| 1 | The Future of Florida's Families Committee recommends the |
| 2 | following: |
| 3 |
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| 4 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 5 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 6 | A bill to be entitled |
| 7 | An act relating to adoption benefits; amending s. 110.152, |
| 8 | F.S.; defining the term "qualifying adoptive parent"; |
| 9 | expanding the categories of persons who are eligible to be |
| 10 | qualifying adoptive parents; providing that a qualifying |
| 11 | adoptive parent who adopts a special-needs child or a |
| 12 | child whose permanent custody has been awarded to the |
| 13 | Department of Children and Family Services or to a |
| 14 | Florida-licensed child-placing agency, other than a |
| 15 | special-needs child, is eligible to receive a specified |
| 16 | monetary benefit that is paid to the adoptive parent in |
| 17 | equal monthly installments over a 1-year period; amending |
| 18 | s. 110.15201, F.S.; authorizing the Department of |
| 19 | Management Services to adopt rules to administer the |
| 20 | adoption benefits program; providing an effective date. |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Section 1. Section 110.152, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 25 | to read: |
| 26 | 110.152 Adoption benefits for qualifying adoptive parents |
| 27 | state employees; parental leave.-- |
| 28 | (1) As used in this section, the term "qualifying adoptive |
| 29 | parent" means a full-time or part-time employee of: |
| 30 | (a) The state, including a full-time or part-time employee |
| 31 | of the State University System; |
| 32 | (b) Any community college in the state; or |
| 33 | (c) Any county school district in the state, including |
| 34 | teachers. |
| 35 | (2)(1)(a) Any qualifying adoptive parent full-time or |
| 36 | part-time employee of the state who is paid from regular salary |
| 37 | appropriations and who adopts a special-needs child, as defined |
| 38 | in paragraph (b), is eligible to receive a monetary benefit in |
| 39 | the amount of $10,000 per child, which is payable in equal |
| 40 | monthly installments over a 1-year period. Any qualifying |
| 41 | adoptive parent employee of the state who adopts a child whose |
| 42 | permanent custody has been awarded to the Department of Children |
| 43 | and Family Services or to a Florida-licensed child-placing |
| 44 | agency, other than a special-needs child as defined in paragraph |
| 45 | (b), shall be eligible to receive a monetary benefit in the |
| 46 | amount of $5,000 per child, which is payable in equal monthly |
| 47 | installments over a 1-year period. Benefits paid under this |
| 48 | subsection to a part-time employee must be prorated based on the |
| 49 | employee's full-time-equivalency status at the time of applying |
| 50 | for the benefits. |
| 51 | (b) For purposes of this section, a "special-needs child" |
| 52 | is a child whose permanent custody has been awarded to the |
| 53 | Department of Children and Family Services or to a Florida- |
| 54 | licensed child-placing agency and who is not likely to be |
| 55 | adopted because he or she is: |
| 56 | 1. Eight years of age or older. |
| 57 | 2. A person with a developmental disability. |
| 58 | 3. A person with a physical or emotional handicap. |
| 59 | 4. Of a minority race or of a racially mixed heritage. |
| 60 | 5. A member of a sibling group of any age, provided that |
| 61 | two or more members of a sibling group remain together for the |
| 62 | purposes of adoption. |
| 63 | (3)(2) A qualifying adoptive parent An employee of the |
| 64 | state who adopts a special-needs child must apply to his or her |
| 65 | agency head to obtain the monetary benefit provided in |
| 66 | subsection (2) (1). Applications must be on forms approved by |
| 67 | the department and must include a certified copy of the final |
| 68 | order of adoption naming the applicant as the adoptive parent. |
| 69 | (4)(3) Nothing in This section does not shall affect the |
| 70 | right of any qualifying adoptive parent state employee who |
| 71 | adopts a special-needs child to receive financial aid for |
| 72 | adoption expenses under pursuant to s. 409.166 or any other |
| 73 | statute that provides financial incentives for the adoption of |
| 74 | children. |
| 75 | (5)(4) Any qualifying adoptive parent employee of the |
| 76 | state who has a child placed in the custody of the adopting |
| 77 | parent employee for adoption, and who continues to reside in the |
| 78 | same household as the child placed for adoption, shall be |
| 79 | granted parental leave for a period not to exceed 6 months as |
| 80 | provided in s. 110.221. |
| 81 | Section 2. Section 110.15201, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 82 | to read: |
| 83 | 110.15201 Adoption benefits for qualifying adoptive |
| 84 | parents state employees; rulemaking authority.--The Department |
| 85 | of Management Services may adopt rules to administer the |
| 86 | provisions of this act. The Such rules may provide for an |
| 87 | application process such as, but not limited to, an open |
| 88 | enrollment period during which qualifying adoptive parents |
| 89 | employees may apply for monetary benefits as provided in s. |
| 90 | 110.152(2)(1). |
| 91 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |