Florida Senate - 2020              PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
       Bill No. SB 122
       
       
       
       
       
                               Ì309750(Î309750                          
       
       586-01916A-20                                                   
       Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Children,
       Families, and Elder Affairs
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to child welfare; providing a short
    3         title; amending s. 39.303, F.S.; requiring Child
    4         Protection Teams to be capable of providing certain
    5         training relating to head trauma and brain injuries in
    6         children younger than a specified age; amending s.
    7         39.8296, F.S.; revising the membership of the
    8         curriculum committee established to develop a
    9         specified training program; requiring the training
   10         program to include certain training relating to head
   11         trauma and brain injuries in children younger than a
   12         specified age; amending s. 402.40, F.S.; revising
   13         legislative findings and providing legislative intent;
   14         requiring the Department of Children and Families to
   15         develop and implement a specified child welfare
   16         workforce development framework in collaboration with
   17         other specified entities; providing requirements for
   18         the department relating to workforce education
   19         requirements; requiring the department to submit an
   20         annual report to the Governor and the Legislature by a
   21         specified date; requiring community-based care lead
   22         agencies to submit a plan and timeline to the
   23         department relating to certain child welfare staff by
   24         a specified date; providing requirements for the
   25         department related to workforce training; providing
   26         legislative findings; requiring the department to
   27         establish an Office of Well-Being and Support;
   28         requiring the department to contract with certain
   29         university-based centers to develop and coordinate the
   30         implementation of a specified helpline; requiring the
   31         department to submit a report on the implementation of
   32         such helpline to the Governor and the Legislature on a
   33         specified date; requiring certain attorneys employed
   34         by the department to complete certain training by a
   35         specified date; deleting definitions; deleting
   36         provisions relating to core competencies and
   37         specializations; amending s. 409.988, F.S.; requiring
   38         a lead agency to ensure that certain individuals
   39         receive specified training relating to head trauma and
   40         brain injuries in children younger than a specified
   41         age; revising the types of services a lead agency is
   42         required to provide; creating s. 943.17298, F.S.;
   43         requiring law enforcement officers to complete
   44         training relating to head trauma and brain injuries in
   45         children younger than a specified age as part of
   46         either basic recruit training or continuing training
   47         or education by a specified date; amending s.
   48         1004.615, F.S.; revising the purpose of the Florida
   49         Institute for Child Welfare; revising requirements for
   50         the institute; revising the contents of the annual
   51         report that the institute must provide to the Governor
   52         and the Legislature; deleting obsolete provisions;
   53         repealing s. 402.402, F.S., relating to child
   54         protection and child welfare personnel and attorneys
   55         employed by the department; amending ss. 402.731,
   56         409.996, and 1009.25, F.S.; conforming provisions to
   57         changes made by the act; providing an effective date.
   58          
   59  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   60  
   61         Section 1. This act may be cited as “Jordan’s Law.”
   62         Section 2. Paragraph (h) of subsection (3) of section
   63  39.303, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   64         39.303 Child Protection Teams and sexual abuse treatment
   65  programs; services; eligible cases.—
   66         (3) The Department of Health shall use and convene the
   67  Child Protection Teams to supplement the assessment and
   68  protective supervision activities of the family safety and
   69  preservation program of the Department of Children and Families.
   70  This section does not remove or reduce the duty and
   71  responsibility of any person to report pursuant to this chapter
   72  all suspected or actual cases of child abuse, abandonment, or
   73  neglect or sexual abuse of a child. The role of the Child
   74  Protection Teams is to support activities of the program and to
   75  provide services deemed by the Child Protection Teams to be
   76  necessary and appropriate to abused, abandoned, and neglected
   77  children upon referral. The specialized diagnostic assessment,
   78  evaluation, coordination, consultation, and other supportive
   79  services that a Child Protection Team must be capable of
   80  providing include, but are not limited to, the following:
   81         (h) Such training services for program and other employees
   82  of the Department of Children and Families, employees of the
   83  Department of Health, and other medical professionals as is
   84  deemed appropriate to enable them to develop and maintain their
   85  professional skills and abilities in handling child abuse,
   86  abandonment, and neglect cases. The training services must
   87  include training in the recognition of and appropriate responses
   88  to head trauma and brain injury in a child under 6 years of age
   89  as required under ss. 39.8296, 402.40, and 943.17298.
   90  
   91  A Child Protection Team that is evaluating a report of medical
   92  neglect and assessing the health care needs of a medically
   93  complex child shall consult with a physician who has experience
   94  in treating children with the same condition.
   95         Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
   96  39.8296, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   97         39.8296 Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office; legislative
   98  findings and intent; creation; appointment of executive
   99  director; duties of office.—
  100         (2) STATEWIDE GUARDIAN AD LITEM OFFICE.—There is created a
  101  Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office within the Justice
  102  Administrative Commission. The Justice Administrative Commission
  103  shall provide administrative support and service to the office
  104  to the extent requested by the executive director within the
  105  available resources of the commission. The Statewide Guardian Ad
  106  Litem Office shall not be subject to control, supervision, or
  107  direction by the Justice Administrative Commission in the
  108  performance of its duties, but the employees of the office shall
  109  be governed by the classification plan and salary and benefits
  110  plan approved by the Justice Administrative Commission.
  111         (b) The Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office shall, within
  112  available resources, have oversight responsibilities for and
  113  provide technical assistance to all guardian ad litem and
  114  attorney ad litem programs located within the judicial circuits.
  115         1. The office shall identify the resources required to
  116  implement methods of collecting, reporting, and tracking
  117  reliable and consistent case data.
  118         2. The office shall review the current guardian ad litem
  119  programs in Florida and other states.
  120         3. The office, in consultation with local guardian ad litem
  121  offices, shall develop statewide performance measures and
  122  standards.
  123         4. The office shall develop a guardian ad litem training
  124  program. The office shall establish a curriculum committee to
  125  develop a guardian ad litem the training program specified in
  126  this subparagraph. The curriculum committee shall include, but
  127  not be limited to, dependency judges, directors of circuit
  128  guardian ad litem programs, active certified guardians ad litem,
  129  a mental health professional who specializes in the treatment of
  130  children, a member of a child advocacy group, a representative
  131  of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an
  132  individual with a degree in social work, and a social worker
  133  experienced in working with victims and perpetrators of child
  134  abuse. The training program must include training in the
  135  recognition of and appropriate responses to head trauma and
  136  brain injury in a child under 6 years of age developed by the
  137  Child Protection Team Program within the Department of Health.
  138         5. The office shall review the various methods of funding
  139  guardian ad litem programs, shall maximize the use of those
  140  funding sources to the extent possible, and shall review the
  141  kinds of services being provided by circuit guardian ad litem
  142  programs.
  143         6. The office shall determine the feasibility or
  144  desirability of new concepts of organization, administration,
  145  financing, or service delivery designed to preserve the civil
  146  and constitutional rights and fulfill other needs of dependent
  147  children.
  148         7. In an effort to promote normalcy and establish trust
  149  between a court-appointed volunteer guardian ad litem and a
  150  child alleged to be abused, abandoned, or neglected under this
  151  chapter, a guardian ad litem may transport a child. However, a
  152  guardian ad litem volunteer may not be required or directed by
  153  the program or a court to transport a child.
  154         8. The office shall submit to the Governor, the President
  155  of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
  156  the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court an interim report
  157  describing the progress of the office in meeting the goals as
  158  described in this section. The office shall submit to the
  159  Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
  160  of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court a
  161  proposed plan including alternatives for meeting the state’s
  162  guardian ad litem and attorney ad litem needs. This plan may
  163  include recommendations for less than the entire state, may
  164  include a phase-in system, and shall include estimates of the
  165  cost of each of the alternatives. Each year the office shall
  166  provide a status report and provide further recommendations to
  167  address the need for guardian ad litem services and related
  168  issues.
  169         Section 4. Section 402.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  170  read:
  171         (Substantial rewording of section. See
  172         s. 402.40, F.S., for present text.)
  173         402.40Child welfare workforce; development; training;
  174  well-being.—
  175         (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
  176         (a) The Legislature finds that positive outcomes for
  177  children and families involved with the child welfare system
  178  often are attributable to the strong commitment of a well
  179  trained, highly skilled, well-resourced, and dedicated child
  180  welfare workforce and that the child welfare system is only as
  181  good as the individuals who conduct investigations, provide
  182  services to children and families, and manage service delivery.
  183         (b) The Legislature also finds that child welfare agencies
  184  experience barriers to establishing and maintaining a stable,
  185  effective, and diverse workforce because of issues relating to
  186  recruitment, education and training, inadequate supervision,
  187  retention and staff turnover, and lack of support for frontline
  188  individuals.
  189         (c) The Legislature further finds that, although numerous
  190  initiatives have been developed to address these challenges,
  191  isolated interventions often fail to yield positive results,
  192  whereas implementing an integrated framework across multiple
  193  domains can help child welfare agencies achieve effective
  194  outcomes.
  195         (d) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure a
  196  systematic approach to child welfare workforce staff development
  197  and the well-being of individuals providing child welfare
  198  services by establishing a uniform statewide program.
  199         (2)CHILD WELFARE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK.—In order
  200  to promote competency-based, outcome-focused, and data-driven
  201  approaches to workforce development, the department, in
  202  collaboration with the Florida Institute for Child Welfare,
  203  shall develop and implement a comprehensive child welfare
  204  development workforce framework using a nationally recognized
  205  model for workforce development. The framework must address, at
  206  a minimum, all of the following components:
  207         (a) Recruitment and hiring.
  208         (b) Education and professional preparation.
  209         (c) Professional training and development.
  210         (d)Supervision.
  211         (e) Retention.
  212         (f) Caseload and workload.
  213         (g)Workforce well-being and support.
  214         (h) Work-life balance and flexible scheduling.
  215         (i) Agency culture and climate.
  216         (3)WORKFORCE EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS.—
  217         (a)The department shall make every effort to recruit and
  218  hire qualified professional staff to serve as child protective
  219  investigators and child protective investigation supervisors who
  220  are qualified by their education and experience to perform
  221  social work functions. The department, in collaboration with the
  222  lead agencies, subcontracted provider organizations, the Florida
  223  Institute for Child Welfare, and other partners in the child
  224  welfare system, shall develop a protocol for screening
  225  candidates for child protective positions which reflects the
  226  preferences specified in subparagraphs 1., 2., and 3. The
  227  following persons must be given preference in recruitment, but
  228  this preference serves only as guidance and does not limit the
  229  department’s discretion to select the best available candidates:
  230         1. Individuals with a baccalaureate degree in social work,
  231  and child protective investigation supervisors with a master’s
  232  degree in social work, from a college or university social work
  233  program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
  234         2. Individuals with a bachelor’s degree or a master’s
  235  degree in psychology, sociology, counseling, special education,
  236  education, human development, child development, family
  237  development, marriage and family therapy, or nursing.
  238         3. Individuals with baccalaureate degrees who have a
  239  combination of directly relevant work and volunteer experience,
  240  preferably in a public service field related to children’s
  241  services, which demonstrates critical thinking skills, formal
  242  assessment processes, communication skills, problem solving, and
  243  empathy; a commitment to helping children and families; a
  244  capacity to work as part of a team; an interest in continuous
  245  development of skills and knowledge; and sufficient personal
  246  strength and resilience to manage competing demands and handle
  247  workplace stresses.
  248         (b) By each October 1, the department shall submit a report
  249  on the educational qualifications, turnover, and working
  250  conditions of child protective investigators and supervisors to
  251  the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
  252  the House of Representatives.
  253         (c)By January 1, 2021, the community-based care lead
  254  agencies shall submit to the department a plan and timeline for
  255  recruiting and hiring child welfare staff providing care for
  256  dependent children which meet the same educational requirements
  257  as required for child protective investigators and child
  258  protective investigation supervisors under this subsection. The
  259  plan and timeline must include the same recruiting and hiring
  260  requirements for child welfare staff employed by subcontractors.
  261         (4) WORKFORCE TRAINING.—
  262         (a) In order to enable the state to recruit and retain a
  263  qualified and diverse child welfare workforce that is well
  264  trained, well-supervised, and well-supported, the department
  265  shall establish a program for a comprehensive system to provide
  266  both preservice and inservice child welfare competency-based
  267  training that all child welfare staff, including all staff
  268  providing care for dependent children employed by a community
  269  based care lead agency or by a subcontractor of such agency, are
  270  required to participate in and successfully complete,
  271  appropriate to their areas of responsibility. Such program must
  272  include training in the recognition of and appropriate responses
  273  to head trauma and brain injury in a child under 6 years of age,
  274  which must be developed by the Child Protection Team Program
  275  within the Department of Health.
  276         (b) By January 1, 2021, the department shall establish,
  277  maintain, and oversee the operation of at least one regional
  278  child welfare professional development center in this state. The
  279  department shall determine the number and location of, and the
  280  timeframe for establishing, additional development centers and
  281  shall contract for the operation of the centers with a public
  282  postsecondary institution pursuant to s. 402.7305.
  283         (5)WORKFORCE WELL-BEING AND SUPPORT.—The Legislature finds
  284  that vicarious trauma, burnout, and lack of self-care can
  285  challenge all first responders, including child welfare
  286  professionals. First responders who care for others often need
  287  peer counseling, crisis support, and other resilience-building
  288  services to normalize issues and promote retention. The
  289  Legislature further finds that these activities are best
  290  provided by those with shared life experiences who may provide
  291  assistance that traditional mental health or employee assistance
  292  programs are unable to provide.
  293         (a)The department shall establish an Office of Well-Being
  294  and Support.
  295         (b) The department shall contract with one or more
  296  university-based centers that have expertise in behavioral
  297  health to develop and coordinate the implementation of a
  298  helpline that is operational 24 hours per day and 7 days a week,
  299  staffed by former child welfare supervisors and caseworkers and
  300  child protective investigators, and reflective of the nationally
  301  recognized best practice reciprocal peer support model. The
  302  helpline must be capable of providing peer support, telephone
  303  assessment, and referral services.
  304         (c) The department shall submit a report providing an
  305  update on the activities of the office and implementation of the
  306  helpline to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
  307  Speaker of the House of Representatives on December 1, 2020.
  308         (6) CHILD WELFARE TRAINING TRUST FUND.—
  309         (a) There is created within the State Treasury a Child
  310  Welfare Training Trust Fund to be used by the Department of
  311  Children and Families for the purpose of funding the
  312  professional development of persons providing child welfare
  313  services.
  314         (b) One dollar from every noncriminal traffic infraction
  315  collected pursuant to s. 318.14(10)(b) or s. 318.18 shall be
  316  deposited into the Child Welfare Training Trust Fund.
  317         (c) In addition to the funds generated by paragraph (b),
  318  the trust fund shall receive funds generated from an additional
  319  fee on birth certificates and dissolution of marriage filings,
  320  as specified in ss. 382.0255 and 28.101, respectively, and may
  321  receive funds from any other public or private source.
  322         (d) Funds that are not expended by the end of the budget
  323  cycle or through a supplemental budget approved by the
  324  department shall revert to the trust fund.
  325         (7) ATTORNEYS EMPLOYED BY THE DEPARTMENT TO HANDLE CHILD
  326  WELFARE CASES.—With the exception of attorneys hired after July
  327  1, 2014, but before July 1, 2020, who shall complete the
  328  training required under this subsection by January 31, 2021,
  329  attorneys hired by the department on or after July 1, 2014,
  330  whose primary responsibility is representing the department in
  331  child welfare cases shall receive training within the first 6
  332  months of employment in:
  333         (a) The dependency court process, including the attorney’s
  334  role in preparing and reviewing documents prepared for
  335  dependency court for accuracy and completeness;
  336         (b) Preparing and presenting child welfare cases, including
  337  at least 1 week of shadowing an experienced children’s legal
  338  services attorney who is preparing and presenting cases;
  339         (c) Safety assessment, safety decisionmaking tools, and
  340  safety plans;
  341         (d) Developing information presented by investigators and
  342  case managers to support decisionmaking in the best interest of
  343  children; and
  344         (e) The experiences and techniques of case managers and
  345  investigators, including shadowing an experienced child
  346  protective investigator and an experienced case manager for at
  347  least 8 hours.
  348         (8) ADOPTION OF RULES.—The department shall adopt rules
  349  necessary to administer this section.
  350         Section 5. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) and subsection
  351  (3) of section 409.988, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  352         409.988 Lead agency duties; general provisions.—
  353         (1) DUTIES.—A lead agency:
  354         (f) Shall ensure that all individuals providing care for
  355  dependent children participate in and successfully complete the
  356  program of receive appropriate training relevant to the
  357  individual’s area of responsibility and meet the minimum
  358  employment standards established by the department pursuant to
  359  s. 402.40. The training curriculum must include training in the
  360  recognition of and appropriate responses to head trauma and
  361  brain injury in a child under 6 years of age developed by the
  362  Child Protection Team Program within the Department of Health.
  363         (3) SERVICES.—A lead agency must provide dependent children
  364  with services that are supported by research or that are
  365  recognized as best practices in the child welfare field. The
  366  agency shall give priority to the use of services that are
  367  evidence-based and trauma-informed and may also provide other
  368  innovative services, including, but not limited to, family
  369  centered and cognitive-behavioral interventions designed to
  370  mitigate out-of-home placements and intensive family
  371  reunification services that combine child welfare and mental
  372  health services for families with dependent children under 6
  373  years of age.
  374         Section 6. Section 943.17298, Florida Statutes, is created
  375  to read:
  376         943.17298 Training in the recognition of and responses to
  377  head trauma and brain injury.—Each law enforcement officer must
  378  successfully complete training on the subject of the recognition
  379  of and appropriate responses to head trauma and brain injury in
  380  a child under 6 years of age developed by the Child Protection
  381  Team Program within the Department of Health to aid an officer
  382  in the detection of head trauma and brain injury due to child
  383  abuse. Such training must be completed as part of the basic
  384  recruit training for a law enforcement officer, as required
  385  under s. 943.13(9), or as a part of continuing training or
  386  education required under s. 943.135(1), before July 1, 2022.
  387         Section 7. Section 1004.615, Florida Statutes, is amended
  388  to read:
  389         1004.615 Florida Institute for Child Welfare.—
  390         (1) There is established the Florida Institute for Child
  391  Welfare within the Florida State University College of Social
  392  Work. The purpose of the institute is to advance the well-being
  393  of children and families who are involved with, or at risk of
  394  becoming involved with, the child welfare system by facilitating
  395  and supporting statewide partnerships to develop competency
  396  based education, training, and support to prepare a diverse
  397  group of social work professionals for careers in child welfare
  398  by improving the performance of child protection and child
  399  welfare services through research, policy analysis, evaluation,
  400  and leadership development. The institute shall consist of a
  401  consortium of public and private universities offering degrees
  402  in social work and shall be housed within the Florida State
  403  University College of Social Work.
  404         (2) Using such resources as authorized in the General
  405  Appropriations Act, the Department of Children and Families
  406  shall collaborate contract with the institute for performance of
  407  the duties described in subsection (3) (4) using state
  408  appropriations, public and private grants, and other resources
  409  obtained by the institute.
  410         (3) In order to increase and retain a higher percentage of
  411  professionally educated social workers in the child welfare
  412  system and serve as a statewide resource for child welfare
  413  workforce education and training, the institute, in
  414  collaboration with the Department of Children and Families,
  415  shall:
  416         (a) Design and disseminate a continuum of social work
  417  education and training which emphasizes child welfare workforce
  418  stabilization and professionalization by aligning social work
  419  curriculum and training with critical practice skills pursuant
  420  to s. 402.40.
  421         (b) Identify methods to promote continuing professional
  422  development and systems of workplace support for existing child
  423  welfare staff.
  424         (c) Develop a best practice model for providing feedback on
  425  curriculum to social work programs and for ensuring that interns
  426  who will be entering the child welfare profession are well
  427  supervised by university personnel during their internships.
  428         (d) Create a Title IV-E program designed to provide
  429  professional education and monetary support to undergraduate and
  430  graduate social work students who intend to pursue or continue a
  431  career in child welfare. Goals of the program should include:
  432         1. Increasing the number of individuals in the child
  433  welfare workforce who have a bachelor’s degree or master’s
  434  degree in social work.
  435         2. Prioritizing the enrollment of current child welfare
  436  staff employed by the state.
  437         3. Prioritizing the enrollment of students who reflect the
  438  diversity of the state’s child welfare population.
  439         4. Providing specific program support through the provision
  440  of specialized competency-based child welfare curriculum and
  441  monetary support to students.
  442         (e) Engage in evaluation and dissemination of evidence
  443  based and promising practices in child welfare and build high
  444  quality evaluation into new program models and pilots.
  445  
  446  The institute shall also provide consultation on the creation of
  447  the Office of Well-Being and Support within the Department of
  448  Children and Families pursuant to s. 402.40 The institute shall
  449  work with the department, sheriffs providing child protective
  450  investigative services, community-based care lead agencies,
  451  community-based care provider organizations, the court system,
  452  the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Florida Coalition
  453  Against Domestic Violence, and other partners who contribute to
  454  and participate in providing child protection and child welfare
  455  services.
  456         (4) The institute shall:
  457         (a) Maintain a program of research which contributes to
  458  scientific knowledge and informs both policy and practice
  459  related to child safety, permanency, and child and family well
  460  being.
  461         (b) Advise the department and other organizations
  462  participating in the child protection and child welfare system
  463  regarding scientific evidence on policy and practice related to
  464  child safety, permanency, and child and family well-being.
  465         (c) Provide advice regarding management practices and
  466  administrative processes used by the department and other
  467  organizations participating in the child protection and child
  468  welfare system and recommend improvements that reduce
  469  burdensome, ineffective requirements for frontline staff and
  470  their supervisors while enhancing their ability to effectively
  471  investigate, analyze, problem solve, and supervise.
  472         (d) Assess the performance of child protection and child
  473  welfare services based on specific outcome measures.
  474         (e) Evaluate the scope and effectiveness of preservice and
  475  inservice training for child protection and child welfare
  476  employees and advise and assist the department in efforts to
  477  improve such training.
  478         (f) Assess the readiness of social work graduates to assume
  479  job responsibilities in the child protection and child welfare
  480  system and identify gaps in education which can be addressed
  481  through the modification of curricula or the establishment of
  482  industry certifications.
  483         (g) Develop and maintain a program of professional support
  484  including training courses and consulting services that assist
  485  both individuals and organizations in implementing adaptive and
  486  resilient responses to workplace stress.
  487         (h) Participate in the department’s critical incident
  488  response team, assist in the preparation of reports about such
  489  incidents, and support the committee review of reports and
  490  development of recommendations.
  491         (i) Identify effective policies and promising practices,
  492  including, but not limited to, innovations in coordination
  493  between entities participating in the child protection and child
  494  welfare system, data analytics, working with the local
  495  community, and management of human service organizations, and
  496  communicate these findings to the department and other
  497  organizations participating in the child protection and child
  498  welfare system.
  499         (j) Develop a definition of a child or family at high risk
  500  of abuse or neglect. Such a definition must consider
  501  characteristics associated with a greater probability of abuse
  502  and neglect.
  503         (5) The President of the Florida State University shall
  504  appoint a director of the institute. The director must be a
  505  child welfare professional with a degree in social work who
  506  holds a faculty appointment in the Florida State University
  507  College of Social Work. The institute shall be administered by
  508  the director, and the director’s office shall be located at the
  509  Florida State University. The director is responsible for
  510  overall management of the institute and for developing and
  511  executing the work of the institute consistent with the
  512  responsibilities in subsection (3) (4). The director shall
  513  engage individuals in other state universities with accredited
  514  colleges of social work to participate in the institute.
  515  Individuals from other university programs relevant to the
  516  institute’s work, including, but not limited to, economics,
  517  management, law, medicine, and education, may also be invited by
  518  the director to contribute to the institute. The universities
  519  participating in the institute shall provide facilities, staff,
  520  and other resources to the institute to establish statewide
  521  access to institute programs and services.
  522         (5)(6) By each October 1 of each year, the institute shall
  523  provide a written report to the Governor, the President of the
  524  Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which
  525  outlines its activities in the preceding year, reports
  526  significant research findings, as well as results of other
  527  programs, and provides specific recommendations for improving
  528  education, training, and support for individuals in the child
  529  welfare workforce child protection and child welfare services.
  530         (a) The institute shall include an evaluation of the
  531  results of the educational and training requirements for child
  532  protection and child welfare personnel established under this
  533  act and recommendations for application of the results to child
  534  protection personnel employed by sheriff’s offices providing
  535  child protection services in its report due October 1, 2017.
  536         (b) The institute shall include an evaluation of the
  537  effects of the other provisions of this act and recommendations
  538  for improvements in child protection and child welfare services
  539  in its report due October 1, 2018.
  540         (7) The institute shall submit a report with
  541  recommendations for improving the state’s child welfare system.
  542  The report shall address topics including, but not limited to,
  543  enhancing working relationships between the entities involved in
  544  the child protection and child welfare system, identification of
  545  and replication of best practices, reducing paperwork,
  546  increasing the retention of child protective investigators and
  547  case managers, and caring for medically complex children within
  548  the child welfare system, with the goal of allowing the child to
  549  remain in the least restrictive and most nurturing environment.
  550  The institute shall submit an interim report by February 1,
  551  2015, and final report by October 1, 2015, to the Governor, the
  552  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
  553  Representatives.
  554         Section 8. Section 402.402, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
  555         Section 9. Section 402.731, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  556  read:
  557         402.731 Department of Children and Families certification
  558  programs for employees and service providers; Employment
  559  provisions for transition to community-based care.—
  560         (1) The Department of Children and Families is authorized
  561  to approve third-party credentialing entities, as defined in s.
  562  402.40, for its employees and service providers to ensure that
  563  only qualified employees and service providers provide client
  564  services.
  565         (2) The department shall develop and implement employment
  566  programs to attract and retain competent staff to support and
  567  facilitate the transition to privatized community-based care.
  568  Such employment programs shall include lump-sum bonuses, salary
  569  incentives, relocation allowances, or severance pay. The
  570  department shall also contract for the delivery or
  571  administration of outplacement services. The department shall
  572  establish time-limited exempt positions as provided in s.
  573  110.205(2)(i), in accordance with the authority provided in s.
  574  216.262(1)(c)1. Employees appointed to fill such exempt
  575  positions shall have the same salaries and benefits as career
  576  service employees.
  577         Section 10. Subsection (9) of section 409.996, Florida
  578  Statutes, is amended to read:
  579         409.996 Duties of the Department of Children and Families.
  580  The department shall contract for the delivery, administration,
  581  or management of care for children in the child protection and
  582  child welfare system. In doing so, the department retains
  583  responsibility for the quality of contracted services and
  584  programs and shall ensure that services are delivered in
  585  accordance with applicable federal and state statutes and
  586  regulations.
  587         (9) The department shall develop, in cooperation with the
  588  lead agencies, a third-party credentialing entity approved
  589  pursuant to s. 402.40(3), and the Florida Institute for Child
  590  Welfare established pursuant to s. 1004.615, a standardized
  591  competency-based curriculum for certification training for child
  592  protection staff.
  593         Section 11. Paragraph (h) of subsection (1) of section
  594  1009.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  595         1009.25 Fee exemptions.—
  596         (1) The following students are exempt from the payment of
  597  tuition and fees, including lab fees, at a school district that
  598  provides workforce education programs, Florida College System
  599  institution, or state university:
  600         (h) Pursuant to s. 402.403, child protection and child
  601  welfare personnel as defined in s. 402.402 who are enrolled in
  602  an accredited bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in social
  603  work program, provided that the student attains at least a grade
  604  of “B” in all courses for which tuition and fees are exempted.
  605         Section 12. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.