Luggage for Children Placed in Out-of-home Care

HB 279 2026

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to luggage for children placed in out-2
of-home care; providing a short title; creating s. 3
39.4011, F.S.; providing legislative findings and 4
intent; providing construction; providing definitions; 5
requiring the Department of Children and Families to 6
provide certain children with a piece of luggage for 7
certain purposes; providing department requirements; 8
requiring the department to submit a specified annual 9
report to the Legislature; providing sources of 10
funding for the distribution of pieces of luggage; 11
requiring the department's direct-support organization 12
to receive and use funding for certain purposes; 13
amending ss. 39.401 and 39.4085, F.S.; conforming 14
provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 15
effective date. 16
17
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18
19
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Fostering with 20
Dignity Act." 21
Section 2. Section 39.4011, Florida Statutes, is created 22
to read: 23
39.4011 Luggage for children placed in out-of-home care.— 24
(1)(a) The Legislature finds that children being placed in 25

HB 279 2026

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out-of-home care often transport their personal belongings in 26
trash bags, which intensifies emotional distress for the child 27
and reinforces his or her feelings of disposability. 28
Accordingly, the Legislature intends that every child in this 29
state being placed in out-of-home care be provided with a 30
suitable reusable bag, suitcase, or backpack in order to promote 31
dignity, emotional well-being, and stability during the child's 32
transition. 33
(b) This section must be construed to advance the dignity, 34
emotional well-being, and stability of children being placed in 35
out-of-home care. This section may not be construed to limit or 36
impede existing rights, services, or protections afforded to 37
children in out-of-home care under federal or state law. 38
(2) As used in this section, the term: 39
(a) "Community-based care lead agency" has the same 40
meaning as in s. 409.986(3). 41
(b) "Luggage" means a suitcase, duffel bag, backpack, or 42
other similar container or bag with handles that is made of 43
durable material and designed for multiple uses including 44
holding a person's personal belongings. 45
(c) "Public-private partnership" means a partnership 46
between the department and a private entity, the purpose of 47
which is to finance, build, and operate projects that serve a 48
public purpose. 49
(3) Upon taking a child into its custody pursuant to s. 50

HB 279 2026

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39.401, the department must provide each child entering out-of-51
home care with a suitable piece of luggage for the storage and 52
transport of his or her personal belongings. 53
(4) The department shall do all of the following: 54
(a) Establish and maintain a decentralized supply of 55
luggage to be used to transport a child's personal belongings. 56
(b) Develop procedures for the storage and distribution of 57
luggage. 58
(c) Collaborate with community-based care lead agencies, 59
advocacy groups, business partners, or entities in a public-60
private partnership with the department to coordinate logistics 61
and the distribution of pieces of luggage. 62
(d) Pursue strategic partnerships to ensure that each 63
child entering out-of-home care receives a piece of luggage to 64
store and transport the child's personal belongings. The 65
department may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations 66
of any kind and from any source for purposes of this section. 67
(e) Provide a piece of luggage to a child who is being 68
removed from the child's home or changing placements. The piece 69
of luggage provided to a child under this section belongs to the 70
child and may not be reclaimed by the department or retained by 71
the person with whom the child is placed. The department is not 72
required to provide a new piece of luggage to a child who is 73
changing placements and has the piece of luggage that was 74
previously provided by the department. 75

HB 279 2026

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(f) Maintain a record of each time a trash bag is used to 76
move a child's personal belongings. The record must include the 77
reason the department did not provide the child with an 78
appropriate piece of luggage to move the child's personal 79
belongings. 80
(g) Submit to the Legislature an annual report that 81
includes the following information: 82
1. The number of times a trash bag was used to transport a 83
child's personal belongings and the reason the department did 84
not provide the child with an appropriate piece of luggage. 85
2. The department's luggage supply inventory and its 86
management practices for the supply of luggage maintained by the 87
department. 88
(5) Funding for the distribution of pieces of luggage to 89
children entering out-of-home care may come from any of the 90
following: 91
(a) Federal funds, including federal Title IV-E 92
assistance. 93
(b) Matching grant program agreements with or donations 94
from community and business entities. 95
(c) Public-private partnerships. 96
(6) Pursuant to s. 402.57(5)(a), the department's direct-97
support organization shall collect the funding received under 98
subsection (5) and use such funding to help administer this 99
section. 100

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Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 39.401, Florida 101
Statutes, is amended to read: 102
39.401 Taking a child alleged to be dependent into 103
custody; law enforcement officers and authorized agents of the 104
department.— 105
(4) When a child is taken into custody pursuant to this 106
section, the department shall: 107
(a) Request that the child's parent, caregiver, or legal 108
custodian disclose the names, relationships, and addresses of 109
all parents and prospective parents and all next of kin of the 110
child, so far as are known. 111
(b) Provide each child entering out-of-home care with a 112
piece of luggage, as defined in s. 39.4011, for the storage and 113
transport of his or her personal belongings. 114
Section 4. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 115
39.4085, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 116
39.4085 Goals for dependent children; responsibilities; 117
education; Office of the Children's Ombudsman.— 118
(1) The Legislature finds that the design and delivery of 119
child welfare services should be directed by the principle that 120
the health and safety of children, including the freedom from 121
abuse, abandonment, or neglect, is of paramount concern and, 122
therefore, establishes the following goals for children in 123
shelter or foster care: 124
(c) To have their privacy protected;, have their personal 125

HB 279 2026

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belongings secure and transported with them in a manner that 126
promotes their dignity, emotional well-being, and stability, 127
including the provision of at least one piece of luggage when 128
they are placed in out-of-home care;, and, unless otherwise 129
ordered by the court, have uncensored communication, including 130
receiving and sending unopened communications and having access 131
to a telephone. 132
133
This subsection establishes goals and not rights. This 134
subsection does not require the delivery of any particular 135
service or level of service in excess of existing 136
appropriations. A person does not have a cause of action against 137
the state or any of its subdivisions, agencies, contractors, 138
subcontractors, or agents, based upon the adoption of or failure 139
to provide adequate funding for the achievement of these goals 140
by the Legislature. This subsection does not require the 141
expenditure of funds to meet the goals established in this 142
subsection except those funds specifically appropriated for such 143
purpose. 144
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 145