Lawmakers want to create a foster pilot program for kids with behavioral problems

Yahoo

13-03-2025

Southwest Florida Republican state Sen. Erin Grall in front of the Florida Supreme Court on Sept. 8, 2023. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix)
Florida could spend $3.3 million on a foster care pilot program and to recruit more employees to investigate child abuse reports under a proposal moving with ease through the Legislature.
The bulk of the funds, $3 million, would go toward a four-year foster care pilot program that would place children with behavioral problems in a family setting rather than a group home.
The Senate Fiscal Policy committee unanimously approved on Thursday an amendment allocating the funds to Vero Beach Republican Erin Grall's proposal. Under SB 7012, the Florida Department of Children and Families would gain authority to set standards for the program, find people and families willing to care for the children, and identify which kids would be eligible.
A legislative analysis states that the pilot is aimed at helping children the department 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.
'We all see in our communities anytime we meet with our lead agencies, the cost for placing high-acuity children is so extensive, sometimes from $400 to $700 dollars a night,' Grall said during the committee meeting.
'To think about how we can do this differently, how the children who have those increased needs can be placed in family settings with foster parents that are trained to deal with their needs. It's just a better use of our dollars with potentially better outcomes.'
The proposal calls for DCF to begin developing the pilot, including choosing where it will be administrated, by July 1, with implementation starting Jan. 1.
Although the proposal has received unanimous support in two Senate hearings and its companion, HB 1127, before one committee in the House, Stuart Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell would like to see a plan before the pilot starts.
'I would like to see something, so we know where we're putting our money,' Harrell told the Phoenix last week, after the bill's first hearing.
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DCF would also get $300,000 to help recruit case managers and employees tasked with investigating reports of child abuse. The case managers look after a child's safety after the department confirms that the child needs services from the state.
The turnover rate for child protective investigators was 64.3% and 48.15% for case managers during the past fiscal year, according to an analysis. On average, case managers handle 14 children.
Under the bill, DCF would have to seek out people such as former law enforcement officers, first responders, military servicemembers, teachers, and health care providers to fill the investigator and case management positions.
'Our child welfare system is always something we have to work on. There's always room for improvement,' Senate President Ben Albritton wrote in a press release announcing the proposal on Feb. 27. 'As hard as we try, government can never replace the role of family. The faster we can get children into loving, permanent homes, the better off those children will be in the long run.'
While the House version doesn't yet have money attached, co-sponsor Palm Beach Gardens Republican Rep. Meg Weinberger told lawmakers Tuesday that she and Grall have agreed on the $3 million price tag for the pilot. Fort Lauderdale Democratic Rep. Daryl Campbell is also sponsoring the bill.
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