Florida Senate - 2018 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 422
Ì634064#Î634064
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
(Gibson) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 415.1103, Florida Statutes, is created
6 to read:
7 415.1103 Elder abuse fatality review teams.—
8 (1)(a) An elder abuse fatality review team may be
9 established in each judicial circuit to review deaths of elderly
10 persons alleged or found to have been caused by, or related to,
11 abuse or neglect.
12 (b) An elder abuse fatality review team may include, but is
13 not limited to, representatives from the following entities
14 within the review team’s judicial circuit:
15 1. Law enforcement agencies;
16 2. The state attorney;
17 3. The medical examiner;
18 4. A county court judge;
19 5. Adult protective services;
20 6. The area agency on aging;
21 7. The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program;
22 8. The Agency for Health Care Administration;
23 9. The Office of the Attorney General;
24 10. The Office of the State Courts Administrator;
25 11. The clerk of the court;
26 12. A victim services program;
27 13. An elder law attorney;
28 14. Emergency services personnel;
29 15. A certified domestic violence center;
30 16. An advocacy organization for victims of sexual
31 violence;
32 17. A funeral home director;
33 18. A forensic pathologist;
34 19. A geriatrician;
35 20. A geriatric nurse;
36 21. A geriatric psychiatrist or other individual licensed
37 to offer behavioral health services;
38 22. A hospital discharge planner;
39 23. A public guardian; or
40 24. Any other persons who have knowledge regarding fatal
41 incidents of elder abuse, domestic violence, or sexual violence,
42 including knowledge of research, policy, law, and other matters
43 connected with such incidents involving elders or who are
44 recommended for inclusion by the review team.
45 (c) A person eligible under paragraph (b) may initiate the
46 establishment of a team in his or her judicial circuit and call
47 the first organizational meeting of the team. The executive
48 director of the local area agency on aging shall appoint the
49 members of the team. At the initial meeting, members of the team
50 shall choose two members to serve as co-chairs.
51 (d) Participation in a review team is voluntary. Members of
52 the review team shall serve without compensation and may not be
53 reimbursed for per diem or travel expenses.
54 (e) Members shall serve for terms of 2 years, to be
55 staggered as determined by the co-chairs. Members may be
56 reappointed by the executive director of the local area agency
57 on aging but not for more than 3 consecutive terms. Chairs may
58 be reelected by a majority of the review team but not for more
59 than 2 consecutive terms.
60 (f) A review team shall determine the local operations of
61 the team, including, but not limited to, the process for case
62 selection, which shall be limited to closed cases, and the
63 meeting schedule, to include at least one meeting in each fiscal
64 year.
65 (g) Administrative costs of operating the review team shall
66 be borne by the team members or entities whom they represent.
67 (2) An elder abuse fatality review team must do all of the
68 following:
69 (a) Review deaths of elderly persons in its judicial
70 circuit alleged or found to have been caused by, or related to,
71 abuse or neglect.
72 (b) Consider the events leading up to a fatal incident,
73 available community resources, current law and policies, and the
74 actions taken by systems and individuals related to the fatal
75 incident.
76 (c) Identify gaps, deficiencies, or problems in the
77 delivery of services to elderly persons by public and private
78 agencies which may be related to deaths reviewed by the team.
79 (d) Whenever possible, develop a communitywide approach to
80 address causes of and contributing factors to deaths reviewed by
81 the team.
82 (e) Develop practice standards and recommend changes in
83 law, rules, and policies to support the care of elderly persons
84 and prevent elder abuse deaths.
85 (f) Implement such recommendations and practice standards
86 to the extent possible.
87 (3)(a) Upon written request from a co-chair of a review
88 team, the following information or records pertaining to an
89 elderly person whose death is being reviewed by the team shall
90 be disclosed:
91 1. Information and records held by a criminal justice
92 agency, as defined in s. 119.011(4), not including active
93 criminal intelligence or investigative information, as defined
94 in s. 119.011(3).
95 2. Information and records from Adult Protective Services
96 pursuant to s. 415.107(3)(m).
97 3. An autopsy report from the Medical Examiner’s Office,
98 not including materials protected under s. 406.135.
99 (b) Review teams may share with each other any relevant
100 information that pertains to the review of the death of an
101 elderly person.
102 (c) A team member may not contact, interview, or obtain
103 information by request directly from a member of the deceased
104 elder’s family as part of the review, unless a team member is
105 authorized to do so in the course of his or her employment
106 duties. A member of the deceased elder’s family may voluntarily
107 provide records or information to a review team.
108 (4)(a) By September 1 of each year, each review team shall
109 submit a report to the Department of Elderly Affairs, including,
110 but not limited to:
111 1. Descriptive statistics regarding cases reviewed by the
112 review team, including demographic information regarding victims
113 and caregivers, and the causes and nature of deaths;
114 2. Current policies, procedures, rules, or statutes that
115 the review team identified as contributing to the incidence of
116 elder abuse and elder deaths, and recommendations for system
117 improvement and needed resources, training, or information
118 dissemination to address those identified issues;
119 3. Any other recommendations to prevent deaths from elder
120 abuse, based on an analysis of the data and information
121 presented in the report; and
122 4. Any steps taken by the review team and public and
123 private agencies to implement necessary changes and improve the
124 coordination of services and reviews.
125 (b) By November 1 of each year, the Department of Elderly
126 Affairs shall prepare a summary report of the information
127 required by paragraph (a), which shall be provided to the
128 Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
129 of Representatives, and the Department of Children and Families.
130 (5) Information and records acquired by an elder abuse
131 fatality review team are not subject to discovery or
132 introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal action or
133 administrative or disciplinary proceeding by any state or local
134 government department or agency if the information or records
135 arose out of the matters that are the subject of review by a
136 review team, unless the information and records are not
137 discoverable from any other source. Information and records that
138 are available from other sources are not immune from discovery
139 or introduction into evidence solely because the information,
140 documents, or records were presented to or reviewed by a review
141 team.
142 (6) A person who has attended a meeting of the review team
143 or who has otherwise participated in the activities authorized
144 by this section may not be allowed or required to testify in any
145 civil, criminal, administrative, or disciplinary proceeding as
146 to any records or information produced or presented to a team
147 during a meeting or other activity authorized by this section,
148 unless such testimony is necessary to determine the records or
149 information that was available to the fatality review team.
150 However, this paragraph does not prevent any person who
151 testifies before the team or who is a member of the team from
152 testifying as to matters otherwise within his or her knowledge.
153 (7) There is no monetary liability on the part of, and a
154 cause of action for damages may not arise against, any member of
155 an elder abuse fatality review team in the performance of his or
156 her duties as a review team member in regard to any discussions
157 by, or deliberations or recommendations of, the team or the
158 member, unless such member acted in bad faith, with wanton and
159 willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property.
160 (8) Elder abuse fatality review teams and their members may
161 not disclose any information that is confidential pursuant to
162 law.
163 Section 2. Paragraph (m) is added to subsection (3) of
164 section 415.107, Florida Statutes, to read:
165 415.107 Confidentiality of reports and records.—
166 (3) Access to all records, excluding the name of the
167 reporter which shall be released only as provided in subsection
168 (6), shall be granted only to the following persons, officials,
169 and agencies:
170 (m) An elder abuse fatality review team established under
171 s. 415.1103(1) that is reviewing the death of an elderly person.
172 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.
173
174 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
175 And the title is amended as follows:
176 Delete everything before the enacting clause
177 and insert:
178 A bill to be entitled
179 An act relating to elder abuse fatality review teams;
180 creating s. 415.1103, F.S.; authorizing the
181 establishment of elder abuse fatality review teams in
182 each judicial circuit; providing conditions for team
183 establishment and organization; specifying review team
184 duties; providing review teams with access to and use
185 of records; requiring each review team to submit an
186 annual report by a certain date to the Department of
187 Elderly Affairs containing specified information;
188 requiring the department to prepare an annual report
189 by a certain date with such information to the
190 Governor, the Legislature, and the Department of
191 Children and Families; exempting certain information
192 and records from discovery; providing exceptions;
193 prohibiting a member from testifying about information
194 or records presented during meetings or activities of
195 the team; providing immunity from monetary liability
196 for members under certain conditions; prohibiting
197 review teams and review team members from disclosing
198 confidential information; amending s. 415.107, F.S.;
199 requiring that elder abuse fatality review teams be
200 granted access to certain records; providing an
201 effective date.