| 1 | The Elder & Long-Term Care Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to youth and young adults with |
| 7 | disabilities; creating the Interagency Services Committee |
| 8 | for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities within the |
| 9 | Agency for Persons with Disabilities; providing |
| 10 | legislative intent; providing for membership, duties, and |
| 11 | responsibilities; requiring specified member agencies to |
| 12 | provide staff support for the committee; providing for |
| 13 | reimbursement of certain expenses; providing that the |
| 14 | committee is subject to open records and open meetings |
| 15 | requirements; requiring the committee to submit a report |
| 16 | to the Governor and Legislature; providing for termination |
| 17 | of the committee; providing an effective date. |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Section 1. Interagency Services Committee for Youth and |
| 22 | Young Adults with Disabilities.-- |
| 23 | (1) There is created within the Agency for Persons with |
| 24 | Disabilities the Interagency Services Committee for Youth and |
| 25 | Young Adults with Disabilities. It is the intent of the |
| 26 | Legislature that the committee establish goals to ensure |
| 27 | successful transition to employment or further education of |
| 28 | youth and young adults with disabilities and to eliminate |
| 29 | barriers that impede educational opportunities leading to future |
| 30 | employment. |
| 31 | (2)(a) The committee shall consist of heads, or their |
| 32 | designees, of the following agencies and bureaus or divisions of |
| 33 | agencies: the Department of Education and, in that department, |
| 34 | the Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, the |
| 35 | Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Division of Blind |
| 36 | Services, the Division of Community Colleges, the Office of |
| 37 | Workforce Education, and the Office of Interagency Programs; the |
| 38 | Agency for Persons with Disabilities; the Agency for Health Care |
| 39 | Administration; the Division of Children's Medical Services |
| 40 | Network in the Department of Health; the Children's Mental |
| 41 | Health Program in the Department of Children and Family |
| 42 | Services; the Department of Juvenile Justice; the Department of |
| 43 | Corrections; the Commission for the Transportation |
| 44 | Disadvantaged; and the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. |
| 45 | Agency representatives must be at least at the bureau chief |
| 46 | level. The committee shall invite representation from the |
| 47 | following private and public parties: the Able Trust; the |
| 48 | Business Leadership Network; the Advocacy Center for Persons |
| 49 | with Disabilities; the Governor's Working Group on the Americans |
| 50 | with Disabilities Act; the Florida Association of Centers for |
| 51 | Independent Living; an individual with a disability; and a |
| 52 | parent or guardian of an individual with a disability. The |
| 53 | members of the committee shall designate one member as the |
| 54 | chairperson. |
| 55 | (b) The Department of Children and Family Services, the |
| 56 | Department of Education, the Department of Health, and the |
| 57 | Agency for Persons with Disabilities shall provide staff support |
| 58 | to the committee. The chairperson may designate one of the |
| 59 | agencies providing staff support to perform administrative |
| 60 | responsibilities for the committee. |
| 61 | (c) Committee members shall serve without compensation but |
| 62 | are entitled to reimbursement for expenses incurred in carrying |
| 63 | out their duties as provided in s. 112.061, Florida Statutes. |
| 64 | Members who are public officers or employees shall be reimbursed |
| 65 | by the budget entity through which they are compensated. |
| 66 | Reimbursement for members who are not public officers or |
| 67 | employees shall alternate between the budget entities |
| 68 | represented on the committee. |
| 69 | (d) The meetings and records of the committee are subject |
| 70 | to ss. 119.07 and 286.011, Florida Statutes, and s. 24, Art. I |
| 71 | of the State Constitution. |
| 72 | (3) The committee shall: |
| 73 | (a) Identify the roles and responsibilities of each agency |
| 74 | with regard to the committee goals. |
| 75 | (b) Develop collaborative relationships to identify and |
| 76 | assist in removing federal and state barriers to achieving the |
| 77 | goals. |
| 78 | (c) Identify common or comparable performance measures for |
| 79 | all agencies that serve youth and young adults with |
| 80 | disabilities. |
| 81 | (d) Design a mechanism to annually assess the progress |
| 82 | toward the goals by each agency. |
| 83 | (e) Collect and disseminate information on the research- |
| 84 | based practices and successful strategies of state and local |
| 85 | agencies. |
| 86 | (f) Develop strategies to educate public and private |
| 87 | employers on the benefit of hiring persons with disabilities. |
| 88 | (g) Develop strategies to encourage public employers to |
| 89 | hire persons with disabilities. |
| 90 | (h) Recommend a statewide system of accountability that |
| 91 | includes incentives for persons with disabilities; service |
| 92 | providers, including school districts, technical centers, and |
| 93 | community colleges; and businesses and industries providing |
| 94 | integrated competitive employment to individuals with |
| 95 | disabilities. |
| 96 | (4) The committee shall submit a report of its progress to |
| 97 | the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of |
| 98 | the House of Representatives by March 1, 2007, and submit a |
| 99 | final report on its findings and recommendations by January 1, |
| 100 | 2008. The committee is abolished on June 1, 2008. |
| 101 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |