Senate Bill 0208c2

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    Florida Senate - 1998                     CS for CS for SB 208

    By the Committees on Ways and Means; Health Care; and Senators
    Brown-Waite, Latvala, Bronson, McKay and Grant




    301-2157-98

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to nursing home facilities;

  3         amending s. 400.121, F.S.; providing for an

  4         expedited administrative hearing upon the

  5         request of a licensee following an action by

  6         the Agency for Health Care Administration to

  7         suspend, deny, or revoke a facility's license;

  8         creating s. 400.215, F.S.; requiring certain

  9         nursing home facilities to investigate the

10         background of their employees and of certain

11         applicants for employment; providing for

12         rescreening; specifying the period for which

13         screenings are to remain valid, subject to

14         certain conditions; authorizing nursing home

15         facility administrators to acknowledge the

16         receipt of background screening reports;

17         requiring employees and applicants to pay the

18         costs associated with background screening

19         investigations; requiring the Department of

20         Health and the Agency for Health Care

21         Administration to determine certain exemptions

22         from disqualification from employment;

23         authorizing rulemaking; amending s. 415.107,

24         F.S.; providing that the Department of Children

25         and Family Services may impose a charge in an

26         amount up to the actual cost for screening a

27         volunteer; providing for applicability;

28         providing an effective date.

29

30  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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    Florida Senate - 1998                     CS for CS for SB 208
    301-2157-98




  1         Section 1.  Subsection (5) is added to section 400.121,

  2  Florida Statutes, to read:

  3         400.121  Denial, suspension, revocation of license;

  4  moratorium on admissions; administrative fines; procedure.--

  5         (5)  An action taken by the agency to suspend, deny, or

  6  revoke a facility's license under this part, in which the

  7  agency claims that the facility owner or an employee of the

  8  facility has threatened the health, safety, or welfare of a

  9  resident of the facility, shall be heard by the Division of

10  Administrative Hearings of the Department of Management

11  Services within 120 days after receipt of the facility's

12  request for a hearing, unless the time limitation is waived by

13  both parties. The administrative law judge must render a

14  decision within 30 days after the hearing. This subsection

15  does not modify the requirement that an administrative hearing

16  be held within 90 days after a license is suspended under

17  paragraph (4)(b).

18         Section 2.  Section 400.215, Florida Statutes, is

19  created to read:

20         400.215  Employee screening required.--

21         (1)  As a condition of licensure, each facility

22  licensed under this part is responsible for Level 1 background

23  screening, in accordance with chapter 435, of each employee

24  and each applicant who is under final consideration for

25  employment.

26         (a)  If a screened employee discontinues working for

27  the facility for more than 12 months, the employee must

28  undergo another Level 1 background screening in accordance

29  with chapter 435, before starting employment with the facility

30  again.

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    Florida Senate - 1998                     CS for CS for SB 208
    301-2157-98




  1         (b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the

  2  contrary, an applicant subject to this section who has been

  3  screened and was not disqualified from employment and who has

  4  not been unemployed for more than 6 months since completion of

  5  the screening or who does not immediately accept employment

  6  from the facility that caused the screening to be performed,

  7  need not be rescreened during the 12 months following

  8  completion of the screening.

  9         (2)(a)  Before an applicant may be employed to work

10  directly with residents of the facility, the facility

11  administrator must obtain written findings evidencing

12  completion of Level 1 screening, as provided in chapter 435.

13         (b)  An employee or applicant who is subject to this

14  section and who is determined to have met Level 1 background

15  screening standards but who has not maintained continuous

16  residence within the state for the 5 years immediately

17  preceding the completion date of the Level 1 background

18  screening, may work in a conditional status pending the

19  receipt of written findings evidencing the completion of Level

20  2 screening, as provided in chapter 435. In order to complete

21  the requirements for Level 2 screening, the employee or

22  applicant must furnish to the nursing facility a full set of

23  fingerprints to enable a criminal background investigation to

24  be conducted. The nursing facility shall submit the completed

25  fingerprint card to the agency and the agency shall forward

26  the request to the Department of Law Enforcement, which may

27  submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation

28  for a national criminal history records check. The results of

29  the criminal history records check shall be returned to the

30  agency. With respect to information received from the Federal

31  Bureau of Investigation, the agency shall inform the facility

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    Florida Senate - 1998                     CS for CS for SB 208
    301-2157-98




  1  whether the employee or applicant is qualified for employment

  2  or licensure based on the requirements of the Level 2

  3  screening conducted according to chapter 435.

  4         (3)  For purposes of this section, notwithstanding the

  5  provisions of s. 435.09 to the contrary, a nursing home

  6  facility administrator licensed under s. 468.1645 may

  7  acknowledge receipt of a qualifying or a disqualifying

  8  screening report to another nursing home administrator

  9  licensed under s. 468.1645 and must provide the date of the

10  screening report.

11         (4)  Each employee and applicant who is subject to this

12  section is responsible for paying all fees associated with

13  background screening under chapter 435. The employee or

14  applicant shall submit payment for screening investigations

15  directly to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the

16  Department of Children and Family Services. Once employed by a

17  facility licensed under this part, an employee may be

18  reimbursed by the facility for the costs of background

19  screening.

20         (5)(a)  The Department of Health shall decide whether

21  to grant an exemption from disqualification, as provided in s.

22  435.07, to an employee or applicant who is subject to this

23  section and who has received a professional license or

24  certification from the department.

25         (b)  The agency shall decide whether to grant an

26  exemption from disqualification, as provided in s. 435.07, to

27  an employee or applicant who is subject to this section and

28  who has not received a professional license or certification

29  from the Department of Health.

30         (6)  The agency and the Department of Health shall

31  adopt rules to implement this section.

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    Florida Senate - 1998                     CS for CS for SB 208
    301-2157-98




  1         Section 3.  Subsection (10) of section 415.107, Florida

  2  Statutes, is amended to read:

  3         415.107  Confidentiality of reports and records.--

  4         (10)  The department may charge a user fee to an

  5  employer or the agency in charge of a volunteer, whichever is

  6  applicable, for an amount up to the total for a search of the

  7  central abuse registry and tracking system of up to one-third

  8  of the actual cost of the screening process.  All fees

  9  received by the department under this section shall be

10  deposited in an administrative trust fund of the department

11  and may be expended only for the caregiver screening program.

12         Section 4.  An employee who is subject to this act and

13  who is employed by a facility licensed under part II of

14  chapter 400, Florida Statutes, on the effective date of this

15  act must comply with this act by October 1, 1998. An applicant

16  who is subject to this act and who applies for employment

17  after July 1, 1998, must comply with this act.

18         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1998.

19

20          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
21                          CS for SB 208

22

23  Changes the allowable charge for screening of employees from
    one-third of the cost of the search of the central abuse
24  registry and tracking system to an amount up to the total of
    the actual cost of the screening process.
25
    Establishes the requirement for Level 2 screening of employees
26  by requiring the applicant to submit fingerprints to be sent
    to AHCA and forwarded to FDLE.
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