HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 1093 Abuse, Neglect, and Abandonment Education
SPONSOR(S): Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee, Valdés and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 1100
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee 17 Y, 0 N, As CS Woodruff Brazzell
2) Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee 13 Y, 0 N Fontaine Clark
3) Health & Human Services Committee 21 Y, 0 N Woodruff Calamas
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Chapter 39, F.S., creates the dependency system charged with protecting child welfare. Florida’s child
welfare system identifies children and families in need of services through reports to the central abuse hotline
and child protective investigations. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) and community-based
care lead agencies work with those families to address the problems endangering children, if possible. If the
problems cannot be addressed, the child welfare system finds safe out-of-home placements for these
children.
When the state takes a child into its custody, it accepts responsibility for the child’s safety. Courts have found
that foster children have a constitutional right to be free from unnecessary pain and a fundamental right to
physical safety. Florida law sets forth goals for the delivery of services to children in shelter or foster care,
including that services should be directed by the principle that the health and safety of children should be of
paramount concern.
The bill amends current law to require the design and delivery of child welfare services to be directed by the
principle that the health and safety of children, including the freedom from abuse, abandonment, or neglect, is
of paramount concern. It requires DCF to operate with the understanding that the rights of children in shelter
or foster care are critical to their safety, permanency, and well-being. It requires DCF to work with all
stakeholders to help children become knowledgeable about their rights.
The bill requires case managers or other staff to provide verbal and written instructions on how to identify and
report child abuse, abandonment, or neglect to a child entering shelter or foster care. The case manager or
other staff must review this information with a child every six months and upon every placement change until
the child leaves shelter or foster care. The case manager must document in court reports and case notes the
date the child received the information.
The bill also authorizes and encourages district school boards to establish educational programs for students
ages 5 through 18 relating to the process for identifying and reporting abuse, neglect, or abandonment. This
program may be provided in conjunction with other programs required by law.
The bill has an insignificant, negative, nonrecurring fiscal impact on state government that can be absorb
within existing resources. The bill has no fiscal impact on local government.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2021.
This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Florida’s Child Welfare System
Chapter 39, F.S., creates the dependency system charged with protecting child welfare. Florida’s child
welfare system identifies children and families in need of services through reports to the central abuse
hotline and child protective investigations. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) and
community-based care lead agencies (CBCs) work with those families to address the problems
endangering children, if possible. If the problems cannot be addressed, the child welfare system finds
safe out-of-home placements for these children.
DCF’s practice model is based on the safety of the child within the home by using in-home services,
such as parenting coaching and counseling, to maintain and strengthen that child’s natural supports in
his or her environment. The graph below shows the responses for children determined to be unsafe,
depicting the percentage of such children placed in out-of-home placements, receiving services in the
home or through family support services, which are offered to families on a voluntary basis, and
receiving no services.1
P E R C E N TA G E O F C H I L D R E N D E T E R M I N E D T O B E U N S A F E AT
I N V E S T I G AT I O N C L O S U R E BY P O S T I N V E S T I G AT I O N S E R V I C E S
PROVIDED (AS OF FEB. 2021)
50%
43%
6%
1%
Out-of-Home Care In-Home Care Family Support Services No Services
DCF contracts for case management, out-of-home services, and related services with CBCs. The
outsourced provision of child welfare services is intended to increase local community ownership of
service delivery and design. CBCs contract with a number of subcontractors for case management and
direct care services to children and their families. There are 17 CBCs statewide, which together serve
the state’s 20 judicial circuits.
DCF remains responsible for a number of child welfare functions, including operating the central abuse
hotline, performing child protective investigations, and providing children’s legal services.2 Ultimately,
DCF is responsible for program oversight and the overall performance of the child welfare system.3
1 Florida Department of Children and Families, Child Welfare Key Indicators Monthly Report, (Feb. 2021),
http://centerforchildwelfare.fmhi.usf.edu/qa/cwkeyindicator/KI_Monthly_Report_Feb%202021.pdf (last visited Mar. 21, 2021).
2 OPPAGA, report 06-50.
3 Id.
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Rights of and Goals for Delivery of Services to Children in Foster Care
The U.S. and Florida Constitutions provide rights to individuals, including children in foster care, as do
certain federal and state laws. Examples include basic rights and a right to privacy under Article I, §2
and Article I, §23 of the Florida Constitution, the right to high quality education under Article IX of the
Florida Constitution, and due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.
When a state takes a child into custody, it accepts responsibility for the child’s safety.4 Courts have
found that foster children have a constitutional right to be free from unnecessary pain and a
fundamental right to physical safety.5 When a state fails to meet that obligation, it deprives the child of a
liberty interest under the Fourteenth Amendment.6
Section 39.4085, F.S., sets forth goals7 for the delivery of services to children in shelter or foster care,
including that services should be directed by the principle that the health and safety of children should
be of paramount concern and children in shelter or foster care should:
Receive a copy of these goals and have the goals fully explained to them when they are placed
in the custody of DCF.
Enjoy individual dignity, liberty, pursuit of happiness, and the protection of their civil and legal
rights as a person while in the custody of the state.
Have their privacy protected, have their personal belongings secure and transported with them,
and unless otherwise ordered by the court, have uncensored communication, including
receiving and sending unopened communications and having access to a telephone.
Have personnel providing services who are sufficiently qualified and experienced to assess risk
children face prior to removal from their home and to meet the needs of the children once they
are in DCF’s custody.
Remain in the custody of their parents or legal custodians unless and until there has been a
determination by a qualified person exercising competent professional judgment that removal is
necessary to protect their physical, mental, or emotional health or safety.
Have a full risk, health, educational, medical, and psychological screening, and, if needed,
assessment and testing upon adjudication into foster care; and to have their photograph and
fingerprints included in their case management file.
Be referred to and receive services, including necessary medical, emotional, psychological,
psychiatric, and educational evaluations and treatment, as soon as practicable after
identification of the need for such services by the screening and assessment process.
Be placed in a home with no more than one other child, unless part of a sibling group.
Be placed away from other children known to pose a threat of harm to them, either because of
their own risk factors or those of the other child.
Be placed in a home where the shelter or foster caregiver is aware of and understands the
child’s history, needs, and risk factors.
Be the subject of a plan developed by the counselor and the shelter or foster caregiver to deal
with identified behaviors that may present a risk to the child or others.
Be involved and incorporated, where appropriate, in the development of the case plan, to have
a case plan that will address their specific needs, and to object to any of the provisions in the
case plan.
Receive meaningful case management and planning that will quickly return the child to the
family or move the child on to other forms of permanency.
Receive regular communication with a case manager, at least once a month, which includes
meetings with the child alone and conferring with the caregiver.
4 Ray v. Foltz, 370 F.3d 1079, 1082 (11th Cir. 2004)(citing Taylor v. Ledbetter, 818 F.2d 791-95 (11th Cir. 1987).
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 The provisions in S. 39.4085, F.S., establish goals, not rights. The section does not require the delivery of any particular service or
level of service in excess of existing appropriations. A person does not have a cause of action against the state or any of its
subdivisions, agencies, contractors, subcontractors, or agents, based upon the adoption of or failure to provide adequate funding for the
achievement of these goals by the Legislature. The section does not require the expenditure of funds to meet the goals except funds
specifically appropriated for such purpose.
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Enjoy regular visitation, at least once a week, with their siblings unless the court orders
otherwise.
Enjoy regular visitation with parents, at least once a month, unless the court orders otherwise.
Receive a free and appropriate education, minimal disruption to their education, and retention in
their home school, if appropriate; referral to the child study team; all special educational
services, including, where appropriate, the appointment of a parent surrogate; the sharing of all
necessary information between the school board and DCF, including information on attendance
and educational progress.
Be able to raise grievances with DCF over the care they are receiving from their caregivers,
case managers, or other service providers.
Be heard by the court, if appropriate, at all review hearings.
Have a guardian ad litem appointed to represent, within reason, their best interests and, where
appropriate, an attorney ad litem appointed to represent their legal interests. Their guardian ad
litem and attorney ad litem must have immediate and unlimited access to the children they
represent.
Have all their records available for review by their guardian ad litem and attorney ad litem if they
deem such review is necessary.
Organize as a group for purposes of ensuring they receive the services and living conditions to
which they are entitled and to provide support for one another while in DCF’s custody.
Be afforded prompt access to all available state and federal programs.
In accordance with s. 39.4091, F.S., caregivers for children in out-of-home care must use the
“reasonable and prudent standard”. This means that the caregiver must use sensible parental decision-
making that maintains the child’s health, safety, and best interests while at the same time encourages
the child’s emotional and developmental growth when determining whether to allow a child in out-of-
home care to participate in extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities.8
The federal Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act requires that as part of case
planning beginning at age 14 children in foster care must be given a document describing their rights
with respect to safety, exploitation, education, health, visitation, and court participation.9 They must also
be informed of their rights to be provided certain specific documents such as copies of consumer credit
reports. Children are to sign an acknowledgement that they received these documents.10
Educational Programs
Child Abuse, Abandonment, and Neglect
Section 39.001(9), F.S., requires the Office of Adoption and Child Protection, within the Governor’s
Office, to establish a comprehensive statewide approach for, in part, the prevention of child abuse,
abandonment, and neglect.11 The Office of Adoption and Child Protection works in partnership with
DCF, the Department of Education (DOE), and the Department of Health (DOH) to develop ways to
inform and instruct appropriate district personnel in all school districts in the detection of child abuse,
abandonment, and neglect, and the proper action to be taken if there is a suspicion of child abuse,
abandonment, or neglect.
The Office of Adoption and Child Protection, DCF, DOE, and DOH must also work together to develop
curriculum materials to assist personnel in providing instruction through a multidisciplinary approach on
the identification, intervention, and prevention of child abuse, abandonment, and neglect.12 The
8 Florida Department of Children and Families, CFOP 170-11, Ch. 6 (Sept. 2020),
https://www.myflfamilies.com/admin/publications/cfops/CFOP%20170-xx%20Child%20Welfare/CFOP%20170-
11%20%20Placement/CFOP%20170-11,%20%20%20%20Placement.pdf
9 42 U.S.C. §675(1)(B).
10 Florida Department of Children and Families, 2021 Agency Bill Analysis for HB 1093 (March 7, 2021).
11 S. 39.001(9), F.S.
12 S. 39.001(10)(b)2., F.S.
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curriculum materials are geared toward a sequential program of instruction at the four progressional
levels (K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12).13 All school districts are encouraged to utilize the curriculum.
Mental Health Awareness
Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, DOE established an evidence-based youth mental health
awareness and assistance training program to help school personnel identify and understand the signs
of emotional disturbance, mental illness, and substance use disorders, and provide such personnel with
the skills to help a person who is developing or experiencing an emotional disturbance, mental health,
or substance use problem.14
A school safety specialist, who is a certified youth mental health awareness and assistance trainer,
ensures that all school personnel within the school district receives youth mental health awareness and
assistance training.15 The training program includes:
An overview of mental illnesses and substance use disorders and the need to reduce the stigma
of mental illness.
Information on the potential risk factors and warning signs of emotional disturbance, mental
illness, or substance use disorders, including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, psychosis,
eating disorders, and self-injury, as well as common treatments for those conditions and how to
assess risks.
Information on how to engage at-risk students with the skills, resources, and knowledge
required to assess the situation, and how to identify and encourage the students to use
appropriate professional help and other support strategies, including, but not limited to, peer,
social, or self-help care.16
Educational Instruction
The law requires school districts to provide a variety of pro