Florida Senate - 2026                                     SB 820
       
       
        
       By Senator Bradley
       
       
       
       
       
       6-01136-26                                             2026820__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to problem-solving court reports;
    3         amending s. 43.51, F.S.; requiring that specified data
    4         be included in problem-solving court reports; amending
    5         ss. 394.47892 and 397.334, F.S.; conforming provisions
    6         to changes made by the act; revising the frequency
    7         with which mental health and treatment-based drug
    8         court program reports, respectively, must be reported
    9         to the Office of the State Courts Administrator;
   10         providing an effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 43.51, Florida
   15  Statutes, is amended to read:
   16         43.51 Problem-solving court reports.—
   17         (1) The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall
   18  provide an annual report to the President of the Senate and the
   19  Speaker of the House of Representatives which details the number
   20  of participants in each problem-solving court for each fiscal
   21  year the court has been operating and the types of services
   22  provided, identifies each source of funding for each court
   23  during each fiscal year, and provides information on the
   24  performance of each court based upon outcome measures
   25  established by the courts. The report must, at a minimum,
   26  include uniform aggregate data regarding:
   27         (a) The number of participants by court type.
   28         (b) Participant primary offenses that resulted in the court
   29  program referral or sentence, treatment compliance, completion
   30  status and reasons for failure to complete, offenses committed
   31  during treatment and the sanctions imposed, frequency of court
   32  appearances, and units of service.
   33         (c) Participant recidivism rate by category, including new
   34  arrests, new adjudications, and new felony adjudications.
   35         (d) Participant changes in the status of employment,
   36  housing, and child custody during program participation.
   37         (e) Other uniform information that demonstrates the
   38  effectiveness of the program.
   39         Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section
   40  394.47892, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   41         394.47892 Mental health court programs.—
   42         (5)
   43         (b) Each mental health court program shall collect
   44  sufficient client-level data and programmatic information for
   45  purposes of program evaluation under s. 43.51. Client-level data
   46  includes primary offenses that resulted in the mental health
   47  court program referral or sentence, treatment compliance,
   48  completion status and reasons for failure to complete, offenses
   49  committed during treatment and the sanctions imposed, frequency
   50  of court appearances, and units of service. Programmatic
   51  information includes referral and screening procedures,
   52  eligibility criteria, type and duration of treatment offered,
   53  and residential treatment resources. The programmatic
   54  information and aggregate data must on the number of mental
   55  health court program admissions and terminations by type of
   56  termination shall be reported at least quarterly annually by
   57  each mental health court program to the Office of the State
   58  Courts Administrator.
   59         Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section
   60  397.334, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   61         397.334 Treatment-based drug court programs.—
   62         (6)
   63         (b) Each treatment-based drug court program shall collect
   64  sufficient client-level data and programmatic information for
   65  purposes of program evaluation under s. 43.51. Client-level data
   66  includes primary offenses that resulted in the treatment-based
   67  drug court program referral or sentence, treatment compliance,
   68  completion status and reasons for failure to complete, offenses
   69  committed during treatment and the sanctions imposed, frequency
   70  of court appearances, and units of service. Programmatic
   71  information includes referral and screening procedures,
   72  eligibility criteria, type and duration of treatment offered,
   73  and residential treatment resources. Each treatment-based drug
   74  court program must annually report at least quarterly the
   75  programmatic information and aggregate data on the number of
   76  treatment-based drug court program admissions and terminations
   77  by type of termination to the Office of the State Courts
   78  Administrator.
   79         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.