ENROLLED 2019 Legislature CS for SB 124 2019124er 1 2 An act relating to dependent children; amending s. 3 744.1097, F.S.; specifying the venue in proceedings 4 for the appointment of a guardian for a child or young 5 adult who has been adjudicated dependent; conforming a 6 provision to changes made by the act; amending s. 7 985.43, F.S.; authorizing a court to receive and 8 consider any information provided by the Guardian Ad 9 Litem Program and the child’s attorney ad litem if a 10 child is under the jurisdiction of a dependency court; 11 amending s. 985.441, F.S.; requiring the Department of 12 Juvenile Justice, if a child is under the jurisdiction 13 of a dependency court, to provide notice to the 14 dependency court and the Department of Children and 15 Families, and, if appointed, the Guardian Ad Litem 16 Program and the child’s attorney ad litem; amending s. 17 985.455, F.S.; authorizing a court to receive and 18 consider any information provided by the Guardian Ad 19 Litem Program or the child’s attorney ad litem if a 20 child is under the jurisdiction of a dependency court; 21 amending s. 985.461, F.S.; adding the Guardian Ad 22 Litem Program as an authorized entity of community 23 reentry teams under which the Department of Juvenile 24 Justice is authorized to provide transition-to 25 adulthood services to certain children; reenacting ss. 26 322.051(9), 322.21(1)(f), and 382.0255(3), F.S., 27 relating to identification cards, license fees, and 28 fees, respectively, to incorporate the amendment made 29 to s. 985.461, F.S., in references thereto; providing 30 an effective date. 31 32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 33 34 Section 1. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 744.1097, 35 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 36 744.1097 Venue.— 37 (2) The venue in proceedings for the appointment of a 38 guardian shall be: 39 (a) If the incapacitated person is a resident of this 40 state, in the county where the incapacitated person resides. 41 (b) If the incapacitated person is not a resident of this 42 state, in any county in this state where property of the 43 incapacitated person is located. 44 (c) If the incapacitated person is not a resident of this 45 state and owns no property in this state, in the county where 46 any debtor of the incapacitated person resides. 47 (d) If the incapacitated person is a child or young adult 48 under the jurisdiction of a dependency court, in the county 49 where the child or young adult resides or in the county having 50 jurisdiction of the dependency case. 51 (3) When the residence of an incapacitated person is 52 changed to another county, the guardian shall petition to have 53 the venue of the guardianship changed to the county of the 54 acquired residence, except in cases where venue was established 55 under paragraph (2)(d) or as provided in s. 744.1098. 56 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 985.43, Florida 57 Statutes, is amended to read: 58 985.43 Predisposition reports; other evaluations.— 59 (2) The court shall consider the child’s entire assessment 60 and predisposition report and shall review the records of 61 earlier judicial proceedings beforeprior tomaking a final 62 disposition of the case. If the child is under the jurisdiction 63 of a dependency court, the court may receive and consider any 64 information provided by the Guardian Ad Litem Program and the 65 child’s attorney ad litem, if appointed. The court may, by 66 order, require additional evaluations and studies to be 67 performed by the department; the county school system; or any 68 social, psychological, or psychiatric agency of the state. The 69 court shall order the educational needs assessment completed 70 under s. 985.18(2) to be included in the assessment and 71 predisposition report. 72 Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 985.441, Florida 73 Statutes, is amended to read: 74 985.441 Commitment.— 75 (4) The department may transfer a child, when necessary to 76 appropriately administer the child’s commitment, from one 77 facility or program to another facility or program operated, 78 contracted, subcontracted, or designated by the department, 79 including a postcommitment nonresidential conditional release 80 program, except that the department may not transfer any child 81 adjudicated solely for a misdemeanor to a residential program 82 except as provided in subsection (2). The department shall 83 notify the court that committed the child to the department and 84 any attorney of record for the child, in writing, of its intent 85 to transfer the child from a commitment facility or program to 86 another facility or program of a higher or lower restrictiveness 87 level. If the child is under the jurisdiction of a dependency 88 court, the department shall also provide notice to the 89 dependency court and the Department of Children and Families, 90 and, if appointed, the Guardian Ad Litem Program and the child’s 91 attorney ad litem. The court that committed the child may agree 92 to the transfer or may set a hearing to review the transfer. If 93 the court does not respond within 10 days after receipt of the 94 notice, the transfer of the child shall be deemed granted. 95 Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 985.455, Florida 96 Statutes, is amended to read: 97 985.455 Other dispositional issues.— 98 (3) Any commitment of a delinquent child to the department 99 must be for an indeterminate period of time, which may include 100 periods of temporary release; however, the period of time may 101 not exceed the maximum term of imprisonment that an adult may 102 serve for the same offense, except that the duration of a 103 minimum-risk nonresidential commitment for an offense that is a 104 misdemeanor of the second degree, or is equivalent to a 105 misdemeanor of the second degree, may be for a period not to 106 exceed 6 months. The duration of the child’s placement in a 107 commitment program of any restrictiveness level shall be based 108 on objective performance-based treatment planning. The child’s 109 treatment plan progress and adjustment-related issues shall be 110 reported to the court quarterly, unless the court requests 111 monthly reports. If the child is under the jurisdiction of a 112 dependency court, the court may receive and consider any 113 information provided by the Guardian Ad Litem Program or the 114 child’s attorney ad litem, if appointed. The child’s length of 115 stay in a commitment program may be extended if the child fails 116 to comply with or participate in treatment activities. The 117 child’s length of stay in the program shall not be extended for 118 purposes of sanction or punishment. Any temporary release from 119 such program must be approved by the court. Any child so 120 committed may be discharged from institutional confinement or a 121 program upon the direction of the department with the 122 concurrence of the court. The child’s treatment plan progress 123 and adjustment-related issues must be communicated to the court 124 at the time the department requests the court to consider 125 releasing the child from the commitment program. The department 126 shall give the court that committed the child to the department 127 reasonable notice, in writing, of its desire to discharge the 128 child from a commitment facility. The court that committed the 129 child may thereafter accept or reject the request. If the court 130 does not respond within 10 days after receipt of the notice, the 131 request of the department shall be deemed granted. This section 132 does not limit the department’s authority to revoke a child’s 133 temporary release status and return the child to a commitment 134 facility for any violation of the terms and conditions of the 135 temporary release. 136 Section 5. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 137 985.461, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 138 985.461 Transition to adulthood.— 139 (4) As part of the child’s treatment plan, the department 140 may provide transition-to-adulthood services to children 141 released from residential commitment. To support participation 142 in transition-to-adulthood services and subject to 143 appropriation, the department may: 144 (b) Use community reentry teams to assist in the 145 development of a list of age-appropriate activities and 146 responsibilities to be incorporated in the child’s written case 147 plan for any youth who is under the custody or supervision of 148 the department. Community reentry teams may include 149 representatives from school districts, law enforcement, 150 workforce development services, community-based service 151 providers, the Guardian Ad Litem Program, and the youth’s 152 family. Such community reentry teams must be created within 153 existing resources provided to the department. Activities may 154 include, but are not limited to, life skills training, including 155 training to develop banking and budgeting skills, interviewing 156 and career planning skills, parenting skills, personal health 157 management, and time management or organizational skills; 158 educational support; employment training; and counseling. 159 Section 6. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 160 made by this act to section 985.461, Florida Statutes, in a 161 reference thereto, subsection (9) of section 322.051, Florida 162 Statutes, is reenacted to read: 163 322.051 Identification cards.— 164 (9) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or 165 s. 322.21 to the contrary, the department shall issue or renew a 166 card at no charge to a person who presents evidence satisfactory 167 to the department that he or she is homeless as defined in s. 168 414.0252(7), to a juvenile offender who is in the custody or 169 under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile Justice and 170 receiving services pursuant to s. 985.461, to an inmate 171 receiving a card issued pursuant to s. 944.605(7), or, if 172 necessary, to an inmate receiving a replacement card if the 173 department determines that he or she has a valid state 174 identification card. If the replacement state identification 175 card is scheduled to expire within 6 months, the department may 176 also issue a temporary permit valid for at least 6 months after 177 the release date. The department’s mobile issuing units shall 178 process the identification cards for juvenile offenders and 179 inmates at no charge, as provided by s. 944.605 (7)(a) and (b). 180 Section 7. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 181 made by this act to section 985.461, Florida Statutes, in a 182 reference thereto, paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section 183 322.21, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 184 322.21 License fees; procedure for handling and collecting 185 fees.— 186 (1) Except as otherwise provided herein, the fee for: 187 (f) An original, renewal, or replacement identification 188 card issued pursuant to s. 322.051 is $25, except that an 189 applicant who presents evidence satisfactory to the department 190 that he or she is homeless as defined in s. 414.0252(7); his or 191 her annual income is at or below 100 percent of the federal 192 poverty level; or he or she is a juvenile offender who is in the 193 custody or under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile 194 Justice, is receiving services pursuant to s. 985.461, and whose 195 identification card is issued by the department’s mobile issuing 196 units is exempt from such fee. Funds collected from fees for 197 original, renewal, or replacement identification cards shall be 198 distributed as follows: 199 1. For an original identification card issued pursuant to 200 s. 322.051, the fee shall be deposited into the General Revenue 201 Fund. 202 2. For a renewal identification card issued pursuant to s. 203 322.051, $6 shall be deposited into the Highway Safety Operating 204 Trust Fund, and $19 shall be deposited into the General Revenue 205 Fund. 206 3. For a replacement identification card issued pursuant to 207 s. 322.051, $9 shall be deposited into the Highway Safety 208 Operating Trust Fund, and $16 shall be deposited into the 209 General Revenue Fund. Beginning July 1, 2015, or upon completion 210 of the transition of the driver license issuance services, if 211 the replacement identification card is issued by the tax 212 collector, the tax collector shall retain the $9 that would 213 otherwise be deposited into the Highway Safety Operating Trust 214 Fund and the remaining revenues shall be deposited into the 215 General Revenue Fund. 216 Section 8. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 217 made by this act to section 985.461, Florida Statutes, in a 218 reference thereto, subsection (3) of section 382.0255, Florida 219 Statutes, is reenacted to read: 220 382.0255 Fees.— 221 (3) Fees shall be established by rule. However, until rules 222 are adopted, the fees assessed pursuant to this section shall be 223 the minimum fees cited. The fees established by rule must be 224 sufficient to meet the cost of providing the service. All fees 225 shall be paid by the person requesting the record, are due and 226 payable at the time services are requested, and are 227 nonrefundable, except that, when a search is conducted and no 228 vital record is found, any fees paid for additional certified 229 copies shall be refunded. The department may waive all or part 230 of the fees required under this section for any government 231 entity. The department shall waive all fees required under this 232 section for a certified copy of a birth certificate issued for 233 purposes of an inmate acquiring a state identification card 234 before release pursuant to s. 944.605(7) and for a juvenile 235 offender who is in the custody or under the supervision of the 236 Department of Juvenile Justice and receiving services under s. 237 985.461. 238 Section 9. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.