The Florida Senate

413.402  Personal care attendant pilot program.--The Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living shall develop a pilot program to provide personal care attendants to persons who are eligible pursuant to subsection (1). The association shall develop memoranda of understanding with the Department of Revenue, the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program in the Department of Health, the Florida Medicaid program in the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education.

(1)  Persons eligible to participate in the pilot program must:

(a)  Be at least 18 years of age and be significantly disabled due to a traumatic spinal cord injury;

(b)  Have been determined eligible for training services from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education; and

(c)  Either:

1.  Live in a nursing home; or

2.  Have moved out of a nursing home within the preceding 180 days due to participation in a Medicaid home and community-based waiver program targeted to persons with brain or spinal cord injuries.

(2)  The association shall develop a training program for training persons selected to participate in the pilot program that will prepare each person to manage his or her own personal care attendant.

(3)(a)  The association, in cooperation with the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, shall develop a program to recruit, screen, and select candidates to be trained as personal care attendants.

(b)  The services of a nurse registry licensed pursuant to s. 400.506 may be utilized to recruit and screen candidates and to operate as a fiscal intermediary through which payments are made to individuals performing services as personal care attendants under the pilot program. The Agency for Health Care Administration shall seek any federal waivers necessary to implement this provision.

(4)  The association, in cooperation with the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, shall develop a training program for personal care attendants.

(5)  The association, in cooperation with the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, shall establish procedures for selecting persons eligible under subsection (1) to participate in the pilot program.

(6)  The association, in cooperation with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education, shall assess the selected participants and make recommendations for their placement into appropriate work-related training programs.

(7)  The association, in cooperation with the Department of Revenue, the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program in the Department of Health, the Florida Medicaid program in the Agency for Health Care Administration, a representative from the state attorney's office in each of the counties participating in the pilot program, the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education, shall develop a plan for implementation of the pilot program.

(8)  No later than March 1, 2003, the association shall present to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives the implementation plan for the pilot program, a timeline for implementation, estimates of the number of participants to be served, and cost projections for each component of the pilot program. The pilot program shall be implemented beginning July 1, 2003, unless there is specific legislative action to the contrary.

History.--s. 1, ch. 2002-286.