Florida Senate - 2023 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1012
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/26/2023 .
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The Committee on Fiscal Policy (Rouson) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. The Certified Peer Specialist Gateway Pilot
6 Program is created within the Department of Corrections. The
7 purpose of the pilot program is to provide participating inmates
8 with a path to becoming certified peer specialists under s.
9 397.417, Florida Statutes, upon release by offering such inmates
10 while incarcerated the necessary training hours and experience
11 needed for certification and to assist inmates who complete the
12 pilot program’s requirements with post-incarceration employment.
13 (1) The pilot program shall:
14 (a) Recruit and enroll inmates who have completed certain
15 treatment programs while incarcerated into certified peer
16 specialist training programs approved under s. 397.417, Florida
17 Statutes.
18 (b) Provide core educational training and on-the-job work
19 experience during each participant’s incarceration which meets
20 all of the requirements for peer specialist certification.
21 (c) Assist participants with completing any examinations
22 required to become a certified peer specialist under s. 397.417,
23 Florida Statutes.
24 (d) Assist in placing participants in employment as
25 certified peer specialist professionals upon their release.
26 (2) Inmates at participating facilities may apply to
27 participate in the pilot program. The Department of Corrections
28 shall develop criteria for selecting qualified applicants for
29 the pilot program, including, but not limited to, requiring that
30 applicants:
31 (a) Have the appropriate custody classification.
32 (b) Meet certain discipline criteria.
33 (c) Have an expected release date within a specified
34 timeframe.
35 (d) Be housed at the facility providing training.
36 (e) Have served as a positive role model during their
37 incarceration.
38 (f) Express a desire to work in the behavioral health
39 treatment field after release.
40 (g) Not have been found guilty of, regardless of
41 adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to,
42 or have been adjudicated delinquent and the record has not been
43 sealed or expunged for, any offense that would prohibit them
44 from becoming a certified peer specialist under s.
45 397.417(4)(e), Florida Statutes.
46 (3) A person who completes the pilot program’s requirements
47 is exempt from the background screening requirements for peer
48 specialists under s. 397.417(4)(a)–(d), Florida Statutes.
49 (4) In assisting persons who have completed the pilot
50 program’s requirements with post-incarceration employment, the
51 pilot program:
52 (a) Shall assist potential employers with acquiring bonds
53 from the United States Department of Labor’s Federal Bonding
54 Program, if applicable.
55 (b) May offer funding to a potential employer to cover the
56 initial costs of hiring and retaining such persons if the pilot
57 program secures applicable grant funds for such purpose.
58 (5) After a person who has completed the pilot program’s
59 requirements has been released, he or she must provide each
60 prospective employer with a copy of his or her incarceration
61 record before the employer may hire the person. The person must
62 also receive a signed informed consent form from any potential
63 client seeking treatment from him or her. Such consent form must
64 specify that the person has completed the pilot program’s
65 requirements and is certified as a peer specialist under s.
66 397.417, Florida Statutes.
67 (6) The Department of Corrections shall adopt rules to
68 implement this act.
69 (7) The pilot program expires June 30, 2026.
70 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.
71
72 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
73 And the title is amended as follows:
74 Delete everything before the enacting clause
75 and insert:
76 A bill to be entitled
77 An act relating to the Certified Peer Specialist
78 Gateway Pilot Program; creating the pilot program
79 within the Department of Corrections; providing the
80 purpose of and requirements for the pilot program;
81 authorizing inmates at participating facilities to
82 apply to participate in the pilot program; requiring
83 the department to develop certain criteria for
84 selecting qualified applicants; exempting persons who
85 complete the pilot program’s requirements from
86 specified background screening requirements for peer
87 specialists; requiring the pilot program to assist
88 potential employers with acquiring specified bonds;
89 authorizing the pilot program to offer funding to
90 potential employers to cover specified costs under
91 certain circumstances; requiring persons who have
92 completed the pilot program’s requirements to provide
93 prospective employers with their incarceration
94 records; requiring such persons to receive a signed
95 informed consent form from any potential clients;
96 providing requirements for such form; requiring the
97 department to adopt rules; providing for expiration of
98 the pilot program; providing an effective date.