Senate Bill 2526
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 2526
By Senator Diaz-Balart
37-1459A-99
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to developmental disabilities;
3 amending ss. 393.063, 393.0651, F.S.;
4 redefining the term "support coordinator";
5 providing legislative intent; providing that an
6 individual who has a developmental disability,
7 and the individual's family or guardian, may
8 choose whether to have the assistance of a
9 support coordinator; requiring the Agency for
10 Health Care Administration to submit to the
11 Federal Health Care Financing Administration an
12 amendment to the state's Medicaid Developmental
13 Services Waiver; providing an effective date.
14
15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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17 Section 1. Subsections (11) and (49) of section
18 393.063, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended to
19 read:
20 393.063 Definitions.--For the purposes of this
21 chapter:
22 (11) "Department" means the Department of Children and
23 Family Health and Rehabilitative Services.
24 (49) "Support coordinator" means a person who may be
25 chosen from a list of qualified providers of support
26 coordination by an individual or by the individual's family or
27 legal guardian is designated by the department to assist
28 individuals and families in identifying their desires,
29 capacities, needs, and resources, as well as finding and
30 gaining access to necessary supports and services;
31 coordinating the delivery of supports and services; advocating
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 2526
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1 on behalf of the individual and family; maintaining relevant
2 records; and monitoring and evaluating the delivery of
3 supports and services to determine the extent to which they
4 meet the needs and expectations identified by the individual,
5 family, and others who participated in the development of the
6 support plan.
7 Section 2. Section 393.0651, Florida Statutes, is
8 amended to read:
9 393.0651 Family or individual support plan.--It is the
10 intent of the Legislature that each individual who has a
11 developmental disability be given every opportunity to reach
12 his or her maximum potential and to live as independent a life
13 as possible within his or her own community. The Legislature
14 finds that individuals who have developmental disabilities,
15 their families, and their guardians are better qualified than
16 government to make choices about their lives. Therefore, while
17 it is the intent of the Legislature that the department ensure
18 that services to individuals who have developmental
19 disabilities are of the highest quality and are delivered in
20 the most cost-efficient manner, it is also the intent of the
21 Legislature that individuals, their families, and their
22 guardians be empowered to make their own choices. The
23 department shall provide for an appropriate family support
24 plan for children ages birth to 18 years of age and an
25 individual support plan for each client. The parent or
26 guardian of the client or, if competent, the client, or, when
27 appropriate, the client advocate, shall be consulted in the
28 development of the plan and shall receive a copy of the plan.
29 Each plan shall include the most appropriate, least
30 restrictive, and most cost-beneficial environment for
31 accomplishment of the objectives for client progress and a
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1 specification of all services authorized. The plan shall
2 include provisions for the most appropriate level of care for
3 the client. Within the specification of needs and services for
4 each client, when residential care is necessary, the
5 department shall move toward placement of clients in
6 residential facilities based within the client's community.
7 The ultimate goal of each plan, whenever possible, shall be to
8 enable the client to live a dignified life in the least
9 restrictive setting, be that in the home or in the community.
10 For children under 6 years of age, the family support plan
11 shall be developed within the 45-day application period as
12 specified in s. 393.065(1); for all applicants 6 years of age
13 or older, the family or individual support plan shall be
14 developed within the 60-day period as specified in that
15 subsection. In developing the support plan, each individual
16 and his or her family or guardian may choose whether to seek
17 the assistance of a support coordinator or to manage their own
18 services and supports. If the individual and his or her family
19 or guardian choose support coordination, they must be offered
20 a choice of qualified providers of support coordination.
21 (1) The department shall develop and specify by rule
22 the core components of support plans to be used by each
23 district.
24 (2)(a) The family or individual support plan shall be
25 integrated with the individual education plan (IEP) for all
26 clients who are public school students entitled to a free
27 appropriate public education under the Individuals with
28 Disabilities Education Act, I.D.E.A., as amended. The family
29 or individual support plan and IEP shall be implemented to
30 maximize the attainment of educational and habilitation goals.
31 If the IEP for a student enrolled in a public school program
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1 indicates placement in a public or private residential program
2 is necessary to provide special education and related services
3 to a client, the local education agency shall provide for the
4 costs of that service in accordance with the requirements of
5 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, I.D.E.A., as
6 amended. This shall not preclude local education agencies and
7 the department from sharing the residential service costs of
8 students who are clients and require residential placement.
9 Under no circumstances shall clients entitled to a public
10 education or their parents be assessed a fee by the department
11 under s. 402.33 for placement in a residential program.
12 (b) For clients who are entering or exiting the school
13 system, an interdepartmental staffing team composed of
14 representatives of the department and the local school system
15 shall develop a written transitional living and training plan
16 with the participation of the client or with the parent or
17 guardian of the client, or the client advocate, as
18 appropriate.
19 (3) Each family or individual support plan shall be
20 facilitated through case management designed solely to advance
21 the individual needs of the client.
22 (4) In the development of the family or individual
23 support plan, a client advocate may be appointed by the
24 support planning team for a client who is a minor or for a
25 client who is not capable of express and informed consent
26 when:
27 (a) The parent or guardian cannot be identified;
28 (b) The whereabouts of the parent or guardian cannot
29 be discovered; or
30 (c) The state is the only legal representative of the
31 client.
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2 Such appointment shall not be construed to extend the powers
3 of the client advocate to include any of those powers
4 delegated by law to a legal guardian.
5 (5) The department shall place a client in the most
6 appropriate and least restrictive, and cost-beneficial,
7 residential facility according to his or her individual
8 habilitation plan. The parent or guardian of the client or, if
9 competent, the client, or, when appropriate, the client
10 advocate, and the administrator of the residential facility to
11 which placement is proposed shall be consulted in determining
12 the appropriate placement for the client. Considerations for
13 placement shall be made in the following order:
14 (a) Client's own home or the home of a family member
15 or direct service provider.
16 (b) Foster care facility.
17 (c) Group home facility.
18 (d) Intermediate care facility for the developmentally
19 disabled.
20 (e) Other facilities licensed by the department which
21 offer special programs for people with developmental
22 disabilities.
23 (f) Developmental services institution.
24 (6) In developing a client's annual family or
25 individual support plan, the individual or family with the
26 assistance of the support planning team shall identify
27 measurable objectives for client progress and shall specify a
28 time period expected for achievement of each objective.
29 (7) The individual, his or her family, and the support
30 coordinator, if one is chosen by the individual and his or her
31 family, shall review progress in achieving the objectives
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 2526
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1 specified in each client's family or individual support plan,
2 and shall revise the plan annually, following consultation
3 with the client, if competent, or with the parent or guardian
4 of the client, or, when appropriate, the client advocate. The
5 department shall annually report in writing to the client, if
6 competent, or to the parent or guardian of the client, or to
7 the client advocate, when appropriate, with respect to the
8 client's habilitative and medical progress.
9 (8) Any client, or any parent of a minor client, or
10 guardian, authorized guardian advocate, or client advocate for
11 a client, who is substantially affected by the client's
12 initial family or individual support plan, or the annual
13 review thereof, shall have the right to file a notice to
14 challenge the decision pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 120.57.
15 Notice of such right to appeal shall be included in all
16 support plans provided by the department.
17 Section 3. (1) The Agency for Health Care
18 Administration shall work with the Department of Children and
19 Family Services to submit to the Federal Health Care Financing
20 Administration an amendment to amend Florida's 1915(c)
21 Medicaid Developmental Services Waiver to allow support
22 coordination to be an optional service.
23 (2) It is the intent of the Legislature that all
24 savings resulting from the amendments to sections 393.063 and
25 393.0651, Florida Statutes, which are made by sections 1 and 2
26 of this act, providing for individuals who have developmental
27 disabilities and their families to choose whether to have the
28 assistance of a support coordinator, be redirected into
29 enhancing services to individuals eligible under chapter 393,
30 Florida Statutes.
31 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 2526
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Provides that individuals who have developmental
disabilities and their families or guardians may choose
4 whether or not to have the assistance of a support
coordinator. Redefines the term "support coordinator," to
5 conform to that option. Requires the Agency for Health
Care Administration to request an amendment to the
6 state's 1915(c) Medicaid Developmental Services Waiver.
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