HB 777

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to supervised visitation; creating s.
3	753.06, F.S.; providing a hierarchy of factors to be
4	considered in determining where to refer cases for
5	supervised visitation; providing that relatives or friends
6	are not prohibited from supervising visits; authorizing
7	certified supervised visitation programs to petition the
8	court to resolve problems with cases referred to them;
9	providing for hearings concerning problems with case
10	referrals; creating s. 753.07, F.S.; providing a
11	presumption of good faith and civil and criminal immunity
12	for persons providing services at a certified supervised
13	visitation or monitored exchange program pursuant to a
14	court order; creating s. 753.08, F.S.; providing that
15	after a specified date only those supervised visitation
16	programs certified as meeting certain standards may
17	receive state funding; providing an effective date.
18
19	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21	Section 1.  Section 753.06, Florida Statutes, is created to
22	read:
23	753.06  Referrals.-
24	(1)  Courts and referring agencies shall abide by the
25	following visitation decision hierarchy in determining where to
26	refer cases for supervised visitation:
27	(a)  In non-dependency cases where the courts are the
28	primary source of referrals:
29	1.  Courts should prioritize referrals, and whenever a
30	court orders supervised visitation or monitored exchange, the
31	order should refer the parties to a local certified supervised
32	visitation or monitored exchange program if one exists in the
33	community.
34	2.  If no certified program exists, or if the existing
35	certified program is not able to accept the referral, the court
36	must indicate this in writing and may refer the case to a local
37	mental health professional who has completed online training
38	required by the department and reviewed the applicable
39	standards.
40	(b)  In dependency cases, referring agencies shall adhere
41	to the following:
42	1.  The agency with primary responsibility for the case
43	shall refer the parties to a local certified supervised
44	visitation program, if one exists in the community.
45	2.  If no certified program exists, or if the existing
46	certified program is unable to accept the referral, the child
47	protective investigator or case manager with primary
48	responsibility for the case may supervise the parent-child
49	contact. However, before a child protective investigator or case
50	manager may supervise any visits, he or she must complete a
51	review of the online training manual for Florida's supervised
52	visitation programs and certify to his or her own agency that he
53	or she has read and understands these standards and principles.
54	3.  If no certified program exists, or if the existing
55	certified program is unable to accept the referral and the child
56	protective investigator or case manager is unable to supervise
57	the parent-child contact, the designated individual with primary
58	responsibility for the case may refer the case to other
59	qualified individuals, such as interns, other agency staff, or
60	transporters, within that agency to supervise the contact.
61	However, before any such qualified individual may supervise any
62	visits, he or she must complete a review of the online training
63	manual for Florida's supervised visitation programs and certify
64	to his or her own agency that he or she has read and understands
65	these standards and principles.
66	4.  The agency that has primary responsibility for the case
67	may not refer the case to a subcontracting or other agency to
68	perform the supervised visitation unless all of that agency's
69	child protective investigators or case managers who supervise
70	visits, either onsite or offsite, have completed a review of the
71	online training manual for Florida's supervised visitation
72	programs and certify to their own agency that they have read and
73	understand these standards and principles. In this circumstance,
74	the subcontracting or other agency staff's completion of the
75	training manual alone is not sufficient to qualify them to
76	supervise visits.
77	(2)  This section does not prohibit judges from allowing
78	relatives or friends to supervise visits.
79	(3)  Certified programs that have accepted referrals may
80	petition the court in writing when there are problems with case
81	referrals, and the court may set a hearing to address these
82	problems.
83	Section 2.  Section 753.07, Florida Statutes, is created to
84	read:
85	753.07  Service providers; immunity.-All persons
86	responsible for providing services at a certified supervised
87	visitation or monitored exchange program pursuant to a court
88	order shall be presumed prima facie to be acting in good faith
89	and in so doing shall be immune from any liability, civil or
90	criminal, that otherwise might be incurred or imposed.
91	Section 3.  Section 753.08, Florida Statutes, is created to
92	read:
93	753.08  Funding eligibility.-After January 1, 2011, only
94	supervised visitation programs certified as meeting standards
95	implemented under this chapter may receive state funding.
96	Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.