The Florida Senate

415.501  Prevention of abuse and neglect of children; state plan.--

(1)  LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--The incidence of known child abuse and child neglect has increased rapidly over the past 5 years. The impact that abuse or neglect has on the victimized child, siblings, family structure, and inevitably on all citizens of the state has caused the Legislature to determine that the prevention of child abuse and neglect shall be a priority of this state. To further this end, it is the intent of the Legislature that a comprehensive approach for the prevention of abuse and neglect of children be developed for the state and that this planned, comprehensive approach be used as a basis for funding.

(2)  PLAN FOR COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH.--

(a)  The Department of Children and Family Services shall develop a state plan for the prevention of abuse and neglect of children and shall submit the plan to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Governor no later than January 1, 1983. The Department of Education and the Division of Children's Medical Services of the Department of Health shall participate and fully cooperate in the development of the state plan at both the state and local levels. Furthermore, appropriate local agencies and organizations shall be provided an opportunity to participate in the development of the state plan at the local level. Appropriate local groups and organizations shall include, but not be limited to, community mental health centers; guardian ad litem programs for children under the circuit court; the school boards of the local school districts; the district human rights advocacy committees; private or public organizations or programs with recognized expertise in working with children who are sexually abused, physically abused, emotionally abused, or neglected and with expertise in working with the families of such children; private or public programs or organizations with expertise in maternal and infant health care; multidisciplinary child protection teams; child day care centers; law enforcement agencies, and the circuit courts, when guardian ad litem programs are not available in the local area. The state plan to be provided to the Legislature and the Governor shall include, as a minimum, the information required of the various groups in paragraph (b).

(b)  The development of the comprehensive state plan shall be accomplished in the following manner:

1.  The Department of Children and Family Services shall establish an interprogram task force comprised of the Assistant Secretary for Children and Family Services, or a designee, a representative from the Children and Families Program Office, a representative from the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Program Office, a representative from the Developmental Services Program Office, a representative from the Office of Standards and Evaluation, and a representative from the Division of Children's Medical Services of the Department of Health. Representatives of the Department of Law Enforcement and of the Department of Education shall serve as ex officio members of the interprogram task force. The interprogram task force shall be responsible for:

a.  Developing a plan of action for better coordination and integration of the goals, activities, and funding pertaining to the prevention of child abuse and neglect conducted by the department in order to maximize staff and resources at the state level. The plan of action shall be included in the state plan.

b.  Providing a basic format to be utilized by the districts in the preparation of local plans of action in order to provide for uniformity in the district plans and to provide for greater ease in compiling information for the state plan.

c.  Providing the districts with technical assistance in the development of local plans of action, if requested.

d.  Examining the local plans to determine if all the requirements of the local plans have been met and, if they have not, informing the districts of the deficiencies and requesting the additional information needed.

e.  Preparing the state plan for submission to the Legislature and the Governor. Such preparation shall include the collapsing of information obtained from the local plans, the cooperative plans with the Department of Education, and the plan of action for coordination and integration of departmental activities into one comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan shall include a section reflecting general conditions and needs, an analysis of variations based on population or geographic areas, identified problems, and recommendations for change. In essence, the plan shall provide an analysis and summary of each element of the local plans to provide a statewide perspective. The plan shall also include each separate local plan of action.

f.  Working with the specified state agency in fulfilling the requirements of subparagraphs 2., 3., 4., and 5.

2.  The Department of Education, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the Department of Health shall work together in developing ways to inform and instruct parents of school children and appropriate district school personnel in all school districts in the detection of child abuse and neglect and in the proper action that should be taken in a suspected case of child abuse or neglect, and in caring for a child's needs after a report is made. The plan for accomplishing this end shall be included in the state plan.

3.  The Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the Department of Health shall work together in developing ways to inform and instruct appropriate local law enforcement personnel in the detection of child abuse and neglect and in the proper action that should be taken in a suspected case of child abuse or neglect.

4.  Within existing appropriations, the Department of Children and Family Services shall work with other appropriate public and private agencies to emphasize efforts to educate the general public about the problem of and ways to detect child abuse and neglect and in the proper action that should be taken in a suspected case of child abuse or neglect. The plan for accomplishing this end shall be included in the state plan.

5.  The Department of Education, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the Department of Health shall work together on the enhancement or adaptation of curriculum materials to assist instructional personnel in providing instruction through a multidisciplinary approach on the identification, intervention, and prevention of child abuse and neglect. The curriculum materials shall be geared toward a sequential program of instruction at the four progressional levels, K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. Strategies for encouraging all school districts to utilize the curriculum are to be included in the comprehensive state plan for the prevention of child abuse and child neglect.

6.  Each district of the Department of Children and Family Services shall develop a plan for its specific geographical area. The plan developed at the district level shall be submitted to the interprogram task force for utilization in preparing the state plan. The district local plan of action shall be prepared with the involvement and assistance of the local agencies and organizations listed in paragraph (a) as well as representatives from those departmental district offices participating in the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect. In order to accomplish this, the district administrator in each district shall establish a task force on the prevention of child abuse and neglect. The district administrator shall appoint the members of the task force in accordance with the membership requirements of this section. In addition, the district administrator shall ensure that each subdistrict is represented on the task force; and, if the district does not have subdistricts, the district administrator shall ensure that both urban and rural areas are represented on the task force. The task force shall develop a written statement clearly identifying its operating procedures, purpose, overall responsibilities, and method of meeting responsibilities. The district plan of action to be prepared by the task force shall include, but shall not be limited to:

a.  Documentation of the magnitude of the problems of child abuse, including sexual abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse, and child neglect in its geographical area.

b.  A description of programs currently serving abused and neglected children and their families and a description of programs for the prevention of child abuse and neglect, including information on the impact, cost-effectiveness, and sources of funding of such programs.

c.  A continuum of programs and services necessary for a comprehensive approach to the prevention of all types of child abuse and neglect as well as a brief description of such programs and services.

d.  A description, documentation, and priority ranking of local needs related to child abuse and neglect prevention based upon the continuum of programs and services.

e.  A plan for steps to be taken in meeting identified needs, including the coordination and integration of services to avoid unnecessary duplication and cost, and for alternative funding strategies for meeting needs through the reallocation of existing resources, utilization of volunteers, contracting with local universities for services, and local government or private agency funding.

f.  A description of barriers to the accomplishment of a comprehensive approach to the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

g.  Recommendations for changes that can be accomplished only at the state program level or by legislative action.

(3)  FUNDING AND SUBSEQUENT PLANS.--

(a)  All budget requests submitted by the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Education, or any other agency to the Legislature for funding of efforts for the prevention of child abuse and neglect shall be based on the state plan developed pursuant to this section.

(b)  The Department of Children and Family Services at the state and district levels and the other agencies listed in paragraph (2)(a) shall readdress the plan and make necessary revisions every 5 years, at a minimum. Such revisions shall be submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate no later than June 30 of each year divisible by 5. An annual progress report shall be submitted to update the plan in the years between the 5-year intervals. In order to avoid duplication of effort, these required plans may be made a part of or merged with other plans required by either the state or Federal Government, so long as the portions of the other state or Federal Government plan that constitute the state plan for the prevention of child abuse and neglect are clearly identified as such and are provided to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate as required above.

History.--s. 1, ch. 82-62; s. 62, ch. 85-81; s. 10, ch. 85-248; s. 19, ch. 86-220; s. 15, ch. 95-228; s. 128, ch. 97-101; s. 69, ch. 97-103; s. 3, ch. 97-237.

Note.--Former s. 409.70.