House Bill 3217e1

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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the privatization of foster

  3         care and related services; amending s.

  4         409.1671, F.S.; providing legislative intent;

  5         defining the terms "privatize," "related

  6         services," and "eligible lead community-based

  7         provider"; requiring the Department of Children

  8         and Family Services to develop a plan to

  9         accomplish statewide privatization within a

10         specified time period and to submit the plan to

11         the Governor and to designated legislative

12         officials by a specified date; providing plan

13         requirements; requiring the department to state

14         whether and why privatization cannot be

15         accomplished in a particular district or

16         portion of a district and how the department

17         will address the obstacles to privatization;

18         providing for legal services; requiring that

19         child welfare legal services be provided by

20         specified providers; providing for case

21         management responsibilities; providing for

22         quality assurance; providing requirements for

23         and restrictions upon funding for

24         privatization; creating s. 415.5071, F.S.;

25         providing for a model program for child

26         protective investigative services, to be

27         initiated in specified districts; requiring the

28         department to contract with sheriffs in those

29         districts; providing responsibilities of the

30         department; requiring a report; providing for

31         funding; providing for the creation of a


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1         specified committee which shall submit a

  2         required report; providing an effective date.

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

  5

  6         Section 1.  Section 409.1671, Florida Statutes, is

  7  amended to read:

  8         409.1671  Foster care and related services;

  9  privatization.--

10         (1)(a)  It is the intent of the Legislature that to

11  encourage the Department of Children and Family Services shall

12  privatize the provision of to contract with competent

13  community-based agencies to provide foster care and related

14  services statewide. As used in this section, the term

15  "privatize" means to contract with competent, community-based

16  agencies.  The department shall submit a plan to accomplish

17  privatization statewide, through a competitive process, phased

18  in over a 3-year period beginning January 1, 2000. This plan

19  is to be submitted by July 1, 1999, to the President of the

20  Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the

21  Governor, and the minority leaders of both houses. This plan

22  must be developed with local community participation,

23  including, but not limited to, input from community-based

24  providers that are currently under contract with the

25  department to furnish community-based foster care and related

26  services, and must include a methodology for determining and

27  transferring all available funds, including federal funds that

28  the provider is eligible for and agrees to earn and that

29  portion of general revenue funds which is currently associated

30  with the services that are being furnished under contract. The

31  methodology must provide for the transfer of funds


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1  appropriated and budgeted for all services and programs that

  2  have been incorporated into the project, including all

  3  management, capital (including current furniture and

  4  equipment), and administrative funds to accomplish the

  5  transfer of these programs. This methodology must address

  6  expected workload and at least the 3 previous years'

  7  experience in expenses and workload. With respect to any

  8  district or portion of a district in which privatization

  9  cannot be accomplished within the 3-year timeframe, the

10  department must clearly state in its plan the reasons the

11  timeframe cannot be met and the efforts that should be made to

12  remediate the obstacles, which may include alternatives to

13  total privatization, such as public private partnerships. As

14  used in this section, the term "related services" means By

15  privatizing these services, the support and commitment of

16  communities to the reunification of families and care of

17  children and their families will be strengthened, and

18  efficiencies as well as increased accountability will be

19  gained. These services may include family preservation,

20  independent living, emergency shelter, residential group care,

21  foster care, therapeutic foster care, intensive residential

22  treatment, postadjudication legal services, foster care

23  supervision, postadjudication case management, postplacement

24  supervision, permanent foster care, and family reunification,

25  the filing of a petition for the termination of parental

26  rights, and adoption. Unless otherwise provided for, beginning

27  in fiscal year 1999-2000, either the state attorney or the

28  Office of the Attorney General shall provide child welfare

29  legal services, pursuant to chapter 39 and other relevant

30  provisions, in Sarasota, Pinellas, Pasco, and Manatee

31  Counties.  Such legal services shall commence and be


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1  effective, as soon as determined reasonably feasible by the

  2  respective state attorney or the Office of the Attorney

  3  General, after the privatization of associated programs and

  4  child protective investigations has occurred.  When a private

  5  nonprofit agency has received case management

  6  responsibilities, transferred from the state under this

  7  section, for a child who is sheltered or found to be dependent

  8  and who is assigned to the care of the privatization project,

  9  the agency may act as the child's guardian for the purpose of

10  registering the child in school if a parent or guardian of the

11  child is unavailable and his or her whereabouts cannot

12  reasonably be ascertained. The private nonprofit agency may

13  also seek emergency medical attention for such a child, but

14  only if a parent or guardian of the child is unavailable, his

15  or her whereabouts cannot reasonably be ascertained, and a

16  court order for such emergency medical services cannot be

17  obtained because of the severity of the emergency or because

18  it is after normal working hours. However, the provider may

19  not consent to sterilization, abortion, or termination of life

20  support. If a child's parents' rights have been terminated,

21  the nonprofit agency shall act as guardian of the child in all

22  circumstances.

23         (b)  As used in this section, the term "eligible lead

24  community-based provider" means a single agency with which the

25  department shall contract for the provision of child

26  protective services in a community that is no smaller than a

27  county.  To compete for a privatization project, such agency

28  must have:

29         1.  The ability to coordinate, integrate, and manage

30  all child protective services in the designated community in

31  cooperation with child protective investigations.


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1         2.  The ability to ensure continuity of care from entry

  2  to exit for all children referred from the protective

  3  investigation and court systems.

  4         3.  The ability to provide directly, or contract for

  5  through a local network of providers, all necessary child

  6  protective services.

  7         4.  The willingness to accept accountability for

  8  meeting the outcomes and performance standards related to

  9  child protective services established by the Legislature and

10  the Federal Government.

11         5.  The capability and the willingness to serve all

12  children referred to it from the protective investigation and

13  court systems, regardless of the level of funding allocated to

14  the community by the state, provided all related funding is

15  transferred.

16         6.  The willingness to ensure that each individual who

17  provides child protective services completes the training

18  required of child protective service workers by the Department

19  of Children and Family Services.

20         (2)  The department may contract for the delivery,

21  administration, or management of protective services, the

22  services specified in subsection (1) relating to foster care,

23  and other related services or programs, as appropriate. The

24  department shall retain responsibility for the quality of

25  contracted services and programs and shall ensure that

26  services are delivered in accordance with applicable federal

27  and state statutes and regulations.

28         (3)(a)  The department shall establish a quality

29  assurance program for privatized the privatization of

30  services. The quality assurance program may be performed by a

31  national accrediting organization such as the Council on


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1  Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc.

  2  (COA) or the Council on Accreditation of Rehabilitation

  3  Facilities (CARF). The department shall develop a request for

  4  proposal for such oversight. This program must be developed

  5  and administered at a statewide level. The Legislature intends

  6  that the department be permitted to have limited flexibility

  7  to use funds for improving quality assurance. To this end,

  8  effective January 1, 2000, the department may transfer up to

  9  0.125 percent of the total funds from categories used to pay

10  for these contractually provided services, but the total

11  amount of such transferred funds may not exceed $300,000 in

12  any fiscal year. When necessary, the department may establish,

13  in accordance with s. 216.177, additional positions that will

14  be exclusively devoted to these functions. Any positions

15  required under this paragraph may be established,

16  notwithstanding ss. 216.262(1)(a) and 216.351. The quality

17  assurance program must include standards for each specific

18  component of these services. The department, in consultation

19  with the community-based agencies that are undertaking the

20  privatized projects, shall establish minimum thresholds for

21  each component of service, consistent with standards

22  established by the Legislature. Each program operated under

23  pursuant to contract with a community-based agency must be

24  evaluated annually by the department. or by an objective

25  competent entity designated by the department under the

26  provisions of the quality assurance program. The evaluation

27  must be financed from cost savings associated with the

28  privatization of services. The department shall submit an

29  annual report regarding quality performance, outcome measure

30  attainment, and cost efficiency to the President of the

31  Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1  minority leader of each house of the Legislature, and the

  2  Governor no later than January 31 of each year for each

  3  project in operation during the preceding fiscal year.,

  4  beginning in 1998. The quality assurance program must be

  5  funded through administrative savings generated by this act.

  6         (b)  The department shall establish and operate a

  7  comprehensive system to measure and report annually the

  8  outcomes and effectiveness of the services that have been

  9  privatized. The department shall use these findings in making

10  recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature for future

11  program and funding priorities in the child welfare system.

12         (4)(a)  The community-based agency must comply with

13  statutory requirements and agency rules regulations in the

14  provision of contractual services. Each foster home,

15  therapeutic foster home, emergency shelter, or other placement

16  facility operated by the community-based agency or agencies

17  must be licensed by the Department of Children and Family

18  Services under chapter 402 or this chapter. Each

19  community-based agency must be licensed as a child-caring or

20  child-placing agency by the department under this chapter. The

21  department, in order to eliminate or reduce the number of

22  duplicate inspections by various program offices, shall

23  coordinate inspections required pursuant to licensure of

24  agencies under this section.

25         (b)  A community-based agency providing contractual

26  services under this section may be issued a Medicaid provider

27  number pursuant to s. 409.907 to enable the agency to maximize

28  federal support for these services under the state's Medicaid

29  plan. A community-based agency must also participate in and

30  cooperate with any federal program that will assist in the

31


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1  maximization of federal support for those services, as

  2  directed by the department.

  3         (5)  Beginning January 1, 1999, and continuing at least

  4  through December 31, 1999, the Department of Children and

  5  Family Services shall privatize all foster care and related

  6  services in district 5 while continuing to contract with the

  7  current model programs in districts 1, 4, and 13, and in

  8  subdistrict 8A, and shall expand the subdistrict 8A pilot

  9  program to incorporate Manatee County. Planning for the

10  district 5 privatization shall be done by providers that are

11  currently under contract with the department for foster care

12  and related services and shall be done in consultation with

13  the department.  A lead provider of the district 5 program

14  shall be competitively selected, must demonstrate the ability

15  to provide necessary comprehensive services through a local

16  network of providers, and must meet criteria established in

17  this section. Beginning in fiscal year 1996-1997, the

18  Department of Children and Family Services shall establish a

19  minimum of five model programs. These models must be

20  established in the department's districts 1, 4, and 13; in

21  subdistrict 8A; and in a fifth district to be determined by

22  the department, with the concurrence of the appropriate

23  district health and human services board. For comparison of

24  privatization savings, the fifth model program must be

25  contracted with a competent for-profit corporation.  Providers

26  of these model programs may be selected from a single source

27  pursuant to s. 287.057(3)(c) and must be established,

28  community-based organizations within the district or

29  subdistrict. Contracts with organizations responsible for the

30  model programs must shall include the management and

31  administration of all privatized services specified in


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1  subsection (1), except for funds necessary to manage the

  2  contract. However, the department may use funds for contract

  3  management only after obtaining written approval from the

  4  Executive Office of the Governor. The request for such

  5  approval must include, but is not limited to, a statement of

  6  the proposed amount of such funds and a description of the

  7  manner in which such funds will be used. If the

  8  community-based organization selected for a model program

  9  under this subsection is not a Medicaid provider, the

10  organization shall be issued a Medicaid provider number

11  pursuant to s. 409.907 for the provision of services currently

12  authorized under the state Medicaid plan to those children

13  encompassed in this model and in a manner not to exceed the

14  current level of state expenditure.

15         (6)  Each district and subdistrict that participates in

16  the model program effort or any future privatization effort as

17  described in this section must thoroughly analyze and report

18  the complete direct and indirect costs of delivering these

19  services through the department and the full cost of

20  privatization, including the cost of monitoring and evaluating

21  the contracted services.

22         Section 2.  Section 415.5071, Florida Statutes, is

23  created to read:

24         415.5071  Sheriffs of Pasco, Manatee, and Pinellas

25  Counties to provide child protective investigative services;

26  procedures; funding.--

27         (1)  As described in this section, the Department of

28  Children and Family Services shall, by the end of fiscal year

29  1999-2000, transfer all responsibility for child protective

30  investigations for Pinellas County, Manatee County, and Pasco

31  County to the sheriff of that county in which the child abuse,


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1  neglect, or abandonment is alleged to have occurred. Each

  2  sheriff is responsible for the provision of all child

  3  protective investigations in his or her county. Each

  4  individual who provides these services must complete the

  5  training provided to and required of protective investigators

  6  employed by the Department of Children and Family Services.

  7         (2)  During fiscal year 1998-1999, the Department of

  8  Children and Family Services and each sheriff's office shall

  9  enter into a contract for the provision of these services.

10  Funding for the services will be appropriated to the

11  Department of Children and Family Services, and the department

12  shall transfer to the respective sheriffs for the duration of

13  fiscal year 1998-1999, funding for the investigative

14  responsibilities assumed by the sheriffs, including federal

15  funds that the provider is eligible for and agrees to earn and

16  that portion of general revenue funds which is currently

17  associated with the services that are being furnished under

18  contract, and including, but not limited to, funding for all

19  investigative, supervisory, and clerical positions; training;

20  all associated equipment; furnishings; and other fixed capital

21  items. The contract must specify whether the department will

22  continue to perform part or none of the child protective

23  investigations during the initial year. The sheriffs may

24  either conduct the investigations themselves or may, in turn,

25  subcontract with law enforcement officials or with properly

26  trained employees of private agencies to conduct

27  investigations related to neglect cases only. If such a

28  subcontract is awarded, the sheriff must take full

29  responsibility for any safety decision made by the

30  subcontractor and must immediately respond with law

31  enforcement staff to any situation that requires removal of a


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1  child due to a condition that poses an immediate threat to the

  2  child's life. The contract must specify whether the services

  3  are to be performed by departmental employees or by persons

  4  determined by the sheriff. During this initial year, the

  5  department is responsible for quality assurance, and the

  6  department retains the responsibility for the performance of

  7  all child protective investigations. The department must

  8  identify any barriers to transferring the entire

  9  responsibility for child protective services to the sheriffs'

10  offices and must pursue avenues for removing any such barriers

11  by means including, but not limited to, applying for federal

12  waivers. By January 15, 1999, the department shall submit to

13  the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of

14  Representatives, and the chairs of the Senate and House

15  committees that oversee departmental activities a report that

16  describes any remaining barriers, including any that pertain

17  to funding and related administrative issues. Unless the

18  Legislature, on the basis of that report or other pertinent

19  information, acts to block a transfer of the entire

20  responsibility for child protective investigations to the

21  sheriffs' offices, the sheriffs of Pasco County, Manatee

22  County, and Pinellas County, beginning in fiscal year

23  1999-2000, shall assume the entire responsibility for such

24  services, as provided in subsection (3).

25         (3)(a)  Beginning in fiscal year 1999-2000, the

26  sheriffs of Pasco County, Manatee County, and Pinellas County

27  have the responsibility to provide all child protective

28  investigations in their respective counties.

29         (b)  The sheriffs of Pasco County, Manatee County, and

30  Pinellas County shall operate, at a minimum, in accordance

31  with the performance standards established by the Legislature


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1  for protective investigations conducted by the Department of

  2  Children and Family Services.

  3         (c)  Funds for providing child protective

  4  investigations in Pasco County, Manatee County, and Pinellas

  5  County must be identified in the annual appropriation made to

  6  the Department of Children and Family Services, which shall

  7  award grants for the full amount identified to the respective

  8  sheriffs' offices.  Funds for the child protective

  9  investigations may not be integrated into the sheriffs'

10  regular budgets. Budgetary data and other data relating to the

11  performance of child protective investigations must be

12  maintained separately from all other records of the sheriffs'

13  offices.

14         (d)  Program performance evaluation shall be based on

15  criteria mutually agreed upon by the respective sheriffs and a

16  committee of seven persons appointed by the Governor and

17  selected from those persons serving on the Department of

18  Children and Family Services District 5 Health and Human

19  Services Board and District 6 Health and Human Services Board.

20  Two of the Governor's appointees must be residents of Pasco

21  County, two of the Governor's appointees must be residents of

22  Manatee County, and two of the Governor's appointees must be

23  residents of Pinellas County.  Such appointees shall serve at

24  the pleasure of the Governor.  The individuals appointed must

25  have demonstrated experience in outcome evaluation, social

26  service areas of protective investigation, or child welfare

27  supervision.  The committee shall submit an annual report

28  regarding quality performance, outcome-measure attainment and

29  cost efficiency, to the President of the Senate, the Speaker

30  of the House of Representatives, and to the Governor no later

31  than January 31 of each year the sheriffs are receiving


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                                          HB 3217, First Engrossed



  1  general appropriations to provide child protective

  2  investigations.

  3         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1 of the

  4  year in which enacted.

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