Florida Senate - 2022                                    SB 1446
       
       
        
       By Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       
       23-01022B-22                                          20221446__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to community-based care lead agency
    3         funding; amending s. 409.991, F.S.; providing and
    4         revising definitions; revising provisions relating to
    5         the allocation of funding for community-based care
    6         lead agencies; requiring that certain factors be
    7         considered in allocating core services funds to
    8         community-based care lead agencies; providing for the
    9         calculation of such allocation of core services funds;
   10         requiring the Department of Children and Families to
   11         adopt rules; providing an effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Section 409.991, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   16  read:
   17         409.991 Allocation of funds for community-based care lead
   18  agencies.—
   19         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   20         (a)“Annual licensed care caseload” means a community-based
   21  care lead agency’s average number of children in licensed care
   22  during the most recent 12 months.
   23         (b)“Average board rate” means the most recent statewide
   24  total amount of full month payments for all items charged for
   25  room and board, divided by the number of children for which
   26  those payments are made, divided by the number of days in that
   27  month.
   28         (c)“Caseload” means the average caseload size of a
   29  community-based care lead agency which is determined by summing
   30  the most recent month-end average of children in in-home and
   31  out-of-home care during the most recent 24 months and the
   32  average annual number of finalized adoptions based on the most
   33  recent 24 months.
   34         (d)(a) “Core services funds” means all funds allocated to
   35  community-based care lead agencies operating under contract with
   36  the department pursuant to s. 409.987, with the following
   37  exceptions:
   38         1. Funds appropriated for independent living;
   39         2. Funds appropriated for maintenance adoption subsidies;
   40         3. Funds allocated by the department for protective
   41  investigations training;
   42         4. Nonrecurring funds;
   43         5. Designated mental health wrap-around services funds;
   44         6. Funds for special projects for a designated community
   45  based care lead agency; and
   46         7. Funds appropriated for the Guardianship Assistance
   47  Program under s. 39.6225.
   48         (2)The factors to be considered in allocating core
   49  services funds to each community-based care lead agency must
   50  include all of the following:
   51         (a)The amount spent on prevention services by the
   52  community-based care lead agency to prevent children from
   53  entering or reentering foster care, based on the most recent
   54  fiscal year of such spending by the community-based care lead
   55  agency. Such amount may be increased based on a community-based
   56  care lead agency’s performance in reducing the number of
   57  children in out-of-home care.
   58         (b)The statewide average cost per child for client
   59  services as determined by the department, multiplied by the
   60  number of children in a caseload. Such product must be adjusted
   61  based on the average district cost differential provided in s.
   62  1011.62 for the counties served, weighted by child population.
   63         (c)The projected cost of board costs, determined by
   64  summing the totals of:
   65         1.The annual licensed care caseload, multiplied by the
   66  average board rate; and
   67         2.The number of annual removals, multiplied by the initial
   68  clothing allowance as determined by the department.
   69         (d)The projected cost of staffing needs for the community
   70  based care lead agency, determined by summing the totals of:
   71         1.The statewide average cost per position, as determined
   72  by the department, for all case managers and direct support
   73  positions; foster home recruitment, licensing, and out-of-home
   74  care placement positions; and adoption support positions for the
   75  community-based care lead agency based on the lead agency’s
   76  caseload, including staffing necessary to obtain one case
   77  manager per 14 children by the 2023-2024 fiscal year; and
   78         2.The average district cost differential for the counties
   79  served by the community-based care lead agency as provided in s.
   80  1011.62, weighted by the child population of each county served.
   81         (e)Program support and operations costs, determined by
   82  multiplying 0.1 by the projected cost of staffing needs as
   83  determined in paragraph (d).
   84         (3)The allocation of core services funds shall be
   85  calculated based on all of the following:
   86         (a)The projected core services funding is determined by
   87  summing the amounts determined in paragraphs (2)(a)-(e).
   88         (b)The actual allocated funding for the most recent fiscal
   89  year for a community-based care lead agency shall be divided by
   90  the projected core services funding to determine the percent of
   91  projected core services funding for that community-based care
   92  lead agency.
   93         (c)1.Unless otherwise specified in the General
   94  Appropriations Act, any new core service funds shall be
   95  allocated proportionally to community-based care lead agencies
   96  below 90 percent of projected core services funding based on the
   97  degree to which their projected core services funding is below
   98  90 percent, until 90 percent or greater projected core services
   99  funding is achieved for each community-based care lead agency.
  100         2.Once 90 percent of projected core services funding is
  101  achieved for each community-based care lead agency, any new core
  102  services funds shall be allocated proportionally to community
  103  based care lead agencies below 100 percent of projected core
  104  services funding based on the degree to which their percent of
  105  projected core services funding is below 100 percent, until 100
  106  percent of projected core services funding is achieved for each
  107  community-based care lead agency.
  108         (4)The department shall adopt rules necessary to implement
  109  this section, which must include, but need not be limited to,
  110  rules that specify qualifying prevention expenditures and
  111  staffing ratios for case managers and direct support positions;
  112  foster home recruitment, licensing, and out-of-home care
  113  placement positions; and adoption support staff positions.
  114         (b)“Equity allocation model” means an allocation model
  115  that uses the following factors:
  116         1.Proportion of the child population;
  117         2.Proportion of child abuse hotline workload; and
  118         3.Proportion of children in care.
  119         (c)“Proportion of child population” means the proportion
  120  of children up to 18 years of age during the previous calendar
  121  year in the geographic area served by the community-based care
  122  lead agency.
  123         (d)“Proportion of child abuse hotline workload” means the
  124  weighted average of the following subcomponents:
  125         1.The average number of initial and additional child abuse
  126  reports received during the month for the most recent 12 months
  127  based on child protective investigations trend reports as
  128  determined by the department. This subcomponent shall be
  129  weighted as 20 percent of the factor.
  130         2.The average count of children in investigations in the
  131  most recent 12 months based on child protective investigations
  132  trend reports as determined by the department. This subcomponent
  133  shall be weighted as 40 percent of the factor.
  134         3.The average count of children in investigations with a
  135  most serious finding of verified abuse in the most recent 12
  136  months based on child protective investigations trend reports as
  137  determined by the department. This subcomponent shall be
  138  weighted as 40 percent of the factor.
  139         (e)“Proportion of children in care” means the proportion
  140  of the number of children in care receiving in-home services
  141  over the most recent 12-month period, the number of children
  142  whose families are receiving family support services over the
  143  most recent 12-month period, and the number of children who have
  144  entered into out-of-home care with a case management overlay
  145  during the most recent 24-month period. This subcomponent shall
  146  be weighted as follows:
  147         1.Fifteen percent shall be based on children whose
  148  families are receiving family support services.
  149         2.Fifty-five percent shall be based on children in out-of
  150  home care.
  151         3.Thirty percent shall be based on children in in-home
  152  care.
  153         (2)The equity allocation of core services funds shall be
  154  calculated based on the following weights:
  155         (a)Proportion of the child population shall be weighted as
  156  5 percent of the total.
  157         (b)Proportion of child abuse hotline workload shall be
  158  weighted as 35 percent of the total.
  159         (c)Proportion of children in care shall be weighted as 60
  160  percent of the total.
  161         (3)Beginning in the 2015-2016 state fiscal year, 100
  162  percent of the recurring core services funding for each
  163  community-based care lead agency shall be based on the prior
  164  year recurring base of core services funds.
  165         (4)Unless otherwise specified in the General
  166  Appropriations Act, any new core services funds shall be
  167  allocated based on the equity allocation model as follows:
  168         (a)Seventy percent of new funding shall be allocated among
  169  all community-based care lead agencies.
  170         (b)Thirty percent of new funding shall be allocated among
  171  community-based care lead agencies that are funded below their
  172  equitable share. Funds allocated pursuant to this paragraph
  173  shall be weighted based on each community-based care lead
  174  agency’s relative proportion of the total amount of funding
  175  below the equitable share.
  176         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.