Senate Bill 0730e2
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to child welfare; amending s.
3 20.19, F.S.; modifying the certification
4 program for family safety and preservation
5 employees and agents; amending s. 39.201, F.S.;
6 providing for the release of abuse hotlines
7 recordings to specified persons and entities;
8 providing circumstances in which an officer or
9 employee of the judicial branch is not required
10 to report child abuse, abandonment, or neglect;
11 revising procedures; amending s. 39.202, F.S.;
12 specifying persons to whom the names of persons
13 reporting child abuse, abandonment, or neglect
14 may be released; amending s. 39.205, F.S.;
15 exempting judges from prosecution for failure
16 to report; amending s. 39.301, F.S.; clarifying
17 provisions relating to initiation of protective
18 investigations and criminal investigations;
19 clarifying that the age of parents shall be
20 factored into risk assessments; changing
21 certain time requirements; amending s. 39.303,
22 F.S.; revising provisions governing the
23 composition, qualifications, training, and
24 duties of child protection teams; prescribing
25 circumstances under which face-to-face medical
26 evaluations are necessary and procedures for
27 determining whether they are necessary;
28 providing for collaboration by agency quality
29 assurance programs; amending s. 39.304, F.S.;
30 revising provisions governing the use of
31 photographs taken by child protection team;
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1 amending s. 383.402, F.S.; deleting reference
2 to the Kayla McKean Child Protection Act;
3 amending s. 383.402, F.S.; revising duties of
4 local child abuse death review committees and
5 of district child abuse death review
6 coordinators; amending s. 409.145, F.S.;
7 authorizing the Department of Children and
8 Family Services to provide additional
9 assistance for certain individuals leaving
10 foster care; amending s. 409.1671, F.S.;
11 deleting requirement that the case-transfer
12 process for contracts with community-based
13 agencies for provision of foster care and
14 related services identify closure of protective
15 investigations; prescribing times when
16 summaries of investigations must be provided to
17 the community-based agency; amending s.
18 409.175, F.S.; requiring a plan for
19 streamlining foster parent training; creating
20 s. 409.1753, F.S.; specifying duties of the
21 Department of Children and Family Services or
22 its agents regarding foster care; providing for
23 dependency court pilot programs; requiring a
24 report; prohibiting position-lapse adjustments
25 for certain positions; establishing a work
26 group within the Department of Children and
27 Family Services; providing duties; requiring
28 reports; amending s. 39.402; clarifying that
29 the court must be informed of identified case
30 plans at shelter hearings; creating s. 784.085,
31 F.S.; prohibiting battery of a child by
2
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1 throwing, tossing, projecting, or expelling
2 certain fluids; providing a penalty; providing
3 a definition; amending s. 921.0022, F.S.,
4 relating to the criminal Punishment Code;
5 conforming provisions to changes made by the
6 act; repealing s. 1, ch. 99-168, Laws of
7 Florida, which provides the short title for the
8 Kayla McKean Child Protection Act; providing an
9 effective date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 Section 1. Subsections (2), (7), (8), and (9) of
14 section 39.201, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
15 39.201 Mandatory reports of child abuse, abandonment,
16 or neglect; mandatory reports of death; central abuse
17 hotline.--
18 (2)(a) Each report of known or suspected child abuse,
19 abandonment, or neglect pursuant to this section, except those
20 solely under s. 827.04(3), shall be made immediately to the
21 department's central abuse hotline on the single statewide
22 toll-free telephone number, and, if the report is of an
23 instance of known or suspected child abuse by a noncaretaker,
24 the call shall be immediately electronically transferred to
25 the appropriate county sheriff's office by the central abuse
26 hotline. If the report is of an instance of known or
27 suspected child abuse involving impregnation of a child under
28 16 years of age by a person 21 years of age or older solely
29 under s. 827.04(3), the report shall be made immediately to
30 the appropriate county sheriff's office or other appropriate
31 law enforcement agency. If the report is of an instance of
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1 known or suspected child abuse solely under s. 827.04(3), the
2 reporting provisions of this subsection do not apply to health
3 care professionals or other persons who provide medical or
4 counseling services to pregnant children when such reporting
5 would interfere with the provision of medical services.
6 (b) The department must consider valid and accept for
7 investigation any report received by the central abuse hotline
8 from a judge, teacher or other professional school official,
9 or physician, as specified in paragraph (1)(a), paragraph
10 (1)(d), or paragraph (1)(g), who is acting in his or her
11 professional capacity, alleging harm as defined in s. 39.01.
12 (c) Reporters in occupation categories designated in
13 subsection (1) are required to provide their names to the
14 hotline staff. The names of reporters shall be entered into
15 the record of the report, but shall be held confidential as
16 provided in s. 39.202.
17 (d) Reports involving known or suspected institutional
18 child abuse or neglect shall be made and received in the same
19 manner as all other reports made pursuant to this section.
20 (e) Reports involving a known or suspected juvenile
21 sexual offender shall be made and received by the department.
22 1. The department shall determine the age of the
23 alleged juvenile sexual offender if known.
24 2. When the alleged juvenile sexual offender is 12
25 years of age or younger, the department shall proceed with an
26 investigation of the report pursuant to this part, immediately
27 electronically transfer the call to the appropriate law
28 enforcement agency office by the central abuse hotline, and
29 send a written report of the allegation to the appropriate
30 county sheriff's office within 48 hours after the initial
31 report is made to the central abuse hotline.
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1 3. When the alleged juvenile sexual offender is 13
2 years of age or older, the department shall immediately
3 electronically transfer the call to the appropriate county
4 sheriff's office by the central abuse hotline, and send a
5 written report to the appropriate county sheriff's office
6 within 48 hours after the initial report to the central abuse
7 hotline.
8 (f) Hotline counselors shall receive periodic training
9 in encouraging reporters to provide their names when reporting
10 abuse, abandonment, or neglect. Callers shall be advised of
11 the confidentiality provisions of s. 39.202. The department
12 shall secure and install electronic equipment that
13 automatically provides to the hotline the number from which
14 the call is placed. This number shall be entered into the
15 report of abuse, abandonment, or neglect and become a part of
16 the record of the report, but shall enjoy the same
17 confidentiality as provided to the identity of the caller
18 pursuant to s. 39.202.
19 (g) The department shall voice-record all incoming or
20 outgoing calls that are received or placed by the central
21 abuse hotline which relate to suspected or known child abuse,
22 neglect, or abandonment. The recording shall become a part of
23 the record of the report, but, notwithstanding s. 39.202,
24 shall be released in full to law enforcement agencies and
25 state attorneys for the purpose of investigating and
26 prosecuting criminal charges pursuant to s. 39.205 or to
27 employees of the department for the purpose of investigating
28 and seeking administrative penalties pursuant to s. 39.206 is
29 subject to the same confidentiality as is provided to the
30 identity of the caller under s. 39.202. Nothing in this
31
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1 paragraph shall prohibit the use of the recordings by hotline
2 staff for quality assurance and training.
3 (7) This section does not require a professional who
4 is hired by or enters into a contract with the department for
5 the purpose of treating or counseling any person, as a result
6 of a report of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, to again
7 report to the central abuse hotline the abuse, abandonment, or
8 neglect that was the subject of the referral for treatment.
9 This section does not require an officer or employee of the
10 judicial branch to again provide notice of reasonable cause to
11 suspect child abuse, abandonment, or neglect when that child
12 is currently being investigated by the department, when there
13 is an existing dependency case, or when the matter has
14 previously been reported to the department, provided that
15 there is reasonable cause to believe that the information is
16 already known to the department. This subsection applies only
17 when the information has been provided to the officer or
18 employee in the course of his or her official duties.
19 (8) Nothing in this chapter or in the contracting with
20 community-based care providers for privatization of foster
21 care and related services as specified in s. 409.1671 shall be
22 construed to remove or reduce the duty and responsibility of
23 any person, including any employee of the community-based care
24 privatization provider, to report a suspected or actual case
25 of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect or the sexual abuse of
26 a child to the department's central abuse hotline.
27 (9) On an ongoing basis, the department's quality
28 assurance program shall review calls reports to the hotline
29 involving three or more unaccepted reports on a single child,
30 where jurisdiction applies, in order to detect such things as
31 harassment and situations that warrant an investigation
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1 because of the frequency or variety of the source of the
2 reports. The assistant secretary may refer a case for
3 investigation when it is determined, as a result of this
4 review, that an investigation may be warranted.
5 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 39.202, Florida
6 Statutes, is amended to read:
7 39.202 Confidentiality of reports and records in cases
8 of child abuse or neglect.--
9 (4) The name of any person reporting child abuse,
10 abandonment, or neglect may not be released to any person
11 other than employees of the department responsible for child
12 protective services, the central abuse hotline, law
13 enforcement, the child protection team, or the appropriate
14 state attorney, without the written consent of the person
15 reporting. This does not prohibit the subpoenaing of a person
16 reporting child abuse, abandonment, or neglect when deemed
17 necessary by the court, the state attorney, or the department,
18 provided the fact that such person made the report is not
19 disclosed. Any person who reports a case of child abuse or
20 neglect may, at the time he or she makes the report, request
21 that the department notify him or her that a child protective
22 investigation occurred as a result of the report. Any person
23 specifically listed in s. 39.201(1) who makes a report in his
24 or her official capacity may also request a written summary of
25 the outcome of the investigation. The department shall mail
26 such a notice to the reporter within 10 days after completing
27 the child protective investigation.
28 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 39.205, Florida
29 Statutes, is amended to read:
30 39.205 Penalties relating to reporting of child abuse,
31 abandonment, or neglect.--
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1 (1) A person who is required to report known or
2 suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect and who
3 knowingly and willfully fails to do so, or who knowingly and
4 willfully prevents another person from doing so, is guilty of
5 a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in
6 s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. A judge, subject to discipline
7 pursuant to s. 12 of Art. V of the State Constitution, shall
8 not be subject to criminal prosecution when the information
9 was received in the course of official duties.
10 Section 4. Subsection (2), paragraph (b) of subsection
11 (8), and subsections (12), (14), (17), and (18) of section
12 39.301, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
13 39.301 Initiation of protective investigations.--
14 (2)(a) The department Upon notification by the
15 department's central abuse hotline under subsection (1), the
16 designated child protective investigator shall immediately
17 forward allegations of criminal conduct to the municipality or
18 county notify the appropriate law enforcement agency of the
19 county in which the alleged conduct has known or suspected
20 child abuse, abandonment, or neglect is believed to have
21 occurred.
22 (b) As used in this subsection, the term "criminal
23 conduct" means:
24 1. A child is known or suspected to be the victim of
25 child abuse, as defined in s. 827.03, or of neglect of a
26 child, as defined in s. 827.03.
27 2. A child is known or suspected to have died as a
28 result of abuse or neglect.
29 3. A child is known or suspected to be the victim of
30 aggravated child abuse, as defined in s. 827.03.
31
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1 4. A child is known or suspected to be the victim of
2 sexual battery, as defined in s. 827.071, or of sexual abuse,
3 as defined in s. 39.01.
4 5. A child is known or suspected to be the victim of
5 institutional child abuse or neglect, as defined in s. 39.01,
6 and as provided for in s. 39.302(1).
7
8 Upon receiving a written report of an allegation of criminal
9 conduct from the department receipt of a report, the law
10 enforcement agency shall must review the information in the
11 written report to and determine whether a criminal
12 investigation of the case is warranted. and, If the law
13 enforcement agency accepts the case for so, shall conduct the
14 criminal investigation that shall be coordinated, it shall
15 coordinate its investigative activities with the department
16 whenever feasible possible, with the child protective
17 investigation of the department or its agent. If the law
18 enforcement agency does not accept the case for criminal
19 investigation, the agency shall notify the department in
20 writing.
21 (c) The local law enforcement agreement required in s.
22 39.306 must describe the specific local protocols for
23 implementing this section.
24 (8) The person responsible for the investigation shall
25 make a preliminary determination as to whether the report is
26 complete, consulting with the attorney for the department when
27 necessary. In any case in which the person responsible for
28 the investigation finds that the report is incomplete, he or
29 she shall return it without delay to the person or agency
30 originating the report or having knowledge of the facts, or to
31 the appropriate law enforcement agency having investigative
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1 jurisdiction, and request additional information in order to
2 complete the report; however, the confidentiality of any
3 report filed in accordance with this chapter shall not be
4 violated.
5 (b) If it is determined that the child is in need of
6 the protection and supervision of the court, the department
7 shall file a petition for dependency. A petition for
8 dependency shall be filed in all cases classified by the
9 department as high-risk. Factors that the department may
10 consider in determining whether a case is high-risk include,
11 but are not limited to, the young age of the cases, including,
12 but not limited to, cases involving parents or legal
13 custodians of a young age, the use of illegal drugs, or
14 domestic violence.
15 (12)
16 (c) The department, in consultation with the
17 judiciary, shall adopt by rule criteria that are factors
18 requiring that the department take the child into custody,
19 petition the court as provided in this chapter, or, if the
20 child is not taken into custody or a petition is not filed
21 with the court, conduct an administrative review. If after an
22 administrative review the department determines not to take
23 the child into custody or petition the court, the department
24 shall document the reason for its decision in writing and
25 include it in the investigative file. For all cases that were
26 accepted by the local law enforcement agency for criminal
27 investigation pursuant to subsection (2), the department must
28 include in the file written documentation that the
29 administrative review included input from law enforcement. In
30 addition, for all cases that must be referred to child
31 protection teams pursuant to s. 39.303(2) and (3), the file
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1 must include written documentation that the administrative
2 review included the results of the team's evaluation medical
3 evaluation. Factors that must be included in the development
4 of the rule include noncompliance with the case plan developed
5 by the department, or its agent, and the family under this
6 chapter and prior abuse reports with findings that involve the
7 child or caregiver.
8 (14) No later than 60 30 days after receiving the
9 initial report, the local office of the department shall
10 complete its investigation.
11 (17) When a law enforcement agency conducts a criminal
12 investigation into allegations of child abuse, neglect, or
13 abandonment, photographs documenting the abuse or neglect will
14 be taken when appropriate. is participating in an
15 investigation, the agency shall take photographs of the
16 child's living environment. Such photographs shall become part
17 of the investigative file.
18 (18) Within 15 days after the case is completion of
19 the investigation of cases reported to him or her pursuant to
20 this chapter, the state attorney shall report his or her
21 findings to the department and shall include in such report a
22 determination of whether or not prosecution is justified and
23 appropriate in view of the circumstances of the specific case.
24 Section 5. Section 39.303, Florida Statutes, is
25 amended to read:
26 39.303 Child protection teams; services; eligible
27 cases.--The Department of Health shall develop, maintain, and
28 coordinate the services of one or more multidisciplinary child
29 protection teams in each of the service districts of the
30 Department of Children and Family Services. Such teams may be
31 composed of appropriate representatives of school districts
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1 and appropriate health, mental health, social service, legal
2 service, and law enforcement agencies. The Legislature finds
3 that optimal coordination of child protection teams and sexual
4 abuse treatment programs requires collaboration between the
5 Department of Health and the Department of Children and Family
6 Services. The two departments shall maintain an interagency
7 agreement that establishes protocols for oversight and
8 operations of child protection teams and sexual abuse
9 treatment programs. The Secretary of Health and the Deputy
10 Secretary for director of Children's Medical Services, in
11 consultation with the Secretary of Children and Family
12 Services, shall maintain the responsibility for the screening,
13 employment, and, if necessary, the termination of child
14 protection team medical directors, at headquarters and in the
15 15 districts. Child protection team medical directors shall be
16 responsible for oversight of the teams in the districts.
17 (1) The Department of Health shall utilize and convene
18 the teams to supplement the assessment and protective
19 supervision activities of the family safety and preservation
20 program of the Department of Children and Family Services.
21 Nothing in this section shall be construed to remove or reduce
22 the duty and responsibility of any person to report pursuant
23 to this chapter all suspected or actual cases of child abuse,
24 abandonment, or neglect or sexual abuse of a child. The role
25 of the teams shall be to support activities of the program and
26 to provide services deemed by the teams to be necessary and
27 appropriate to abused, abandoned, and neglected children upon
28 referral. The specialized diagnostic assessment, evaluation,
29 coordination, consultation, and other supportive services that
30 a child protection team shall be capable of providing include,
31 but are not limited to, the following:
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1 (a) Medical diagnosis and evaluation services,
2 including provision or interpretation of X rays and laboratory
3 tests, and related services, as needed, and documentation of
4 findings relative thereto.
5 (b) Telephone consultation services in emergencies and
6 in other situations.
7 (c) Medical evaluation related to abuse, abandonment,
8 or neglect, as defined by policy or rule of the Department of
9 Health.
10 (d) Such psychological and psychiatric diagnosis and
11 evaluation services for the child or the child's parent or
12 parents, legal custodian or custodians, or other caregivers,
13 or any other individual involved in a child abuse,
14 abandonment, or neglect case, as the team may determine to be
15 needed.
16 (e) Expert medical, psychological, and related
17 professional testimony in court cases.
18 (f) Case staffings to develop treatment plans for
19 children whose cases have been referred to the team. A child
20 protection team may provide consultation with respect to a
21 child who is alleged or is shown to be abused, abandoned, or
22 neglected, which consultation shall be provided at the request
23 of a representative of the family safety and preservation
24 program or at the request of any other professional involved
25 with a child or the child's parent or parents, legal custodian
26 or custodians, or other caregivers. In every such child
27 protection team case staffing, consultation, or staff activity
28 involving a child, a family safety and preservation program
29 representative shall attend and participate.
30
31
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1 (g) Case service coordination and assistance,
2 including the location of services available from other public
3 and private agencies in the community.
4 (h) Such training services for program and other
5 employees of the Department of Children and Family Services,
6 employees of the Department of Health, and other medical
7 professionals as is deemed appropriate to enable them to
8 develop and maintain their professional skills and abilities
9 in handling child abuse, abandonment, and neglect cases.
10 (i) Educational and community awareness campaigns on
11 child abuse, abandonment, and neglect in an effort to enable
12 citizens more successfully to prevent, identify, and treat
13 child abuse, abandonment, and neglect in the community.
14 (j) Child protection team assessments that include, as
15 appropriate, a medical evaluation, medical consultation,
16 family psychosocial interview, specialized clinical interview,
17 or forensic interview.
18
19 All medical personnel participating on a child protection team
20 must successfully complete the required child protection team
21 training curriculum as set forth in protocols determined by
22 the Deputy Secretary for Children's Medical Services and the
23 Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection Teams.
24 (2) The child abuse, abandonment, and neglect reports
25 that must be referred by the Department of Children and Family
26 Services to child protection teams of the Department of Health
27 for an assessment medical evaluation and other appropriate
28 available support services as set forth in subsection (1) must
29 include cases involving:
30 (a) Injuries to the head, bruises to the neck or head,
31 burns, or fractures in a child of any age.
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1 (b) Bruises anywhere on a child 5 years of age or
2 under.
3 (c)(b) Sexual abuse of a child in which vaginal or
4 anal penetration is alleged or in which other unlawful sexual
5 conduct has been determined to have occurred.
6 (d)(c) Venereal disease, or Any other sexually
7 transmitted disease, in a prepubescent child.
8 (e)(d) Reported malnutrition of a child and failure of
9 a child to thrive.
10 (f)(e) Reported medical, physical, or emotional
11 neglect of a child.
12 (g)(f) Any family in which one or more children have
13 been pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital or other health
14 care facility, or have been injured and later died, as a
15 result of suspected abuse, abandonment, or neglect, when any
16 sibling or other child remains in the home.
17 (h)(g) Symptoms of serious emotional problems in a
18 child when emotional or other abuse, abandonment, or neglect
19 is suspected.
20 (h) Injuries to a child's head.
21 (3) All abuse and neglect cases transmitted for
22 investigation to a district by the hotline must be
23 simultaneously transmitted to the Department of Health child
24 protection team for review. For the purpose of determining
25 whether face-to-face medical evaluation of a child by a child
26 protection team is necessary, all cases transmitted to the
27 child protection team which meet the criteria in subsection
28 (2) must be timely reviewed by:
29 (a) A physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter
30 459 who holds board certification in pediatrics and is a
31 member of a child protection team;
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1 (b) A physician who is licensed under chapter 458 or
2 chapter 459 who holds board certification in a specialty other
3 than pediatrics who may complete the review only when working
4 under the direction of a physician licensed under chapter 458
5 or chapter 459 who holds board certification in pediatrics and
6 is a member of a child protection team;
7 (c) An advanced registered nurse practitioner licensed
8 under chapter 464 who has a specialty in pediatrics and is a
9 member of the child protection team;
10 (d) A physician assistant licensed under chapter 458
11 or chapter 459, who may complete the review only when working
12 under the supervision of a physician licensed under chapter
13 458 or chapter 459 who holds board certification in pediatrics
14 and is a member of a child protection team; or
15 (e) A registered nurse licensed under chapter 464, who
16 may complete the review only when working under the direct
17 supervision of a physician licensed under chapter 458 or
18 chapter 459 who holds board certification in pediatrics and is
19 a member of a child protection team. a board-certified
20 pediatrician or registered nurse practitioner under the
21 supervision of such pediatrician for the purpose of
22 determining whether a face-to-face medical evaluation by a
23 child protection team is necessary.
24 (4) A Such face-to-face medical evaluation by a child
25 protection team is not necessary when: only if it is
26 determined that
27 (a) The child was examined by a
28 non-child-protection-team physician for the alleged abuse or
29 neglect, and a consultation between the examining physician
30 and the child protection team board-certified pediatrician,
31 advanced registered or nurse practitioner, physician assistant
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1 working under the supervision of a child protection team
2 board-certified pediatrician, or a registered nurse working
3 under the direct supervision of a child protection team
4 board-certified pediatrician and the examining physician
5 concludes that a further medical evaluation is unnecessary;
6 or.
7 (b) The child protective investigator, with
8 supervisory approval, has determined, after conducting a child
9 safety assessment, that there are not indications of injuries
10 as described in paragraphs (2)(a)-(h) as reported; or
11 (c) The child protection team board-certified
12 pediatrician, as authorized in subsection (3), determines that
13 a medical evaluation is not required. Notwithstanding
14 paragraphs (a) and (b), a child protection team pediatrician
15 or advanced registered nurse practitioner as authorized in
16 subsection (3) may determine that a face-to-face medical
17 evaluation is necessary.
18 (5)(4) In all instances in which a child protection
19 team is providing certain services to abused, abandoned, or
20 neglected children, other offices and units of the Department
21 of Health, and offices and units of the Department of Children
22 and Family Services, shall avoid duplicating the provision of
23 those services.
24 (6) The child protection team quality assurance
25 program of the Department of Health and the quality assurance
26 program of the Family Safety Program Office of the Department
27 of Children and Family Services shall collaborate to ensure
28 that referrals and responses to child abuse and neglect
29 reports are appropriate. Each quality assurance program shall
30 include a review of records in which there are no findings of
31
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1 abuse or neglect, and the findings of these reviews shall be
2 included in each department's quality assurance reports.
3 Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 39.304, Florida
4 Statutes, is amended to read:
5 39.304 Photographs, medical examinations, X rays, and
6 medical treatment of abused, abandoned, or neglected child.--
7 (1)(a) Any person required to investigate cases of
8 suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect may take or
9 cause to be taken photographs of the areas of trauma visible
10 on a child who is the subject of a report. Any child
11 protection team that examines a child who is the subject of a
12 report must take, or cause to be taken, photographs of any
13 areas of trauma visible on the child. Such Photographs of
14 physical abuse injuries, or duplicates thereof, shall be
15 provided to the department for inclusion in the investigative
16 file and shall become part of that file. Photographs of sexual
17 abuse trauma which are taken must be made part of the child
18 protection team medical record only.
19 (b) If the areas of trauma visible on a child indicate
20 a need for a medical examination, or if the child verbally
21 complains or otherwise exhibits distress as a result of injury
22 through suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or is
23 alleged to have been sexually abused, the person required to
24 investigate may cause the child to be referred for diagnosis
25 to a licensed physician or an emergency department in a
26 hospital without the consent of the child's parents or legal
27 custodian. Such examination may be performed by any licensed
28 physician or an advanced registered nurse practitioner
29 licensed pursuant to chapter 464. Any licensed physician, or
30 advanced registered nurse practitioner licensed pursuant to
31 chapter 464, who has reasonable cause to suspect that an
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1 injury was the result of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect
2 may authorize a radiological examination to be performed on
3 the child without the consent of the child's parent or legal
4 custodian.
5 Section 7. Paragraph (i) of subsection (3), subsection
6 (7), and paragraph (g) of subsection (18) of section 383.402,
7 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
8 383.402 Child abuse death review; State Child Abuse
9 Death Review Committee; local child abuse death review
10 committees.--
11 (3) The State Child Abuse Death Review Committee
12 shall:
13 (i) Educate the public regarding the provisions of
14 chapter 99-168, Laws of Florida Kayla McKean Child Protection
15 Act, the incidence and causes of child abuse death, and ways
16 by which such deaths may be prevented.
17 (7) Each local child abuse death review committee
18 shall:
19 (a) Review all deaths resulting from child abuse which
20 are reported to the Office of Vital Statistics.
21 (a)(b) Assist the state committee in collecting data
22 on deaths that are the result of child abuse, in accordance
23 with the protocol established by the state committee.
24 (b)(c) Submit written reports at the direction of the
25 state committee. The reports must include nonidentifying
26 information on individual cases and the steps taken by the
27 local committee and private and public agencies to implement
28 necessary changes and improve the coordination of services and
29 reviews.
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1 (c)(d) Submit all records requested by the state
2 committee at the conclusion of its review of a death resulting
3 from child abuse.
4 (d)(e) Abide by the standards and protocols developed
5 by the state committee.
6 (e)(f) On a case-by-case basis, request that the state
7 committee review the data of a particular case.
8 (18) Each district administrator of the Department of
9 Children and Family Services must appoint a child abuse death
10 review coordinator for the district. The coordinator must have
11 knowledge and expertise in the area of child abuse and
12 neglect. The coordinator's general responsibilities include:
13 (a) Coordinating with the local child abuse death
14 review committee.
15 (b) Ensuring the appropriate implementation of the
16 child abuse death review process and all district activities
17 related to the review of child abuse deaths.
18 (c) Working with the committee to ensure that the
19 reviews are thorough and that all issues are appropriately
20 addressed.
21 (d) Maintaining a system of logging child abuse deaths
22 covered by this procedure and tracking cases during the child
23 abuse death review process.
24 (e) Conducting or arranging for a Florida Abuse
25 Hotline Information System (FAHIS) record check on all child
26 abuse deaths covered by this procedure to determine whether
27 there were any prior reports concerning the child or
28 concerning any siblings, other children, or adults in the
29 home.
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1 (f) Coordinating child abuse death review activities,
2 as needed, with individuals in the community and the
3 Department of Health.
4 (g) Notifying the district administrator, the
5 Secretary of Children and Family Services, and the Deputy
6 Secretary for of Children's Medical Services, and the
7 Department of Health Child Abuse Death Review Coordinator
8 Assistant Health Officer of all child abuse deaths meeting
9 criteria for review as specified in this section within 1
10 working day after verifying the child's death was due to
11 abuse, neglect, or abandonment learning of the child's death.
12 (h) Ensuring that all critical issues identified by
13 the local child abuse death review committee are brought to
14 the attention of the district administrator and the Secretary
15 of Children and Family Services.
16 (i) Providing technical assistance to the local child
17 abuse death review committee during the review of any child
18 abuse death.
19 Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section
20 409.145, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
21 409.145 Care of children.--
22 (3)
23 (b) The services of the foster care program shall
24 continue for those individuals 18 to 21 years of age only for
25 the period of time the individual is continuously enrolled in
26 high school, in a program leading to a high school equivalency
27 diploma as defined in s. 229.814, or in a full-time career
28 education program. Services shall be terminated upon
29 completion of or withdrawal or permanent expulsion from high
30 school, the program leading to a high school equivalency
31 diploma, or the full-time career education program. In
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1 addition, the department may, based upon the availability of
2 funds, provide assistance to those individuals who leave
3 foster care when they attain 18 years of age and subsequently
4 request assistance prior to their 21st birthday. The following
5 are examples of assistance that may be provided: referrals for
6 employment, services for educational or vocational
7 development, and housing assistance.
8 Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 409.1671, Florida
9 Statutes, is amended to read:
10 409.1671 Foster care and related services;
11 privatization.--
12 (3)(a) In order to help ensure a seamless child
13 protection system, the department shall ensure that contracts
14 entered into with community-based agencies pursuant to this
15 section include provisions for a case-transfer process to
16 determine the date that the community-based agency will
17 initiate the appropriate services for a child and family. This
18 case-transfer process must clearly identify the closure of the
19 protective investigation and the initiation of service
20 provision. At the point of case transfer, as well as at the
21 conclusion of an investigation, the department must provide a
22 complete summary of the findings of the investigation to the
23 community-based agency.
24 (b) The contracts must also ensure that each
25 community-based agency shall furnish regular status reports of
26 its cases to the department as specified in the contract. A
27 provider may not discontinue services without prior written
28 notification to the department. After discontinuing services
29 to a child or a child and family, the community-based agency
30 must provide a written case summary, including its assessment
31 of the child and family, to the department.
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1 (c) The annual contract between the department and
2 community-based agencies must include provisions that specify
3 the procedures to be used by the parties to resolve
4 differences in interpreting the contract or to resolve
5 disputes as to the adequacy of the parties' compliance with
6 their respective obligations under the contract.
7 Section 10. Paragraph (f) of subsection (8) of section
8 39.402, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
9 39.402 Placement in a shelter.--
10 (8)
11 (f) At the shelter hearing, the department shall
12 inform the court of:
13 1. Any identified current or previous case plans
14 negotiated in any district with the parents or caregivers
15 under this chapter and problems associated with compliance;
16 2. Any adjudication of the parents or caregivers of
17 delinquency;
18 3. Any past or current injunction for protection from
19 domestic violence; and
20 4. All of the child's places of residence during the
21 prior 12 months.
22 Section 11. Present paragraph (c) of subsection (13)
23 of section 409.175, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as
24 paragraph (d) and a new paragraph (c) is added to that
25 subsection to read:
26 409.175 Licensure of family foster homes, residential
27 child-caring agencies, and child-placing agencies.--
28 (13)
29 (c) In consultation with foster parents, each district
30 or lead agency shall develop a plan for making the completion
31 of the required training as convenient as possible for
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1 potential foster parents and emergency-shelter parents. The
2 plan should include, without limitation, such strategies as
3 providing training in nontraditional locations and at
4 nontraditional times. The plan must be revised at least
5 annually and must be included in the information provided to
6 each person applying to become a foster parent or
7 emergency-shelter parent.
8 Section 12. Section 409.1753, Florida Statutes, is
9 created to read:
10 409.1753 Foster care; duties.--The department shall
11 ensure that, within each district, each foster home is given a
12 telephone number for the foster parent to call during normal
13 working hours whenever immediate assistance is needed and the
14 child's caseworker is unavailable. This number must be staffed
15 and answered by individuals possessing the knowledge and
16 authority necessary to assist foster parents.
17 Section 13. Section 784.085, Florida Statutes, is
18 created to read:
19 784.085 Battery of child by throwing, tossing,
20 projecting, or expelling certain fluids or materials.--
21 (1) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly cause
22 or attempt to cause a child to come into contact with blood,
23 seminal fluid, or urine or feces by throwing, tossing,
24 projecting, or expelling such fluid or material.
25 (2) Any person who violates this section commits
26 battery of a child, a felony of the third degree, punishable
27 as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
28 (3) As used in this section, the term "child" means a
29 person under 18 years of age.
30 Section 14. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
31 921.0022, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
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1 921.0022 Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity
2 ranking chart.--
3 (3) OFFENSE SEVERITY RANKING CHART
4
5 Florida Felony
6 Statute Degree Description
7
8
9 (d) LEVEL 4
10 316.1935(3) 2nd Driving at high speed or with
11 wanton disregard for safety while
12 fleeing or attempting to elude
13 law enforcement officer who is in
14 a marked patrol vehicle with
15 siren and lights activated.
16 784.07(2)(b) 3rd Battery of law enforcement
17 officer, firefighter, intake
18 officer, etc.
19 784.075 3rd Battery on detention or
20 commitment facility staff.
21 784.08(2)(c) 3rd Battery on a person 65 years of
22 age or older.
23 784.081(3) 3rd Battery on specified official or
24 employee.
25 784.082(3) 3rd Battery by detained person on
26 visitor or other detainee.
27 784.083(3) 3rd Battery on code inspector.
28 784.085 3rd Battery of child by throwing,
29 tossing, projecting, or expelling
30 certain fluids or materials.
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1 787.03(1) 3rd Interference with custody;
2 wrongly takes child from
3 appointed guardian.
4 787.04(2) 3rd Take, entice, or remove child
5 beyond state limits with criminal
6 intent pending custody
7 proceedings.
8 787.04(3) 3rd Carrying child beyond state lines
9 with criminal intent to avoid
10 producing child at custody
11 hearing or delivering to
12 designated person.
13 790.115(1) 3rd Exhibiting firearm or weapon
14 within 1,000 feet of a school.
15 790.115(2)(b) 3rd Possessing electric weapon or
16 device, destructive device, or
17 other weapon on school property.
18 790.115(2)(c) 3rd Possessing firearm on school
19 property.
20 800.04(7)(c) 3rd Lewd or lascivious exhibition;
21 offender less than 18 years.
22 810.02(4)(a) 3rd Burglary, or attempted burglary,
23 of an unoccupied structure;
24 unarmed; no assault or battery.
25 810.02(4)(b) 3rd Burglary, or attempted burglary,
26 of an unoccupied conveyance;
27 unarmed; no assault or battery.
28 810.06 3rd Burglary; possession of tools.
29 810.08(2)(c) 3rd Trespass on property, armed with
30 firearm or dangerous weapon.
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1 812.014(2)(c)3. 3rd Grand theft, 3rd degree $10,000
2 or more but less than $20,000.
3 812.014
4 (2)(c)4.-10. 3rd Grand theft, 3rd degree, a will,
5 firearm, motor vehicle,
6 livestock, etc.
7 817.563(1) 3rd Sell or deliver substance other
8 than controlled substance agreed
9 upon, excluding s. 893.03(5)
10 drugs.
11 828.125(1) 2nd Kill, maim, or cause great bodily
12 harm or permanent breeding
13 disability to any registered
14 horse or cattle.
15 837.02(1) 3rd Perjury in official proceedings.
16 837.021(1) 3rd Make contradictory statements in
17 official proceedings.
18 843.025 3rd Deprive law enforcement,
19 correctional, or correctional
20 probation officer of means of
21 protection or communication.
22 843.15(1)(a) 3rd Failure to appear while on bail
23 for felony (bond estreature or
24 bond jumping).
25 874.05(1) 3rd Encouraging or recruiting another
26 to join a criminal street gang.
27 893.13(2)(a)1. 2nd Purchase of cocaine (or other s.
28 893.03(1)(a), (b), or (d), or
29 (2)(a) or (b) drugs).
30 914.14(2) 3rd Witnesses accepting bribes.
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1 914.22(1) 3rd Force, threaten, etc., witness,
2 victim, or informant.
3 914.23(2) 3rd Retaliation against a witness,
4 victim, or informant, no bodily
5 injury.
6 918.12 3rd Tampering with jurors.
7 Section 15. Section 1 of chapter 99-168, Laws of
8 Florida, is repealed.
9 Section 16. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
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