House Bill 3227c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 3227

        By the Committee on Family Law & Children and
    Representatives Wise and Lynn





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to substance abuse services;

  3         amending s. 397.311, F.S.; redefining the term

  4         "qualified professional" for purposes of

  5         providing certain substance abuse assessment or

  6         treatment services; requiring persons certified

  7         to provide such services in other states to

  8         meet Florida's certification requirements

  9         within a specified period after employment in

10         this state; providing a grandfather clause for

11         a specified period for persons with certain

12         qualifications and experience; providing that

13         certain certified professionals are exempt from

14         meeting the additional statutory requirements

15         for a qualified professional; providing an

16         effective date.

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

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20         Section 1.  Subsection (25) of section 397.311, Florida

21  Statutes, is amended to read:

22         397.311  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, except

23  part VIII:

24         (25)  "Qualified professional" means a physician

25  licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; a professional

26  licensed under chapter 490 or chapter 491; or a person who has

27  at least an earned master's degree in a social or behavioral

28  science in a human services discipline with a minimum of 2

29  years' experience in the assessment or treatment of substance

30  abuse or who is certified through a department-recognized

31  certification process for substance abuse treatment services

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 3227

    606-113-98






  1  and who holds, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree.  A person

  2  who is certified in substance abuse treatment services by a

  3  state-recognized certification process in another state at the

  4  time of employment with a licensed substance abuse provider in

  5  this state may perform the functions of a qualified

  6  professional as defined in chapter 397 but must meet

  7  certification requirements contained in this subsection no

  8  later than 1 year after his or her date of employment.

  9         Section 2.  (1)  A person who holds a master's degree

10  in a social or behavioral science in a human services

11  discipline with a minimum of 2 years' experience in the

12  assessment or treatment of substance abuse may perform the

13  duties of a qualified professional with respect to substance

14  abuse treatment services as defined in chapter 397 until

15  January 1, 2001.

16         (2)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a

17  person who was certified through a certification process

18  recognized by the former Department of Health and

19  Rehabilitative Services before January 1, 1995, may perform

20  the duties of a qualified professional with respect to

21  substance abuse treatment services as defined in chapter 397,

22  and need not meet the certification requirements contained in

23  s. 397.311(25).

24         Section 3.  This act shall take effect on January 1,

25  1999.

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