Senate Bill sb1372
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1372
By Senator Wise
5-593A-06
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to children in foster care;
3 providing for the creation of the Community
4 Advisory Panel on Foster Care Pilot Program in
5 Duval County; providing purposes and goals;
6 providing for administration of the program by
7 community-based care; providing for hiring
8 personnel; creating the Community Advisory
9 Panel on Foster Care; providing for panel
10 membership; providing for a chairperson;
11 providing duties of specified county judges,
12 the personnel, and the panel; requiring
13 research to determine the effectiveness of the
14 program; requiring an annual report to the
15 court and to legislative leaders; providing for
16 future expiration of the pilot program;
17 providing an appropriation; providing an
18 effective date.
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20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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22 Section 1. Community Advisory Panel on Foster Care
23 Pilot Program; creation; purpose; administration; panel
24 membership; duties of court and panel; evaluation.--
25 (1) There is created the Community Advisory Panel on
26 Foster Care Pilot Program in Duval County. The purpose of the
27 program is to identify educational needs and followup
28 strategies for foster children who are 6 through 12 years of
29 age and are enrolled in the Duval County school system. The
30 goal of the program is to ensure that youth who are in foster
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1372
5-593A-06
1 care will be tested appropriately and placed in an educational
2 environment that optimizes their opportunities for success.
3 (2) The community-based care (CBC) shall administer
4 the pilot program. The CBC shall employ a full-time project
5 coordinator who shall assist the student's case manager in
6 identifying resources for such assessment and treatment. The
7 CBC shall also employ a full-time psychologist who will
8 provide advice, research, assessments, and other services to
9 the judges and to foster children and their families.
10 (3) The chief judge for the Fourth Judicial Circuit or
11 his or her designee shall create the Community Advisory Panel
12 on Foster Care, which will consist of 15 community volunteers
13 who are community leaders that have diverse areas of expertise
14 and talent. The chief judge who is responsible for dependency
15 and adoption in the Fourth Judicial Circuit or his or her
16 designee shall appoint four members of the panel; the
17 Department of Children and Family Services shall appoint four
18 members; the county school board shall appoint four members;
19 and the guardian ad litem for Duval County shall appoint three
20 members. The judge shall chair the panel.
21 (4) The judge may issue orders and obtain educational
22 information relating to students who are 6 to 12 years of age
23 and are in the foster care system in District IV of the
24 department. The panel shall review the academic progress,
25 behavioral issues, and attendance of each student and shall
26 recommend referral of any student for whom the review
27 demonstrates a need for followup services. The panel may
28 prioritize referrals by assessing the severity of need and
29 recommending that the most critical needs be met first. A
30 student who is failing must be referred for educational
31 testing, for additional psychological and therapeutic
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1372
5-593A-06
1 counseling as recommended, or for both, to determine why he or
2 she is failing and what accommodations and remediation are
3 needed.
4 (5) The project coordinator shall oversee the
5 development of a research component, or assessment tool, that
6 is designed to determine the effectiveness of the pilot
7 program.
8 (a) The research data must be set up to link systems
9 among providers of educational services, psychological
10 services, case management, and the court system.
11 (b) The entity that designs the assessment tool must,
12 during the first year of the pilot program, undertake the
13 following tasks:
14 1. Discovery. This phase includes meeting with
15 information technology staff from the department, school board
16 staff, and caseworkers.
17 2. Development. This phase consists of determining the
18 best method for data entry, the best database, and the best
19 data format.
20 3. Implementation. This phase comprises completing,
21 testing, and delivering the assessment tool.
22 4. Maintenance. This phase involves developing a
23 maintenance plan and schedule, after the initiation of the
24 assessment methodology.
25 (6) The project coordinator shall submit an annual
26 report to the court and to the President of the Senate and the
27 Speaker of the House of Representatives.
28 (7) The pilot program expires on July 1, 2009.
29 Section 2. The sum of $300,000 is appropriated from
30 the General Revenue Fund to the Fourth Circuit Court in Duval
31 County for the 2006-2007 fiscal year, to be used in
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1372
5-593A-06
1 implementing the Community Advisory Panel on Foster Care Pilot
2 Program created in section 1 of this act.
3 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.
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6 SENATE SUMMARY
7 Provides for creating the Community Advisory Panel on
Foster Care Pilot Program in Duval County. Provides
8 purposes and goals. Provides for administration of the
program by the CBC (community-based care). Provides for
9 hiring a project coordinator and a psychologist. Creates
the Community Advisory Panel on Foster Care. Provides for
10 panel membership. Provides that the chief judge in charge
of dependency and adoption in the circuit court shall be
11 the chairperson. Provides duties of the judge, the panel,
and program personnel. Requires research to determine the
12 effectiveness of the program. Requires an annual report
to the court and to legislative leaders. Provides for the
13 expiration of the pilot program on July 1, 2009. Provides
an appropriation.
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