CS/HB 597

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to homelessness; creating s. 414.161,
3	F.S.; establishing a homelessness prevention grant
4	program; requiring grant applicants to be ranked
5	competitively; providing preference for certain grant
6	applicants; providing eligibility requirements; providing
7	grant limitations and restrictions; requiring lead
8	agencies for local homeless assistance continuum of care
9	to track, monitor, and report on assisted families for a
10	specified period of time; amending s. 420.507, F.S.;
11	conforming a cross-reference; amending s. 420.621, F.S.;
12	conforming a cross-reference; revising, providing, and
13	deleting definitions; amending s. 420.622, F.S.;
14	increasing and revising membership on the Council on
15	Homelessness; removing a member from an obsolete
16	organization; correcting the name of a member organization
17	on the council; revising the date of an annual report;
18	amending s. 420.625, F.S.; deleting a cross-reference to
19	conform; creating s. 420.6275, F.S.; creating the Housing
20	First program; providing legislative findings and intent;
21	requiring the State Office on Homelessness to create
22	specified procedures; providing methodology; providing
23	components of the program; creating s. 420.628, F.S.;
24	providing legislative findings and intent with respect to
25	children and young adults leaving the child welfare
26	system; amending s. 1003.01, F.S.; revising a definition;
27	amending s. 1003.21, F.S.; conforming terminology;
28	providing a school attendance exemption for certain
29	children in foster care; amending s. 1003.22, F.S.;
30	conforming terminology; providing a school certification
31	of a school-entry health examination exemption for certain
32	children in foster care; repealing s. 414.16, F.S.,
33	relating to the emergency assistance program for families
34	with children that have lost shelter or face loss of
35	shelter due to an emergency; providing an effective date.
36
37	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
38
39	Section 1.  Section 414.161, Florida Statutes, is created
40	to read:
41	414.161  Homelessness prevention grants.--
42	(1)  ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.--There is hereby created a
43	grant program to provide emergency financial assistance to
44	families facing the loss of their current home due to a
45	financial or other crisis. The State Office on Homelessness,
46	with the concurrence of the Council on Homelessness, may accept
47	and administer moneys appropriated to it to provide homelessness
48	prevention grants annually to lead agencies for local homeless
49	assistance continuum of care, as recognized by the State Office
50	on Homelessness. These moneys shall consist of any sums that the
51	state may appropriate, as well as money received from donations,
52	gifts, bequests, or otherwise from any public or private source
53	that is intended to assist families to prevent them from
54	becoming homeless.
55	(2)  GRANT APPLICATIONS.--Grant applicants shall be ranked
56	competitively. Preference shall be given to applicants who
57	leverage additional private funds and public funds, who
58	demonstrate the effectiveness of their homelessness prevention
59	programs in keeping families housed, and who demonstrate the
60	commitment of other assistance and services to address the
61	family's health, employment, and education needs.
62	(3)  ELIGIBILITY.--In order to qualify for a grant, a lead
63	agency must develop and implement a local homeless assistance
64	continuum of care plan for its designated catchment area. The
65	homelessness prevention program must be included in the
66	continuum of care plan.
67	(4)  GRANT LIMITS.--The maximum grant amount per lead
68	agency may not exceed $300,000. The grant assistance may be used
69	to pay past due rent or mortgage payments, past due utility
70	costs, other past due bills creating the family's financial
71	crisis, provision of case management services, and program
72	administration costs not to exceed 3 percent of the grant award.
73	The homelessness prevention program must develop a case plan for
74	each family to be assisted setting forth which costs will be
75	covered and the maximum level of assistance to be offered.
76	(5)  PERFORMANCE.--The lead agency shall be required to
77	track, monitor, and report on the families assisted for at least
78	12 months after the last assistance provided to the family. The
79	goal for the homelessness prevention program shall be to enable
80	at least 85 percent of the families assisted to remain in their
81	home and avoid becoming homeless during the ensuing year.
82	Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (22) of section
83	420.507, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
84	420.507  Powers of the corporation.--The corporation shall
85	have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and
86	effectuate the purposes and provisions of this part, including
87	the following powers which are in addition to all other powers
88	granted by other provisions of this part:
89	(22)  To develop and administer the State Apartment
90	Incentive Loan Program. In developing and administering that
91	program, the corporation may:
92	(a)  Make first, second, and other subordinated mortgage
93	loans including variable or fixed rate loans subject to
94	contingent interest for all State Apartment Incentive Loans
95	provided for in this chapter based upon available cash flow of
96	the projects. The corporation shall make loans exceeding 25
97	percent of project cost available only to nonprofit
98	organizations and public bodies which are able to secure grants,
99	donations of land, or contributions from other sources and to
100	projects meeting the criteria of subparagraph 1. Mortgage loans
101	shall be made available at the following rates of interest:
102	1.  Zero to 3 percent interest for sponsors of projects
103	that set aside at least 80 percent of their total units for
104	residents qualifying as farmworkers as defined in this part, or
105	commercial fishing workers as defined in this part, or the
106	homeless as defined in s. 420.621(6)(4) over the life of the
107	loan.
108	2.  Zero to 3 percent interest based on the pro rata share
109	of units set aside for homeless residents if the total of such
110	units is less than 80 percent of the units in the borrower's
111	project.
112	3.  One to 9 percent interest for sponsors of projects
113	targeted at populations other than farmworkers, commercial
114	fishing workers, and the homeless.
115	Section 3.  Section 420.621, Florida Statutes, is amended
116	to read:
117	420.621  Definitions; ss. 420.621-420.628 420.621-
118	420.627.--As used in ss. 420.621-420.628 420.621-420.627, the
119	term following terms shall have the following meanings, unless
120	the context otherwise requires:
121	(1)  "Children and youths who are experiencing
122	homelessness," for programs authorized under the federal
123	Education for Homeless Children and Youths program, Subtitle B
124	of Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42
125	U.S.C. ss. 11431 et seq., means children and youths who lack a
126	fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and includes:
127	(a)  Children and youths who are sharing the housing of
128	other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a
129	similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, travel trailer
130	parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative
131	adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional
132	shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster
133	care placement.
134	(b)  Children and youths who have a primary nighttime
135	residence that is a public or private place not designed for or
136	ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
137	beings.
138	(c)  Children and youths who are living in cars, parks,
139	public spaces, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, or
140	similar settings.
141	(d)  Migratory children who are living in circumstances
142	described in paragraphs (a)-(c).
143	(2)  "Continuum of care" means a community plan to organize
144	and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of
145	people who are homeless as they move to stable housing and
146	maximum self-sufficiency. It includes action steps to end
147	homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness.
148	(3)  "Council on Homelessness" means the council created in
149	s. 420.622.
150	(1)  "AFDC" means Aid to Families with Dependent Children
151	as administered under chapter 409.
152	(4)(2)  "Department" means the Department of Children and
153	Family Services.
154	(5)(3)  "District" means a service district of the
155	department of Children and Family Services, as set forth in s.
156	20.19.
157	(6)(4)  "Homeless," applied to an individual, or
158	"individual experiencing homelessness" means "Homeless" refers
159	to an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
160	nighttime residence and includes or an individual who has a
161	primary nighttime residence that is:
162	(a)  Is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of
163	housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
164	(b)  Is living in a motel, hotel, travel trailer park, or
165	camping ground due to a lack of alternative adequate
166	accommodations;
167	(c)  Is living in an emergency or transitional shelter; A
168	supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to
169	provide temporary living accommodations, including welfare
170	hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the
171	mentally ill;
172	(b)  An institution that provides a temporary residence for
173	individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
174	(d)(c)  Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public
175	or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a
176	regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
177	(e)  Is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned
178	building, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
179	(f)  Is a migratory individual who qualifies as homeless
180	because he or she is living in circumstances described in
181	paragraphs (a)-(e).
182
183	The terms defined in this subsection do term does not refer to
184	any individual imprisoned or otherwise detained pursuant to
185	state or federal law. The terms also do not include individuals
186	or families who are sharing housing due to cultural preferences,
187	voluntary arrangements, and traditional networks of support. The
188	terms include an individual who has been released from jail,
189	prison, the juvenile justice system, the child welfare system, a
190	mental health and developmental disability facility, a
191	residential addiction treatment program, or a hospital, for whom
192	no subsequent residence has been identified, and who lacks the
193	resources and support network to obtain housing.
194	(7)(5)  "Local coalition for the homeless" means a
195	coalition established pursuant to s. 420.623.
196	(8)(6)  "New and temporary homeless" means those
197	individuals or families who are homeless due to societal
198	external factors, such as unemployment or other loss of income,
199	personal or family-life crises, or the shortage of low-income
200	housing.
201	(9)  "Societal causes of homelessness" means factors such
202	as lack of housing for individuals and families with low
203	incomes, lack of employment opportunities for those with a high
204	school education or less, and lack of day care, transportation,
205	and other institutional supports.
206	(10)(7)  "State Office on Homelessness" means the state
207	office created in s. 420.622 "Secretary" means the secretary of
208	the Department of Children and Family Services.
209	Section 4.  Subsections (2) and (9) of section 420.622,
210	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
211	420.622  State Office on Homelessness; Council on
212	Homelessness.--
213	(2)  The Council on Homelessness is created to consist of a
214	17-member 15-member council of public and private agency
215	representatives who shall develop policy and advise the State
216	Office on Homelessness. The council members shall be: the
217	Secretary of Children and Family Services, or his or her
218	designee; the Secretary of Community Affairs, or his or her
219	designee; the State Surgeon General, or his or her designee; the
220	Executive Director of Veterans' Affairs, or his or her designee;
221	the Secretary of Corrections, or his or her designee; the
222	Secretary of Health Care Administration, or his or her designee;
223	the Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee; the
224	Director of Workforce Florida, Inc., or his or her designee; one
225	representative of the Florida Association of Counties; one
226	representative from the Florida League of Cities; one
227	representative of the Florida Coalition for Supportive Housing
228	Coalition; the Executive Director of the Florida Housing Finance
229	Corporation, or his or her designee; one representative of the
230	Florida Coalition for the Homeless; one representative of the
231	Florida State Rural Development Council; and four members
232	appointed by the Governor. The council members shall be
233	volunteer, nonpaid persons and shall be reimbursed for travel
234	expenses only. The appointed members of the council shall serve
235	staggered 2-year terms, and the council shall meet at least four
236	times per year. The importance of minority, gender, and
237	geographic representation must be considered when appointing
238	members to the council.
239	(9)  The council shall, by June 30 December 31 of each
240	year, beginning in 2010, issue to the Governor, the President of
241	the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
242	Secretary of Children and Family Services an evaluation of the
243	executive director's performance in fulfilling the statutory
244	duties of the office, a report summarizing the council's
245	recommendations to the office and the corresponding actions
246	taken by the office, and any recommendations to the Legislature
247	for proposals to reduce homelessness in this state.
248	Section 5.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
249	420.625, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
250	420.625  Grant-in-aid program.--
251	(3)  ESTABLISHMENT.--There is hereby established a grant-
252	in-aid program to help local communities in serving the needs of
253	the homeless through a variety of supportive services, which may
254	include, but are not limited to:
255	(d)  Emergency financial assistance for persons who are
256	totally without shelter or facing loss of shelter, but who are
257	not eligible for such assistance under s. 414.16.
258	Section 6.  Section 420.6275, Florida Statutes, is created
259	to read:
260	420.6275  Housing First.--
261	(1)  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.--
262	(a)  The Legislature finds that many communities plan to
263	manage homelessness rather than plan to end it.
264	(b)  The Legislature also finds that for most of the past
265	two decades public and private solutions to homelessness have
266	focused on providing individuals and families who are
267	experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter, transitional
268	housing, or a combination of both. While emergency shelter
269	programs may provide critical access to services for individuals
270	and families in crisis, they often fail to address the long-term
271	needs of those who are homeless.
272	(c)  The Legislature further finds that Housing First is an
273	alternative approach to the current system of emergency shelter
274	or transitional housing which tends to reduce the length of time
275	of homelessness and has proven to be cost-effective to homeless
276	programs.
277	(d)  It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
278	encourage local coalitions for the homeless continuums of care,
279	established pursuant to s. 420.623, to adopt the Housing First
280	approach to ending homelessness for individuals and families.
281	(2)  HOUSING FIRST METHODOLOGY.--
282	(a)  The Housing First approach to homelessness differs
283	from traditional approaches by providing housing assistance,
284	case management, and support services responsive to individual
285	or family needs after housing is obtained. By using the Housing
286	First approach when appropriate, communities can significantly
287	reduce the amount of time that individuals and families are
288	homeless and prevent further episodes of homelessness. Housing
289	First emphasizes that social services provided to enhance
290	individual and family well-being can be more effective when
291	people are in their own home, and:
292	1.  The housing is not time-limited.
293	2.  The housing is not contingent on compliance with
294	services. Instead, participants must comply with a standard
295	lease agreement and are provided with the services and support
296	that are necessary to help them do so successfully.
297	(b)  The Housing First approach addresses the societal
298	causes of homelessness and advocates for the immediate return of
299	individuals and families back into housing and communities.
300	Housing First provides a critical link between the emergency and
301	transitional housing system and community-based social service,
302	educational, and health care organizations and consists of four
303	components:
304	1.  Crisis intervention and short-term stabilization.
305	2.  Screening, intake, and needs assessment.
306	3.  Provision of housing resources.
307	4.  Provision of case management.
308	Section 7.  Section 420.628, Florida Statutes, is created
309	to read:
310	420.628  Children and young adults leaving the child
311	welfare system; legislative findings and intent.--
312	(1)  The Legislature finds that the transition from
313	childhood to adulthood is filled with opportunity and risk. Most
314	young people who receive adequate support make this transition
315	successfully and will become healthy adults who will be prepared
316	for work and be able to become responsible, fulfilled members of
317	their families and communities.
318	(2)  The Legislature finds that there are also many young
319	people who will enter adulthood without the knowledge, skills,
320	attitudes, habits, and relationships that will enable them to be
321	productive members of society. Those young people who, through
322	no fault of their own, live in foster families, group homes, and
323	institutions are among those at greatest risk.
324	(3)  The Legislature finds that these young people face
325	numerous barriers to a successful transition to adulthood. Those
326	barriers include changes in foster care placements and schools,
327	limited opportunities for participation in age-appropriate
328	normal activities, and the inability to achieve economic
329	stability, make connections with permanent supportive adults or
330	family, and access housing. The main barriers to safe and
331	affordable housing for youth aging out of the foster care system
332	are cost, lack of availability, the unwillingness of many
333	landlords to rent to them, and their own lack of knowledge about
334	how to be good tenants.
335	(4)  The Legislature also finds that young adults who
336	emancipate from the child welfare system are at risk of becoming
337	homeless and those who were formerly in the child welfare system
338	are disproportionately represented in the homeless population.
339	Only about two-fifths of eligible young people receive
340	independent living services and, of those who do, few receive
341	adequate housing assistance. Without the stability of safe
342	housing all other services, training, and opportunities may not
343	be effective.
344	(5)  The Legislature further finds that research on young
345	people who emancipate from foster care suggests a nexus between
346	foster care involvement and later episodes of homelessness and
347	that interventions in the foster care system might help to
348	prevent homelessness. Responding to the needs of young people
349	leaving the foster care system with developmentally appropriate
350	supportive housing models organized in a continuum of decreasing
351	supervision may increase their ability to live independently in
352	the future.
353	(6)  It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
354	encourage the Department of Children and Family Services, its
355	agents, and community-based care providers operating pursuant to
356	s. 409.1671, to develop and implement procedures designed to
357	reduce the number of young adults who become homeless after
358	leaving the child welfare system.
359	Section 8.  Subsection (12) of section 1003.01, Florida
360	Statutes, is amended to read:
361	1003.01  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the term:
362	(12)  "Children and youths who are experiencing
363	homelessness," for programs authorized under the federal
364	Education for Homeless Children and Youths program, Subtitle B
365	of Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42
366	U.S.C. ss. 11431 et seq., means children and youths who lack a
367	fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and includes:
368	(a)  Children and youths who are sharing the housing of
369	other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a
370	similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, travel trailer
371	parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative
372	adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional
373	shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster
374	care placement.
375	(b)  Children and youths who have a primary nighttime
376	residence that is a public or private place not designed for or
377	ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
378	beings.
379	(c)  Children and youths who are living in cars, parks,
380	public spaces, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, or
381	similar settings.
382	(d)  Migratory children who are living in circumstances
383	described in paragraphs (a)-(c).
384	(12)  "Homeless child" means:
385	(a)  One who lacks a fixed, regular nighttime residence;
386	(b)  One who has a primary nighttime residence that is:
387	1.  A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter
388	designed to provide temporary living accommodations, including
389	welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing
390	for the mentally ill;
391	2.  An institution that provides a temporary residence for
392	individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
393	3.  A public or private place not designed for, or
394	ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human
395	beings; or
396	(c)  One who temporarily resides with an adult other than
397	his or her parent because the parent is suffering financial
398	hardship.
399
400	A child who is imprisoned, detained, or in the custody of the
401	state pursuant to a state or federal law is not a homeless
402	child.
403	Section 9.  Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) and paragraph
404	(g) of subsection (4) of section 1003.21, Florida Statutes, are
405	amended to read:
406	1003.21  School attendance.--
407	(1)
408	(f)  Children and youths who are experiencing homelessness
409	Homeless children, as defined in s. 1003.01, must have access to
410	a free public education and must be admitted to school in the
411	school district in which they or their families live. School
412	districts shall assist such homeless children to meet the
413	requirements of subsection (4) and s. 1003.22, as well as local
414	requirements for documentation.
415	(4)  Before admitting a child to kindergarten, the
416	principal shall require evidence that the child has attained the
417	age at which he or she should be admitted in accordance with the
418	provisions of subparagraph (1)(a)2. The district school
419	superintendent may require evidence of the age of any child whom
420	he or she believes to be within the limits of compulsory
421	attendance as provided for by law. If the first prescribed
422	evidence is not available, the next evidence obtainable in the
423	order set forth below shall be accepted:
424	(g)  If none of these evidences can be produced, an
425	affidavit of age sworn to by the parent, accompanied by a
426	certificate of age signed by a public health officer or by a
427	public school physician, or, if neither of these is available in
428	the county, by a licensed practicing physician designated by the
429	district school board, which certificate states that the health
430	officer or physician has examined the child and believes that
431	the age as stated in the affidavit is substantially correct.
432	Children and youths who are experiencing homelessness A homeless
433	child, as defined in s. 1003.01, and children who are in foster
434	care until the time of achieving either reunification or a
435	permanent placement shall be given temporary exemption from this
436	section for 30 school days.
437	Section 10.  Subsection (1) and paragraph (e) of subsection
438	(5) of section 1003.22, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
439	1003.22  School-entry health examinations; immunization
440	against communicable diseases; exemptions; duties of Department
441	of Health.--
442	(1)  Each district school board and the governing authority
443	of each private school shall require that each child who is
444	entitled to admittance to kindergarten, or is entitled to any
445	other initial entrance into a public or private school in this
446	state, present a certification of a school-entry health
447	examination performed within 1 year prior to enrollment in
448	school. Each district school board, and the governing authority
449	of each private school, may establish a policy that permits a
450	student up to 30 school days to present a certification of a
451	school-entry health examination. Children and youths who are
452	experiencing homelessness A homeless child, as defined in s.
453	1003.01, and children who are in foster care until the time of
454	achieving either reunification or a permanent placement shall be
455	given a temporary exemption for 30 school days. Any district
456	school board that establishes such a policy shall include
457	provisions in its local school health services plan to assist
458	students in obtaining the health examinations. However, any
459	child shall be exempt from the requirement of a health
460	examination upon written request of the parent of the child
461	stating objections to the examination on religious grounds.
462	(5)  The provisions of this section shall not apply if:
463	(e)  An authorized school official issues a temporary
464	exemption, for a period not to exceed 30 school days, to permit
465	a student who transfers into a new county to attend class until
466	his or her records can be obtained. Children and youths who are
467	experiencing homelessness A homeless child, as defined in s.
468	1003.01, and children who are in foster care until the time of
469	achieving either reunification or a permanent placement shall be
470	given a temporary exemption for 30 school days. The public
471	school health nurse or authorized private school official is
472	responsible for followup of each such student until proper
473	documentation or immunizations are obtained. An exemption for 30
474	days may be issued for a student who enters a juvenile justice
475	program to permit the student to attend class until his or her
476	records can be obtained or until the immunizations can be
477	obtained. An authorized juvenile justice official is responsible
478	for followup of each student who enters a juvenile justice
479	program until proper documentation or immunizations are
480	obtained.
481	Section 11.  Section 414.16, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
482	Section 12.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.