Fla. Stat. § 985.644 — Florida Code / Title XLVII / Chapter 985 / Part XI / Section 985.644
985.644 Departmental contracting powers; personnel standards and investigation.
Status: in_force

(1) The department may contract with the Federal Government, other state departments and agencies, county and municipal governments and agencies, public and private agencies, and private individuals and corporations in carrying out the purposes of, and the responsibilities established in, this chapter. (a) Each contract entered into by the department for services delivered on an appointment or intermittent basis by a provider that does not have regular custodial responsibility for children and each contract with a school for services must ensure that all owners, operators, and personnel who have direct contact with children are subject to level 2 background screening pursuant to chapter 435. (b) A volunteer who assists the department or any program for children on an intermittent basis for less than 10 hours per month need not be screened if a person who meets the screening requirement of this section is always present and has the volunteer in his or her line of sight.

(2) The department shall adopt a rule establishing a procedure to provide notice of policy changes that affect contracted delinquency services and programs. A policy is defined as an operational requirement that applies to only the specified contracted delinquency service or program. The procedure must include: (a) Public notice of policy development. (b) Opportunity for public comment on the proposed policy. (c) Assessment for fiscal impact upon the department and providers. (d) The department’s response to comments received.

(3)(a) All employees of the department and all personnel of contract providers for any program for children, including all owners, operators, employees, persons who have access to confidential juvenile records, and volunteers, must complete: 1. A level 2 employment screening pursuant to chapter 435 before employment. The security background investigation conducted under this section must ensure that, in addition to the disqualifying offenses listed in s. 435.04, no person subject to the background screening provisions of this section has an arrest awaiting final disposition for, been found guilty of, regardless of adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to, or been adjudicated delinquent and the record has not been sealed or expunged for, any offense prohibited under the following provisions of state law or similar laws of another jurisdiction: a. Section 784.07, relating to assault or battery of law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical care providers, public transit employees or agents, or other specified persons. b. Section 817.568, relating to criminal use of personal identification information. 2. A national criminal records check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation every 5 years following the date of the person’s employment. (b) Law enforcement, correctional, and correctional probation officers, certified pursuant to s. 943.13, are not required to submit to level 2 screenings as long as they are currently employed by a law enforcement agency or correctional facility. The department shall electronically submit to the Department of Law Enforcement: 1. Fingerprint information obtained during the employment screening required by subparagraph (a)1. 2. Fingerprint information for all persons employed by the department, or by a provider under contract with the department, in delinquency facilities, services, or programs if such fingerprint information has not previously been submitted pursuant to this section. (c) All fingerprint information electronically submitted to the Department of Law Enforcement under paragraph (b) shall be retained by the Department of Law Enforcement and entered into the statewide automated biometric identification system authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b). Thereafter, such fingerprint information shall be available for all purposes and uses authorized for arrest fingerprint information entered into the statewide automated biometric identification system pursuant to s. 943.051 until the fingerprint information is removed pursuant to paragraph (e). The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all arrest fingerprint information received pursuant to s. 943.051 against the fingerprint information entered into the statewide automated biometric identification system pursuant to this subsection. Any arrest records identified as a result of the search shall be reported to the department in the manner and timeframe established by the Department of Law Enforcement by rule. (d) The department shall pay an annual fee to the Department of Law Enforcement for its costs resulting from the fingerprint information retention services required by this subsection. The amount of the annual fee and procedures for the submission and retention of fingerprint information and for the dissemination of search results shall be established by the Department of Law Enforcement by a rule that is applicable to the department individually pursuant to this subsection or that is applicable to the department and other employing agencies pursuant to rulemaking authority otherwise provided by law. (e) The department shall notify the Department of Law Enforcement when a person whose fingerprint information is retained by the Department of Law Enforcement under this subsection is no longer employed by the department, or by a provider under contract with the department, in a delinquency facility, service, or program. This notice shall be provided by the department to the Department of Law Enforcement within 6 months after the date of the change in the person’s employment status. Fingerprint information for persons identified by the department in the notice shall be removed from the statewide automated biometric identification system.

(4) The department may grant exemptions from disqualification from working with children as provided in s. 435.07.

(5) The department may adopt rules to describe the procedure and requirements necessary to administer the employment screening and fingerprint retention services for all employees of the department and all personnel of contract providers for any program for children, including all owners, operators, employees, and volunteers, including the collection of associated fees.

History: s. 5, ch. 90-208; s. 3, ch. 91-33; s. 70, ch. 91-45; s. 15, ch. 91-57; s. 6, ch. 93-156; s. 15, ch. 94-134; s. 15, ch. 94-135; s. 9, ch. 95-158; s. 31, ch. 95-228; s. 118, ch. 95-418; s. 2, ch. 96-268; ss. 1, 67, ch. 97-238; s. 12, ch. 2001-125; s. 1, ch. 2003-29; ss. 33, 64, ch. 2004-267; s. 13, ch. 2005-263; s. 87, ch. 2006-120; s. 48, ch. 2010-114; s. 65, ch. 2013-116; s. 34, ch. 2014-162; s. 16, ch. 2019-113; s. 5, ch. 2025-73.