Senate Bill 0156c1
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Florida Senate - 1998 CS for SB 156
By the Committee on Governmental Reform and Oversight
302-665A-98
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to program administration by
3 the Department of Children and Family Services;
4 amending s. 20.19, F.S.; providing additional
5 duties for the department's Office of Standards
6 and Evaluation with respect to measuring
7 standards of performance and to reports due to
8 the Legislature; providing duties of program
9 offices; requiring an evaluation and a report
10 from the Assistant Secretary for
11 Administration; revising requirements for the
12 department in procuring contracts for client
13 services and in establishing standards for the
14 delivery of those services; requiring the
15 department to procure certain services
16 competitively; authorizing deferral of the
17 competitive contracting process under certain
18 circumstances; limiting the duration of such
19 deferrals; authorizing the department to adopt
20 rules relating to an alternative competitive
21 procurement process; providing intent that the
22 department enter multi-year contracts;
23 providing for procuring services from multiple
24 sources; requiring that the department adopt
25 rules for imposing penalties against a provider
26 that fails to comply with a requirement for
27 corrective action; requiring notice; requiring
28 that the department develop, and incorporate
29 into the department's Employee Handbook,
30 standards of conduct and a range of
31 disciplinary actions relating to certain staff
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1 functions; requiring the department to assure
2 the accountability of each provider of client
3 services; providing duties of the Auditor
4 General and the Office of Program Policy
5 Analysis and Government Accountability;
6 providing for cancellation of contracts under
7 specified circumstances; providing for
8 department liens against certain property
9 constructed or renovated using state funds;
10 authorizing the department to competitively
11 procure any contract under certain
12 circumstances; providing for department
13 contracts to include certain incentives;
14 requiring reports to the Legislature by the
15 department; requiring the department to provide
16 training for staff in negotiating contracts;
17 requiring the department to ensure certain
18 assistance to staff who are negotiating a
19 contract; requiring the department to create
20 contract management units at the district
21 level; providing specifications for these
22 units; specifying the date by which the
23 contract management units must be in operation;
24 requiring the department to evaluate
25 contracting functions in the service districts;
26 authorizing the department to exercise budget
27 and personnel flexibility; authorizing the
28 department to transfer specified funds from
29 certain budget entities in order to create
30 certain staff positions; requiring a report;
31 providing an effective date.
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1
2 WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Legislature that the
3 Department of Children and Family Services achieve and
4 maintain accountability from all providers of client services
5 in order to assure a high level of quality and effectiveness
6 of those services, and
7 WHEREAS, it is further the intent of the Legislature
8 that the Office of Standards and Evaluation, in conjunction
9 with the program offices at the headquarters of the
10 department, play a central role in assuring that this
11 accountability is achieved and maintained, NOW, THEREFORE,
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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15 Section 1. Subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section
16 20.19, Florida Statutes, are amended, present subsections
17 (16), (17), (18), (19), and (20) are redesignated as
18 subsections (17), (18), (19), (20), and (21), respectively,
19 and a new subsection (16) is added to that section, to read:
20 20.19 Department of Children and Family
21 Services.--There is created a Department of Children and
22 Family Services.
23 (3) OFFICE OF STANDARDS AND EVALUATION.--There is
24 created under the secretary the Office of Standards and
25 Evaluation which has the following responsibilities:
26 (a) With the assistance of the assistant secretaries,
27 district administrators, and health and human services boards,
28 Establishing systems and strategies to evaluate performance in
29 achieving outcome measures and performance and productivity
30 standards related to service delivery, program and financial
31 administration, and support, with the assistance of the
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1 assistant secretaries, district administrators, and health and
2 human services boards and procedures.
3 (b) Directing the development of monitoring and
4 quality assurance systems for statewide and district services
5 that will routinely assess the efficiency and effectiveness of
6 departmental and provider staff and services.
7 (c) Validating the monitoring and quality assurance
8 activities of statewide and district service providers and
9 staff to ensure that these activities are being conducted
10 routinely and that corrective action is being taken to
11 eliminate deficiencies detected by these activities.
12 (d) Conducting evaluations, directly or by contract,
13 of programs and services provided by the department to
14 determine whether improvement in the condition of individuals,
15 families, and communities has occurred as a result of these
16 programs and services. The evaluations must include an
17 assessment of the short-term effects on individuals and
18 families and the long-term effects on communities and the
19 state. Outcome evaluation studies shall be conducted in
20 response to priorities determined by the department and the
21 Legislature and to the extent that funding is provided by the
22 Legislature.
23 (e) Consulting with the inspector general to ensure
24 the integrity of the monitoring and evaluation process and the
25 validity of the data derived from these activities.
26 (f) Developing procedures for the competitive
27 procurement of external evaluations, including detailed
28 specifications for all evaluation contracts.
29 (g) Developing the budget for the department's
30 evaluation efforts and identifying future evaluation needs,
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1 including infrastructure needs to support the outcome
2 evaluation function.
3 (h) Evaluating and reporting to the Legislature,
4 beginning December 31, 1999, and by October 31 of each
5 subsequent year, on the following issues:
6 1. The effectiveness of the department's performance
7 contracting system in accomplishing program outcomes and in
8 continuously improving performance.
9 2. The adequacy of resources and internal controls
10 used by each program and service district to ensure
11 effectiveness and quality of client services provided through
12 standard contracts and other agreements.
13 3. The effectiveness and quality of contracted
14 services for each client target group, as determined by annual
15 performance reporting and results of quality assurance
16 monitoring.
17 4. The status of the department's progress in
18 complying with the provisions of this act, including the work
19 of the contract evaluation teams established pursuant to
20 paragraph (9)(g).
21 (i)(h) Such other duties relating to evaluation as may
22 be assigned to the Office of Standards and Evaluation by the
23 secretary.
24 (4) PROGRAM OFFICES.--
25 (a) There are created program offices, each of which
26 shall be headed by an assistant secretary who shall be
27 appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the secretary. Each
28 program office shall have the following responsibilities:
29 1. Ensuring that family services programs are
30 implemented according to legislative intent and as provided in
31 state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.
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1 2. Establishing program standards and performance
2 objectives.
3 3. Reviewing, monitoring, and ensuring compliance with
4 statewide standards and performance measures objectives.
5 4. Providing general statewide supervision of the
6 administration of service programs, including, but not limited
7 to:
8 a. Developing and coordinating training for service
9 programs.
10 b. Coordinating program research.
11 c. Identifying statewide program needs and
12 recommending solutions and priorities.
13 d. Providing technical assistance for the
14 administrators and staff of the service districts.
15 e. Assisting district administrators in staff
16 development and training.
17 f. Monitoring service programs to ensure program
18 quality among service districts.
19 4. Conducting outcome evaluations and ensuring program
20 effectiveness.
21 5. Developing workload and productivity standards.
22 6. Developing resource allocation methodologies.
23 7. Compiling reports, analyses, and assessment of
24 client needs on a statewide basis.
25 8. Ensuring the continued interagency collaboration
26 with the Department of Education for the development and
27 integration of effective programs to serve children and their
28 families.
29 9. Other duties as are assigned by the secretary.
30 (b) The following program offices are established and
31 may be consolidated, restructured, or rearranged by the
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1 secretary; provided any such consolidation, restructuring, or
2 rearranging is for the purpose of encouraging service
3 integration through more effective and efficient performance
4 of the program offices or parts thereof:
5 1. Economic Self-Sufficiency Program Office.--The
6 responsibilities of this office encompass income support
7 programs within the department, such as temporary assistance
8 to families with dependent children, food stamps, welfare
9 reform, and state supplementation of the supplemental security
10 income (SSI) program.
11 2. Developmental Services Program Office.--The
12 responsibilities of this office encompass programs operated by
13 the department for developmentally disabled persons.
14 Developmental disabilities include any disability defined in
15 s. 393.063.
16 3. Children and Families Program Office.--The
17 responsibilities of this program office encompass early
18 intervention services for children and families at risk;
19 intake services for protective investigation of abandoned,
20 abused, and neglected children; interstate compact on the
21 placement of children programs; adoption; child care;
22 out-of-home care programs and other specialized services to
23 families; and child protection and sexual abuse treatment
24 teams created under chapter 415, excluding medical direction
25 functions.
26 4. Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Program
27 Office.--The responsibilities of this office encompass all
28 alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health programs operated by
29 the department.
30 (5) ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION.--
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1 (a) The secretary shall appoint an Assistant Secretary
2 for Administration who serves at the pleasure of the
3 secretary. The Assistant Secretary for Administration is
4 responsible for:
5 1. Supervising all of the budget management activities
6 of the department and serving as the chief budget officer of
7 the department.
8 2. Providing administrative and management support
9 services above the district level.
10 3. Monitoring administrative and management support
11 services in the districts.
12 4. Developing and implementing uniform policies,
13 procedures, and guidelines with respect to personnel
14 administration, finance and accounting, budget, grants
15 management and disbursement, contract administration,
16 procurement, information and communications systems,
17 management evaluation and improvement, and general services,
18 including housekeeping, maintenance, and leasing of
19 facilities.
20 5. Performing such other administrative duties as are
21 assigned by the secretary.
22 (b) If reductions in a district's operating budget
23 become necessary during any fiscal year, the department shall
24 develop a formula to be used in its recommendations to the
25 Governor and Legislature which does not disproportionately
26 reduce a district's operating budget because of voluntary
27 county appropriations to department programs.
28 (c) The Assistant Secretary for Administration shall
29 evaluate and report to the Legislature by July 1, 1999, and
30 annually thereafter, on the methods used by each program to
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1 ensure the fiscal accountability of each provider of client
2 services with whom the department contracts.
3 (d) The Assistant Secretary for Administration shall
4 evaluate the administrative operations of the districts, and
5 may require that districts develop and submit corrective
6 action plans in those areas that do not conform to the
7 department's uniform operating procedures.
8 (16) CONTRACTING AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.--
9 (a) The department will establish performance
10 standards for all contracted client services. Notwithstanding
11 s. 287.057(3)(f), the department must competitively procure
12 any contract for client services when any of the following
13 occurs:
14 1. The provider fails to meet appropriate performance
15 standards established by the department after the provider has
16 been given a reasonable opportunity to achieve the established
17 standards.
18 2. A new program or service has been authorized and
19 funded by the Legislature and the annual value of the contract
20 for such program or service is $300,000 or more.
21 3. The department has concluded, after reviewing
22 market prices and available treatment options, that there is
23 evidence that the department can improve the performance
24 outcomes produced by its contract resources. At a minimum, the
25 department shall review market prices and available treatment
26 options biennially. The department shall compile the results
27 of the biennial review and include the results in its annual
28 performance report to the Legislature pursuant to chapter
29 94-249, Laws of Florida. The department shall provide notice
30 and an opportunity for public comment on its review of market
31 prices and available treatment options.
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1 (b) The competitive requirements of paragraph (a) must
2 be initiated for each contract that meets the criteria of this
3 subsection, unless the secretary makes a written determination
4 that particular facts and circumstances require deferral of
5 the competitive process. Facts and circumstances must be
6 specifically described for each individual contract proposed
7 for deferral and must include one or more of the following:
8 1. An immediate threat to the health, safety, or
9 welfare of the department's clients.
10 2. A threat to appropriate use or disposition of
11 facilities that have been financed in whole, or in substantial
12 part, through contracts or agreements with a state agency.
13 3. A threat to the service infrastructure of a
14 community which could endanger the well-being of the
15 department's clients.
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17 Competitive procurement of client services contracts that meet
18 the criteria in paragraph (a) may not be deferred for longer
19 than 1 year.
20 (c) The Legislature intends for the department to
21 obtain services in the manner that is most cost-effective for
22 the state, in the manner that provides the greatest long-term
23 benefits to the clients receiving services, and in the manner
24 that minimizes the disruption of client services. In order to
25 meet these legislative goals, the department may adopt rules
26 providing procedures for the competitive procurement of
27 contracted client services which represent an alternative to
28 the request-for-proposal or the invitation-to-bid process. The
29 alternative competitive procedures shall permit the department
30 to solicit professional qualifications from prospective
31 providers and to evaluate such statements of qualification
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1 before requesting service proposals. The department may limit
2 the firms invited to submit service proposals to only those
3 firms that have demonstrated the highest level of professional
4 capability to provide the services under consideration, but
5 may not invite fewer than three firms to submit service
6 proposals, unless fewer then three firms submitted
7 satisfactory statements of qualification. The alternative
8 procedures must, at a minimum, allow the department to
9 evaluate competing proposals and select the proposal that
10 provides the greatest benefit to the state while considering
11 the quality of the services, dependability and integrity of
12 the provider, dependability of the provider's services, the
13 experience of the provider in serving target populations or
14 client groups substantially identical to members of the target
15 population for the contract in question, and the ability of
16 the provider to secure local funds to support the delivery of
17 services, including, but not limited to, funds derived from
18 local governments. These alternative procedures need not
19 conform to the requirements of s. 287.057(1) or (2) or s.
20 287.042.
21 (d) The department shall review the period for which
22 it executes contracts and, to the greatest extent practical,
23 shall execute multi-year contracts to make the most efficient
24 use of the resources devoted to contract processing and
25 execution.
26 (e) When it is in the best interest of a defined
27 segment of its consumer population, the department may
28 competitively procure and contract for systems of treatment or
29 service that involve multiple providers, rather than procuring
30 and contracting for treatment or services separately from each
31 participating provider. The department must ensure that all
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1 providers that participate in the treatment or service system
2 meet all applicable statutory, regulatory, service-quality,
3 and cost-control requirements. If other governmental entities
4 or units of special purpose government contribute matching
5 funds to the support of a given system of treatment or
6 service, the department shall formally request information
7 from those funding entities in the procurement process and
8 shall take the information received from those funding
9 entities into account in the selection process. The department
10 may also involve nongovernmental funding entities in the
11 procurement process when appropriate.
12 (f) The department may contract for or provide
13 assessment and case-management services independently of
14 treatment services.
15 (g) The department shall adopt, by rule, provisions
16 for including in its contracts incremental penalties to be
17 imposed by its contract managers on a service provider due to
18 the provider's failure to comply with a requirement for
19 corrective action. Any financial penalty that is imposed upon
20 a provider may not be paid from funds being used to provide
21 services to clients, and the provider may not reduce the
22 amount of services being delivered to clients as a method for
23 offsetting the impact of the penalty. If a financial penalty
24 is imposed upon a provider that is a corporation, the
25 department shall notify, at a minimum, the board of directors
26 of the corporation. The department may notify, at its
27 discretion, any additional parties that the department
28 believes may be helpful in obtaining the corrective action
29 that is being sought. Further, the rules adopted by the
30 department must include provisions that permit the department
31 to deduct the financial penalties from funds that would
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1 otherwise be due to the provider, not to exceed 10 percent of
2 the amount that otherwise would be due to the provider for the
3 period of noncompliance. If the department imposes a financial
4 penalty, it shall advise the provider in writing of the cause
5 for the penalty. A failure to include such deductions in a
6 request for payment constitutes a ground for the department to
7 reject that request for payment. The additional remedies
8 identified in this paragraph do not limit or restrict the
9 department's application of any other remedy available to it
10 in the contract or under law. The additional remedies
11 described in this paragraph may be cumulative and may be
12 assessed upon each separate failure to comply with
13 instructions from the department to complete corrective
14 action.
15 (h) The department shall develop standards of conduct
16 and a range of disciplinary actions for its employees which
17 are specifically related to carrying out contracting
18 responsibilities, and shall incorporate the standards and
19 disciplinary actions in its Employee Handbook by December 31,
20 1998.
21 (i) The department must implement systems and controls
22 to ensure financial integrity and service-provision quality in
23 the developmental services Medicaid waiver service system no
24 later than December 31, 1998. The Auditor General shall
25 include specific reference to systems and controls related to
26 financial integrity in the developmental services Medicaid
27 waiver service system in his audit of the department for the
28 1998-1999 fiscal year, and for all subsequent fiscal years.
29 The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
30 Accountability shall review the department's systems and
31 controls related to service-provision quality in the
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1 developmental services Medicaid waiver service system and
2 submit a report to the Legislature by December 31, 1999.
3 (j) If a provider fails to meet the performance
4 standards established in the contract, the department may
5 allow a reasonable period for the provider to correct
6 performance deficiencies. If performance deficiencies are not
7 resolved to the satisfaction of the department within the
8 prescribed time, and if no extenuating circumstances can be
9 documented by the provider to the department's satisfaction,
10 the department must cancel the contract with the provider. The
11 department may not enter into a new contract with that same
12 provider for the services for which the contract was
13 previously canceled for a period of at least 24 months after
14 the date of cancellation.
15 (k) The department shall include in its standard
16 contract document a requirement that it file a lien against
17 the property where facilities are located which have been
18 constructed or substantially renovated, in whole or in part,
19 through the use of state funds. However, the department is not
20 required to file a lien if the amount of state funds does not
21 exceed $25,000 or 10 percent of the contract amount, whichever
22 amount is less. The lien must be recorded in the county where
23 the property is located upon the execution of the contract
24 authorizing such construction or renovation. The lien must
25 specify that the department has a financial interest in the
26 property equal to the pro rata portion of the state's original
27 investment of the then-fair-market value for renovations, or
28 the proportionate share of the cost of the construction. The
29 lien must also specify that the department's interest is
30 proportionately reduced and subsequently vacated over a
31 20-year period of depreciation. The contract must include a
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1 provision that, as a condition of receipt of state funding for
2 this purpose, the provider agrees that, if it disposes of the
3 property before the department's interest is vacated, the
4 provider will refund the proportionate share of the state's
5 initial investment, as adjusted by depreciation.
6 (l) The department shall develop and refine
7 contracting and accountability methods that are
8 administratively efficient and that provide for optimal
9 provider performance.
10 (m) The department may competitively procure any
11 contract when it deems it is in the best interest of the state
12 to do so. The requirements described in paragraph (a) do not,
13 and may not be construed to, limit in any way the department's
14 ability to competitively procure any contract it executes, and
15 the absence of any or all of the criteria described in
16 paragraph (a) may not be used as the basis for an
17 administrative or judicial protest of the department's
18 determination to conduct competition, make an award, or
19 execute any contract.
20 (n) A contract may include cost-neutral,
21 performance-based incentives that may vary according to the
22 extent a provider achieves or surpasses the performance
23 standards set forth in the contract. Such incentives may be
24 weighted proportionally to reflect the extent to which the
25 provider has demonstrated that it has consistently met or
26 exceeded the contractual requirements and the department's
27 performance standards.
28 Section 2. (1) The Department of Children and Family
29 Services shall take steps to ensure that department contracts
30 are negotiated in a manner that assures that the state's
31 interests are well represented. In order to make this
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1 assurance, the department must request voluntary assistance
2 from outside entities, including, but not limited to, other
3 state agencies, to provide training for departmental employees
4 who negotiate contracts. Further, employees who negotiate
5 contracts must have available to them other department
6 employees who have expertise in legal and fiscal matters and
7 employees who are especially skilled in conducting contract
8 negotiations to ensure that the interests of the state are
9 well represented.
10 (2) The department shall create contract management
11 units at the district level which must be staffed by
12 individuals who are specifically trained to perform the
13 functions related to contract management. The contract
14 management units are responsible for monitoring the
15 programmatic and administrative performance of the
16 department's contracts for client services and shall report to
17 the appropriate district administrator. To the greatest extent
18 possible, the members of the contract management units shall
19 be career service employees who are assigned to the same pay
20 grade. The contract management units shall be in operation
21 throughout the state no later than March 1, 1999.
22 (3) The department shall evaluate the effectiveness
23 and efficiency of contracting functions in each service
24 district and report to the Legislature by December 15, 1999.
25 For districts where contracting functions have been
26 centralized for at least 12 months, the department shall
27 report on the effectiveness of such centralization. For
28 districts that elected not to centralize contracting
29 functions, the report must include the reasons for that
30 decision and the steps a district has taken to improve
31 contracting within the district.
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1 Section 3. (1) It is critical that the Department of
2 Children and Family Services have an adequate number and
3 quality of staff to ensure the effective negotiation and
4 management of contracts for client services. The Legislature
5 intends that the department be permitted to have limited
6 flexibility to use funds for improving contract negotiation,
7 contract management, oversight, quality assurance, training,
8 and other related activities. To this end, effective October
9 1, 1998, the department may transfer up to 0.25 percent of the
10 total funds from categories used to pay for contractually
11 provided client services of any budget entity within the
12 department. Such transfer may not exceed a total of $3 million
13 in any fiscal year. When necessary, the department may
14 establish, in accordance with section 216.177, Florida
15 Statutes, additional positions that will be exclusively
16 devoted to these functions. Any positions required under this
17 section may be established notwithstanding sections
18 216.262(1)(a) and 216.351, Florida Statutes.
19 (2) The department must report to the Legislature by
20 July 1, 2000, on the impact of this section. This report must,
21 at a minimum, include quantifiable evidence demonstrating that
22 the department is able to provide additional client services
23 within the same appropriation through improved ability to
24 negotiate and manage contracts.
25 Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 1998.
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1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 Senate Bill 156
3
4 The Committee Substitute rephrases contract procurement
requirements for the Department of Children and Family
5 Services to require biennal review and annual reporting of
market prices for contract providers and deletes the upper
6 dollar threshold for required contract procurement. Also
deleted from the bill are specific contract procurement
7 guidelines for mental health providers.
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