SB 718 Summary

• Establishes the "Florida Safe Harbor Act" to treat sexually exploited children as dependents rather than delinquents, with legislative goals including child safety, family reunification, and enabling victims to testify against traffickers.

• Creates short-term and long-term safe houses operated by licensed agencies to provide secure residential care, counseling, medical services, education, and crisis intervention for sexually exploited children ages 6 and older.

• Requires law enforcement to deliver children alleged to be sexually exploited to short-term safe houses when available, with rebuttable presumptions favoring safe-house placement in shelter and disposition hearings.

• Establishes a civil penalty of $5,000 for certain prostitution offenses, with $4,500 of proceeds directed to fund safe houses and $500 to drug court programs.

• Creates a presumption against filing delinquency petitions for minors violating prostitution laws (s. 796.07(3)) unless previously adjudicated delinquent, and allows victim compensation for sexually exploited children regardless of prior criminal conduct.