House Bill 2233
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 2233
By Representatives Wilson, Bradley, Jones, Waters,
Eggelletion, C. Smith, Sobel, Bullard, Bush, Crist, Reddick,
A. Greene, Betancourt, Lee, Hill, Lawson, Jacobs, Frankel, L.
Miller, Effman, Ritchie, Rayson, Brown, Hafner, Bloom, Rubio,
Argenio, Harrington and Tullis
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to relative caregiving;
3 amending s. 39.5085, F.S.; revising legislative
4 intent; revising criteria for financial
5 assistance under the Relative Caregiver
6 Program; prescribing the date of entitlement to
7 benefits under the Relative Caregiver Program;
8 authorizing the Department of Children and
9 Family Services to transfer TANF savings to the
10 Title XX Social Services Block Grant to provide
11 program benefits; exempting children receiving
12 relative caregiver benefits from the Work and
13 Gain Economic Self-sufficiency (WAGES) Act;
14 amending s. 239.117, F.S.; exempting certain
15 postsecondary students who are receiving
16 caregiving services from paying registration,
17 matriculation, and laboratory fees; requiring
18 the department to establish a pilot Relative
19 Caregiver Program; requiring a report to the
20 Legislature; providing an effective date.
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22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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24 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) and
25 subsection (2) of section 39.5085, Florida Statutes, are
26 amended to read:
27 39.5085 Relative Caregiver Program.--
28 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting
29 this section to:
30 (c) Recognize that permanency is in the best interest
31 of the child and can be achieved through a variety of
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1 permanency options, including long-term relative custody,
2 guardianship, or adoption, and to provide additional placement
3 options and incentives that will achieve permanency and
4 stability for many children who are otherwise at risk of
5 foster care placement because of abuse, abandonment, or
6 neglect, but who may successfully be able to be placed by the
7 dependency court in the care of such relatives.
8 (2)(a) The Department of Children and Family Services
9 shall establish and operate the Relative Caregiver Program
10 pursuant to eligibility guidelines established in this section
11 as further implemented by rule of the department. The Relative
12 Caregiver Program shall, within the limits of available
13 funding, provide financial assistance to relatives who are
14 within the fifth degree by blood or marriage to the parent or
15 stepparent of a child and who are caring full-time for that
16 child or a related child and any of his or her siblings in the
17 role of substitute parent as a result of a court's
18 determination of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment and
19 subsequent placement with the relative pursuant to any court
20 order by a state court of competent jurisdiction this chapter.
21 Such placement may be either court-ordered temporary legal
22 custody to the relative pursuant to s. 39.508(9)(a)4., or
23 court-ordered placement in the home of a relative under
24 protective supervision of the department pursuant to s.
25 39.508(9)(a)3. The Relative Caregiver Program shall offer
26 financial assistance to caregivers who are relatives and who
27 would be unable to serve in that capacity without the relative
28 caregiver payment because of financial burden, thus exposing
29 the child to the trauma of placement in a shelter or in foster
30 care or exposing a relative child and its sibling or siblings
31 to the trauma of separation from each other.
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1 (b) Caregivers who are relatives and who receive
2 assistance under this section must be capable, as determined
3 by a home study, of providing a physically safe environment
4 and a stable, supportive home for the children under their
5 care, and must assure that the children's well-being is met,
6 including, but not limited to, the provision of immunizations,
7 education, and mental health services as needed.
8 (c) Relatives who qualify for and participate in the
9 Relative Caregiver Program are not required to meet foster
10 care licensing requirements under s. 409.175.
11 (d) Relatives who are caring for children placed with
12 them by a the court, including children who are unrelated
13 siblings of relative children also placed with them, pursuant
14 to this chapter shall receive a special monthly relative
15 caregiver benefit established by rule of the department. The
16 amount of the special benefit payment shall be based on the
17 child's age within a payment schedule established by rule of
18 the department and subject to availability of funding. The
19 statewide average monthly rate for children judicially placed
20 with relatives who are not licensed as foster homes may not
21 exceed 82 percent of the statewide average foster care rate,
22 nor may the cost of providing the assistance described in this
23 section to any relative caregiver exceed the cost of providing
24 out-of-home care in emergency shelter or foster care.
25 (e) Children receiving cash benefits under this
26 section are not eligible to simultaneously receive WAGES cash
27 benefits under chapter 414.
28 (f) The date of entitlement to benefits under the
29 Relative Caregiver Program is the date of authorization of
30 payment or the 30th day after the submission of a signed and
31 dated application for benefits, whichever occurs first. The
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1 child is eligible for retroactive benefits to the date of
2 entitlement if the application is not acted upon by the 30th
3 day after submission of the signed and dated application for
4 benefits.
5 (g)(f) Within available funding, the Relative
6 Caregiver Program shall provide relative caregivers with
7 family support and preservation services, flexible funds in
8 accordance with s. 409.165, subsidized child care, and other
9 available services in order to support the child's safety,
10 growth, and healthy development. Children living with
11 relative caregivers who are receiving assistance under this
12 section shall be eligible for Medicaid coverage.
13 (h)(g) The department may use appropriate available
14 state, federal, and private funds to operate the Relative
15 Caregiver Program. The department may transfer TANF savings to
16 the Title XX Social Services Block Grant in order to provide
17 benefits under the Relative Caregiver Program. Any child
18 receiving relative caregiver benefits is not subject to the
19 provisions of the Work and Gain Economic Self-sufficiency
20 (WAGES) Act. The child must be recertified as eligible for
21 benefits under the Relative Caregiver Program once each year
22 by the department.
23 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section
24 239.117, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
25 239.117 Workforce development postsecondary student
26 fees.--
27 (4) The following students are exempt from the payment
28 of registration, matriculation, and laboratory fees:
29 (c) A student for whom the state is paying a foster
30 care board payment pursuant to s. 409.145(3) or pursuant to
31 parts II and III of chapter 39, or for whom the state is
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1 paying a relative caregiver payment under s. 39.5085, for whom
2 the permanency planning goal pursuant to part III of chapter
3 39 is long-term foster care, custody to a foster parent or
4 legal custodian on a permanent basis, long-term relative
5 placement, guardianship, custody to a relative on a permanent
6 basis, or independent living, or who is adopted from the
7 Department of Children and Family Services after May 5, 1997.
8 Such exemption includes fees associated with enrollment in
9 vocational-preparatory instruction and completion of the
10 college-level communication and computation skills testing
11 program. Such exemption shall be available to any student
12 adopted from the Department of Children and Family Services
13 after May 5, 1997; however, the exemption shall be valid for
14 no more than 4 years after the date of graduation from high
15 school.
16 Section 3. The Department of Children and Family
17 Services shall establish, or contract on a pilot-project basis
18 with a privatized, community-based organization for the
19 operation of the Relative Caregiver Program in one urban
20 district. The contract terms must include the establishment of
21 eligibility, the conduct of home studies, and the processing
22 of payments. The department shall report to the Legislature by
23 January 1, 2001, on the success of the pilot project in
24 reducing delays in the application process and in serving
25 eligible applicants.
26 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
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2 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY
3 Provides legislative intent relating to the Relative
Caregiver Program. Revises criteria for financial
4 assistance to relatives caring for children under the
program to include persons caring for a related child and
5 siblings and to delete a requirement that the child's
placement result from a court's determination of child
6 abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Prescribes the date of
entitlement for program benefits. Authorizes the
7 Department of Children and Family Services to transfer
TANF savings to the Title XX Social Services Block Grant
8 to provide program benefits. Exempts children receiving
relative caregiver benefits from the Work and Gain
9 Economic Self-sufficiency (WAGES) Act. Exempts certain
postsecondary students who are receiving caregiving
10 services from paying registration, matriculation, and
laboratory fees. Requires the department to establish a
11 pilot Relative Caregiver Program. Requires a report to
the Legislature.
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