(b) Policies.—1. Decrease the number of children at risk of becoming delinquent, abused, or otherwise dependent on society through preventive counseling services and day treatment programs.
2. Treat no children or adolescents in state mental health institutions, and provide that the primary emphasis on mental health treatment of children shall be community-based services.
3. Provide training in normal child development and family relationship skills in public education programs at all levels.
4. Sponsor seminars and clinics for parents on positive ways to handle stress related to child-rearing.
5. Encourage prevention programs in schools and community centers to decrease the incidence of teenage pregnancy and provide programs to reduce the detrimental effects of teenage pregnancy.
6. Develop and participate in alcohol and drug prevention programs in the school system and in the community.
7. Encourage the development and public awareness of community support networks for parents and children at risk of abuse or drug or alcohol dependency.
8. Target funds for intensive prevention programs to families at risk of child abuse or substance abuse problems.
9. Develop and expand prevention, identification, and treatment programs for substance abusers who are children or adolescents.
10. Encourage private sector involvement in prevention programs through employee assistance programs.
11. Promote the preservation and strengthening of families by providing programs designed to reduce the occurrence of abuse and neglect.
12. Promote educational programs to increase awareness in children of the damage to their minds and bodies caused from the use of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.
13. Provide timely intervention and treatment services in the appropriate setting when incidents of abuse or neglect do occur.
14. Provide a comprehensive range of children’s mental health services, from prevention programs to the less-intensive residential programs, with minimal use of institutional settings.
15. Provide secure, intensive treatment facilities for children and adolescents who, due to their aggressive or violent behavior, would otherwise be treated in placements in other states or in institutional settings in Florida.
16. Emphasize prevention and nonresidential services directed toward keeping children in their homes and communities, with each child’s protection and well-being as the first priority.
17. Provide a strong, interagency case-management system, including appropriate state agencies, law enforcement, school districts, and community mental health centers, to ensure the proper placement of children in need of services.
18. Develop a community-oriented juvenile justice system which meets the individual needs of referred and committed youth offenders and which treats juveniles in the least restrictive manner while ensuring the safety of the community by holding juveniles accountable for their behavior and by linking reentry into the community to stable behavior.
19. Develop a child abuse service system that will detect abuse and neglect in the early stages, intervene promptly and effectively in both family and nonfamily settings, and apply a multidisciplinary child abuse prevention/treatment team approach.
20. Expand prenatal and perinatal screening programs in order to increase the number of at-risk mothers and infants who receive prevention services.
21. Increase the state’s capacity to provide training and support services to developmentally disabled children and adolescents in the community.
22. Ensure that all current and new programs for children and adolescents are as family-focused and supportive of the family unit as feasible without exposing the child to unacceptable physical and emotional risks.
23. Expand the range of programs currently available for children with physical handicaps other than developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, and emotional problems.
24. Ensure the safety of children and the quality of services they receive in residential, day care, and treatment programs through necessary and appropriate regulations.
25. Establish a system to determine and evaluate client outcomes and program effectiveness for all programs serving children, youth, and families.
26. Provide for a systematic outcome evaluation of programs and services to children.