| 1 | The Health & Families Council 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; providing for the creation of the |
| 8 | Interagency Services Committee for Youth and Young Adults |
| 9 | with Disabilities; providing legislative intent; providing |
| 10 | for the membership of the committee; providing that the |
| 11 | committee be staffed by member agencies of the committee; |
| 12 | providing that the committee is subject to open records |
| 13 | and meetings requirements; providing for reimbursement of |
| 14 | certain expenses; providing duties and responsibilities of |
| 15 | the committee; requiring the committee to submit a report |
| 16 | to the Governor and the Legislature; providing for |
| 17 | termination 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) The Agency for Persons with Disabilities may create |
| 24 | the Interagency Services Committee for Youth and Young Adults |
| 25 | with Disabilities. It is the intent of the Legislature that the |
| 26 | committee develop strategies to ensure successful transition to |
| 27 | employment or further education of youth and young adults with |
| 28 | disabilities and to eliminate barriers that impede educational |
| 29 | opportunities leading to future employment. |
| 30 | (2)(a) The committee shall consist of heads, or their |
| 31 | designees, of the following agencies and bureaus or divisions of |
| 32 | agencies: the Department of Education and, in that department, |
| 33 | the Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, the |
| 34 | Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Division of Blind |
| 35 | Services, the Division of Community Colleges, workforce |
| 36 | education, and the office of interagency programs; the Agency |
| 37 | for Persons with Disabilities; the Agency for Health Care |
| 38 | Administration; the Division of Children's Medical Services |
| 39 | Network in the Department of Health; children's mental health in |
| 40 | the Department of Children and Family Services; the Department |
| 41 | of Juvenile Justice; the Department of Corrections; the |
| 42 | Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged; and the Florida |
| 43 | Housing Finance Corporation. Agency representatives must be at |
| 44 | least at the bureau chief level. The committee may invite |
| 45 | representation from the following private and public parties: |
| 46 | the Able Trust; the Business Leadership Network; the Florida |
| 47 | Advocacy Center; the Governor's Americans with Disabilities Act |
| 48 | Working Group; the Florida Association for Centers for |
| 49 | Independent Living; an individual with a disability; and a |
| 50 | parent or guardian of an individual with a disability. The |
| 51 | members of the committee shall designate one of its members as |
| 52 | chairperson. |
| 53 | (b) The Department of Children and Family Services, the |
| 54 | Department of Education, the Department of Health, and the |
| 55 | Agency for Persons with Disabilities shall provide staff support |
| 56 | to the committee. Meetings and records of the committee are |
| 57 | subject to ss. 119.07 and 286.011, Florida Statutes. The |
| 58 | chairperson may designate one of the agencies providing staff |
| 59 | support to perform administrative responsibilities for the |
| 60 | 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 | through 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 | (3) The committee shall: |
| 70 | (a) Identify the roles and responsibilities of each agency |
| 71 | with regard to the committee goals. |
| 72 | (b) Develop collaborative relationships to identify and |
| 73 | assist in removing federal and state barriers to achieving the |
| 74 | goals. |
| 75 | (c) Identify common or comparable performance measures for |
| 76 | all agencies that serve youth and young adults with |
| 77 | disabilities. |
| 78 | (d) Design a mechanism to annually assess the progress |
| 79 | toward the goals by each agency. |
| 80 | (e) Collect and disseminate information on research-based |
| 81 | practices of state and local agencies on successful strategies. |
| 82 | (f) Develop strategies to educate public and private |
| 83 | employers on the benefit of hiring persons with disabilities. |
| 84 | (g) Develop strategies to encourage and provide incentives |
| 85 | for public and private employers to hire persons with |
| 86 | disabilities. |
| 87 | (h) Recommend a statewide system of accountability that |
| 88 | would include incentives for persons with disabilities; service |
| 89 | providers, including school districts, technical centers, and |
| 90 | community colleges; and businesses and industries providing |
| 91 | integrated competitive employment to individuals with |
| 92 | disabilities. |
| 93 | (4) The committee shall present a report of its findings |
| 94 | and recommendations to the Governor, the President of the |
| 95 | Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by March |
| 96 | 1, 2007, and a final report on its findings and recommendations |
| 97 | by January 1, 2008. The committee is abolished on June 1, 2008. |
| 98 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |