Foster care pilot program for kids with behavioral problems makes it across the Senate
The Florida Department of Children and Families is one step closer to getting $3.3 million for a four-year foster care pilot program and recruitment of child abuse investigators.
State Senators unanimously approved SB 7012 on Wednesday, with few questions and little debate. DCF would get most of the money, $3 million, to develop a pilot program to place children with behavioral problems in a foster family setting rather than a group home.
'I'm excited for what this foster pilot program looks like in four years,' said Vero Beach Republican Sen. Erin Grall. 'I hope I'm here to see it, and I know I'll be following up with DCF regularly for updates and to see what's working, what's not, and how we can make sure that these services are available to the children in the system in hopes that they don't repeat the cycle that has placed them in the system.'
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The department would have the authority to pick two judicial circuits to decide where to run the pilot and to find families willing to care for the children. Children DCF has moved frequently because of their behavior; who have gone through the Department of Juvenile Justice; or who will need foster care after leaving inpatient residential treatment would be eligible to participate in the pilot.
If the House passes the bill and Gov. Ron DeSantis signs it, DCF would have to start the pilot by Jan. 1.
The remaining funds would go toward the department to help recruit employees tasked with investigating child abuse reports and case managers. Child protective investigators and case managers don't stick around in their jobs for long, with turnover rates of 64.3% and 48.15%, respectively, according to a legislative analysis of the bill.
The bill instructs DCF to try to recruit former police officers, teachers, health care providers, and military members to fill those jobs.
'Data is clear that the faster we can get traumatized children into loving, permanent homes, the better off those children will be in the long run,' Senate President Ben Albritton wrote in a press release following the passage of the bill, which is one of his priorities.
Under the proposal, DCF must also gather data about children victims of trafficking in a format that can maintain anonymity when the Legislature wants to analyze the data.
The House companion, HB 1127, passed its second committee stop Wednesday with unanimous approval. Reps. Meg Weinberger, a Palm Beach Gardens Republican, and Daryl Campbell, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, are co-sponsoring the bill, which doesn't have funds attached.
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