| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to foster care; amending s. 409.1451, |
| 3 | F.S.; revising eligibility requirements for awarding Road- |
| 4 | to-Independence Scholarships and providing transitional |
| 5 | support services to certain children in foster care and |
| 6 | certain young adults formerly in foster care; providing an |
| 7 | effective date. |
| 8 |
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| 9 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) and paragraphs |
| 12 | (b) and (c) of subsection (5) of section 409.1451, Florida |
| 13 | Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 14 | 409.1451 Independent living transition services.-- |
| 15 | (1) SYSTEM OF SERVICES.-- |
| 16 | (c) State funds for foster care or federal funds shall be |
| 17 | used to establish a continuum of services for eligible children |
| 18 | in foster care and eligible young adults who were formerly in |
| 19 | foster care which accomplish the goals for the system of |
| 20 | independent living transition services by providing services for |
| 21 | foster children, pursuant to subsection (4), and services for |
| 22 | young adults who were formerly in foster care, pursuant to |
| 23 | subsection (5). |
| 24 | (2) ELIGIBILITY.-- |
| 25 | (a) The department shall serve children who have reached |
| 26 | 13 years of age but are not yet 18 years of age and who are in |
| 27 | foster care by providing services pursuant to subsection (4). |
| 28 | Children to be served must meet the eligibility requirements set |
| 29 | forth for specific services as provided in this section. |
| 30 | (b) The department shall serve young adults who have |
| 31 | reached 18 years of age but are not yet 23 years of age and who |
| 32 | were in foster care when they turned 18 years of age by |
| 33 | providing services pursuant to subsection (5). Young adults to |
| 34 | be served must meet the eligibility requirements set forth for |
| 35 | specific services in this section. |
| 36 | (4) SERVICES FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.--The department |
| 37 | shall provide the following transition to independence services |
| 38 | to children in foster care who meet prescribed conditions and |
| 39 | are determined eligible by the department. The service |
| 40 | categories available to children in foster care which facilitate |
| 41 | successful transition into adulthood are: |
| 42 | (c) Subsidized independent living services.-- |
| 43 | 1. Subsidized independent living services are living |
| 44 | arrangements that allow the child to live independently of the |
| 45 | daily care and supervision of an adult in a setting that is not |
| 46 | required to be licensed under s. 409.175. |
| 47 | 2. A child who has reached 16 years of age but is not yet |
| 48 | 18 years of age is eligible for such services if he or she: |
| 49 | a. Is adjudicated dependent under chapter 39; has been |
| 50 | placed in licensed out-of-home care for at least 6 months prior |
| 51 | to entering subsidized independent living; and has a permanency |
| 52 | goal of adoption, independent living, or long-term licensed |
| 53 | care; and |
| 54 | b. Is able to demonstrate independent living skills, as |
| 55 | determined by the department, using established procedures and |
| 56 | assessments. |
| 57 | 3. Independent living arrangements established for a child |
| 58 | must be part of an overall plan leading to the total |
| 59 | independence of the child from the department's supervision. The |
| 60 | plan must include, but need not be limited to, a description of |
| 61 | the skills of the child and a plan for learning additional |
| 62 | identified skills; the behavior that the child has exhibited |
| 63 | which indicates an ability to be responsible and a plan for |
| 64 | developing additional responsibilities, as appropriate; a plan |
| 65 | for future educational, vocational, and training skills; present |
| 66 | financial and budgeting capabilities and a plan for improving |
| 67 | resources and ability; a description of the proposed residence; |
| 68 | documentation that the child understands the specific |
| 69 | consequences of his or her conduct in the independent living |
| 70 | program; documentation of proposed services to be provided by |
| 71 | the department and other agencies, including the type of service |
| 72 | and the nature and frequency of contact; and a plan for |
| 73 | maintaining or developing relationships with the family, other |
| 74 | adults, friends, and the community, as appropriate. |
| 75 | 4. Subsidy payments in an amount established by the |
| 76 | department may be made directly to a child under the direct |
| 77 | supervision of a caseworker or other responsible adult approved |
| 78 | by the department. |
| 79 | (5) SERVICES FOR YOUNG ADULTS FORMERLY IN FOSTER |
| 80 | CARE.--Based on the availability of funds, the department shall |
| 81 | provide or arrange for the following services to young adults |
| 82 | formerly in foster care who meet the prescribed conditions and |
| 83 | are determined eligible by the department. The categories of |
| 84 | services available to assist a young adult formerly in foster |
| 85 | care to achieve independence are: |
| 86 | (b) Road-to-Independence Scholarship Program.-- |
| 87 | 1. The Road-to-Independence Scholarship Program is |
| 88 | intended to help eligible students who are former foster |
| 89 | children in this state to receive the educational and vocational |
| 90 | training needed to achieve independence. The amount of the award |
| 91 | shall be based on the living and educational needs of the young |
| 92 | adult and may be up to, but may not exceed, the amount of |
| 93 | earnings that the student would have been eligible to earn |
| 94 | working a 40-hour-a-week federal minimum wage job. |
| 95 | 2. A young adult who has reached 18 years of age but is |
| 96 | not yet 21 years of age is eligible for the initial award, and a |
| 97 | young adult under 23 years of age is eligible for renewal |
| 98 | awards, if he or she: |
| 99 | a. Was a dependent child, under chapter 39, and was living |
| 100 | in licensed foster care or in subsidized independent living at |
| 101 | the time of his or her 18th birthday; |
| 102 | b. Spent at least 6 months living in foster care before |
| 103 | reaching his or her 18th birthday; |
| 104 | c. Is a resident of this state as defined in s. 1009.40; |
| 105 | and |
| 106 | d. Meets one of the following qualifications: |
| 107 | (I) Has earned a standard high school diploma or its |
| 108 | equivalent as described in s. 1003.43 or s. 1003.435, or has |
| 109 | earned a special diploma or special certificate of completion as |
| 110 | described in s. 1003.438, and has been admitted for full-time |
| 111 | enrollment in an eligible postsecondary education institution as |
| 112 | defined in s. 1009.533; |
| 113 | (II) Is enrolled full time in an accredited high school; |
| 114 | or |
| 115 | (III) Is enrolled full time in an accredited adult |
| 116 | education program designed to provide the student with a high |
| 117 | school diploma or its equivalent. |
| 118 | 3. A young adult applying for a Road-to-Independence |
| 119 | Scholarship must apply for any other grants and scholarships for |
| 120 | which he or she may qualify. The department shall assist the |
| 121 | young adult in the application process and may use the federal |
| 122 | financial aid grant process to determine the funding needs of |
| 123 | the young adult. |
| 124 | 4. The amount of the award, whether it is being used by a |
| 125 | young adult working toward completion of a high school diploma |
| 126 | or its equivalent or working toward completion of a |
| 127 | postsecondary education program, shall be determined based on an |
| 128 | assessment of the funding needs of the young adult. This |
| 129 | assessment must consider the young adult's living and |
| 130 | educational costs and other grants, scholarships, waivers, |
| 131 | earnings, and other income to be received by the young adult. An |
| 132 | award shall be available only to the extent that other grants |
| 133 | and scholarships are not sufficient to meet the living and |
| 134 | educational needs of the young adult, but an award may not be |
| 135 | less than $25 in order to maintain Medicaid eligibility for the |
| 136 | young adult as provided in s. 409.903. |
| 137 | 5.a. The department must advertise the availability of the |
| 138 | program and must ensure that the children and young adults |
| 139 | leaving foster care, foster parents, or family services |
| 140 | counselors are informed of the availability of the program and |
| 141 | the application procedures. |
| 142 | b. A young adult must apply for the initial award during |
| 143 | the 6 months immediately preceding his or her 18th birthday, and |
| 144 | the department shall provide assistance with the application |
| 145 | process. A young adult who fails to make an initial application, |
| 146 | but who otherwise meets the criteria for an initial award, may |
| 147 | make one application for the initial award if the application is |
| 148 | made before the young adult's 21st birthday. If the young adult |
| 149 | does not apply for an initial award before his or her 18th |
| 150 | birthday, the department shall inform that young adult of the |
| 151 | opportunity to apply before turning 21 years of age. |
| 152 | c. If funding for the program is available, the department |
| 153 | shall issue awards from the scholarship program for each young |
| 154 | adult who meets all the requirements of the program. |
| 155 | d. An award shall be issued at the time the eligible |
| 156 | student reaches 18 years of age. |
| 157 | e. A young adult who is eligible for the Road-to- |
| 158 | Independence Program and who so desires shall be allowed to |
| 159 | reside with the licensed foster family or group care provider |
| 160 | with whom he or she was residing at the time of attaining his or |
| 161 | her 18th birthday or to reside in another licensed foster home |
| 162 | or with a group care provider arranged by the department. |
| 163 | f. If the award recipient transfers from one eligible |
| 164 | institution to another and continues to meet eligibility |
| 165 | requirements, the award must be transferred with the recipient. |
| 166 | g. Scholarship funds awarded to any eligible young adult |
| 167 | under this program are in addition to any other services |
| 168 | provided to the young adult by the department through its |
| 169 | independent living transition services. |
| 170 | h. The department shall provide information concerning |
| 171 | young adults receiving the Road-to-Independence Scholarship to |
| 172 | the Department of Education for inclusion in the student |
| 173 | financial assistance database, as provided in s. 1009.94. |
| 174 | i. Scholarship funds are intended to help eligible |
| 175 | students who are former foster children in this state to receive |
| 176 | the educational and vocational training needed to become |
| 177 | independent and self-supporting. The funds shall be terminated |
| 178 | when the young adult has attained one of four postsecondary |
| 179 | goals under subsection (3) or reaches 23 years of age, whichever |
| 180 | occurs earlier. In order to initiate postsecondary education, to |
| 181 | allow for a change in career goal, or to obtain additional |
| 182 | skills in the same educational or vocational area, a young adult |
| 183 | may earn no more than two diplomas, certificates, or |
| 184 | credentials. A young adult attaining an associate of arts or |
| 185 | associate of science degree shall be permitted to work toward |
| 186 | completion of a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree |
| 187 | or an equivalent undergraduate degree. Road-to-Independence |
| 188 | Scholarship funds may not be used for education or training |
| 189 | after a young adult has attained a bachelor of arts or a |
| 190 | bachelor of science degree or an equivalent undergraduate |
| 191 | degree. |
| 192 | j. The department shall evaluate and renew each award |
| 193 | annually during the 90-day period before the young adult's |
| 194 | birthday. In order to be eligible for a renewal award for the |
| 195 | subsequent year, the young adult must: |
| 196 | (I) Complete the number of hours, or the equivalent |
| 197 | considered full time by the educational institution, in the last |
| 198 | academic year in which the young adult earned a scholarship, |
| 199 | except for a young adult who meets the requirements of s. |
| 200 | 1009.41. |
| 201 | (II) Maintain appropriate progress as required by the |
| 202 | educational institution, except that, if the young adult's |
| 203 | progress is insufficient to renew the scholarship at any time |
| 204 | during the eligibility period, the young adult may restore |
| 205 | eligibility by improving his or her progress to the required |
| 206 | level. |
| 207 | k. Scholarship funds may be terminated during the interim |
| 208 | between an award and the evaluation for a renewal award if the |
| 209 | department determines that the award recipient is no longer |
| 210 | enrolled in an educational institution as defined in sub- |
| 211 | subparagraph 2.d., or is no longer a state resident. The |
| 212 | department shall notify a student who is terminated and inform |
| 213 | the student of his or her right to appeal. |
| 214 | l. An award recipient who does not qualify for a renewal |
| 215 | award or who chooses not to renew the award may subsequently |
| 216 | apply for reinstatement. An application for reinstatement must |
| 217 | be made before the young adult reaches 23 years of age, and a |
| 218 | student may not apply for reinstatement more than once. In order |
| 219 | to be eligible for reinstatement, the young adult must meet the |
| 220 | eligibility criteria and the criteria for award renewal for the |
| 221 | scholarship program. |
| 222 | (c) Transitional support services.-- |
| 223 | 1. In addition to any services provided through aftercare |
| 224 | support or the Road-to-Independence Scholarship, a young adult |
| 225 | formerly in foster care may receive other appropriate short-term |
| 226 | services, which may include financial, housing, counseling, |
| 227 | employment, education, mental health, disability, and other |
| 228 | services, if the young adult demonstrates that the services are |
| 229 | critical to the young adult's own efforts to achieve self- |
| 230 | sufficiency and to develop a personal support system. |
| 231 | 2. A young adult formerly in foster care is eligible to |
| 232 | apply for transitional support services if he or she has reached |
| 233 | 18 years of age but is not yet 23 years of age, was a dependent |
| 234 | child pursuant to chapter 39, was living in licensed foster care |
| 235 | or in subsidized independent living at the time of his or her |
| 236 | 18th birthday, and had spent at least 6 months living in foster |
| 237 | care before that date. |
| 238 | 3. If at any time the services are no longer critical to |
| 239 | the young adult's own efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and to |
| 240 | develop a personal support system, they shall be terminated. |
| 241 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |