The bill amends various sections of Florida Statutes to enhance child welfare services, particularly focusing on the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Key provisions include the requirement for DCF to maintain copies of assessments and tools used for evaluating children for placement, as well as individual-level data on children assessed for safe housing. The bill allows DCF to waive certain requirements for domestic violence centers in emergencies and grants the department authority to issue provisional certificates under specified conditions. It also removes DCF's authority to grant exemptions from working with children or the developmentally disabled, while allowing limited exemptions to certain minimum standards. Additionally, the bill establishes a recruitment program for child protective investigators and case managers, mandates the development of a pilot program for treatment foster care, and includes provisions for a case management workforce workgroup and a study on services for child victims of commercial sexual exploitation.

Furthermore, the bill introduces new training requirements related to human trafficking for foster parents and agency staff, mandates the placement of warning signs in child-caring facilities, and modifies financial responsibility provisions for lead agencies and subcontractors. A workgroup is established to improve workforce retention and community innovation, with a report due by December 1, 2025. The bill also requires DCF to conduct a study on bed capacity for residential treatment services and a gap analysis for nonresidential treatment services for child victims of commercial sexual exploitation, with findings due by December 31, 2025. The bill is set to take effect on July 1, 2025, with certain provisions becoming effective immediately upon enactment.

Statutes affected:
S 7012 Filed: 39.524
S 7012 c1: 39.524
S 7012 e1: 39.524, 39.905, 402.305, 409.987, 402.30501, 1002.59
S 7012 er: 39.524, 39.905, 402.305, 409.987, 402.30501, 1002.59