The Florida Senate

397.311  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, except part VIII:

(1)  "Ancillary services" are services which include, but are not limited to, special diagnostic, prenatal and postnatal, other medical, mental health, legal, economic, vocational, employment, and educational services.

(2)  "Assessment" means the systematic evaluation of information gathered to determine the nature and severity of the client's substance abuse problem and the client's need and motivation for services. Assessment entails the use of a psychosocial history supplemented, as required by rule, by medical examinations, laboratory testing, and psychometric measures.

(3)  "Authorized agent of the department" means a person designated by the department to conduct any audit, inspection, monitoring, evaluation, or other duty imposed upon the department pursuant to this chapter. An authorized agent must be identified by the department as:

(a)  Qualified by the requisite expertise and experience;

(b)  Having a need to know the applicable information; and

(c)  Having the assigned responsibility to carry out the applicable duty.

(4)  "Background check" means reviewing the background of service provider personnel who have direct contact with unmarried clients under the age of 18 years or with clients who are developmentally disabled in accordance with the provisions of s. 397.451, and includes, but is not limited to, local criminal records checks through local law enforcement agencies, fingerprinting, statewide criminal records checks through the Department of Law Enforcement, federal criminal records checks through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and employment history checks.

(5)  "Beyond the safe management capabilities of the service provider" refers to a client who is in need of:

(a)  Supervision;

(b)  Medical care; or

(c)  Services,

beyond that which the service provider or service component can deliver.

(6)  "Client" means a recipient of alcohol or other drug services delivered by a service provider but does not include an inmate pursuant to part VIII unless expressly so provided.

(7)  "Client identifying information" means the name, address, social security number, fingerprints, photograph, and similar information by which the identity of a client can be determined with reasonable accuracy and speed either directly or by reference to other publicly available information.

(8)  "Court" means, with respect to all involuntary proceedings under this chapter, the circuit court of the county in which the judicial proceeding is pending or where the substance abuse impaired person resides or is located, and includes any general or special master that may be appointed by the chief judge to preside over all or part of such proceeding. Otherwise, "court" refers to the court of legal jurisdiction in the context in which the term is used in this chapter.

(9)  "Department" means the ¹Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.

(10)  "Director" means the chief administrative officer of a service provider.

(11)  "Disclose" or "disclosure" means a communication of client identifying information, the affirmative verification of another person's communication of client identifying information, or the communication of any information of a client who has been identified. Any disclosure made pursuant to this chapter must be limited to that information which is necessary to carry out the purpose of the disclosure.

(12)  "Fee system" means a method of establishing charges for services rendered, in accordance with a client's ability to pay, used by providers that receive state funds.

(13)  "For profit" means registered as for profit by the Secretary of State and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a for-profit entity.

(14)  "Habitual abuser" means a person who is brought to the attention of law enforcement for being substance impaired, who meets the criteria for involuntary admission in s. 397.675, and who has been taken into custody for such impairment three or more times during the preceding 12 months.

(15)  "Hospital" means a hospital or hospital-based component licensed under chapter 395.

(16)  "Impaired" or "substance abuse impaired" means a condition involving the use of alcoholic beverages or any psychoactive or mood-altering substance in such a manner as to induce mental, emotional, or physical problems and cause socially dysfunctional behavior.

(17)  "Individualized treatment or service plan" means an immediate and a long-range plan for substance abuse or ancillary services developed on the basis of a client's assessed needs.

(18)  "Law enforcement officer" means a law enforcement officer as defined in s. 943.10(1).

(19)  "Licensed service provider" means a public agency under this chapter, a private for-profit or not-for-profit agency under this chapter, a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, or any other private practitioner licensed under this chapter, or a hospital licensed under chapter 395, which offers substance abuse impairment services through one or more of the following licensable service components:

(a)  Addictions receiving facility, which is a community-based facility designated by the department to receive, screen, and assess clients found to be substance abuse impaired, in need of emergency treatment for substance abuse impairment, or impaired by substance abuse to such an extent as to meet the criteria for involuntary admission in s. 397.675, and to provide detoxification and stabilization. An addictions receiving facility must be state-owned, state-operated, or state-contracted, and licensed pursuant to rules adopted by the department's Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Program Office which include specific authorization for the provision of levels of care and a requirement of separate accommodations for adults and minors. Addictions receiving facilities are designated as secure facilities to provide an intensive level of care and must have sufficient staff and the authority to provide environmental security to handle aggressive and difficult-to-manage behavior and deter elopement.

(b)  Detoxification, which uses medical and psychological procedures and a supportive counseling regimen to assist clients in managing toxicity and withdrawing and stabilizing from the physiological and psychological effects of substance abuse impairment.

(c)  Residential treatment, which provides a structured, live-in environment within a nonhospital setting on a 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week basis, and includes treatment, rehabilitation, and transitional care.

(d)  Day and night treatment, which provides a nonresidential environment with a structured schedule of treatment and rehabilitation services.

(e)  Outpatient treatment, which provides individual, group, or family counseling for clients by appointment during scheduled operating hours, with an emphasis on assessment and treatment.

(f)  Medication and methadone maintenance treatment that uses methadone or other medication as authorized by state and federal law, in conjunction with medical, rehabilitative, and counseling services in the treatment of clients who are dependent upon opioid drugs.

(g)  Prevention, which is a process involving strategies aimed at the individual, the environment, or the substance, which strategies preclude, forestall, or impede the development of substance abuse problems and promote responsible personal and social growth of individuals and families toward full human potential.

(h)  Intervention, which consists of structured services targeted toward individuals or groups at risk and focused on reducing those factors associated with the onset or the early stages of substance abuse, and related problems.

(20)  "Not for profit" means registered as not for profit by the Secretary of State and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a not-for-profit entity.

(21)  "Physician" means a person licensed under chapter 458 to practice medicine or licensed under chapter 459 to practice osteopathic medicine, and may include, if the context so indicates, an intern or resident enrolled in an intern or resident training program affiliated with an approved medical school, hospital, or other facility through which training programs are normally conducted.

(22)  "Preliminary screening" means the gathering of initial information to be used in determining a person's need for assessment or for referral.

(23)  "Private practitioner" means a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, a psychologist licensed under chapter 490, or a clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, or mental health counselor licensed under chapter 491.

(24)  "Program evaluation" or "evaluation" means a systematic measurement of a service provider's achievement of desired client or service outcomes.

(25)  "Qualified professional" means a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; a professional licensed under chapter 490 or chapter 491; or a person who is certified through a department-recognized certification process for substance abuse treatment services and who holds, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree. A person who is certified in substance abuse treatment services by a state-recognized certification process in another state at the time of employment with a licensed substance abuse provider in this state may perform the functions of a qualified professional as defined in this chapter but must meet certification requirements contained in this subsection no later than 1 year after his or her date of employment.

(26)  "Quality assurance" means the objective and internal systematic monitoring of the appropriateness and quality of client care rendered by a service provider.

(27)  "Secure facility," except where the context indicates a correctional system facility, means a provider that has the authority to deter the premature departure of involuntary clients whose leaving constitutes a violation of a court order or community-based supervision as provided by law. The term "secure facility" includes addictions receiving facilities and facilities authorized by local ordinance for the treatment of habitual abusers.

(28)  "Service provider" or "provider" means a public agency, a private for-profit or not-for-profit agency, a person who is a private practitioner, or a hospital, which agency, person, or hospital is licensed under this chapter or exempt from licensure under this chapter.

(29)  "Service provider personnel" or "personnel" includes all owners, directors, staff, and volunteers, including foster parents, of a service provider.

(30)  "Stabilization" means:

(a)  Alleviation of a crisis condition; or

(b)  Prevention of further deterioration,

and connotes short-term emergency treatment.

History.--s. 2, ch. 93-39; s. 55, ch. 95-228; s. 1, ch. 98-107; s. 1, ch. 98-262.

¹Note.--The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services was redesignated as the Department of Children and Family Services by s. 5, ch. 96-403, and the Department of Health was created by s. 8, ch. 96-403.