Senate Bill sb1942c1
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 1942
By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senators Joyner,
Wilson and Bullard
578-2284-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to children's zones; creating
3 s. 409.147, F.S.; providing legislative
4 findings and intent; providing policy and
5 purpose; defining terms; providing a process
6 for nominating and selecting a children's zone;
7 requiring a governing body to pass a
8 resolution; requiring the governing body to
9 establish a children's zone planning team;
10 providing the powers and responsibilities of
11 the planning team; requiring that the planning
12 team designate working groups; specifying focus
13 areas for the working groups; providing for the
14 development of a strategic community plan;
15 providing objectives for each of the focus
16 areas; requiring the governing body to create a
17 corporation; establishing the Magic City
18 Children's Zone pilot project; providing for
19 management by an entity organized as a
20 corporation not for profit; providing
21 geographic boundaries for the zone; providing
22 for designation and appointment of a board of
23 directors; providing for duties of the board of
24 directors; requiring the board to enter into a
25 contract to develop a business plan; providing
26 for a report; providing an appropriation;
27 providing an effective date.
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29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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1 Section 1. Section 409.147, Florida Statutes, is
2 created to read:
3 409.147 Children's zones.--
4 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.--
5 (a) The Legislature finds that:
6 1. There are neighborhoods in this state where the
7 infrastructure and opportunities that middle-class communities
8 take for granted are nonexistent or so marginal that they are
9 ineffective.
10 2. Children in these neighborhoods are read to by an
11 adult on a regular basis and attend a prekindergarten
12 education program at a much lower rate than children in other
13 communities. The children experience below-average performance
14 on standardized tests and graduate from high school in fewer
15 numbers. Most children are eligible for the free or
16 reduced-price school lunch program.
17 3. Children in these neighborhoods often suffer from
18 high rates of asthma, a higher risk of lead poisoning, and
19 inadequate health care, and they are routinely exposed to
20 violence and crime.
21 4. In spite of these obstacles, these communities are
22 many times home to strong individuals and institutions that
23 are committed to making a difference in the lives of children
24 and their families.
25 (b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
26 assist disadvantaged areas within the state by creating a
27 community-based service network that develops, coordinates,
28 and provides quality education, accessible health care,
29 youth-development programs, opportunities for employment, and
30 safe and affordable housing for children and families living
31 within its boundaries.
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1 (2) POLICY AND PURPOSE.--It is the policy of this
2 state to provide the necessary means to assist local
3 communities, children and families, and the private sector in
4 creating a sound educational, social, and economic
5 environment. In order to achieve this objective, the state
6 seeks to provide appropriate investments of sufficient
7 importance to encourage the community partners to commit
8 financial and other resources to the severely disadvantaged
9 areas. The purpose of this section is to establish a process
10 that clearly identifies the severely disadvantaged areas and
11 provides guidance for developing a new social service paradigm
12 that systematically coordinates programs that address the
13 critical needs of children and their families and for
14 directing efforts to rebuild the basic infrastructure of the
15 community. The Legislature, therefore, declares that the
16 creation of children's zones, through the collaborative
17 efforts of government and the private sector, to be a public
18 purpose.
19 (3) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
20 (a) "Governing body" means the commission or other
21 legislative body governing a county or municipality.
22 (b) "Office" means the Office of Adoption and Child
23 Protection within the Executive Office of the Governor.
24 (c) "Planning team" means a children's zone planning
25 team established under this section.
26 (d) "Resident" means a person who lives or who
27 operates a small community-based business or organization
28 within the boundaries of a children's zone.
29 (4) CHILDREN'S ZONE NOMINATING PROCESS.--A county or
30 municipality, or a county and one or more municipalities
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1 together, may request the office to designate an area as a
2 children's zone only after the governing body:
3 (a) Adopts a resolution that:
4 1. Finds that an area exists in the county or
5 municipality, or in the county and one or more municipalities,
6 which chronically exhibits extreme and unacceptable levels of
7 poverty, unemployment, and physical deterioration, as well as
8 limited access to quality educational, health care, and social
9 services;
10 2. Determines that the rehabilitation, conservation,
11 or redevelopment, or a combination thereof, of the area is
12 necessary in the interest of improving the health, wellness,
13 education, living conditions, and livelihoods of children and
14 their families in the county, municipality, or the county and
15 one or more municipalities; and
16 3. Determines that the revitalization of the area can
17 occur only if the state and the private sector invest
18 resources in infrastructure and services.
19 (b) Establishes a children's zone planning team in
20 conformity with this section.
21 (c) Develops and adopts a strategic community plan
22 under this section.
23 (d) Creates a corporation not for profit under this
24 section.
25 (5) CHILDREN'S ZONE PLANNING TEAM.--
26 (a) After adopting the resolution, the county or
27 municipality must establish a planning team to be known as a
28 children's zone planning team.
29 (b) The planning team must include residents,
30 representatives of community-based organizations, and other
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1 community institutions. No fewer than 50 percent of the
2 members must be residents.
3 (c) The planning team must:
4 1. Develop a planning process that sets direction for,
5 builds commitment to, and develops the capacity to realize the
6 children's zone concept.
7 2. Develop a vision of what the children's zone will
8 look like when the challenges, problems, and opportunities in
9 the zone are successfully addressed.
10 3. Identify important opportunities, strengths,
11 challenges, and problems in the children's zone.
12 4. Develop a strategic community plan consisting of
13 goals, objectives, tasks, responsible parties, resources
14 needed, timelines, and plans for monitoring implementation and
15 outcomes.
16 (d) The planning team shall designate working groups
17 to specifically address each of the following focus areas:
18 1. Early development and care of children;
19 2. Education of children and youth;
20 3. Health and wellness;
21 4. Youth support;
22 5. Parent and guardian support;
23 6. Adult education, training, and jobs;
24 7. Community safety; and
25 8. Housing and community development.
26 (6) CHILDREN'S ZONE STRATEGIC COMMUNITY PLAN.--After
27 adopting the governing body resolution, the working group
28 shall develop objectives and identify strategies for each of
29 the focus areas. The objectives for a working group may
30 include, but are not limited to:
31 (a) Early development and care of children.
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1 1. Providing resources to enable every child to be
2 adequately nurtured in the first 3 years of life.
3 2. Ensuring that all schools are ready for children
4 and all children are ready for school.
5 3. Facilitating enrollment in half-day or full-day
6 prekindergarten for all 3-year old and 4-year old children.
7 4. Strengthening parent and guardian relationships
8 with care providers.
9 5. Providing support and education for families and
10 child care providers.
11 (b) Education of children and youth.
12 1. Increasing the level and degree of accountability
13 among those responsible for the development and well-being of
14 all children in the children's zone.
15 2. Changing the structure and function of schools to
16 increase the quality and the amount of time spent on
17 instruction, and to increase programmatic options and
18 offerings.
19 3. Creating a safe and respectful environment for
20 student learning.
21 4. Identifying and supporting points of alignment
22 between the children's zone community plan and the school
23 district's strategic plan.
24 (c) Health and wellness.
25 1. Facilitating enrollment of all eligible children in
26 Florida Kidcare and providing full access to high-quality drug
27 and alcohol treatment services.
28 2. Eliminating health disparities between racial and
29 cultural groups, including improving outcomes and increasing
30 interventions.
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1 3. Providing fresh, good quality, affordable, and
2 nutritious food within the children's zone.
3 4. Providing 100 percent of children in the children's
4 zone with access to safe, structured and unstructured
5 recreation.
6 (d) Youth support.
7 1. Increasing the rates of high school graduation.
8 2. Increasing leadership development and employment
9 opportunities for youth.
10 (e) Parent and guardian support.
11 1. Increasing parent and adult literacy.
12 2. Expanding access to critical resources for parents
13 such as jobs, transportation, day care, and after-school care.
14 3. Improving the effectiveness of systems that
15 communicate and collaborate with parents, and the ways in
16 which parents communicate and collaborate with systems.
17 4. Making the services of the Healthy Families Florida
18 program available to provide multiyear support to expectant
19 parents and those raising infants and toddlers.
20 (f) Adult education, training, and jobs.
21 1. Creating job opportunities for adults which lead to
22 career development.
23 2. Establishing in the children's zone a career and
24 technical school, or a satellite of such a school, which
25 includes a one-stop career center.
26 (g) Community safety.
27 1. Providing a safe environment for all children at
28 home, school, and within the community.
29 2. Eliminating the economic, political, and social
30 forces that lead to a lack of safety within the family,
31 community, school, and institutional structures.
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1 3. Assessing policies and practices, including
2 sentencing, incarceration, detention, and data reporting, in
3 order to reduce youth violence, crime, and recidivism.
4 (h) Housing and community development.
5 1. Strengthening the residential real estate market.
6 2. Building on existing efforts when developing a
7 comprehensive land use strategic plan that promotes
8 socioeconomic diversity.
9 3. Promoting neighborhood-beautification strategies.
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11 In addition, the planning team shall develop objectives and
12 identify strategies for addressing issues that necessitate
13 involvement across more than one of the focus areas.
14 (7) CHILDREN'S ZONE CORPORATION.--After adopting the
15 governing body's resolution, the county or municipality must
16 create a corporation not for profit which must be registered,
17 incorporated, organized, and operated in compliance with
18 chapter 617. The purpose of the corporation is to facilitate
19 fundraising, to secure broad community ownership for the
20 children's zone, and, if the area proposed by the governing
21 body is designated as a children's zone, to:
22 (a) Begin to transfer responsibility for planning from
23 the children's zone planning team to the corporation; and
24 (b) Begin the implementation and governance of the
25 children's zone community plan.
26 (8) CREATION OF MAGIC CITY CHILDREN'S ZONE, INC.,
27 PILOT PROJECT.--
28 (a) There is created within the Liberty City
29 neighborhood in Miami-Dade County a 10-year pilot project zone
30 that, by November 1, 2007, shall be managed by an entity
31 organized as a corporation not for profit which shall be
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1 registered, incorporated, organized, and operated in
2 compliance with chapter 617. The corporation shall be known as
3 the Magic City Children's Zone, Inc., and shall be
4 administratively housed within the Belafonte Tacolcy Center.
5 However, Magic City Children's Zone, Inc., is not subject to
6 control, supervision, or direction by the Belafonte Tacolcy
7 Center.
8 (b) This pilot project is designed to apply to an area
9 that is large enough to include all of the necessary
10 components of community life, including, but not limited to,
11 schools, places of worship, recreational facilities,
12 commercial areas, and common space, yet small enough to allow
13 programs and services to reach every willing member of the
14 neighborhood. Therefore, the geographic boundaries of the
15 pilot project are:
16 1. Northwest 79th Street to the north;
17 2. Northwest 36th Street to the south;
18 3. North Miami Avenue to the east; and
19 4. Northwest 27th Avenue to the west.
20 (c)1. The corporation shall be governed by a 15-member
21 board of directors. The board of directors shall consist of
22 the following members:
23 a. The chief executive officer of the Belafonte
24 Tacolcy Center.
25 b. The executive director of Miami-Dade College,
26 Carrie P. Meek Entrepreneurial Education Center.
27 c. The director of the City of Miami Parks.
28 d. The director of the Miami-Dade Cultural Arts
29 Center.
30 e. The chief executive officer of the Urban League of
31 Greater Miami.
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1 f. The director of the Liberty City Service
2 Partnership.
3 g. The regional superintendent of the Miami-Dade
4 County Public Schools.
5 h. The president of the Student Government Association
6 of Northwestern High School.
7 i. The president of the Student Government Association
8 of Edison High School.
9 j. The president of the Parent-Teacher-Student
10 Association of Northwestern High School.
11 k. The president of the Parent-Teacher-Student
12 Association of Edison High School.
13 l. Four members from the local private business
14 sector, to be appointed by a majority vote of the members
15 designated in this paragraph, all of whom must have
16 significant experience in one of the focus areas specified in
17 this section.
18 2. All members appointed to the board of directors
19 shall be appointed no later than 90 days after the
20 incorporation of the Magic City Children's Zone, Inc. The 11
21 members designated under this paragraph shall be appointed to
22 4-year terms. The four members initially appointed under
23 sub-subparagraph 1.l. shall be appointed to 2-year terms.
24 Members designated or appointed thereafter shall be appointed
25 to 4-year terms. A member may not serve for more than 8 years
26 in consecutive terms.
27 3. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner in
28 which the original designation or appointment was made, and a
29 member designated or appointed to fill a vacancy shall be
30 appointed for the remainder of that term.
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1 4. The board of directors shall annually elect a
2 chairperson and a vice chairperson from among the board's
3 members. The members may, by a vote of at least eight board
4 members, remove a member from the position of chairperson or
5 vice chairperson before the expiration of his or her term as
6 chairperson or vice chairperson. His or her successor shall be
7 elected to serve for the remainder of the removed
8 chairperson's or vice chairperson's term.
9 5. The board of directors shall meet at least four
10 times each year, upon the call of the chairperson, at the
11 request of the vice chairperson, or at the request of a
12 majority of the membership. A majority of the membership
13 constitutes a quorum. The board of directors may take official
14 action by a majority vote of the members present at any
15 meeting at which a quorum is present. The board may conduct
16 its meetings through teleconferences or other similar means.
17 6. A member of the board of directors may be removed
18 by a majority of the membership. Absence from three
19 consecutive meetings results in the automatic removal of a
20 member.
21 7. Each member of the board of directors shall serve
22 without compensation, but is entitled to reimbursement for
23 travel and per diem expenses as provided in s. 112.061 while
24 in the performance of his or her duties.
25 8. The corporation shall create a standing advisory
26 board to assist in any part of its delegated duties. The
27 membership of the advisory board must reflect the expertise
28 necessary for implementing the children's zone pilot project.
29 9. The board of directors has the power and duty to:
30 a. Adopt articles of incorporation and bylaws
31 necessary to govern its activities;
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1 b. Begin to transfer responsibility for planning from
2 the children's zone planning team to the corporation;
3 c. Begin the implementation and governance of the
4 children's zone community plan; and
5 d. Enter into a contract with a management consultant
6 having experience working with social service and educational
7 entities for the purpose of developing a 10-year comprehensive
8 business plan to carry out this section.
9 (d) Magic City Children's Zone, Inc., shall submit an
10 annual report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
11 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 31,
12 2008, and each year thereafter which must include a
13 comprehensive and detailed report of its operations,
14 activities, and accomplishments for the previous year as well
15 as the corporation's goals for the current year. The initial
16 report must also include information concerning the status of
17 the development of a business plan.
18 Section 2. The sum of $3.6 million in nonrecurring
19 funds is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund and the
20 sum of $28,362 in nonrecurring funds is appropriated from the
21 Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund to the Ounce of Prevention Fund
22 of Florida, Inc., during the 2007-2008 fiscal year as a grant
23 for a 3-year period for the purposes of implementing the
24 provisions of this act.
25 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 Senate Bill 1942
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4 The committee Substitute (CS) authorizes local governments to
request designation of a children's zone from the office of
5 Adoption and Child Protection within the Executive office of
the Governor. The local government(s) requesting the
6 designation must adopt a resolution making certain findings,
establish a planning team, develop a strategic plan, and
7 create a not-for-profit corporation to implement the
children's zone. It also requires the planning team to address
8 certain focus areas.
9 This CS revises the boundaries of the Magic City Children's
Zone, inc., a pilot project within Liberty City in Miami-Dade
10 County. The CS specifies the membership of the not-for-profit
that will implement the pilot project. It appropriates $3.6
11 million in nonrecurring General Revenue Funds and $28,362 in
nonrecurring funds from the Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund to
12 the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, Inc., as a grant for
a 3-year period to implement the provisions fo the CS.
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