HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 1007 Children Removed from Caregivers
SPONSOR(S): Health & Human Services Committee, Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee, Borrero
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 1064
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee 16 Y, 0 N, As CS Brazzell Brazzell
2) Health & Human Services Committee 20 Y, 0 N, As CS Brazzell Calamas
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Florida’s dependency 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 the
community-based care lead agencies (CBCs) throughout Florida work with those families to address the
problems endangering children, if possible. If the problems are not addressed, DCF and the CBC’s find safe
out-of-home placements for these children.
The process of child protective investigation, removal and placement can be traumatic for children. However,
the degree to which an individual child experiences these events as traumatic depends on several factors,
such as the child’s age and resilience. Children who enter out-of-home care have typically often already
experienced multiple traumatic events.
According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a “trauma-informed mental health assessment
offers a structured framework for (1) gathering information across several key domains of functioning, (2)
identifying and addressing the needs of children and families exposed to traumatic events, and (3) coding and
summarizing this information, so that it can be communicated to families and other providers.” Currently, a
Comprehensive Behavioral Health Assessment is conducted for children who are sheltered in out-of-home
care; this must be performed within 30 days.
CS/CS/HB 1007 adds requirements regarding trauma screening, assessment, and therapeutic response to the
assessment and placement process for children being placed in out-of-home care under s. 39.523, F.S. The
bill requires DCF and CBC’s to refer a child to a trauma assessment within 30 days of removal from the child’s
home, if indicated by a trauma screening performed as soon as practicable and at a minimum within 21 days of
a child’s shelter, and provide supports to the caregiver.
The bill does not have a fiscal impact on state or local governments.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2023.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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DATE: 4/24/2023
 FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Florida’s Dependency System
Chapter 39, F.S., creates the dependency system charged with protecting child welfare. Florida’s
dependency system identifies children and families in need of services through reports to the central
abuse hotline and child protective investigations. DCF and the 17 community-based care lead agencies
(CBCs) throughout Florida1 work with those families to address the problems endangering children, if
possible. If the problems are not addressed, DCF and the CBC’s find 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.
DCF contracts with CBCs for case management, out-of-home services, and related services. 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.
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
Dependency Process
Current law requires any person who knows or suspects that a child has been abused, abandoned,
or neglected to report such knowledge or suspicion to the central abuse hotline (hotline). 4 The hotline5
receives more than 350,000 child-related calls annually.6 Calls received are screened to determine if
the criteria are met to initiate a protective investigation. Statewide, there are more than 240,000 child
protective investigations conducted annually.7
When child welfare necessitates that DCF remove a child from the home, a series of dependency court
proceedings must occur to adjudicate the child dependent and place that child in out-of-home care.
Steps in the dependency process may include:
 A report to the hotline.
 A child protective investigation to determine the safety of the child.
 The court finding the child dependent.
 Case planning for the parents to address the problems resulting in their child’s dependency.
 Placement in out-of-home care, if necessary.
 Reunification with the child’s parent or another option to establish permanency, such as
adoption.8
1 These 17 CBCs together serve the state’s 20 judicial circuits.
2 Ch. 39, F.S.
3 Id.
4 Section 39.201(1), F.S.
5 Department of Children and Families, Florida Abuse Hotline, Overview, https://www2.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/abuse-
hotline/overview.shtml, (last visited March 11, 2023).
6 Department of Children and Families, Child Welfare Key Indicators Monthly Report, Feb. 2023, System Overview, p. 8,
https://www2.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/child-welfare/kids/results-oriented-
accountability/performanceManagement/docs/KI_Monthly_Report_December%202022.pdf (last visited March 23, 2023).
7 Id.
8 The state has a compelling interest in providing stable and permanent homes for adoptive children in a prompt manner, in preventing
the disruption of adoptive placements, and in holding parents accountable for meeting the needs of children. S. 63.022, F.S .
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 The graphic below presents key statistics regarding children and families having contact with the child
welfare system in FY 2021-22.9
Out-of-Home Care
When children cannot safely remain at home with parents, Florida’s child welfare system finds safe out-of-
home placements for such children. After an assessment to determine the most appropriate out-of-home
placement, a child may be placed with a relative, fictive kin, licensed foster parent, in a group home or
residential setting.10 While in out-of-home care, the child and his or her parents receive services to address
problems that led to the removal so that reunification or other permanency option may be reached as
quickly as possible.11
As the graphic above indicates, slightly more than half of children with cases open for services in FY 2021-
22 were served in out of home care. The graph below shows the number of children in out-of-home care by
placement type, as of January 2023.12
9 Supra note 6, p. 9.
10 R. 65C-28.004, F.A.C.
11
Child Welfare Information Gateway, Out-of- Home Care Overview,
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/overview/#:~:text=Out%2Dof%2Dhome%20care%20is,to%20abuse%20and%2For%20n
eglect. (last visited Jan. 18, 2023).
12 Supra note 6, p. 31. Licensed foster homes include relative and nonrelative placements that are licensed to care for a specific child,
as well as traditional licensed family foster homes.
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 Children in Out-of-Home Care by Placement Type
(As of Jan. 31, 2023)
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
Relative Non-Relative Group Care Licensed Foster Residential
Home Treatment Center
Community-Based Care Organizations and Services
DCF typically enters into 5-year contracts with CBCs.13 There are minimum requirements with which
CBC’s must comply to be eligible to contract with DCF, including:
 Being organized as a Florida corporation or a governmental entity.14
 Having a board of directors or board committee with authority to approve the CBC’s budget
and hire a CBC executive director.15
 Demonstrating financial responsibility by having a plan for regular fiscal audits and securing
a performance bond.16
DCF must ensure contracts with CBCs:
 Provide for the services as required under s. 409.988, F.S. 17
 Require CBC’s to specify how they will carry out certain child welfare best practices. 18
 Provide relevant information to DCF related to the quality assurance program and the child
welfare results-oriented accountability system.19
 Include tiered interventions and graduated penalties for failure to comply with the contract
or performance deficiencies.20
 Require CBCs to provide current and accurate information about their activities related to
case records in the statewide automated child welfare information system. 21
 Specify the procedures to resolve differences in interpreting the contract or to resolve a
disagreement amongst the parties regarding compliance with the contract.22
CBCs are obligated to perform a variety of duties including to:
 Serve the children who are referred as a result of abuse, neglect, or abandonment reports to
DCF’s central abuse hotline.
13 S. 409.987(3), F.S.
14 S. 409.987(4)(a), F.S.
15 S. 409.987(4)(b), F.S.
16 S. 409.987(4)(c), F.S.
17 S. 409.996(1)(a), F.S.
18 S. 409.996(1)(b), F.S.
19 S. 409.996(1)(c), F.S.
20 S. 409.996(1)(d), F.S.
21 S. 409.996(1)(e), F.S.
22 S. 409.996(1)(f), F.S.
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  Provide DCF with accurate and timely information necessary for oversight by DCF pursuant
to the child welfare results-oriented accountability system.
 Follow financial guidelines developed by DCF and provide for regular independent audits.
 Post its current budget, including the salaries, bonuses and other compensation paid to the
agency’s chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and chief operating officer, or their
equivalents, on the CBC’s website.
 Prepare and file all necessary court documents and attend dependency court proceedings .
 Ensure all individuals providing care to dependent children receive training and specified
information and meet employment requirements.
 Maintain eligibility to receive all available federal child welfare funds.
 Maintain written agreements with Healthy Families Florida entities in its service area.
 Comply with federal and state statutory requirements and agency rules in the provision of
contractual rules.
 Use authority to subcontract for the provision of services provided CBCs contribute to
services and meet specified criteria.
 Post information regarding case management services on its website. 23
DCF contracts with the following CBCs as illustrated in the following table and map: 24
Lead Agency Judicial Circuit(s)
Northwest Florida Health Network 1
Northwest Florida Health Network 2 & 14
Partnership for Strong Families 3&8
Family Support Services of North Florida, Inc. 4 (Duval and Nassau)
Kids First of Florida, Inc. 4 (Clay)
Kids Central, Inc. 5
Family Support Services of SunCoast 6 (Pasco and Pinellas)
St Johns County Board of County Commissioners 7 (St Johns)
Community Partnership for Children, Inc. 7 (Flagler, Volusia,
Putnam)
Embrace Families 9 and 18 (Seminole)
Heartland for Children 10
Citrus Family Care Network 11 and 16
Safe Children Coalition 12
Children’s Network of Hillsborough 13
ChildNet Inc. 15 and 17
Brevard Family Partnership 18 (Brevard)
Communities Connected for Kids 19
Children’s Network of SW Florida 20
23 S. 409.988(1), F.S. Further, s. 409.988(1)(k), F.S., provides that CBCs and subcontracted case management providers must disc lose
the average caseload of case managers for filled positions, the turnover rate for case managers and their supervisors for the previous
12 months, the percentage of required home visits completed, and performance on outcome measures required under s. 409.997, F .S.,
for the previous 12 months.
24 Florida Department of Children and Families, Lead Agency Information, https://www.myflfamilies.com/services/child-family/child-and-
family-well-being/community-based-care/lead-agency-information (accessed April 24, 2023).
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 Children and Trauma
Traumatic Events
According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a traumatic event is “a frightening,
dangerous, or violent event that poses a threat to a child’s life or bodily integrity. Witnessing a
traumatic event that threatens life or physical security of a loved one can also be traumatic. This is
particularly important for young children as their sense of safety depends on the perceived safety of
their attachment figures.”25
Many experiences that may be traumatic to a child are also reasons why a child may be subject to a
child protective investigation and removal from the home, such as:
 Physical or psychological abuse.
 Neglect.
 Sexual abuse, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
 Family violence.
 Substance use disorder (personal or familial).26
Child Traumatic Stress
25 National Child Traumatic Stress Network, Ab out Child Trauma, https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/about-child-trauma
(accessed March 23, 2023).
26 Id.
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 According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, children who suffer from child traumatic
stress are those who have been exposed to one or more traumas over the course of their lives and
develop reactions that persist and affect their daily lives after the events have ended.
Children can have a variety of reactions to traumatic events. Examples are:
 intense and ongoing emotional upset,
 depressive symptoms or anxiety,
 behavioral changes,
 difficulties with self-regulation,
 problems relating to others or forming attachments,
 regression or loss of previously acquired skills,
 attention and academic difficulties,
 nightmares,
 difficulty sleeping and eating, and
 physical symptoms, such as aches and pains.
 use of drugs or alcohol,
 behaving in risky ways, and
 engaging in unhealthy sexual activity.27
Although many people experience reactions to stress from time to time, when a child is experiencing