Florida Senate - 2021                       CS for CS for SB 414
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Appropriations; and Children, Families, and
       Elder Affairs; and Senators Perry, Boyd, and Rouson
       
       
       
       
       576-04661-21                                           2021414c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to economic self-sufficiency; amending
    3         s. 1002.81, F.S.; deleting obsolete language; amending
    4         s. 1002.87, F.S.; requiring an early learning
    5         coalition to give priority for participation in a
    6         school readiness program to certain children;
    7         requiring the Office of Early Learning within the
    8         Department of Education to coordinate with the
    9         University of Florida Anita Zucker Center for
   10         Excellence in Early Childhood Studies to conduct an
   11         analysis of certain assistance programs; providing
   12         requirements for the analysis; requiring certain
   13         agencies to enter into a data-sharing agreement with
   14         certain entities and annually provide certain data by
   15         a specified date; requiring the Department of Children
   16         and Families to provide certain assistance; requiring
   17         the University of Florida Anita Zucker Center for
   18         Excellence in Early Childhood Studies to provide an
   19         annual report on the analysis to the Office of Early
   20         Learning by a specified date; requiring the Office of
   21         Early Learning to provide an annual report to the
   22         Governor and the Legislature within a certain
   23         timeframe; providing for the scheduled expiration of
   24         the assistance program analysis project; providing an
   25         effective date.
   26          
   27  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   28  
   29         Section 1. Subsections (6) and (15) of section 1002.81,
   30  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   31         1002.81 Definitions.—Consistent with the requirements of 45
   32  C.F.R. parts 98 and 99 and as used in this part, the term:
   33         (6)“Earned income” means gross remuneration derived from
   34  work, professional service, or self-employment. The term
   35  includes commissions, bonuses, back pay awards, and the cash
   36  value of all remuneration paid in a medium other than cash.
   37         (15)“Unearned income” means income other than earned
   38  income. The term includes, but is not limited to:
   39         (a)Documented alimony and child support received.
   40         (b)Social security benefits.
   41         (c)Supplemental security income benefits.
   42         (d)Workers’ compensation benefits.
   43         (e)Reemployment assistance or unemployment compensation
   44  benefits.
   45         (f)Veterans’ benefits.
   46         (g)Retirement benefits.
   47         (h)Temporary cash assistance under chapter 414.
   48         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   49  1002.87, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   50         1002.87 School readiness program; eligibility and
   51  enrollment.—
   52         (1) Each early learning coalition shall give priority for
   53  participation in the school readiness program as follows:
   54         (a) Priority shall be given first to a child younger than
   55  13 years of age from a family that includes a parent who is
   56  receiving temporary cash assistance under chapter 414 and
   57  subject to the federal work requirements or a parent who has an
   58  Intensive Service Account or an Individual Training Account
   59  under s. 445.009.
   60         Section 3. (1) The Office of Early Learning within the
   61  Department of Education shall coordinate with the University of
   62  Florida Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood
   63  Studies to conduct an analysis of, at a minimum, recipients of
   64  the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program established under
   65  7 U.S.C. ss. 2011 et seq., the temporary cash assistance program
   66  under s. 414.095, Florida Statutes, the Medicaid program under
   67  s. 409.963, Florida Statutes, the school readiness program under
   68  part VI of chapter 1002, Florida Statutes, and the Housing
   69  Choice Voucher Program established under 42 U.S.C. s. 1437f.
   70         (2) The analysis must include a review of eligibility
   71  criteria, the manner in which each program establishes and
   72  documents eligibility and disbursement policies, the frequency
   73  of eligibility determinations, and the number of families
   74  receiving multiple program services out of the total number of
   75  eligible families.
   76         (3) The University of Florida Anita Zucker Center for
   77  Excellence in Early Childhood Studies shall, through its
   78  analysis, develop participant profiles based on the number of
   79  families receiving multiple program services that include family
   80  composition and the most frequent program services or
   81  combination of services families are accessing in each county or
   82  geographic region.
   83         (4)(a) Each agency responsible for the administration of a
   84  program to be analyzed under subsection (1) shall enter into a
   85  data sharing agreement with the Office of Early Learning and the
   86  University of Florida Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in
   87  Early Childhood Studies by September 1, 2021. Upon execution of
   88  the data sharing agreement, and subject to any federal
   89  requirements, each agency shall submit a program services data
   90  file to the University of Florida Anita Zucker Center for
   91  Excellence in Early Childhood Studies by November 1, 2021,
   92  containing program service data from the preceding 10 federal
   93  fiscal years, if available. By November 1, 2022, and each year
   94  thereafter if applicable, each agency shall submit a
   95  supplemental data file to the University of Florida Anita Zucker
   96  Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies containing
   97  program service data from the preceding federal fiscal year.
   98         (b) The Department of Children and Families shall assist
   99  the University of Florida Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in
  100  Early Childhood Studies with receiving information required to
  101  be analyzed under subsection (1) that is related to the
  102  department’s programs, including, but not limited to, providing
  103  assistance with seeking any required approvals or waivers from
  104  applicable federal agencies.
  105         (5) The University of Florida Anita Zucker Center for
  106  Excellence in Early Childhood Studies shall provide a report to
  107  the Office of Early Learning based on the results of its
  108  analysis by May 31 of each year.
  109         (6) The Office of Early Learning within 30 days after
  110  receiving the report shall submit it to the Governor, the
  111  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
  112  Representatives.
  113         (7)This section expires on June 30, 2023, unless reviewed
  114  and reenacted by the Legislature before that date.
  115         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.