The Florida Senate

400.0087  Agency oversight.--

(1)  The Department of Elderly Affairs shall monitor the local ombudsman councils responsible for carrying out the duties delegated by s. 400.0069 and federal law. The department, in consultation with the ombudsman and the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council, shall adopt rules to establish the policies and procedures for the monitoring of local ombudsman councils.

(2)  The department is responsible for ensuring that the Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman prepares its annual report; provides information to public and private agencies, legislators, and others; provides appropriate training to representatives of the office or of the state or local long-term care ombudsman councils; and coordinates ombudsman services with the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities and with providers of legal services to residents of long-term care facilities in compliance with state and federal laws.

(3)  The Department of Elderly Affairs is the designated state unit on aging for purposes of complying with the federal Older Americans Act. The Department of Elderly Affairs shall ensure that the ombudsman program has the objectivity and independence required to qualify it for funding under the federal Older Americans Act, and shall carry out the long-term care ombudsman program through the Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. The Department of Elderly Affairs shall also:

(a)  Receive and disburse state and federal funds for purposes that the state ombudsman council has formulated in accordance with the Older Americans Act.

(b)  Act as liaison between the federal program representatives, the staffs of the state and local ombudsman councils, and members of the state and local ombudsman councils.

History.--ss. 13, 30, ch. 93-177; s. 43, ch. 95-196; s. 133, ch. 2000-349; s. 53, ch. 2000-367.