CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.Senate Bill 0352
Florida Senate - 1998 SB 352
By Senators Brown-Waite, Hargrett, Cowin, Latvala and Crist
10-387A-98
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" and "related
6 services"; requiring the Department of Children
7 and Family Services to develop a plan to
8 accomplish statewide privatization within a
9 specified time period and to submit the plan to
10 the Governor and to designated legislative
11 officials by a specified date; requiring the
12 department to state whether and why
13 privatization is infeasible in a particular
14 district and how the department will address
15 the obstacles to its feasibility; providing
16 requirements for and restrictions upon funding
17 for privatization; providing for a model
18 program to be initiated in a specified
19 district; requiring the department to contract
20 with the sheriffs in that district for the
21 provision of protective investigative services;
22 providing for funding; providing an effective
23 date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Subsections (1) and (5) and paragraph (a)
28 of subsection (3) of section 409.1671, Florida Statutes, are
29 amended to read:
30 409.1671 Foster care and related services;
31 privatization.--
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 SB 352
10-387A-98
1 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that to
2 encourage the Department of Children and Family Services
3 privatize the provision of to contract with competent
4 community-based agencies to provide foster care and related
5 services statewide. As used in this section, the term
6 "privatize" means to contract with competent, community-based
7 agencies. The department shall develop a strategic plan to
8 accomplish privatization statewide over a 3-year period,
9 beginning July 1, 1999. This plan is to be submitted by
10 January 1, 1999, to the President of the Senate, the Speaker
11 of the House of Representatives, the Governor, and the
12 Minority leaders of both houses. By privatizing these
13 services, the support and commitment of communities to the
14 reunification of families and care of children and their
15 families will be strengthened, and efficiencies as well as
16 increased accountability will be gained. As used in this
17 section, the term "related These services" means may include
18 family preservation, independent living, emergency shelter,
19 residential group care, foster care, therapeutic foster care,
20 intensive residential treatment, postadjudication legal
21 services, foster care supervision, postadjudication case
22 management, postplacement supervision, permanent foster care,
23 family reunification, the filing of a petition for the
24 termination of parental rights, and adoption. With respect to
25 any district in which privatization is not feasible for
26 economic or other reasons, the department must clearly state
27 in its strategic plan the reasons for the lack of feasibility
28 and the efforts that the department will undertake to
29 remediate the obstacles.
30 (3)(a) The department shall establish a quality
31 assurance program for the privatization of services. The
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 SB 352
10-387A-98
1 quality assurance program must not be funded from moneys that
2 the department currently uses to fund include standards for
3 each specific component of these services. This program must
4 be developed at a statewide level and may not be replicated in
5 each of the departmental districts. The department, in
6 consultation with the community-based agencies that are
7 undertaking the privatized projects, shall establish minimum
8 thresholds for each component. Each program operated under
9 pursuant to contract with a community-based agency must be
10 evaluated annually by the department or by an objective
11 competent entity designated by the department under the
12 provisions of the quality assurance program. The evaluation
13 must be financed from cost savings associated with the
14 privatization of services. The department shall submit an
15 annual report regarding quality performance, outcome measure
16 attainment, and cost efficiency to the President of the
17 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
18 Minority leader of each house of the Legislature, and the
19 Governor no later than January 31 of each year for each
20 project in operation during the preceding fiscal year,
21 beginning in 1998. The quality assurance program must be
22 funded through administrative savings generated by this act.
23 (5)(a) In fiscal year 1998-1999, the Department of
24 Children and Family Services shall privatize all foster care
25 and related services in district 5. Beginning in fiscal year
26 1996-1997, the Department of Children and Family Services
27 shall establish a minimum of five model programs. These models
28 must be established in the department's districts 1, 4, and
29 13; in subdistrict 8A; and in a fifth district to be
30 determined by the department, with the concurrence of the
31 appropriate district health and human services board. For
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 SB 352
10-387A-98
1 comparison of privatization savings, the fifth model program
2 must be contracted with a competent for-profit corporation.
3 The provider or providers of the district-5 these model
4 programs may be selected from a single source pursuant to s.
5 287.057(3)(c) and must be an established, community-based
6 organization or organizations within the state district or
7 subdistrict. Contracts with organizations responsible for the
8 model programs must shall include the management and
9 administration of all privatized services specified in
10 subsection (1), except for funds necessary to manage the
11 contract. If the community-based organization selected for a
12 model program under this subsection is not a Medicaid
13 provider, the organization shall be issued a Medicaid provider
14 number pursuant to s. 409.907 for the provision of services
15 currently authorized under the state Medicaid plan to those
16 children encompassed in this model and in a manner not to
17 exceed the current level of state expenditure. Each district
18 and subdistrict that participates in the model program effort
19 or any future privatization effort as described in this
20 section must thoroughly analyze and report the complete direct
21 and indirect costs of delivering these services through the
22 department and the full cost of privatization, including the
23 cost of monitoring and evaluating the contracted services.
24 (b) The Department of Children and Family Services
25 shall contract with the sheriffs of Pinellas County and Pasco
26 County, in district 5, for the provision of all protective
27 investigative services. Each individual who provides these
28 services under the contract must complete the training
29 provided to and required of protective investigators employed
30 by the department. The sheriff's offices in Pinellas County
31 and Pasco County are to be responsible for the initial calls
4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 SB 352
10-387A-98
1 and for any subsequent investigations related to all child
2 abuse reports in their respective counties. The Department of
3 Children and Family Services shall transfer all funding for
4 the investigative responsibilities in each of those counties,
5 including all investigative, supervisory, and clerical
6 positions, to the respective sheriff. Each sheriff may require
7 all employees of the sheriff's office who provide protective
8 investigative services to meet the employment standards of the
9 sheriff's office. The state will continue to provide funding
10 for the special child-abuse investigation units. The
11 bookkeeping for these units must be kept separate from the
12 rest of the sheriffs' budgets. County funding may not be used
13 for the operation of the child-abuse investigation units, nor
14 may any funds for the child-abuse investigation units be
15 integrated into the sheriffs' regular budgets.
16 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 1998.
17
18 *****************************************
19 SENATE SUMMARY
20 Provides for the privatization of foster care and related
services. Provides legislative intent. Defines the terms
21 "privatize" and "related services." Requires the
Department of Children and Family Services to develop a
22 plan to accomplish statewide privatization by July 1,
2002, and to submit the plan to the Governor and to
23 designated legislative officials by January 1, 1999.
Requires the department to state whether and why
24 privatization is infeasible in a particular district and
how the department intends to address the obstacles to
25 its feasibility. Provides requirements for and
restrictions upon funding for privatization. Provides for
26 a model program to be initiated in district 5, in fiscal
year 1998-1999. Requires the department to contract with
27 the sheriffs in district 5 for the provision of all
protective investigative services, and provides for
28 funding.
29
30
31
5