| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to work experience and job training for |
| 3 | noncustodial parents; creating s. 414.385, F.S.; providing |
| 4 | a definition; establishing a work experience and job |
| 5 | training program for noncustodial parents; requiring the |
| 6 | Agency for Workforce Innovation to administer the program; |
| 7 | providing criteria for participation in the program; |
| 8 | providing a penalty for nonparticipation under certain |
| 9 | circumstances; providing requirements for a service |
| 10 | provider; requiring the service provider to offer |
| 11 | assistance in obtaining federal earned income tax credits |
| 12 | under certain circumstances; specifying prohibited |
| 13 | activities of a service provider; directing the agency to |
| 14 | enter into private contracts for the provision of |
| 15 | services; providing selection criteria for providers under |
| 16 | such contracts; providing agency rulemaking authority; |
| 17 | amending ss. 409.2564, 61.13, and 61.14, F.S., to conform; |
| 18 | amending s. 28.101, F.S.; imposing an additional |
| 19 | dissolution of marriage filing charge; requiring the clerk |
| 20 | of court to transfer charge proceeds to the agency for |
| 21 | certain purposes; providing an effective date. |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Section 1. Section 414.385, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 26 | to read: |
| 27 | 414.385 Work experience and job training program for |
| 28 | noncustodial parents.-- |
| 29 | (1) For the purposes of this section, "agency" means the |
| 30 | Agency for Workforce Innovation. |
| 31 | (2) A work experience and job training program for |
| 32 | noncustodial parents is established. The program shall be |
| 33 | administered by the agency. |
| 34 | (3) An obligor is eligible for entrance into the program |
| 35 | if, 30 days after any order for support, the obligor is still |
| 36 | unemployed. |
| 37 | (4) If the court orders an obligor to participate in the |
| 38 | work experience and job training program, the obligor must |
| 39 | register with the local program service provider. |
| 40 | (5) Every obligor ordered into the work experience and job |
| 41 | training program must participate in work experience, peer |
| 42 | support, job training, job placement, or educational activities |
| 43 | for up to 40 hours per week. |
| 44 | (6) Any obligor ordered to participate in the program |
| 45 | under this section who fails without good cause to participate |
| 46 | as ordered by the court may be held in contempt. |
| 47 | (7) The local work experience and job training program |
| 48 | service provider shall, directly or through contract: |
| 49 | (a) If necessary, enroll the obligor in a mandatory job |
| 50 | training readiness program of up to 4 weeks in duration. |
| 51 | (b) Assess the obligor's employment skills. |
| 52 | (c) Assess the obligor's educational and literacy skills |
| 53 | and enroll the obligor in a local adult educational program if |
| 54 | necessary. |
| 55 | (d) Perform job search assistance and job matching |
| 56 | functions, which shall include on-the-job training, to combine |
| 57 | skill-building and immediate income. |
| 58 | (e) Monitor the progress of the obligor's employment. |
| 59 | (f) Offer a peer support program to educate the obligor |
| 60 | about the responsibilities of a noncustodial parent, to |
| 61 | encourage positive parental behavior and sexual responsibility, |
| 62 | and to enhance the obligor's life skills. |
| 63 | (g) Offer support services to custodial and noncustodial |
| 64 | parents to resolve conflicts concerning visitation, household |
| 65 | expenditures, lifestyles, child care, and school arrangements. |
| 66 | (h) Advise the court when the obligor becomes employed and |
| 67 | of the obligor's continuing employment progress every 30 days. |
| 68 | (i) Counsel the obligor about job retention and |
| 69 | advancement. |
| 70 | (j) Offer follow-up and support services for a period of 6 |
| 71 | months. |
| 72 | (8) If the obligor becomes employed before starting the |
| 73 | program or becomes employed through the efforts of the local |
| 74 | work experience and job training program service provider but |
| 75 | cannot earn an adequate wage level for court-ordered child |
| 76 | support as determined by s. 61.30 or otherwise by a court of |
| 77 | competent jurisdiction, the service provider shall assist the |
| 78 | obligor in obtaining federal earned income tax credits and, if |
| 79 | the wages and the earned income tax credits are less than an |
| 80 | adequate amount for the court-ordered child support, shall |
| 81 | attempt to obtain additional or improved employment for the |
| 82 | obligor. To determine whether the obligor has an adequate wage |
| 83 | level, the following criteria shall be considered: |
| 84 | (a) All earnings, income, and resources of the obligor. |
| 85 | (b) The ability of the obligor to earn. |
| 86 | (c) The reasonable necessities of the obligor. |
| 87 | (d) The needs of the dependent child for whom support is |
| 88 | sought. |
| 89 | (9) The local program service provider shall not: |
| 90 | (a) Charge the obligor for services obtained under this |
| 91 | program; or |
| 92 | (b) Enroll the obligor in a community work program. |
| 93 | (10) The agency shall contract with a private service |
| 94 | provider for job training, placement, and support services. The |
| 95 | agency shall develop a request for proposal to include |
| 96 | procedures and criteria for the competitive acceptance of |
| 97 | proposals from interested service providers. Each interested |
| 98 | service provider seeking to participate in the program pursuant |
| 99 | to this section must be able to demonstrate: |
| 100 | (a) Experience in executing large-scale social |
| 101 | experiments. |
| 102 | (b) Experience in doing research involving waivers of |
| 103 | federal AFDC, JOBS, and Child Support Enforcement policies. |
| 104 | (c) An understanding of the demographics and experiences |
| 105 | of economically disadvantaged noncustodial parents. |
| 106 | (d) Experience in working directly with state programs |
| 107 | designed to assist disadvantaged noncustodial parents. |
| 108 | (11) The agency, in consultation with the Department of |
| 109 | Revenue, shall adopt rules to implement this section. |
| 110 | Section 2. Subsection (7) of section 409.2564, Florida |
| 111 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 112 | 409.2564 Actions for support.-- |
| 113 | (7) In a judicial circuit with a work experience and job |
| 114 | training program for noncustodial parents as established in s. |
| 115 | 414.385 pilot project, if the obligor is a noncustodial parent |
| 116 | of a child receiving public assistance as defined in this |
| 117 | chapter, is unemployed or underemployed or has no income, then |
| 118 | the court shall order the obligor to seek employment, if the |
| 119 | obligor is able to engage in employment, and to immediately |
| 120 | notify the court upon obtaining employment, upon obtaining any |
| 121 | income, or upon obtaining any ownership of any asset with a |
| 122 | value of $500 or more. If the obligor is still unemployed 30 |
| 123 | days after any order for support, the court shall order the |
| 124 | obligor to enroll in a work experience, job placement, and job |
| 125 | training program. |
| 126 | Section 3. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section |
| 127 | 61.13, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 128 | 61.13 Custody and support of children; visitation rights; |
| 129 | power of court in making orders.-- |
| 130 | (1) |
| 131 | (e) In a judicial circuit with a work experience and job |
| 132 | training program for noncustodial parents as established in s. |
| 133 | 414.385 pilot project, if the obligor is unemployed or has no |
| 134 | income and does not have an account at a financial institution, |
| 135 | then the court shall order the obligor to seek employment, if |
| 136 | the obligor is able to engage in employment, and to immediately |
| 137 | notify the court upon obtaining employment, upon obtaining any |
| 138 | income, or upon obtaining any ownership of any asset with a |
| 139 | value of $500 or more. If the obligor is still unemployed 30 |
| 140 | days after any order for support, the court may order the |
| 141 | obligor to enroll in the work experience, job placement, and job |
| 142 | training pilot program for noncustodial parents as established |
| 143 | in s. 414.385 409.2565, if the obligor is eligible for entrance |
| 144 | into the pilot program. |
| 145 | Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section |
| 146 | 61.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 147 | 61.14 Enforcement and modification of support, |
| 148 | maintenance, or alimony agreements or orders.-- |
| 149 | (5) |
| 150 | (b) In a judicial circuit with a work experience and job |
| 151 | training program for noncustodial parents as established in s. |
| 152 | 414.385 pilot project, if at the time of the contempt hearing |
| 153 | the obligor is unemployed or has no income, then the court shall |
| 154 | order the obligor to seek employment, if the obligor is able to |
| 155 | engage in employment, and to immediately notify the court upon |
| 156 | obtaining employment, upon obtaining any income, or upon |
| 157 | obtaining any ownership of any asset with a value of $500 or |
| 158 | more. If the obligor is still unemployed 30 days after any order |
| 159 | for support, the court may order the obligor to enroll in a work |
| 160 | experience, job placement, and job training program for |
| 161 | noncustodial parents as established in s. 414.385 409.2565, if |
| 162 | the obligor is eligible for entrance into the pilot program. |
| 163 | Section 5. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (1) of |
| 164 | section 28.101, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 165 | 28.101 Petitions and records of dissolution of marriage; |
| 166 | additional charges.-- |
| 167 | (1) When a party petitions for a dissolution of marriage, |
| 168 | in addition to the filing charges in s. 28.241, the clerk shall |
| 169 | collect and receive: |
| 170 | (e) A charge of $25. On a monthly basis, the clerk shall |
| 171 | transfer all the moneys collected pursuant to this paragraph to |
| 172 | the Agency of Workforce Innovation for the specific purpose of |
| 173 | funding the work experience and job training program for |
| 174 | noncustodial parents established in s. 414.385. |
| 175 | Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |