities. 1560 (7) Any agency contacted by petitioner with a request for 1561 information pursuant to subsection (6) shall release the 1562 requested information to the petitioner without the necessity of 1563 a subpoena or court order. 1564 (8) If the inquiry and diligent search identifies a 1565 prospective parent, that person must be given the opportunity to 1566 become a party to the proceedings by completing a sworn 1567 affidavit of parenthood and filing it with the court or the 1568 department. A prospective parent who files a sworn affidavit of 1569 parenthood while the child is a dependent child but no later 1570 than at the time of or beforeprior tothe adjudicatory hearing 1571 in the termination of parental rights proceeding for the child 1572 shall be considered a parent for all purposes under this 1573 section. If the prospective parent does not file a sworn 1574 affidavit of parenthood or if the other parent contests the 1575 determination of parenthood, the court may, after considering 1576 the best interests of the child, order scientific testing to 1577 determine the maternity or paternity of the child. The court 1578 shall assess the cost of the paternity determination as a cost 1579 of litigation. If the court finds the prospective parent to be a 1580 parent as a result of the scientific testing, the court shall 1581 enter a judgment of maternity or paternity, shall assess the 1582 cost of the scientific testing to the parent, and shall enter an 1583 amount of child support to be paid by the parent as determined 1584 under s. 61.30. If the known parent contests the recognition of 1585 the prospective parent as a parent, the prospective parent may 1586 not be recognized as a parent until proceedings to establish 1587 maternity or paternity have been concluded. However, the 1588 prospective parent shall continue to receive notice of hearings 1589 as a participant until proceedings to establish maternity or 1590 paternity have been concluded. 1591 (9) If the diligent search under subsection (5) fails to 1592 identify and locate a prospective parent, the court shall so 1593 find and may proceed without further notice. 1594 Section 21. Paragraph (l) of subsection (1) of section 1595 39.806, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsections (2) and 1596 (3) are republished, to read: 1597 39.806 Grounds for termination of parental rights.— 1598 (1) Grounds for the termination of parental rights may be 1599 established under any of the following circumstances: 1600 (l) On three or more occasions the child or another child 1601 of the parent or parents has been placed in out-of-home care 1602 pursuant to this chapter or the law of any state, territory, or 1603 jurisdiction of the United States which is substantially similar 1604 to this chapter, and the conditions that led to the child’s out 1605 of-home placement were caused by the parent or parents. 1606 (2) Reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify families are 1607 not required if a court of competent jurisdiction has determined 1608 that any of the events described in paragraphs (1)(b)-(d) or 1609 paragraphs (1)(f)-(m) have occurred. 1610 (3) If a petition for termination of parental rights is 1611 filed under subsection (1), a separate petition for dependency 1612 need not be filed and the department need not offer the parents 1613 a case plan having a goal of reunification, but may instead file 1614 with the court a case plan having a goal of termination of 1615 parental rights to allow continuation of services until the 1616 termination is granted or until further orders of the court are 1617 issued. 1618 Section 22. Subsection (6) of section 39.811, Florida 1619 Statutes, is amended to read: 1620 39.811 Powers of disposition; order of disposition.— 1621 (6) The parental rights of one parent may be severed 1622 without severing the parental rights of the other parent only 1623 under the following circumstances: 1624 (a) If the child has only one surviving parent; 1625 (b) If the identity of a prospective parent has been 1626 established as unknown after sworn testimony; 1627 (c) If the parent whose rights are being terminated became 1628 a parent through a single-parent adoption; 1629 (d) If the protection of the child demands termination of 1630 the rights of a single parent; or 1631 (e) If the parent whose rights are being terminated meets 1632 any of the criteria specified in s. 39.806(1)(c), (d), (f), (g), 1633 (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), or (n)and(f)-(m). 1634 Section 23. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 1635 125.901, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1636 125.901 Children’s services; independent special district; 1637 council; powers, duties, and functions; public records 1638 exemption.— 1639 (4) 1640 (b)1.a. Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the governing body 1641 of the county shall submit the question of retention or 1642 dissolution of a district with voter-approved taxing authority 1643 to the electorate in the general election according to the 1644 following schedule: 1645 (I) For a district in existence on July 1, 2010, and 1646 serving a county with a population of 400,000 or fewer persons 1647 as of that date............................................2014. 1648 (II) For a district in existence on July 1, 2010, and 1649 serving a county with a population of 2 million or more persons 1650 as of that date, unless the governing body of the county has 1651 previously submitted such question voluntarily to the electorate 1652 for a second time since 2005,..............................2020. 1653 b. A referendum by the electorate on or after July 1, 2010, 1654 creating a new district with taxing authority may specify that 1655 the district is not subject to reauthorization or may specify 1656 the number of years for which the initial authorization shall 1657 remain effective. If the referendum does not prescribe terms of 1658 reauthorization, the governing body of the county shall submit 1659 the question of retention or dissolution of the district to the 1660 electorate in the general election 12 years after the initial 1661 authorization. 1662 2. The governing body of the district may specify, and 1663 submit to the governing body of the county no later than 9 1664 months before the scheduled election, that the district is not 1665 subsequently subject to reauthorization or may specify the 1666 number of years for which a reauthorization under this paragraph 1667 shall remain effective. If the governing body of the district 1668 makes such specification and submission, the governing body of 1669 the county shall include that information in the question 1670 submitted to the electorate. If the governing body of the 1671 district does not specify and submit such information, the 1672 governing body of the county shall resubmit the question of 1673 reauthorization to the electorate every 12 years after the year 1674 prescribed in subparagraph 1. The governing body of the district 1675 may recommend to the governing body of the county language for 1676 the question submitted to the electorate. 1677 3. Nothing in this paragraph limits the authority to 1678 dissolve a district as provided under paragraph (a). 1679 4. Nothing in this paragraph precludes the governing body 1680 of a district from requesting that the governing body of the 1681 county submit the question of retention or dissolution of a 1682 district with voter-approved taxing authority to the electorate 1683 at a date earlier than the year prescribed in subparagraph 1. If 1684 the governing body of the county accepts the request and submits 1685 the question to the electorate, the governing body satisfies the 1686 requirement of that subparagraph. 1687 1688 If any district is dissolved pursuant to this subsection, each 1689 county must first obligate itself to assume the debts, 1690 liabilities, contracts, and outstanding obligations of the 1691 district within the total millage available to the county 1692 governing body for all county and municipal purposes as provided 1693 for under s. 9, Art. VII of the State Constitution. Any district 1694 may also be dissolved pursuant to part VII of chapter 189. 1695 Section 24. Subsection (9) of section 322.051, Florida 1696 Statutes, is amended to read: 1697 322.051 Identification cards.— 1698 (9)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section 1699 or s. 322.21 to the contrary, the department shall issue or 1700 renew a card at no charge to a person who presents evidence 1701 satisfactory to the department that he or she is homeless as 1702 defined in s. 414.0252(7), to a juvenile offender who is in the 1703 custody or under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile 1704 Justice and receiving services pursuant to s. 985.461, to an 1705 inmate receiving a card issued pursuant to s. 944.605(7), or, if 1706 necessary, to an inmate receiving a replacement card if the 1707 department determines that he or she has a valid state 1708 identification card. If the replacement state identification 1709 card is scheduled to expire within 6 months, the department may 1710 also issue a temporary permit valid for at least 6 months after 1711 the release date. The department’s mobile issuing units shall 1712 process the identification cards for juvenile offenders and 1713 inmates at no charge, as provided by s. 944.605 (7)(a) and (b). 1714 (b) If the person who presents evidence that he or she is a 1715 certified unaccompanied homeless youth as defined in s. 743.067, 1716 the back of the card must exhibit the following: As a certified 1717 unaccompanied homeless youth, this individual may consent to 1718 diagnosis and treatment and any forensic medical examination 1719 authorized pursuant to s. 743.067. 1720 Section 25. Paragraph (g) of subsection (4) of section 1721 395.3025, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (8) of 1722 that section is republished, to read: 1723 395.3025 Patient and personnel records; copies; 1724 examination.— 1725 (4) Patient records are confidential and must not be 1726 disclosed without the consent of the patient or his or her legal 1727 representative, but appropriate disclosure may be made without 1728 such consent to: 1729 (g) The Department of Children and Families,orits agent, 1730 or its contracted entity, for the purpose of investigations of 1731 or services for cases of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of 1732 children or vulnerable adults. 1733 (8) Patient records at hospitals and ambulatory surgical 1734 centers are exempt from disclosure under s. 119.07(1), except as 1735 provided by subsections (1)-(5). 1736 Section 26. Subsections (2) and (6) of section 402.40, 1737 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1738 402.40 Child welfare training and certification.— 1739 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 1740 (a) “Child welfare certification” means a professional 1741 credential awarded by a department-approved third-party 1742 credentialing entity to individuals demonstrating core 1743 competency in any child welfare practice area. 1744 (b) “Child welfare services” means any intake, protective 1745 investigations, preprotective services, protective services, 1746 foster care, shelter and group care, and adoption and related 1747 services program, including supportive services and supervision 1748 provided to children who are alleged to have been abused, 1749 abandoned, or neglected or who are at risk of becoming, are 1750 alleged to be, or have been found dependent pursuant to chapter 1751 39. 1752 (c) “Child welfare trainer” means any person providing 1753 training for the purposes of child welfare professionals earning 1754 certification. 1755 (d)(c)“Core competency” means the minimum knowledge, 1756 skills, and abilities necessary to carry out work 1757 responsibilities. 1758 (e)(d)“Person providing child welfare services” means a 1759 person who has a responsibility for supervisory, direct care, or 1760 support-related work in the provision of child welfare services 1761 pursuant to chapter 39. 1762 (f)(e)“Preservice curriculum” means the minimum statewide 1763 training content based upon the core competencies which is made 1764 available to all persons providing child welfare services. 1765 (g)(f)“Third-party credentialing entity” means a 1766 department-approved nonprofit organization that has met 1767 nationally recognized standards for developing and administering 1768 professional certification programs. 1769 (6) ADOPTION OF RULES.—The Department of Children and 1770 Families shall adopt rules necessary to carry outthe provisions1771ofthis section, including the requirements for child welfare 1772 trainers. 1773 Section 27. Effective January 1, 2018, section 409.16741, 1774 Florida Statutes, is created to read: 1775 409.16741 Substance-exposed newborns; legislative findings 1776 and intent; screening and assessment; case management; 1777 training.— 1778 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.– 1779 (a) The Legislature finds that children, their families, 1780 and child welfare agencies have been affected by multiple 1781 substance abuse epidemics over the past several decades, and 1782 parental substance abuse is again becoming a growing reason for 1783 removing children from their homes and placing them in foster 1784 care. 1785 (b) The Legislature also finds that infants are the largest 1786 age group of children entering foster care and that parental 1787 substance abuse disorders are having a major impact not only on 1788 increasing child removals, but also on preventing or delaying 1789 reunification of families and increasing termination of parental 1790 rights. 1791 (c) The Legislature further finds that two aspects of 1792 parental substance abuse affect the child welfare system: 1793 prenatal exposure when it is determined that there are immediate 1794 safety factors that necessitate the newborn being placed in 1795 protective custody; and postnatal use that affects the ability 1796 of the parent to safely care for the child. 1797 (d) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that the 1798 department establish and monitor a coordinated approach to 1799 working with children and their families affected by substance 1800 abuse and dependence. 1801 (2) SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT.—The department shall develop 1802 or adopt one or more initial screening and assessment 1803 instruments to identify, determine the needs of, and plan 1804 services for substance-exposed newborns and their families. In 1805 addition to the conditions of the infant, conditions or 1806 behaviors of the mother or father which may indicate a risk of 1807 harm to the child shall be considered during any assessment. 1808 (3) CASE MANAGEMENT.— 1809 (a) The department shall conduct regular multidisciplinary 1810 staffings relating to services provided for substance-exposed 1811 newborns and their families to ensure that all parties possess 1812 relevant information and that services are coordinated across 1813 systems identified in this chapter. The department or community 1814 based care lead agency, as appropriate, shall coordinate these 1815 staffings and include individuals involved in the child’s care. 1816 (b) Each region of the department and each community-based 1817 care lead agency shall jointly assess local service capacity to 1818 meet the specialized service needs of substance-exposed newborns 1819 and their families and establish a plan to develop the necessary 1820 capacity. Each plan shall be developed in consultation with 1821 entities and agencies involved in the individuals’ care. 1822 (4) TRAINING.—The department and community-based care lead 1823 agencies shall ensure that cases in which there is a substance 1824 exposed newborn are assigned to child protective investigators 1825 and case managers who have specialized training in working with 1826 substance-exposed newborns and their families. The department 1827 and lead agencies shall ensure that child protective 1828 investigators and case managers receive this training before 1829 accepting a case when possible. If a child protective 1830 investigator or case manager with specialized training is not 1831 available, the investigator or case manager shall consult with 1832 department staff or the case management organization staff with 1833 such expertise. 1834 Section 28. Section 409.16742, Florida Statutes, is created 1835 to read: 1836 409.16742 Shared family care residential services program 1837 for substance-exposed newborns.— 1838 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The Legislature finds 1839 that there is evidence that, with appropriate support and 1840 training, some families can remain safely together without court 1841 involvement or traumatic separations. Therefore, it is the 1842 intent of the Legislature that alternative types of placement 1843 options be available which provide both safety for substance 1844 exposed newborns and an opportunity for parents recovering from 1845 substance abuse disorders to achieve independence while living 1846 together in a protective, nurturing family environment. 1847 (2) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The department shall 1848 establish a shared family care residential services program in 1849 the Fourth Judicial Circuit to serve substance-exposed newborns 1850 and their families through a contract with the designated lead 1851 agency established in accordance with s. 409.987 or with a 1852 private entity capable of providing residential care that 1853 satisfies the requirements of this section. The private entity 1854 or lead agency is responsible for all programmatic functions 1855 necessary to carry out the intent of this section. As used in 1856 this section, the term “shared family care” means out-of-home 1857 care in which an entire family in need is temporarily placed in 1858 the home of a family who is trained to mentor and support the 1859 biological parents as they develop caring skills and supports 1860 necessary for independent living. 1861 (3) SERVICES.—The department shall specify services that 1862 should be made available to newborns and their families through 1863 the pilot program. 1864 Section 29. Section 409.992, Florida Statutes, is amended 1865 to read: 1866 409.992 Lead agency expenditures.— 1867 (1) The procurement of commodities or contractual services 1868 by lead agencies shall be governed by the financial guidelines 1869 developed by the department and must comply with applicable 1870 state and federal law and follow good business practices. 1871 Pursuant to s. 11.45, the Auditor General may provide technical 1872 advice in the development of the financial guidelines. 1873 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 1874 community-based care lead agency may make expenditures for staff 1875 cellular telephone allowances, contracts requiring deferred 1876 payments and maintenance agreements, security deposits for 1877 office leases, related agency professional membership dues other 1878 than personal professional membership dues, promotional 1879 materials, and grant writing services. Expenditures for food and 1880 refreshments, other than those provided to clients in the care 1881 of the agency or to foster parents, adoptive parents, and 1882 caseworkers during training sessions, are not allowable. 1883 (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 1884 community-based care lead agency administrative employee may not 1885 receive a salary, whether base pay or base pay combined with any 1886 bonus or incentive payments, in excess of the salary paid to the 1887 secretary of the Department of Children and Families from state 1888 appropriated funds, including state-appropriated federal funds. 1889 This subsection does not prohibit any party from providing cash 1890 that is not from appropriated state funds to a community-based 1891 care lead agency administrative employee. 1892 (4)(3)A lead community-based care agency and its 1893 subcontractors are exempt from state travel policies as provided 1894 in s. 112.061(3)(a) for their travel expenses incurred in order 1895 to comply with the requirements of this section. 1896 Section 30. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 1897 456.057, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1898 456.057 Ownership and control of patient records; report or 1899 copies of records to be furnished; disclosure of information.— 1900 (7)(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section and in 1901 s. 440.13(4)(c), such records may not be furnished to, and the 1902 medical condition of a patient may not be discussed with, any 1903 person other than the patient, the patient’s legal 1904 representative, or other health care practitioners and providers 1905 involved in the patient’s care or treatment, except upon written 1906 authorization from the patient. However, such records may be 1907 furnished without written authorization under the following 1908 circumstances: 1909 1. To any person, firm, or corporation that has procured or 1910 furnished such care or treatment with the patient’s consent. 1911 2. When compulsory physical examination is made pursuant to 1912 Rule 1.360, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, in which case 1913 copies of the medical records shall be furnished to both the 1914 defendant and the plaintiff. 1915 3. In any civil or criminal action, unless otherwise 1916 prohibited by law, upon the issuance of a subpoena from a court 1917 of competent jurisdiction and proper notice to the patient or 1918 the patient’s legal representative by the party seeking such 1919 records. 1920 4. For statistical and scientific research, provided the 1921 information is abstracted in such a way as to protect the 1922 identity of the patient or provided written permission is 1923 received from the patient or the patient’s legal representative. 1924 5. To a regional poison control center for purposes of 1925 treating a poison episode under evaluation, case management of 1926 poison cases, or compliance with data collection and reporting 1927 requirements of s. 395.1027 and the professional organization 1928 that certifies poison control centers in accordance with federal 1929 law. 1930 6. To the Department of Children and Families, its agent, 1931 or its contracted entity, for the purpose of investigations of 1932 or services for cases of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of 1933 children or vulnerable adults. 1934 Section 31. Section 409.141, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 1935 Section 32. Section 409.1677, Florida Statutes, is 1936 repealed. 1937 Section 33. Section 743.067, Florida Statutes, is amended 1938 to read: 1939 743.067 Certified unaccompanied homeless youths.— 1940 (1) For purposes of this section, the term “certifiedan1941“unaccompanied homeless youth” means a minor who is a homeless 1942 child or youth, including an unaccompanied youth, as those terms 1943 are defined in 42 U.S.C. s. 11434a., who has been certified as a 1944 unaccompanied homeless youth byis an individual who is 16 years1945of age or older and is: 1946 (a) A school district homeless liaison; 1947(a) Found by a school district’s liaison for homeless1948children and youths to be an unaccompanied homeless youth1949eligible for services pursuant to the McKinney-Vento Homeless1950Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11431-11435; or1951(b) Believed to qualify as an unaccompanied homeless youth,1952as that term is defined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless1953Assistance Act, by:1954 (b)1.The director of an emergency shelter program funded 1955 by the United States Department of Housing and Urban 1956 Development, or the director’s designee; 1957 (c)2.The director of a runaway or homeless youth basic 1958 center or transitional living program funded by the United 1959 States Department of Health and Human Services, or the 1960 director’s designee; or 1961 (d) A Continuum of Care Lead Agency, or its designee. 19623. A clinical social worker licensed under chapter 491; or19634. A circuit court.1964 (2)(a) The Office on Homelessness within the Department of 1965 Children and Families shall develop a standardized form that 1966 must be used by the entities specified in subsection (1) to 1967 certify qualifying unaccompanied homeless youth. The form must 1968 include the circumstances that qualify the youth; the date the 1969 youth was certified; the name, title, and signature of the 1970 certifying individual; and a citation to this section.A minor1971who qualifies as an unaccompanied homeless youth shall be issued1972a written certificate documenting his or her status by the1973appropriate individual as provided in subsection (1). The1974certificate shall be issued on the official letterhead1975stationery of the person making the determination and shall1976include the date of the finding, a citation to this section, and1977the signature of the individual making the finding.1978 (b) A certified unaccompanied homeless youth may use the 1979 completed form to apply at no charge for an identification card 1980 issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 1981 pursuant to s. 322.051(9). 1982 (c) A health care provider may accept the written 1983 certificate or identification card as proof of the minor’s 1984 status as a certifiedanunaccompanied homeless youth and may 1985 keep a copy of the certificate or identification card in the 1986 youth’s medical file. 1987 (3) A certifiedanunaccompanied homeless youth may: 1988 (a) Petition the circuit court to have the disabilities of 1989 nonage removed under s. 743.015. The youth shall qualify as a 1990 person not required to prepay costs and fees as provided in s. 1991 57.081. The court shall advance the cause on the calendar. 1992 (b) Notwithstanding s. 394.4625(1), consent to medical, 1993 dental, psychological, substance abuse, and surgical diagnosis 1994 and treatment, including preventative care and care by a 1995 facility licensed under chapter 394, chapter 395, or chapter 397 1996 and any forensic medical examination for the purpose of 1997 investigating any felony offense under chapter 784, chapter 787, 1998 chapter 794, chapter 800, or chapter 827, for: 1999 1. Himself or herself; or 2000 2. His or her child, if the certified unaccompanied 2001 homeless youth is unmarried, is the parent of the child, and has 2002 actual custody of the child. 2003 (4) This section does not affect the requirements of s. 2004 390.01114. 2005 Section 34. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section 2006 1009.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2007 1009.25 Fee exemptions.— 2008 (1) The following students are exempt from the payment of 2009 tuition and fees, including lab fees, at a school district that 2010 provides workforce education programs, Florida College System 2011 institution, or state university: 2012 (f) A student who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate 2013 nighttime residence or whose primary nighttime residence is a 2014 public or private shelter designed to provide temporary 2015 residence, a public or private transitional living programfor2016individuals intended to be institutionalized, or a public or 2017 private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular 2018 sleeping accommodation for human beings. This includes a student 2019 who, if it were not for the availability of college or 2020 university dormitory housing, would be homeless. 2021 Section 35. Subsection (1) of section 39.524, Florida 2022 Statutes, is amended to read: 2023 39.524 Safe-harbor placement.— 2024 (1) Except as provided in s. 39.407 or s. 985.801, a 2025 dependent child 6 years of age or older who has been found to be 2026 a victim of sexual exploitation as defined in s. 39.01s.202739.01(70)(g)must be assessed for placement in a safe house or 2028 safe foster home as provided in s. 409.1678 using the initial 2029 screening and assessment instruments provided in s. 409.1754(1). 2030 If such placement is determined to be appropriate for the child 2031 as a result of this assessment, the child may be placed in a 2032 safe house or safe foster home, if one is available. However, 2033 the child may be placed in another setting, if the other setting 2034 is more appropriate to the child’s needs or if a safe house or 2035 safe foster home is unavailable, as long as the child’s 2036 behaviors are managed so as not to endanger other children 2037 served in that setting. 2038 Section 36. Paragraph (p) of subsection (4) of section 2039 394.495, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2040 394.495 Child and adolescent mental health system of care; 2041 programs and services.— 2042 (4) The array of services may include, but is not limited 2043 to: 2044 (p) Trauma-informed services for children who have suffered 2045 sexual exploitation as defined in s. 39.01s. 39.01(70)(g). 2046 Section 37. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) and paragraphs 2047 (a) and (b) of subsection (6) of section 409.1678, Florida 2048 Statutes, are amended to read: 2049 409.1678 Specialized residential options for children who 2050 are victims of sexual exploitation.— 2051 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 2052 (c) “Sexually exploited child” means a child who has 2053 suffered sexual exploitation as defined in s. 39.01s.205439.01(70)(g)and is ineligible for relief and benefits under the 2055 federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act, 22 U.S.C. ss. 7101 2056 et seq. 2057 (6) LOCATION INFORMATION.— 2058 (a) Information about the location of a safe house, safe 2059 foster home, or other residential facility serving victims of 2060 sexual exploitation, as defined in s. 39.01s. 39.01(70)(g), 2061 which is held by an agency, as defined in s. 119.011, is 2062 confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I 2063 of the State Constitution. This exemption applies to such 2064 confidential and exempt information held by an agency before, 2065 on, or after the effective date of the exemption. 2066 (b) Information about the location of a safe house, safe 2067 foster home, or other residential facility serving victims of 2068 sexual exploitation, as defined in s. 39.01s. 39.01(70)(g), may 2069 be provided to an agency, as defined in s. 119.011, as necessary 2070 to maintain health and safety standards and to address emergency 2071 situations in the safe house, safe foster home, or other 2072 residential facility. 2073 Section 38. Subsection (5) of section 960.065, Florida 2074 Statutes, is amended to read: 2075 960.065 Eligibility for awards.— 2076 (5) A person is not ineligible for an award pursuant to 2077 paragraph (2)(a), paragraph (2)(b), or paragraph (2)(c) if that 2078 person is a victim of sexual exploitation of a child as defined 2079 in s. 39.01s. 39.01(70)(g). 2080 Section 39. Section 409.1679, Florida Statutes, is amended 2081 to read: 2082 409.1679 Additional requirements; reimbursement 2083 methodology.— 2084 (1) Each program established under s. 409.1676ss. 409.16762085and 409.1677must meet the following expectations, which must be 2086 included in its contracts with the department or lead agency: 2087 (a) No more than 10 percent of the children served may move 2088 from one living environment to another, unless the child is 2089 returned to family members or is moved, in accordance with the 2090 treatment plan, to a less-restrictive setting. Each child must 2091 have a comprehensive transitional plan that identifies the 2092 child’s living arrangement upon leaving the program and specific 2093 steps and services that are being provided to prepare for that 2094 arrangement. Specific expectations as to the time period 2095 necessary for the achievement of these permanency goals must be 2096 included in the contract. 2097 (b) Each child must receive a full academic year of 2098 appropriate educational instruction. No more than 10 percent of 2099 the children may be in more than one academic setting in an 2100 academic year, unless the child is being moved, in accordance 2101 with an educational plan, to a less-restrictive setting. Each 2102 child must demonstrate academic progress and must be performing 2103 at grade level or at a level commensurate with a valid academic 2104 assessment. 2105 (c) Siblings must be kept together in the same living 2106 environment 100 percent of the time, unless that is determined 2107 by the provider not to be in the children’s best interest. When 2108 siblings are separated in placement, the decision must be 2109 reviewed and approved by the court within 30 days. 2110 (d) The program must experience a caregiver turnover rate 2111 and an incidence of child runaway episodes which are at least 50 2112 percent below the rates experienced in the rest of the state. 2113 (e) In addition to providing a comprehensive assessment, 2114 the program must provide, 100 percent of the time, any or all of 2115 the following services that are indicated through the 2116 assessment: residential care; transportation; behavioral health 2117 services; recreational activities; clothing, supplies, and 2118 miscellaneous expenses associated with caring for these 2119 children; necessary arrangements for or provision of educational 2120 services; and necessary and appropriate health and dental care. 2121 (f) The children who are served in this program must be 2122 satisfied with the services and living environment. 2123 (g) The caregivers must be satisfied with the program. 2124 (2)Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 409.141,The 2125 Department of Children and Families shall fairly and reasonably 2126 reimburse the programs established under s. 409.1676ss.2127409.1676 and 409.1677based on a prospective per diem rate, 2128 which must be specified annually in the General Appropriations 2129 Act. Funding for these programs shall be made available from 2130 resources appropriated and identified in the General 2131 Appropriations Act. 2132 Section 40. Subsection (11) of section 1002.3305, Florida 2133 Statutes, is amended to read: 2134 1002.3305 College-Preparatory Boarding Academy Pilot 2135 Program for at-risk students.— 2136 (11) STUDENT HOUSING.—Notwithstanding s. 409.176ss.2137409.1677(3)(d) and 409.176or any other provision of law, an 2138 operator may house and educate dependent, at-risk youth in its 2139 residential school for the purpose of facilitating the mission 2140 of the program and encouraging innovative practices. 2141 Section 41. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 2142 made by this act to section 456.057, Florida Statutes, in a 2143 reference thereto, subsection (2) of section 483.181, Florida 2144 Statutes, is reenacted to read: 2145 483.181 Acceptance, collection, identification, and 2146 examination of specimens.— 2147 (2) The results of a test must be reported directly to the 2148 licensed practitioner or other authorized person who requested 2149 it, and appropriate disclosure may be made by the clinical 2150 laboratory without a patient’s consent to other health care 2151 practitioners and providers involved in the care or treatment of 2152 the patient as specified in s. 456.057(7)(a). The report must 2153 include the name and address of the clinical laboratory in which 2154 the test was actually performed, unless the test was performed 2155 in a hospital laboratory and the report becomes an integral part 2156 of the hospital record. 2157 Section 42. The sum of $250,000 from nonrecurring general 2158 revenue is appropriated to the Department of Children and 2159 Families for state fiscal year 2017-2018 for the purposes of 2160 implementing a shared family care residential services pilot 2161 program in the Fourth Judicial Circuit to serve substance 2162 exposed newborns and their families pursuant to s. 409.16742. 2163 Section 43. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 2164 act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2017.