The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs
BILL: CS/SB 1634
INTRODUCER: Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee and Senator Brodeur
SUBJECT: Child Welfare
DATE: March 29, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Tuzynski Cox CF Fav/CS
2. AHS
3. FP
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 1634 makes numerous changes to chapters 39, 409, and 63, F.S., to enhance the child
welfare system including changes to protect vulnerable children, support caregivers and foster
parents, and streamline court proceedings and legal processes. The bill also makes numerous
changes to enhance the system of care for victims of human trafficking.
In regards to ch. 39, F.S., related to the child welfare system, the bill:
 Creates a process to permanently commit a child whose parents die while the child is in the
dependency system or who otherwise does not have a safe relative to care for the child and
must rely upon the Department of Children and Families’(DCF) services, but is not a victim
of abuse, abandonment, or neglect.
 Creates an emergency modification of placement process to immediately address child safety
risks of children in out-of-home care separate from a shelter hearing.
 Modifies the adoption exchange requirements related to public access and display of
photographs of each child eligible for adoption.
 Changes the judicial review process to allow permanent guardians of children who may be
eligible for the Guardianship Assistance Program to receive maximum available benefits to
minimize placement disruption and time to permanency by reducing the number of months
required to close a case in permanent guardianship from 6 to 3 months if the caregiver was
previously named as a successor guardian.
 Allows judges to amend case plans at judicial review hearings that already require the court
to evaluate the appropriateness of the permanency goal and services being offered.
BILL: CS/SB 1634 Page 2
 Eliminates the requirement to personally serve a parent with a petition when the parent
appears at a termination of parental rights hearing, aligning statute with the dependency
hearing process.
 Shifts judicial review of the DCF’s decision on adoption applications made to the DCF under
ch. 39, F.S., from a separate administrative process under ch. 120, F.S., to the judge assigned
to the dependency proceeding who has the most familiarity with the child and family.
 Expands the Keys to Independence program by removing language in statute that restricted
one of eligibility paths.
In regards to human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, the bill:
 Requires additional inservice training for foster parents and agency staff to provide better
tools to communicate and mitigate maladaptive behaviors and trauma for CSE victims and
the caregivers that are caring for such youth.
 Requires the DCF and Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), by December 1, 2023, to
implement recommendations for the HTST tool and implement a scoring mechanism to be
utilized with the current tool.
 Requires the modified HTST tool to be validated by June 1, 2024 and, if it cannot be
validated, for the DCF and DJJ to transition to a pre-validated tool. The cost of validation
must be absorbed within the base appropriation of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare.
 Requires the DCF and Community-Based Care Lead Agencies (CBC) to develop a long
range plan and strategic plan for current capacity and how to expand CSE capacity, which
will improve upon the current requirement of the DCF and CBCs to assess local service
capacity.
 Removes the requirement that the DCF only provide training to local law enforcement to the
extent that funds are available.
 Establishes the Survivor Peer Mentor Model and also requires that CSE providers use the
model to provide mentorship to CSE youth whenever possible.
 Requires the CBCs to ensure that staff of safe houses and foster parents of safe foster homes
complete any of the inservice training required for serving the CSE youth population.
 Requires the DCF to establish a confidential portal to provide services and information to
prospective and current CSE safe homes, including an interactive message board for
providers to communicate and work through challenges.
 Clarifies that providers must, whenever possible, bill for services through revenue
maximization methods, rather than current law which says there is no prohibition on such
billing practices.
 Requires the DCF, ACHA, and DJJ to work together to analyze the bed rates and develop
funding models or a CSE-specific Behavioral Health Overlay rate.
The bill has an indeterminate positive fiscal impact on state government and an indeterminate
negative fiscal impact on the private sector. See Section V. Fiscal Impact Statement.
Sections 15 and 18 of the bill are effective upon becoming law and the remainder of the bill is
effective July 1, 2023.
BILL: CS/SB 1634 Page 3
II. Present Situation:
An estimated 3.9 million referrals of alleged child abuse and neglect were made nationwide in
2021.1 Of that 3.9 million, approximately 2 million met the requirements for an investigation2
leading to approximately 588,000 children with a finding of maltreatment.3 More than 4.28
million children live in Florida, a vast majority of which, fortunately, never come to the attention
of Florida’s child welfare system.4 In 2021, the Department of Children and Families (DCF)
investigated 256,060 reports of potential child abuse and approximately 11 percent (27,394) of
those investigations resulted in a finding of maltreatment.5
Congress appropriates federal funds through various grants to the DCF to supplement state
general revenue funds for the implementation of child welfare programs.6 The DCF uses these
funds to contract with community-care based lead agencies (CBCs) to provide services.7
Florida’s Child Welfare System - Generally
Chapter 39, F.S., creates Florida’s dependency system that is charged with protecting the welfare
of children; this system is often referred to as the “child welfare system.” The DCF Office of
Child and Family Well-Being works in partnership with local communities and the courts to
ensure the safety, timely permanency, and well-being of children.
Child welfare services are directed toward the prevention of abandonment, abuse, and neglect of
children.8 The DCF practice model is based on the safety of the child within his or her home,
using in-home services such as parenting coaching and counseling to maintain and strengthen
that child’s natural supports in his or her home environment. Such services are coordinated by
the DCF-contracted community-based care lead agencies (CBC).9 The 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.10 Ultimately,
1
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, Report on
Child Maltreatment 2021, p. 8, available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/cm2021.pdf (last
viewed March 19, 2023).
2
Id. at 13; referred to as “screened in referrals.”
3
Id. at 21; referred to as “victims of abuse and neglect.”
4
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, Child
Population Data for Florida, available at https://cwoutcomes.acf.hhs.gov/cwodatasite/pdf/florida.html (last viewed March
19, 2023).
5
Id.
6
The main federal grant programs that supplement state-level child welfare programs are Titles IV-E and IV-B of the Social
Security Act.
7
Part V of ch. 409, F.S.
8
Section 39.001(8), F.S.
9
Section 409.986(1), F.S.; See generally The Department of Children and Families (The DCF), About Community-Based
Care, available at https://www.myflfamilies.com/services/child-family/child-and-family-well-being/community-based-
care/about-community-based-care (last viewed March 15, 2023).
10
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, Child Welfare System Performance Mixed in First
Year of Statewide Community-Based Care, Report 06-50, June 2006, available at
https://oppaga.fl.gov/Products/ReportDetail?rn=06-50 (last viewed March 19, 2023).
BILL: CS/SB 1634 Page 4
the DCF is responsible for program oversight and the overall performance of the child welfare
system.11
Department of Children and Families
The DCF’s statutory mission is to work in partnership with local communities to protect the
vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and
family recovery and resiliency.12 The DCF must develop a strategic plan to fulfill this mission
and establish measurable goals, objectives, performance standards, and quality assurance
requirements to ensure the DCF is accountable to taxpayers.13
The DCF is required to provide services relating to:
 Adult protection.
 Child care regulation.
 Child welfare.
 Domestic violence.
 Economic self-sufficiency.
 Homelessness.
 Mental health.
 Refugees.
 Substance abuse.14
The DCF must also deliver services by contract through private providers to the extent allowed
by law and funding.15 These private providers include CBCs delivering child welfare services
and managing entities (MEs) delivering behavioral health services.16
Dependency Case Process - Generally
When child welfare necessitates that the DCF remove a child from the home to ensure his or her
safety, a series of dependency court proceedings must occur to place that child in out-of-home
placement, adjudicate the child dependent, and if necessary terminate parental rights and free
that child for adoption. Steps in the dependency process usually include:
 A report to the Florida Abuse 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 after termination of parental rights.17
11
Id.
12
Section 20.19(1)(a), F.S.
13
Section 20.19(1)(b), F.S.
14
Section 20.19(4)(a), F.S.,
15
Section 20.19(1)(d), F.S.
16
Part V of ch. 409, F.S. and s. 394.9082, F.S.
17
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.
BILL: CS/SB 1634 Page 5
Dependency Controlling
Description of Process
Proceeding Statute(s)
The DCF may remove a child from his or her home after a
protective investigation determines that conditions in that
Removal s. 39.401, F.S.
child’s home are unsafe and a safety plan cannot make the
conditions safe.
The court must hold a shelter hearing within 24 hours after
removal. At this hearing, the judge determines whether there
Shelter Hearing s. 39.401, F.S.
was probable cause to remove the child and whether to keep
the child out-of-home.
The DCF must file a petition for dependency within 21 days of
Petition for
the shelter hearing. This petition seeks to find the child s. 39.501, F.S.
Dependency
dependent.
The court must hold an arraignment and shelter review
Arraignment within 28 days of the shelter hearing. The hearing allows the
Hearing and parent to admit, deny, or consent to the allegations within s. 39.506, F.S.
Shelter Review the petition for dependency and allows the court to review
any previous shelter placement.
The court must hold an adjudicatory trial within 30 days of
Adjudicatory
arraignment. The judge determines whether a child is s. 39.507, F.S.
Trial
dependent during this trial.
The court must hold a disposition hearing within 15 days of
arraignment (if the parents admits or consents to
Disposition adjudication) or 30 days of adjudication if a court finds the s. 39.506, F.S.
Hearing child dependent. At this hearing, the judge reviews the case s. 39.521, F.S.
plan and placement of the child and orders the case plan and
the appropriate placement of the child.
The court may change the temporary out-of-home placement
Postdisposition
of a child at a postdisposition hearing any time after
Change of s. 39.522, F.S.
disposition but before the child is residing in the permanent
Custody Hearing
placement approved at a permanency hearing.
Judicial Review The court must review the case plan and placement at least
s. 39.701, F.S.
Hearings every 6 months, or upon motion of a party.
If the DCF determines that reunification is no longer a viable s. 39.802, F.S.
Petition for
goal and termination of parental rights is in the best interest s. 39.8055, F.S.
Termination of
of the child, and other requirements are met, a petition for s. 39.806, F.S.
Parental Rights
termination of parental rights is filed. s. 39.810, F.S.
The court must hold an advisory hearing as soon as possible
after all parties have been served with the petition for
Advisory Hearing termination of parental rights. The hearing allows the parent s. 39.808, F.S.
to admit, deny, or consent to the allegations within the
petition for termination of parental rights.
BILL: CS/SB 1634 Page 6
Dependency Controlling
Description of Process
Proceeding Statute(s)
The court must hold an adjudicatory trial within 45 days after
Adjudicatory
the advisory hearing. The judge determines whether to s. 39.809, F.S.
Hearing
terminate parental rights to the child at this trial.
In-Home Services
The DCF is required to make all efforts to keep children with their families and provide