THE BILL ITSELF
CS/SB 820
Problem-solving Court Reports
ENROLLED
2026
Legislature CS for SB 820 2026820er
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An act relating to problem-solving court reports;
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amending s. 43.51, F.S.; requiring the Office of the
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State Courts Administrator to provide a problem
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solving court report to the Legislature annually by a
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specified date; revising information that must be
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included in such report; revising the definition of
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the term “problem-solving court”; amending ss.
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39.01304, 394.47891, 394.47892, and 397.334, F.S.;
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requiring specified court programs to collect certain
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data and information for program evaluation; requiring
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each such court program to report such data and
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information annually to the office; specifying
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requirements for the annual problem-solving court
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report prepared by the office; providing
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applicability; providing an effective date.
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. Section 43.51, Florida Statutes, is amended to
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read:
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43.51 Problem-solving court reports.—
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(1) The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall
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provide an annual report to the President of the Senate and the
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Speaker of the House of Representatives on problem-solving
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courts no later than January 31 of each year for the previous
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fiscal year. The report must:
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(a) Provide all of the following information for each
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problem-solving court:
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1. which details The number of participants for the in each
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problem-solving court for each fiscal year . the court has been
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operating and
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2. The types of services provided . ,
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3. identifies Each source of funding for the each court
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during each fiscal year . , and
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4. provides Information on the performance of the each
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court based upon outcome measures established by the courts.
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(b) Provide all of the following uniform aggregate data for
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each problem-solving court:
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1. The number of participants.
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2. Participant primary offense that resulted in the court
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program referral or sentence, if applicable.
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3. Treatment compliance.
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4. Program completion status and reasons for any failure to
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complete.
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5. Offenses committed during program participation, if
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applicable.
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6. Frequency of court appearances.
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7. Units of service.
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8. Participant changes in the status of employment,
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housing, and child custody during program participation.
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9. Other uniform information that demonstrates the
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effectiveness of the program.
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(2) For purposes of this section, the term “problem-solving
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court” includes, but is not limited to, a drug court pursuant to
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s. 397.334, s. 948.01, s. 948.06, s. 948.08, s. 948.16, or s.
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948.20; a dependency drug court pursuant to s. 39.507 or s.
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39.521; an early childhood court pursuant to s. 39.01304; a
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veterans treatment court program pursuant to s. 394.47891, s.
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948.08, s. 948.16, or s. 948.21; a mental health court program
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pursuant to s. 394.47892, s. 948.01, s. 948.06, s. 948.08, or s.
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948.16; a community court pursuant to s. 948.081; or a
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delinquency pretrial intervention court program pursuant to s.
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985.345.
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Section 2. Present subsection (2) of section 39.01304,
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Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (3), and a new
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subsection (2) is added to that section, to read:
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39.01304 Early childhood court programs.—
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(2) Each early childhood court program shall collect the
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data and information prescribed in s. 43.51(1) for purposes of
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program evaluation. In addition, early childhood court programs
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shall collect the number of admissions and terminations,
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referral and screening procedures, eligibility criteria, type
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and duration of treatment offered, and residential treatment
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resources. Each early childhood court program shall report
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annually to the Office of the State Courts Administrator the
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data and information required to be collected under this
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subsection.
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Section 3. Present subsection (12) of section 394.47891,
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Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (13), and a new
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subsection (12) is added to that section, to read:
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394.47891 Veterans treatment court programs.—
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(12) PROGRAM DATA.—Each veterans treatment court program
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shall collect the data and information prescribed in s. 43.51(1)
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for purposes of program evaluation. In addition, veterans
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treatment court programs shall collect the number of admissions
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and terminations, referral and screening procedures, eligibility
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criteria, type and duration of treatment offered, and
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residential treatment resources. Each veterans treatment court
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program shall report annually to the Office of the State Courts
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Administrator the data and information required to be collected
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under this subsection.
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Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section
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394.47892, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
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394.47892 Mental health court programs.—
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(5)
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(b) Each mental health court program shall collect the
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sufficient client-level data and programmatic information
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prescribed in s. 43.51(1) for purposes of program evaluation. In
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addition, mental health court programs shall collect the number
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of admissions and terminations, Client-level data includes
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primary offenses that resulted in the mental health court
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program referral or sentence, treatment compliance, completion
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status and reasons for failure to complete, offenses committed
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during treatment and the sanctions imposed, frequency of court
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appearances, and units of service. Programmatic information
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includes referral and screening procedures, eligibility
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criteria, type and duration of treatment offered, and
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residential treatment resources. Each mental health court
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program shall report annually to the Office of the State Courts
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Administrator the data and information required to be collected
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under this paragraph The programmatic information and aggregate
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data on the number of mental health court program admissions and
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terminations by type of termination shall be reported annually
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by each mental health court program to the Office of the State
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Courts Administrator .
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Section 5. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section
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397.334, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
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397.334 Treatment-based drug court programs.—
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(6)
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(b) Each treatment-based drug court program shall collect
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the sufficient client-level data and programmatic information
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prescribed in s. 43.51(1) for purposes of program evaluation. In
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addition, treatment-based drug court programs shall collect the
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number of admissions and terminations, Client-level data
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includes primary offenses that resulted in the treatment-based
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drug court program referral or sentence, treatment compliance,
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completion status and reasons for failure to complete, offenses
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committed during treatment and the sanctions imposed, frequency
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of court appearances, and units of service. Programmatic
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information includes referral and screening procedures,
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eligibility criteria, type and duration of treatment offered,
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and residential treatment resources. Each treatment-based drug
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court program shall must annually report annually to the Office
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of the State Courts Administrator the data and programmatic
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information required to be collected under this paragraph and
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aggregate data on the number of treatment-based drug court
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program admissions and terminations by type of termination to
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the Office of the State Courts Administrator .
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Section 6. The annual problem-solving court report prepared
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by the Office of the State Courts Administrator (OSCA) pursuant
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to s. 43.51, Florida Statutes, for the 2025-2026 fiscal year
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must provide uniform aggregate data required by s. 43.51,
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Florida Statutes, for at least 30 percent of problem-solving
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courts funded by the state courts system’s problem-solving
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courts appropriation. The annual problem-solving court report
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prepared by OSCA pursuant to s. 43.51, Florida Statutes, for the
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2026-2027 fiscal year must provide uniform aggregate data
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required by s. 43.51, Florida Statutes, for every problem
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solving court funded by the state courts system’s problem
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solving court appropriation. For the 2027-2028 fiscal year, and
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every fiscal year thereafter, the annual problem-solving court
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report prepared by OSCA pursuant to s. 43.51, Florida Statutes,
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must provide uniform aggregate data required by s. 43.51,
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Florida Statutes, for all problem-solving courts.
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Section 7. The amendments made by this act to ss. 39.01304,
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394.47891, 394.47892, and 397.334, Florida Statutes, shall apply
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to court programs funded by the state courts system’s problem
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solving court appropriation on the effective date of this act
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and shall apply to all other court programs on July 1, 2027.
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Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.