| 1 | Representative Galvano offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Remove lines 841-920 and insert: |
| 5 | (1) There is created the Florida Child Welfare Student |
| 6 | Loan Forgiveness Program to be administered by the Department of |
| 7 | Children and Family Services Education. The program shall |
| 8 | provide loan reimbursement assistance to eligible employees in |
| 9 | child welfare positions that are critical to the department's |
| 10 | mission, as determined by the department, and that are within |
| 11 | the department, a law enforcement agency, or a contracted |
| 12 | community-based care agency students for upper-division |
| 13 | undergraduate and graduate study. The primary purpose of the |
| 14 | program is to attract capable and promising students to the |
| 15 | child welfare profession, increase employment and retention of |
| 16 | individuals who are working towards or who have received either |
| 17 | a bachelor's degree or a master's degree in social work, or any |
| 18 | human services subject area that qualifies the individual for |
| 19 | employment as a family services worker, and provide |
| 20 | opportunities for persons making midcareer decisions to enter |
| 21 | the child welfare profession. The State Board of Education shall |
| 22 | adopt rules necessary to administer the program. |
| 23 | (2)(a) To be eligible for a program loan, the employee's |
| 24 | outstanding student loans may not be in a default status. The |
| 25 | department shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and |
| 26 | 120.54 necessary to administer the program. a candidate shall: |
| 27 | 1. Be a full-time student at the upper-division |
| 28 | undergraduate or graduate level in a social work program |
| 29 | approved by the Council on Social Work Education leading to |
| 30 | either a bachelor's degree or a master's degree in social work |
| 31 | or an accredited human services degree program. |
| 32 | 2. Have declared an intent to work in child welfare for at |
| 33 | least the number of years for which a forgivable loan is |
| 34 | received at the Department of Children and Family Services or |
| 35 | its successor, or with an eligible lead community-based provider |
| 36 | as defined in s. 409.1671. |
| 37 | 3. If applying for an undergraduate forgivable loan, have |
| 38 | maintained a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least |
| 39 | a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for all undergraduate work. Renewal |
| 40 | applicants for undergraduate loans shall have maintained a |
| 41 | minimum cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.5 on a |
| 42 | 4.0 scale for all undergraduate work and have earned at least 12 |
| 43 | semester credits per term, or the equivalent. |
| 44 | 4. If applying for a graduate forgivable loan, have |
| 45 | maintained an undergraduate cumulative grade point average of at |
| 46 | least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or have attained a Graduate Record |
| 47 | Examination score of at least 1,000. Renewal applicants for |
| 48 | graduate loans shall have maintained a minimum cumulative grade |
| 49 | point average of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all graduate |
| 50 | work and have earned at least 9 semester credits per term, or |
| 51 | the equivalent. |
| 52 | (b) An undergraduate forgivable loan may be awarded for 2 |
| 53 | undergraduate years, not to exceed $4,000 per year. |
| 54 | (c) A graduate forgivable loan may be awarded for 2 |
| 55 | graduate years, not to exceed $8,000 per year. In addition to |
| 56 | meeting criteria specified in paragraph (a), a loan recipient at |
| 57 | the graduate level shall: |
| 58 | 1. Hold a bachelor's degree from a school or department of |
| 59 | social work at any college or university accredited by the |
| 60 | Council on Social Work Education, or hold a degree in a human |
| 61 | services field from an accredited college or university. |
| 62 | 2. Not have received an undergraduate forgivable loan as |
| 63 | provided for in paragraph (b). |
| 64 | (d) The State Board of Education shall adopt by rule |
| 65 | repayment schedules and applicable interest rates under ss. |
| 66 | 1009.82 and 1009.95. A forgivable loan must be repaid within 10 |
| 67 | years after completion of a program of studies. |
| 68 | 1. Credit for repayment of an undergraduate or graduate |
| 69 | forgivable loan shall be in an amount not to exceed $4,000 in |
| 70 | loan principal plus applicable accrued interest for each full |
| 71 | year of eligible service in the child welfare profession. |
| 72 | 2. Any forgivable loan recipient who fails to work at the |
| 73 | Department of Children and Family Services or its successor, or |
| 74 | with an eligible lead community-based provider as defined in s. |
| 75 | 409.1671, is responsible for repaying the loan plus accrued |
| 76 | interest at 8 percent annually. |
| 77 | 3. Forgivable loan recipients may receive loan repayment |
| 78 | credit for child welfare service rendered at any time during the |
| 79 | scheduled repayment period. However, such repayment credit shall |
| 80 | be applicable only to the current principal and accrued interest |
| 81 | balance that remains at the time the repayment credit is earned. |
| 82 | No loan recipient shall be reimbursed for previous cash payments |
| 83 | of principal and interest. |
| 84 | (3) This section shall be implemented only as specifically |
| 85 | funded. |
| 86 |
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| 87 |
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| 88 | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| 89 | T I T L E A M E N D M E N T |
| 90 | Remove line 70 and insert: |
| 91 | requirements; directing the Department of Children and Family |
| 92 | Services to adopt rules to administer the program; amending s. |
| 93 | 409.1671, F.S.; providing for |