Florida SB 2518: Information Technology

Bill Text

2518 
Health 
2026-02-18T14:28:56Z 
Requiring the Social Services Estimating Conference to develop certain official information relating to the pilot program for individuals with developmental disabilities; authorizing the Department of Children and Families, as authorized by and consistent with appropriated funding, to contract with a specified organization to provide grief support services to help certain children and youth; revising the monthly room and board rates the department is required to pay to certain foster parents and caregivers; renaming the Step into Success Workforce Education and Internship Pilot Program as the Step into Success Workforce Education and Internship Program, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 2518 

 By the Committee on Appropriations 

 576-03004-26 20262518__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to health; amending s. 216.136, F.S.; 
 3 requiring the Social Services Estimating Conference to 
 4 develop certain official information relating to the 
 5 pilot program for individuals with developmental 
 6 disabilities; amending s. 394.495, F.S.; authorizing 
 7 the Department of Children and Families, as authorized 
 8 by and consistent with appropriated funding, to 
 9 contract with a specified organization to provide 
 10 grief support services to help certain children and 
 11 youth; requiring that the services be provided at no 
 12 cost; authorizing the contracted organization to also 
 13 provide grief awareness training and outreach to local 
 14 schools and medical facilities under the contract; 
 15 amending s. 409.145, F.S.; revising the monthly room 
 16 and board rates the department is required to pay to 
 17 certain foster parents and caregivers; amending s. 
 18 409.1455, F.S.; renaming the Step into Success 
 19 Workforce Education and Internship Pilot Program as 
 20 the Step into Success Workforce Education and 
 21 Internship Program; deleting a provision limiting the 
 22 duration of the program; requiring the Office of 
 23 Continuing Care within the department to develop 
 24 certain cohorts within specified regions, to 
 25 collaborate with certain organizations to recruit 
 26 mentors and organizations, and to provide eligible 
 27 former foster youth with internship placement 
 28 opportunities; deleting a provision requiring that the 
 29 program be administered in a certain manner; deleting 
 30 obsolete language; requiring the office to develop 
 31 trauma-informed training for mentors of certain former 
 32 foster youth; providing requirements for the training; 
 33 authorizing the office to provide certain additional 
 34 trainings on mentorship of special populations; 
 35 revising the amount of monthly financial assistance 
 36 that the office provides to participating former 
 37 foster youth; requiring the office to assign 
 38 experienced staff to serve as program liaisons for a 
 39 specified purpose; revising qualifications to serve as 
 40 a mentor; authorizing the department to offer certain 
 41 training to mentors in subsequent years; authorizing 
 42 an employee who serves as a mentor to participate in 
 43 certain additional trainings; deleting a provision 
 44 authorizing the offset of a reduction in or loss of 
 45 certain benefits due to receipt of a Step into Success 
 46 stipend by an additional stipend payment; creating s. 
 47 409.1475, F.S.; providing legislative findings and 
 48 intent; creating the Foster and Family Support Grant 
 49 Program within the department; requiring the 
 50 department to award grants to not-for-profit, faith 
 51 based organizations for specified purposes; requiring 
 52 that the program emphasize certain support; specifying 
 53 authorized uses for awarded grant funds; requiring 
 54 grant recipients to submit reports to the department 
 55 in a format and at intervals prescribed by the 
 56 department; authorizing the department to adopt rules; 
 57 amending s. 409.908, F.S.; revising the parameters for 
 58 the prospective payment methodology used for 
 59 determining the Agency for Health Care 
 60 Administration’s long-term care reimbursement plan for 
 61 nursing home care; requiring the agency to consider 
 62 specified recommendations when revising its 
 63 methodology for calculating Quality Incentive Program 
 64 payments; requiring the agency to delay the effective 
 65 date of any changes to its methodology for a specified 
 66 timeframe; amending s. 409.9855, F.S.; requiring the 
 67 agency to collect and analyze certain data relating to 
 68 the pilot program for individuals with developmental 
 69 disabilities for a specified timeframe; requiring the 
 70 agency to report specified information to the Social 
 71 Services Estimating Conference; amending s. 409.990, 
 72 F.S.; revising the cumulative amount of unexpended 
 73 state funds that a community-based care lead agency 
 74 may carry forward to