Bill > S0820

This bill requires the Office of the State Courts Administrator (OSCA) to submit an annual report to the Legislature by January 31st detailing the operations and effectiveness of problem-solving courts, which are specialized court programs designed to address underlying issues contributing to criminal behavior, such as drug addiction or mental health challenges, and includes a revised definition of "problem-solving court" to encompass early childhood courts and dependency drug courts. The report must now include specific data for each problem-solving court, such as the number of participants, services provided, funding sources, and performance based on established outcome measures, as well as uniform aggregate data on participant numbers, offense types, treatment compliance, program completion, offenses during participation, court appearance frequency, units of service, and changes in participants' employment, housing, and child custody status. Furthermore, specific court programs, including early childhood courts, veterans treatment courts, mental health courts, and treatment-based drug courts, are mandated to collect this data for program evaluation and report it annually to the OSCA, with phased implementation for the reporting of uniform aggregate data, starting with 30% of funded courts in the 2025-2026 fiscal year and expanding to all courts by the 2027-2028 fiscal year.

Budget and Finance

Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice (Senate)

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/820