Florida Senate - 2014                              CS for SB 260
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Latvala
       
       
       
       
       
       590-02109A-14                                          2014260c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to unaccompanied homeless youths;
    3         amending s. 743.067, F.S.; defining the term
    4         “unaccompanied homeless youth”; providing for a
    5         certification; authorizing certain unaccompanied
    6         homeless youths to consent to medical, dental,
    7         psychological, substance abuse, and surgical diagnosis
    8         and treatment, and forensic medical examinations for
    9         themselves and for their children in certain
   10         circumstances; providing that such consent does not
   11         affect the requirements of the Parental Notice of
   12         Abortion Act; providing an effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Section 743.067, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   17  read:
   18         743.067 Unaccompanied homeless youths.—
   19         (1) For purposes of this section, an unaccompanied
   20  homeless youth” is an individual, as defined in 42 U.S.C. s.
   21  11434a, who is also a certified homeless youth, as defined in s.
   22  382.002, and who is 16 years of age or older and is:
   23         (a) Found by a school district’s liaison for homeless
   24  children and youths to be an unaccompanied homeless youth
   25  eligible for services pursuant to the McKinney-Vento Homeless
   26  Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11431-11435; or
   27         (b) Believed to qualify as an unaccompanied homeless youth,
   28  as that term is defined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless
   29  Assistance Act, by:
   30         1. The director of an emergency shelter program funded by
   31  the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development,
   32  or the director’s designee;
   33         2. The director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center
   34  or transitional living program funded by the United States
   35  Department of Health and Human Services, or the director’s
   36  designee;
   37         3. A clinical social worker licensed under chapter 491; or
   38         4. A circuit court.
   39         (2) A minor who qualifies as an unaccompanied homeless
   40  youth shall be issued a written certificate documenting his or
   41  her status by the appropriate individual as provided in
   42  subsection (1). The certificate shall be issued on the official
   43  letterhead stationery of the person making the determination and
   44  shall include the date of the finding, a citation to this
   45  section, and the signature of the individual making the finding.
   46  A health care provider may accept the written certificate as
   47  proof of the minor’s status as an unaccompanied homeless youth
   48  and may keep a copy of the certificate in the youth’s medical
   49  file.
   50         (3) An unaccompanied homeless youth may:
   51         (a) Petition the circuit court to have the disabilities of
   52  nonage removed under s. 743.015. The youth shall qualify as a
   53  person not required to prepay costs and fees as provided in s.
   54  57.081. The court shall advance the cause on the calendar.
   55         (b) Consent to medical, dental, psychological, substance
   56  abuse, and surgical diagnosis and treatment, including
   57  preventative care and care by a facility licensed under chapter
   58  394, chapter 395, or chapter 397 and any forensic medical
   59  examination for the purpose of investigating any felony offense
   60  under chapter 784, chapter 787, chapter 794, chapter 800, or
   61  chapter 827, for:
   62         1. Himself or herself; or
   63         2. His or her child, if the unaccompanied homeless youth is
   64  unmarried, is the parent of the child, and has actual custody of
   65  the child.
   66         (4) This section does not affect the requirements of s.
   67  390.01114.
   68         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.