SB 1626 Florida Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Child Welfare

Summary

Child Welfare; Requiring the Department of Children and Families to enter into agreements with certain military installations for child protective investigations involving military families; authorizing a law enforcement officer or an authorized agent of the department to take a child into custody who is the subject of a specified court order; requiring the department to establish a methodology to determine daily room and board rates for certain children by a date certain, which may include different rates based on a child’s acuity level or the geographic location of the residential child-caring agency, etc.

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 10, 2025 Last action Jun 16, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

S 1626 c2 → S 1626 c3 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill version (c3) adds new substantive provisions to the child welfare bill, including requirements for timely access to psychotropic medications for children in care, revised membership and appointment rules for children's services districts, expanded training requirements for child care personnel, and new human trafficking awareness training for foster parents and agency staff. The version also clarifies jurisdiction for missing child reports involving children subject to court orders.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include new requirements for psychotropic medication access, human trafficking training, and revised governance structures for children's services districts.

REQUIREMENT

Added Section 3 requiring the department to adopt rules ensuring children in care receive timely access to clinically appropriate psychotropic medications, including processes for consent, court authorization, and treatment planning.

Added Section 8 requiring foster parents and agency staff to complete human trafficking awareness training as a condition of licensure and renewal.

Modified Section 6 to revise minimum training requirements for child care personnel, including updated course topics and continuing education specifications.

Modified Section 8 to change license extension limits from 90 days to 30 days for implementing corrective measures.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified Section 5 to revise membership requirements for independent special districts providing children's services, changing term lengths, appointment procedures, and adding interim appointment authority for vacancies.

ENFORCEMENT

Modified Section 13 to clarify that sheriff's offices must take jurisdiction for missing child reports when the child is subject to a court order and agency jurisdiction cannot be determined.

S 1626 c1 → S 1626 c2 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill was revised from its first version to the committee substitute version, primarily by removing detailed provisions about unaccompanied alien children and DNA testing requirements, while adding a new requirement for the Department of Children and Families to establish a methodology for determining daily room and board rates for children in out-of-home care by July 1, 2026. The bill also clarifies procedures for military family child protective investigations, expands requirements for child care personnel training, and modifies various licensing and liability provisions related to foster care and residential child-caring agencies.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing the unaccompanied alien child reporting requirements, but expanded to include a new methodology requirement for room and board rate determination and additional training requirements for child care personnel.

REQUIREMENT

Removed detailed provisions requiring natural persons to report, verify relationships with, and pay for DNA testing for unaccompanied alien children, which were present in the first version but not in the committee substitute.

Added a requirement for the Department of Children and Families to establish a methodology to determine daily room and board rates for children in out-of-home care by July 1, 2026, which may vary based on a child's acuity level or geographic location.

Modified child care personnel training requirements to include specific topics such as human trafficking prevention, shaken baby syndrome, and developmental disabilities, with additional continuing education units for early literacy training.

Modified the license expiration extension provision for child-caring agencies, changing the maximum extension period from 90 days to 30 days.

FISCAL

Modified insurance liability limits for subcontractors of lead agencies providing foster care services, changing net economic damages limits from $2 million to unspecified limits and adjusting noneconomic damages limits from $400,000 to unspecified limits.

DEFINITION

Added a new section defining the Family Advocacy Program as the Department of Defense program addressing child abuse, abandonment, and neglect in military families.

TIMELINE

Modified the effective date provision to state the act shall take effect July 1, 2025, and added a specific deadline of July 1, 2026 for establishing room and board rate methodology.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 9, 2025

How they voted

36–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 38

Apr 9, 2025

D Democratic10

10 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican27

25 Yea 2

92% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

CS passed; YEAS 36 NAYS 0

upper

Apr 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review -under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Mar 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Fiscal Policy, 04/02/25, 9:00 am, 110 Senate Building

upper

Mar 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

CS/CS by Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; YEAS 10 NAYS 0

upper

Mar 21, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, 03/26/25, 1:00 pm, 412 Knott Building

upper

Mar 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Now in Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services

upper

Mar 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Mar 10, 2025

Introduced

upper

Mar 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Children, Families, and Elder Affairs, 03/12/25, 8:30 am, 301 Senate Building

upper

Mar 6, 2025

Committee

Referred to Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; Fiscal Policy

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors