CS/CS/HB 1121 Summary

• Establishes a technical advisory panel to develop procedures and standards for measuring outcomes of pediatric cardiac catheterization and open-heart surgery programs, with rules to be adopted by the Agency for Health Care Administration by July 1, 2022.

• Extends court jurisdiction for young adults with disabilities in foster care from age 21 to age 22 and defines "legal father" to include men married to the mother at conception or birth, named on birth certificate, or determined by court order or Department of Revenue.

• Allows confidential child welfare records regarding abandonment, abuse, or neglect to be accessed for employment screening of residential group home caregivers and reduces the record release timeline from 60 to 30 days for parents and alleged perpetrators.

• Requires courts to inquire about a child's legal father identity and location at shelter hearings and includes Florida Putative Father Registry searches in diligent search requirements for locating parents in dependency and termination proceedings.

• Establishes a shared family care residential services pilot program for substance-exposed newborns and their families, with $250,000 appropriated for fiscal year 2017-2018, and creates a task force to address involuntary examinations of children age 17 and under.