Bill > H6521

Introduced Session

An act for the relief of Angela Sozzani; requiring that the Department of Children and Families request up to a certain amount in its annual legislative budget request each fiscal year to compensate Angela Sozzani for injuries and damages she sustained as a result of the negligence of individuals and entities licensed by the department; authorizing the department to request additional funds under extraordinary circumstances; providing for the satisfaction of any liens and the reversion of remaining funds in the special needs trust upon Angela Sozzani's death; providing that fees and costs have not been awarded; providing an effective date. WHEREAS, Angela Sozzani, whose date of birth is April 21, 2000, was in the legal custody of the Department of Children and Families (formerly known as the Department of Children and Family Services) and had been placed in the medical foster home of Ronald and Joyce Bryson on February 6, 2001, and WHEREAS, Ronald Bryson and Joyce Bryson were each licensed by the Department of Children and Families to provide foster care pursuant to s. 409.175, Florida Statutes, and WHEREAS, on April 17, 2002, Ronald and Joyce Bryson were providing foster care to three medically needy foster children hb6521-00 HB 6521 and after-school care to their two special-needs grandchildren, even though their foster home was licensed by the Department of Children and Families to provide care for only two children, and WHEREAS, on April 17, 2002, Ronald and Joyce Bryson were hosting a party and allowed their two grandchildren to swim in their swimming pool without adult supervision, and WHEREAS, on April 17, 2002, Angela Sozzani, who was nearly 2 years of age and was not being supervised, wandered out the open patio door to the pool and fell into the swimming pool, nearly drowning, and WHEREAS, Angela Sozzani experienced a severe hypoxic- ischemic encephalopathy, secondary to a near drowning, and, as a result, is dependent on receiving 24-hour medical and supportive care, and WHEREAS, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Angela Sozzani in Pinellas County against the Department of Children and Families, Ronald and Joyce Bryson, Family Continuity Program, Inc., and Help a Child, Inc., and WHEREAS, Angela Sozzani's claim against Ronald and Joyce Bryson was based on each person's failure to properly supervise Angela Sozzani and their failure to follow rules of the Department of Children and Families, and WHEREAS, Angela Sozzani's claim against Family Continuity Program, Inc., which was the lead agency in Pinellas County pursuant to former s. 409.1671, Florida Statutes, during the hb6521-00 HB 6521 period that Angela Sozzani was placed in the Bryson home, was based on the entity's failure to comply with rules of the Department of Children and Families, failure to perform monthly home visits, failure to ensure Angela Sozzani's safety in the Bryson foster home, and failure to report the licensing violations that were observed in the Bryson foster home, and WHEREAS, Angela Sozzani's claim against Help a Child, Inc., which was the private entity that contracted with the Department of Children and Families to oversee the operation of the medical foster care program through which the Brysons were licensed, was based on the entity's failure to properly oversee and manage the Bryson foster home, failure to train Ronald and Joyce Bryson, failure to comply with rules of the Department of Children and Families, and failure to report the licensing violations that were observed in the Bryson foster home, and WHEREAS, Angela Sozzani's claim against the Department of Children and Families is based on the department's failure to follow its own operating procedures and guidelines with respect to the licensure of the Bryson foster home, which the department knew or should have known would be a dangerous environment to Angela Sozzani, and WHEREAS, as a disabled person, Angela Sozzani is in need of funds necessary for her care, and WHEREAS, Angela Sozzani continues to need 24-hour medical care and treatment as a result of the actions giving rise to hb6521-00 HB 6521 this claim, and WHEREAS, Angela Sozzani and Family Continuity Program, Inc., and Help a Child, Inc., have reached a settlement for the limits of each entity's available insurance, and WHEREAS, pursuant to s. 409.175(15), Florida Statutes, any person who owns or operates a family foster home for the Department of Children and Families, including Ronald and Joyce Bryson, is provided coverage through the Division of Risk Management of the Department of Financial Services, as provided in ss. 284.38 and 284.385, Florida Statutes, and WHEREAS, Angela Sozzani and Ronald and Joyce Bryson have reached a settlement, and WHEREAS, the Division of Financial Services paid $200,000: $100,000 on behalf of the Department of Children and Families and $100,000 on behalf of Ronald and Joyce Bryson, pursuant to s. 409.175(15), Florida Statutes, to compensate Angela Sozzani for damages, and WHEREAS, a special needs trust has been established for the exclusive benefit and use of Angela Sozzani, and WHEREAS, the net settlement proceeds from each defendant totaling $978,837.62 were deposited into the special needs trust, and WHEREAS, Angela Sozzani is currently eligible for and receiving Medicaid, which is funding her placement, treatment, and care costs, and hb6521-00 HB 6521 WHEREAS, if Medicaid does not provide any medically necessary and appropriate health care services, as determined by Angela Sozzani's treatment team, such services will be paid for using assets from the special needs trust, and WHEREAS, the Department of Children and Families supports this act to ensure that Angela Sozzani has the funding and resources necessary to obtain all medically necessary and appropriate health care for her entire life, and WHEREAS, since Angela Sozzani's parent's rights were terminated, the Department of Children and Families, through its lead agency, ChildNet, Inc., has not been able to find a permanent family to adopt Angela Sozzani, and she has lived, been cared for, and treated at Kidz Korner for 17 years, which has been her only home, with the Department of Children and Families' support, and WHEREAS, Dr. Nicholas D.A. Suite, M.D., board-certified neurologist, has recently reported that Angela Sozzani's condition has improved from an anoxic-ischemic coma in a persistent vegetative state to a minimally conscious state, and that, with optimum medical care, such as she has been receiving at Kidz Korner, Angela Sozzani's life expectancy will be approximately 20 to 25 years, and WHEREAS, as Angela Sozzani will be turning 21 on April 21, 2021, this legislative session will be her last opportunity to obtain the passage of a claims bill before the time that she is hb6521-00 HB 6521 at risk of facing significant expenditures from her trust because of the reduction in her Medicaid benefits as a medically fragile child under the age of 21, and WHEREAS, because it is unknown how long Angela Sozzani will actually live, and if medically necessary and appropriate health care will be provided through Medicaid, the Department of Children and Families has agreed to request, in its annual legislative budget request, funds to replenish those funds that have been expended by the special needs trust to provide for Angela Sozzani's placement costs and medical care and treatment which are not funded by Medicaid, and WHEREAS, upon the death of Angela Sozzani, any proceeds remaining in her special needs trust shall first be used to satisfy the Medicaid lien, together with any additional amounts owed pursuant to the lien, and the remainder shall be paid to the General Revenue Fund, NOW, THEREFORE,

Committee Categories

James Grant (R)*, 

Died in Civil Justice Subcommittee (on 03/14/2020)

Official Document