Florida Senate - 2020                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 122
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/25/2020           .                                
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       Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
       (Rouson) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 371 - 509
    4  and insert:
    5         (5)WORKFORCE CERTIFICATION.—The department shall approve
    6  one or more third-party credentialing entities for the purpose
    7  of developing and administering child welfare certification
    8  programs for persons who provide child welfare services. A
    9  third-party credentialing entity shall request such approval in
   10  writing from the department. In order to obtain approval, the
   11  third-party credentialing entity must:
   12         (a) Establish professional requirements and standards that
   13  applicants must achieve in order to obtain a child welfare
   14  certification and to maintain such certification.
   15         (b) Develop and apply core competencies and examination
   16  instruments according to nationally recognized certification and
   17  psychometric standards.
   18         (c) Maintain a professional code of ethics and a
   19  disciplinary process that apply to all persons holding child
   20  welfare certification.
   21         (d) Maintain a database, accessible to the public, of all
   22  persons holding child welfare certification, including any
   23  history of ethical violations.
   24         (e) Require annual continuing education for persons holding
   25  child welfare certification and require certified professionals
   26  to comply with the training requirements in subsection (4) as a
   27  condition of renewal or initial certification. The third-party
   28  credentialing entity shall track and report compliance with this
   29  section to the department on an annual basis.
   30         (f) Administer a continuing education provider program to
   31  ensure that only qualified providers offer continuing education
   32  opportunities for certificateholders.
   33         (g)All certified child welfare professionals must follow
   34  the requirements of the third-party credentialing entities code
   35  of ethical and professional conduct and disciplinary procedures.
   36         1.The department, community based care lead agencies,
   37  sheriff offices and their contracted providers shall report all
   38  allegations of suspected or known violations of ethical or
   39  professional misconduct standards to the department approved
   40  third-party credentialing entity, including all allegations made
   41  to the department’s Office of Inspector General on certified
   42  personnel.
   43         2.The third-party credentialing entity shall review all
   44  case records involving the death of a child or other critical
   45  incident to ensure compliance with the third-party credentialing
   46  entity’s published code of ethical and professional conduct and
   47  disciplinary procedures.
   48         3.The department shall provide the third-party
   49  credentialing entity with all reports necessary to conduct a
   50  thorough investigation on all certified child welfare service
   51  providers involved with the case.
   52         4.The third-party credentialing entity shall immediately
   53  suspend the certification of all certified individuals involved
   54  in the case pending the results of the initial review of the
   55  certified professional’s role and performance as it relates to
   56  the case circumstance.
   57         5.The department or sub-contracted employer of the
   58  certified staff must immediately remove the individual from
   59  their duties that require certification as a condition of
   60  employment until the initial review is complete and the third
   61  party credentialing entity determines if an ethics case is
   62  warranted.
   63         6.Any decision by a department approved credentialing
   64  entity to deny, revoke, or suspend a certification, or otherwise
   65  impose sanctions on an individual who is certified, is
   66  reviewable by the department. Upon receiving an adverse
   67  determination, the person aggrieved may request an
   68  administrative hearing pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 120.57(1)
   69  within 30 days after completing any appeals process offered by
   70  the credentialing entity or the department, as applicable.
   71         7.The third-party credentialing entity shall track and
   72  report compliance with this subsection to the department.
   73         (h) Maintain an advisory committee, including
   74  representatives from each region of the department, each
   75  sheriff’s office providing child protective services, and each
   76  community-based care lead agency, who shall be appointed by the
   77  organization they represent. The third-party credentialing
   78  entity may appoint additional members to the advisory committee.
   79         (6) CHILD WELFARE TRAINING TRUST FUND.—
   80         (a) There is created within the State Treasury a Child
   81  Welfare Training Trust Fund to be used by the Department of
   82  Children and Families for the purpose of funding the
   83  professional development of persons providing child welfare
   84  services.
   85         (b) One dollar from every noncriminal traffic infraction
   86  collected pursuant to s. 318.14(10)(b) or s. 318.18 shall be
   87  deposited into the Child Welfare Training Trust Fund.
   88         (c) In addition to the funds generated by paragraph (b),
   89  the trust fund shall receive funds generated from an additional
   90  fee on birth certificates and dissolution of marriage filings,
   91  as specified in ss. 382.0255 and 28.101, respectively, and may
   92  receive funds from any other public or private source.
   93         (d) Funds that are not expended by the end of the budget
   94  cycle or through a supplemental budget approved by the
   95  department shall revert to the trust fund.
   96         (7) ATTORNEYS EMPLOYED BY THE DEPARTMENT TO HANDLE CHILD
   97  WELFARE CASES.—With the exception of attorneys hired after July
   98  1, 2014, but before July 1, 2020, who shall complete the
   99  training required under this subsection by January 31, 2021,
  100  attorneys hired by the department on or after July 1, 2014,
  101  whose primary responsibility is representing the department in
  102  child welfare cases shall receive training within the first 6
  103  months of employment in:
  104         (a) The dependency court process, including the attorney’s
  105  role in preparing and reviewing documents prepared for
  106  dependency court for accuracy and completeness;
  107         (b) Preparing and presenting child welfare cases, including
  108  at least 1 week of shadowing an experienced children’s legal
  109  services attorney who is preparing and presenting cases;
  110         (c) Safety assessment, safety decisionmaking tools, and
  111  safety plans;
  112         (d) Developing information presented by investigators and
  113  case managers to support decisionmaking in the best interest of
  114  children; and
  115         (e) The experiences and techniques of case managers and
  116  investigators, including shadowing an experienced child
  117  protective investigator and an experienced case manager for at
  118  least 8 hours.
  119  
  120  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  121  And the title is amended as follows:
  122         Delete lines 33 - 35
  123  and insert:
  124         department related workforce training; providing
  125         additional duties for third-