Bill Text: FL S1258 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Foster Care
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-28 - Withdrawn from further consideration [S1258 Detail]
Download: Florida-2014-S1258-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2014 SB 1258 By Senator Garcia 38-00772-14 20141258__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to foster care; amending s. 409.145, 3 F.S.; providing additional caregiver responsibilities; 4 requiring background screening and drug testing of 5 potential and current caregivers; providing additional 6 criteria under which a child may be removed from a 7 foster home; authorizing the Department of Children 8 and Families to withhold financial assistance under 9 certain circumstances; amending s. 409.1753, F.S.; 10 providing additional duties of the department with 11 respect to children in foster care; providing 12 requirements governing caseworkers and child 13 protective investigators; providing responsibilities 14 of the department’s regional managing directors and 15 the state foster care program manager for monitoring 16 compliance with the act; providing an effective date. 17 18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19 20 Section 1. Paragraphs (a) through (c) of subsection (2) of 21 section 409.145, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 22 409.145 Care of children; quality parenting; “reasonable 23 and prudent parent” standard.—The child welfare system of the 24 department shall operate as a coordinated community-based system 25 of care which empowers all caregivers for children in foster 26 care to provide quality parenting, including approving or 27 disapproving a child’s participation in activities based on the 28 caregiver’s assessment using the “reasonable and prudent parent” 29 standard. 30 (2) QUALITY PARENTING.—A child in foster care shall be 31 placed only with a caregiver who has the ability to care for the 32 child, is willing to accept responsibility for providing care, 33 and is willing and able to learn about and be respectful of the 34 child’s culture, religion and ethnicity, special physical or 35 psychological needs, any circumstances unique to the child, and 36 family relationships. The department, the community-based care 37 lead agency, and other agencies shall provide such caregiver 38 with all available information necessary to assist the caregiver 39 in determining whether he or she is able to appropriately care 40 for a particular child. 41 (a) Roles and responsibilities of caregivers.—A caregiver 42 shall: 43 1. Participate in developing the case plan for the child 44 and his or her family and work with others involved in his or 45 her care to implement this plan. This participation includes the 46 caregiver’s involvement in all team meetings or court hearings 47 related to the child’s care. 48 2. Complete all training needed to improve skills in 49 parenting a child who has experienced trauma due to neglect, 50 abuse, or separation from home, to meet the child’s special 51 needs, and to work effectively with child welfare agencies, the 52 court, the schools, and other community and governmental 53 agencies. 54 3. Respect and support the child’s ties to members of his 55 or her biological family and assist the child in maintaining 56 allowable visitation and other forms of communication. 57 4. Effectively advocate for the child in the caregiver’s 58 care with the child welfare system, the court, and community 59 agencies, including the school, child care, health and mental 60 health providers, and employers. 61 5. Participate fully in the child’s medical, psychological, 62 and dental care as the caregiver would for his or her biological 63 child. 64 6. Support the child’s school success by participating in 65 school activities and meetings, including Individual Education 66 Plan meetings, assisting with school assignments, supporting 67 tutoring programs, meeting with teachers and working with an 68 educational surrogate if one has been appointed, and encouraging 69 the child’s participation in extracurricular activities. 70 7. Work in partnership with other stakeholders to obtain 71 and maintain records that are important to the child’s well 72 being, including child resource records, medical records, school 73 records, photographs, and records of special events and 74 achievements. 75 8. Ensure that the child in the caregiver’s care who is 76 between 13 and 17 years of age learns and masters independent 77 living skills. 78 9. Ensure that the child in the caregiver’s care is aware 79 of the requirements and benefits of the Road-to-Independence 80 Program. 81 10. Work to enable the child in the caregiver’s care to 82 establish and maintain naturally occurring mentoring 83 relationships. 84 11. Accompany the child to the department’s local child 85 protective investigator office for an annual private interview 86 with a child protective investigator. The caregiver shall be 87 interviewed separately from the child. If the investigator 88 detects signs of abuse or neglect, the child may be removed from 89 the foster home and taken into the custody of the department as 90 provided in s. 39.401. 91 (b) Roles and responsibilities of the department, the 92 community-based care lead agency, and other agency staff.—The 93 department, the community-based care lead agency, and other 94 agency staff shall: 95 1. Include a caregiver in the development and 96 implementation of the case plan for the child and his or her 97 family. The caregiver shall be authorized to participate in all 98 team meetings or court hearings related to the child’s care and 99 future plans. The caregiver’s participation shall be facilitated 100 through timely notification, an inclusive process, and 101 alternative methods for participation for a caregiver who cannot 102 be physically present. 103 2. Develop and make available to the caregiver the 104 information, services, training, and support that the caregiver 105 needs to improve his or her skills in parenting children who 106 have experienced trauma due to neglect, abuse, or separation 107 from home, to meet these children’s special needs, and to 108 advocate effectively with child welfare agencies, the courts, 109 schools, and other community and governmental agencies. 110 3. Provide the caregiver with all information related to 111 services and other benefits that are available to the child. 112 4. Require the caregiver to undergo level 2 background 113 screening pursuant to chapter 435 and a drug test before a child 114 may be placed with the caregiver. The caregiver shall undergo 115 the screening and drug test annually after the child is placed 116 with the caregiver. A person who tests positive for a controlled 117 substance as a result of a drug test required under this 118 subparagraph is ineligible to participate in the foster care 119 system. If the caregiver tests positive for a controlled 120 substance as a result of a drug test required under this 121 subparagraph, the child may be removed from the foster home and 122 taken into the custody of the department as provided in s. 123 39.401. 124 (c) Transitions.— 125 1. Once a caregiver accepts the responsibility of caring 126 for a child, the child will be removed from the home of that 127 caregiver only if: 128 a. The caregiver is clearly unable to safely or legally 129 care for the child; 130 b. The child and his or her biological family are 131 reunified; 132 c. The child is being placed in a legally permanent home 133 pursuant to the case plan or a court order;or134 d. The caregiver does not comply with the requirements of 135 subparagraph (a)11., in which case the department may withhold 136 financial assistance until compliance is verified; or 137 e.d.The removal is demonstrably in the child’s best 138 interest. 139 2. In the absence of an emergency, if a child leaves the 140 caregiver’s home for a reason provided under subparagraph 1., 141 the transition must be accomplished according to a plan that 142 involves cooperation and sharing of information among all 143 persons involved, respects the child’s developmental stage and 144 psychological needs, ensures the child has all of his or her 145 belongings, allows for a gradual transition from the caregiver’s 146 home and, if possible, for continued contact with the caregiver 147 after the child leaves. 148 Section 2. Section 409.1753, Florida Statutes, is amended 149 to read: 150 409.1753 Foster care; duties.—The department shall ensure 151 that, within each district:,152 (1) Each foster home is given a telephone number for the 153 foster parent to call during normal working hours whenever 154 immediate assistance is needed and the child’s caseworker is 155 unavailable. This number must be staffed and answered by 156 individuals possessing the knowledge and authority necessary to 157 assist foster parents. 158 (2) A caseworker shall conduct a monthly unannounced visit 159 to the foster home. 160 (3) A caseworker may not be assigned more than 15 cases per 161 month. For each case assigned to a caseworker, the caseworker 162 shall contact administrators and staff of the child’s school to 163 verify the safety of the learning environment. 164 (4) If the caseworker responsible for the child for whom a 165 report is submitted pursuant to s. 39.201 does not proceed with 166 a full investigation within 5 working days, the caseworker shall 167 be suspended for 1 week without pay. If another violation is 168 reported, the caseworker shall be evaluated for possible 169 demotion or termination. 170 Section 3. The regional managing director of each region of 171 the Department of Children and Families shall monitor the 172 circuits comprising the director’s region and review each 173 circuit’s caseload, policies, and procedures for compliance with 174 ss. 409.145 and 409.1753, Florida Statutes, as amended by this 175 act, and report his or her findings to the state foster care 176 program manager of the department’s Child Welfare Program. If 177 the state foster care program manager determines that a circuit 178 is not in compliance, a written warning shall be issued to the 179 regional managing director for the circuit. After three 180 warnings, the state foster care program manager shall conduct an 181 annual evaluation of that circuit until compliance is verified. 182 Caseworkers and other employees of the department shall be 183 monitored to ensure that foster care families and the children 184 under their supervision have appropriate care and guidance while 185 in the state foster care system. The state foster care program 186 manager may impose sanctions for noncompliance with the 187 requirements of ss. 409.145 and 409.1753, Florida Statutes, as 188 amended by this act. 189 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.