Legislatively Mandated per section 39.523, Florida Statutes

Section 39.523, Florida Statutes

Chapter 2017-151, Laws of Florida , (House Bill 1121 passed during the 2017 Legislative Session) amended section 39.523, Florida Statutes (F.S.) and established a new placement assessment process effective January 1, 2018, for all children in out-of-home care. The placement assessment process was intended to determine the level of care needed for each child and to match the child with the most appropriate placement. The major requirements outlined in section 39.523, F.S. , include:

1. A comprehensive placement assessment process to be completed in accordance with section 39.4022, F.S. prior to a child’s placement in out-of-home care, to determine the level of care needed for the child and to match the child with the most appropriate placement.
2. The completion of a multidisciplinary team staffing in accordance with section 39.4022, F.S. with all available individuals currently involved with the child (statutory language includes a list of possible individuals to be included) to determine the level of care needed and to match the child with the most appropriate placement.
3. Documentation of all placement assessments and placement decisions in DCF's Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS).
4. A review of the child’s placement as often as necessary to ensure permanency and to address any special issues for the child.
5. Providing the court documentation of the placement assessment at each judicial review.
6. The collection and posting of specific data elements as outlined in section 39.523, F.S. , on DCF's website on January and July 1st of every year.

Data Collection

Data requirements per section 39.523, Florida Statutes (F.S.) are listed below. This data will be updated at a minimum on January 1st and July 1st of each year.

1. The number of children placed with relatives and nonrelatives, in family foster homes, and in residential group care.
2. An inventory of available services that are necessary to maintain children in the least restrictive setting that meets the needs of the child and a plan for filling any identified gap in those services.
3. The number of children who were placed based upon the assessment.
4. An inventory of existing placements for children by type and by community-based care lead agency.
5. The strategies being used by community-based care lead agencies to recruit, train, and support an adequate number of families to provide home-based family care.

Additional Resources

• Community-Based Care (CBC) Inventory of Placement Services and plan for service gaps.
  (Note: this data is not captured in automated systems; it is collected and updated manually)
• Comprehensive Placement Assessment – number of children placed based on the recommendation of the assessment.
  (Note: this data is not captured in automated systems; it is collected and updated manually)
• CBC Recruitment Strategies for Home Based Family Care.
  (Note: this data is not captured in automated systems; it is collected and updated manually)
• CBC Training Strategies for Home Based Family Care.
  (Note: this data is not captured in automated systems; it is collected and updated manually)

Dashboard Navigation

Dashboard Navigation and Data Extraction Instructions

• Office of Children and Families Wellbeing (OCFW) Dashboard User Guide

Children in Out-of-Home Care by Placement Type

Number of children in out-of-home placements. This chart displays the count of children who are in approved relative, non-relative, group care, licensed foster homes, residential treatment, and other (runaway status, placed in adoptive home awaiting an adoption finalization, receiving respite care, or are currently hospitalized). The statewide data depicts children ages zero to 17 as of the last day of the month documented.

Group Care Residential Treatment

Foster Home Status

Percent and Count of Foster Home Bed Capacity by License Type and CBC Lead Agency

Children in Out-of-Home Care by Placement Type