THE BILL ITSELF
HB 831
Problem-solving Court Reports
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A bill to be entitled
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An act relating to problem-solving court reports;
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amending s. 43.51, F.S.; requiring specified data to
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be included in problem-solving court reports; amending
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ss. 394.47892 and 397.334, F.S.; conforming provisions
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to changes made by the act; revising the frequency
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with which mental health and treatment-based drug
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court program reports, respectively, must be reported
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to the Office of the State Courts Administrator;
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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. Subsection (1) of section 43.51, Florida Statutes, is amended to 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 which details the number
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of participants in each problem-solving court for each fiscal
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year the court has been operating and the types of services
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provided, identifies each source of funding for each court
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during each fiscal year, and provides information on the
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performance of each court based upon outcome measures
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established by the courts. The report shall, at a minimum,
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include uniform aggregate data regarding:
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(a) The number of participants by court type.
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(b) Participant primary offenses that resulted in the
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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.
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(c) Participant recidivism rate by category, including new
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arrests, new adjudications, and new felony adjudications.
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(d) Participant changes in the status of employment,
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housing, and child custody during program participation.
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(e) Other uniform information that demonstrates the
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effectiveness of the program.
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Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 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
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sufficient client-level data and programmatic information for
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purposes of program evaluation under s. 43.51. Client-level data
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includes primary offenses that resulted in the mental health
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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. The programmatic
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information and aggregate data on the number of mental health
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court program admissions and terminations by type of termination
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shall be reported at least quarterly annually by each mental
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health court program to the Office of the State Courts
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Administrator.
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Section 3. 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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sufficient client-level data and programmatic information for
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purposes of program evaluation under s. 43.51. 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 must annually report at least quarterly the
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programmatic information and aggregate data on the number of
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treatment-based drug court program admissions and terminations
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by type of termination to the Office of the State Courts
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Administrator.
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Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.