FL H1061

Department of Children and Families (DCF) must develop, in collaboration with lead agencies and child welfare providers, an actuarially sound, reimbursement-based funding methodology for allocating core services funding to community-based care lead agencies, with an initial report due December 1, 2024, and annual updates due each October 31 beginning in 2025; the Legislature must allocate funding using this methodology starting in the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

Lead agencies are prohibited from contracting with related parties for officer or director level staffing to perform management functions, and must disclose all known or potential conflicts of interest to DCF; undisclosed conflicts trigger penalties of $5,000 per occurrence, $10,000 for a first contract offense, and $15,000 for subsequent offenses, with affected contracts required to be reprocured.

Lead agency boards of directors must provide fiduciary oversight to prevent conflicts of interest, protect state and federal funding, and ensure accountability; board members, directors, and officers must participate in annual training with minimum criteria set by DCF.

Lead agencies must publish expanded monthly data on their websites, including unlicensed placements, foster parent recruitment and licensure trends, family service percentages, nonjudicial-to-judicial case conversion rates, and children's legal service staffing rates.

A "Future of Child Protection Contracting and Funding Working Group," chaired by the DCF secretary and including representatives from multiple state agencies, child welfare organizations, and academic institutions, must submit a report to the Governor and Legislature by October 15, 2025, examining contracting methods, barriers to local governance, administrative cost caps, and regional needs.