Pursuant to Chapter 916, Florida Statutes, the Department of Children and Families is responsible for the treatment of forensic clients who have been determined incompetent to proceed due to mental illness or who have been acquitted of a felony by reason of insanity.
With the recent passage of HB 1091, the Florida Legislature made a number of significant changes to Chapter 916, F.S., which took effect on July 1, 2025. Please note the statutory changes that were made pertain to only adults, or juveniles adjudicated as adults, who are mentally ill as stipulated in Chapter 916, Part II, and not to intellectually disabled or autistic persons served by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities as stipulated in Chapter 916, Part III.
We are providing the summary below to assist you in understanding how the changes affect mental health experts appointed by the courts who conduct forensic evaluations for defendants with mental illnesses:
Section 916.111 - Training of mental health experts:
Section 916.111, F.S. is amended to require that training provided to forensic evaluators include information on any statutes and rules related to competency restoration, evidence-based practices, and least restrictive treatment alternatives and placement options as described in s. 916.12(4)(c). The Department will ensure such training is updated and provided on an annual basis.
Section 916.115 – Appointment of experts:
Section 916.115.(a)1., F.S., is amended to require the presiding court to appoint mental health practitioners that are psychiatrists, licensed psychologists or physicians to conduct evaluations.Mental health experts who have had the adult forensic evaluator training and are from other professions such as licensed mental health counselors and licensed clinical social workers will no longer have their names maintained on the Department’s list of available mental health professionals who have completed the approved training.
Section 916.115(a)2., F.S., is amended to require that court-appointed evaluators must have completed the “initial” training and “annual” forensic evaluator training.The initial training for adult defendants is currently a three-day, virtual workshop provided by the University of South Florida (USF) through the Memorandum of Agreement with the Department. This had previously been the only training required, but now an annual update will be required.Evaluators need to take the “initial” training just once, but the annual update training which will be provided by the Department will be required each year.
Section 916.115(a)3., F.S., is amended to provide that when performing juvenile evaluations, the initial and annual juvenile forensic competency evaluation training should be completed.The Department will ensure that the trainings for Chapter 916 evaluations include information on how juveniles adjudicated as adults are evaluated pursuant to this statute.Mental health experts who are interested in conducting competency evaluations in juvenile delinquency cases pursuant to s. 985.19, F.S., may take the Forensic Evaluation and Juvenile Justice workshop, also offered by USF.
Section 916.115(b), F.S., is added to require that existing evaluators complete the annual update training by July 1, 2026, to remain active on the Department’s list of trained evaluators. All evaluators previously trained with the “initial” training must complete the Department’s annual update training by July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, in order to be maintained on the Department’s list of available mental health experts who may conduct forensic evaluations for defendants with mental illnesses.The Annual Training for Court-Appointed Evaluators will be made available and provided to all Adult Forensic Evaluators through virtual sessions and ultimately self-paced trainings.Information will be available within the next few months on the Department’s website.
The Department will require in its registration materials that evaluators who take the annual update training send a copy of their completed certificate each year to: hqw.samh.adult.fe@myflfamilies.com
Section 916.115(c), F.S., is amended to require the Department to maintain and annually provide the courts with the list of mental health professionals who have completed the “initial” and “annual” training.Mental health professionals needing the “initial” training offered by USF may register by going to USF’s training website and selecting the “Training & Events” link.
Section 916.12 – Mental competency to proceed:
Section 916.12(4)(d), F.S., is amended to direct mental health experts who are conducting competency evaluations to determine what acceptable treatments are available in the community.At minimum, experts are to use current information or resources on less restrictive treatment alternatives as described in paragraph (c) and those obtained from forensic evaluator training provided by the Department.The courts will want to ensure competency reports detail consideration for alternative placement when reaching a determination as to whether an individual should be involuntarily committed or served in an appropriate, community-based alternative placement.
If you have questions regarding these statutory changes, please contact the Department at hqw.samh.adult.fe@myflfamilies.com