As Florida lawmakers head into their final days of the legislative session, several major bills focused on children’s issues still haven’t made it fully through the process. They deal with child protection and autism.
Senate President Ben Albritton is particularly invested in two of the bills.
One is a sweeping child protection measure that would recruit case managers and child protective investigators, combat child sex trafficking, and create a professional foster care pilot program. Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, is behind the measure.
“This bill addresses the strain on the child welfare workforce by requiring (Department of Children and Families) to run a CPI and case manager recruitment program for individuals who have previously held public safety and service positions, such as law enforcement officers and first responders," said Grall. "This is intended to decrease the vacancy rates of CPIs and case managers and reduce the strain on the workforce.”
The bill would also require DCF to collect more data about where children in state care are placed. And, Grall says, it would establish a four-year foster care pilot program for children with complex mental health needs, placing them with specifically trained foster families.
“This bill requires DCF to create a treatment foster care pilot program that will increase family-like placements for children with high acuity behavioral needs," she said. "Treatment foster care, also known as professional foster care, places the child in a family-like setting. However, unlike traditional foster homes, treatment foster parents receive specialized training to care for the children with high behavioral needs.”
The Senate measure was heard on the first day of session, passed easily through committees and has been in messages for weeks. In the House, it’s passed just one committee.
Albritton is also invested in a bill aimed at addressing the increasing prevalence of autism. The Senate unanimously passed the measure early in the session.
"This bill, these families, these children - this is really, really important," Albritton said. "We’re going to be watching very closely. We feel like we have good partners in the agencies. You know, many times we may do something here and it gets down the road a little bit, and all of a sudden you find a hurdle that you didn’t know was there. It won’t deter us from our major goal, and that is to serve these families in a far more meaningful way.”
The bill would work to increase early detection and intervention, while filling in the gaps in educational opportunities.
Currently, kids with autism stay in the Early Steps program until they’re 3 years old, but don’t start school until they’re 4 - missing out on a year of learning. The bill would offer them the option of staying in Early Steps until they’re 4. Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, is the sponsor.
“This is going to end that gap," Harrell said. "Also, summer school is important, making sure you have those camps that are specific to kids with autism. They can’t go, many times, to a regular camp. That’s a whole summer of nothing for them. And this is going to give them a place to really continue the learning process.”
The idea is to identify each child’s place on the autism spectrum and then offer the best services for that individual.
Both bills have strong backing from the Senate president, which gives them a good chance of passing this year. But it also makes them good potential bargaining chips to help House leaders move their priorities forward in the final days of the legislative session.
