Senate Bill 2494
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 2494
By Senator Diaz de la Portilla
34-1478-00
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to racial and ethnic health
3 outcomes; creating s. 381.7351, F.S.; creating
4 the "Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health
5 Disparities--Closing the Gap Act"; creating s.
6 381.7352, F.S.; providing legislative findings
7 and intent; creating s. 381.7353, F.S.;
8 creating a grant program; providing for
9 administration; creating s. 381.7354, F.S.;
10 providing for eligibility; creating s.
11 381.7355, F.S.; providing project requirements,
12 including contents of proposals; creating s.
13 381.7356, F.S.; limiting grant awards;
14 requiring local matching funds; providing an
15 appropriation; providing an effective date.
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17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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20 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the death rate from
21 cancer among African-American men is about 50 percent higher
22 than for white men, and
23 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that African-Americans
24 are nearly twice as likely to die of stroke as whites, and
25 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that African-American
26 women are 50 percent more likely and Hispanic women are 30
27 percent more likely than non-Hispanic white women to be
28 diagnosed with breast cancer at a late stage, and
29 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the death rate for
30 coronary heart disease is 6 percent greater for African
31 Americans compared to white Americans, and
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 2494
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1 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that during the first
2 year of life, the rate of death for African-American babies is
3 twice that for white babies, and that African-Americans are
4 twice as likely to have a low-birthweight baby as are whites,
5 and
6 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that African-Americans
7 are twice as likely to have diabetes as whites, and Hispanic
8 whites are 25 percent more likely than non-Hispanic whites to
9 have diabetes, and
10 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that Hispanics are
11 26-percent and African-Americans are 77-percent more likely
12 than non-Hispanic whites to suffer from obesity, and
13 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that Native-American
14 youth are 34-percent more likely to be current smokers than
15 non-Hispanic white youth, and
16 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that Hispanic and
17 African-American adults are 60-percent more likely than
18 non-Hispanic white adults to be physically inactive, and
19 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that African-Americans
20 are nearly six times as likely to die of AIDS as whites, and
21 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that immunization
22 against vaccine-preventable diseases saves millions of dollars
23 in health care costs and reduces the number of absences from
24 school and work, thereby creating environments for children
25 and adults to succeed, and
26 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that to promote good
27 health practices, a community must develop systems that
28 support healthy behaviors and address the real causes of death
29 and illnesses, and
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 2494
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1 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that health
2 promotion and disease prevention are less costly than
3 treatment of disease, and
4 WHEREAS, the Legislature supports the principle of
5 "Front Porch Florida" and finds that residents can work with
6 government to identify resources both inside and outside the
7 community and create neighborhood networks empowered to
8 address racial and ethnic disparities in health specific to
9 their community, and
10 WHEREAS, the Legislature intends to close the
11 health-status gap between racial and ethnic populations by
12 making available grants to fund local projects addressing the
13 real causes of death and illness, increasing public awareness
14 of the impact of unhealthy lifestyles, increasing
15 community-based health promotion activities, and increasing
16 community-based disease prevention activities, NOW, THEREFORE,
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19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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21 Section 1. Section 381.7351, Florida Statutes, is
22 created to read:
23 381.7351 Short title.--Sections 381.7351-381.7356 may
24 be cited as the "Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health
25 Disparities--Closing the Gap Act."
26 Section 2. Section 381.7352, Florida Statutes, is
27 created to read:
28 381.7352 Legislative findings and intent.--
29 (1) The Legislature finds that despite state
30 investments in health care programs certain racial and ethnic
31 populations in this state continue to have significantly
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 2494
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1 poorer health outcomes when compared to non-Hispanic whites.
2 The Legislature finds that local solutions to health care
3 problems can have a dramatic and positive effect on the
4 health-status of these populations. Local governments and
5 communities are best equipped to identify the health
6 education, health promotion, and disease prevention needs of
7 the racial and ethnic populations in their communities, to
8 mobilize the community to address health outcome disparities,
9 to enlist and organize local public and private resources to
10 address these disparities, and to evaluate the effectiveness
11 of interventions.
12 (2) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to
13 provide to counties and neighborhoods in this state funds in
14 the form of "Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health
15 Disparities--Closing the Gap" grants to stimulate the
16 development of community-based and neighborhood-based projects
17 that will improve the health outcomes of racial and ethnic
18 populations. Further, it is the intent of the Legislature that
19 these programs foster the development of coordinated,
20 collaborative, and broad-based participation by public and
21 private entities. Finally, it is the intent of the Legislature
22 that the grant program function as a partnership between state
23 and local governments and private-sector health care
24 providers, including managed care, voluntary health care
25 resources, social service providers, and nontraditional
26 partners.
27 Section 3. Section 381.7353, Florida Statutes, is
28 created to read:
29 381.7353 Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health
30 Disparities--Closing the Gap Program; administration;
31 department duties.--
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 2494
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1 (1) The Department of Health shall administer the
2 Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities--Closing the Gap
3 grant program.
4 (2) The department shall:
5 (a) Publicize the availability of funds and establish
6 an application process for submitting a grant proposal.
7 (b) Provide technical assistance and training,
8 including a statewide meeting promoting "best practice"
9 programs, as requested, to grant recipients.
10 (c) Develop uniform data reporting requirements for
11 the purpose of evaluating the performance of the grant
12 recipients and demonstrating improved health outcomes.
13 (d) Develop a monitoring process to evaluate progress
14 toward meeting grant objectives.
15 (e) Coordinate with existing community-based programs,
16 such as chronic disease community intervention programs,
17 cancer prevention and control programs, diabetes control
18 programs, the Healthy Start program, the KidCare Program, the
19 HIV/AIDS program, immunization program, and other related
20 programs at the state and local levels to avoid duplication of
21 effort and promote consistency.
22 (3) Pursuant to s. 20.43, the Secretary of Health may
23 appoint an ad hoc advisory committee to: examine areas where
24 public awareness, public education, research and coordination
25 regarding racial and ethnic health outcome disparities are
26 lacking; consider access and transportation issues that
27 contribute to health-status disparities; and make
28 recommendations for closing gaps in health outcomes and for
29 increasing public awareness and understanding of health
30 disparities that exist for racial and ethnic populations.
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1 Section 4. Section 381.7354, Florida Statutes, is
2 created to read:
3 381.7354 Eligibility.--
4 (1) Any person, entity, or organization within a
5 single county may apply for a Closing the Gap grant and shall
6 serve as the lead agency to administer and coordinate project
7 activities within that county and to develop community
8 partnerships necessary to implement the grant.
9 (2) Adjoining counties having populations of less than
10 100,000, based on the annual estimates produced by the
11 Population Program of the University of Florida Bureau of
12 Economic and Business Research, may jointly submit a
13 multicounty Closing the Gap grant proposal. However, the
14 proposal must clearly identify a single lead agency with
15 respect to program accountability and administration.
16 (3) In addition to county grants, no more than 20
17 percent of the funding for the Reducing Racial and Ethnic
18 Health Disparities--Closing the Gap grant program may be
19 dedicated to projects that address improving racial and ethnic
20 health-status within a specific neighborhood. Priority must be
21 given to communities or neighborhoods that have been
22 designated as "Front Porch Communities."
23 (4) Sections 381.7351-381.7356 do not prevent a county
24 or group of counties from separately contracting for the
25 provision of racial and ethnic health promotion, health
26 awareness, and disease prevention services.
27 Section 5. Section 381.7355, Florida Statutes, is
28 created to read:
29 381.7355 Project requirements; contents of
30 proposals.--
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1 (1) Closing the Gap grant proposals shall be submitted
2 to the Department of Health for review.
3 (2) The proposal must include the following elements:
4 (a) The purpose and objectives of the proposal,
5 including identification of the particular racial or ethnic
6 disparity the project will address. The proposal must address
7 one or more of the following priority areas;
8 1. Decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in
9 maternal and infant mortality rates;
10 2. Decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in
11 morbidity and mortality rates relating to cancer;
12 3. Decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in
13 morbidity and mortality relating to HIV/AIDS;
14 4. Decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in
15 morbidity and mortality rates relating to cardiovascular
16 disease;
17 5. Decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in
18 morbidity and mortality relating to diabetes; and
19 6. Increasing adult and child immunization rates in
20 the racial and ethnic population.
21 (b) Identification and relevance of the target
22 population.
23 (c) Methods for obtaining baseline health status data
24 and assessment of community health needs.
25 (d) Mechanisms for mobilizing the community resources
26 and gaining local commitment.
27 (e) Development and implementation of health promotion
28 and disease prevention interventions.
29 (f) Mechanisms and strategies for evaluating project
30 objectives, procedures, and outcomes.
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1 (g) A proposed workplan, including a timeline for
2 having the project operational.
3 (h) Likelihood of project activities occurring and
4 continuing in the absence of funding.
5 (3) Priority will be given to proposals that:
6 (a) Represent areas with the greatest documented
7 racial and ethnic health status disparities.
8 (b) Exceed the minimum local contribution requirements
9 specified in s. 385.306.
10 (c) Demonstrate broad-based local support and
11 commitment from entities representing racial and ethnic
12 populations including non-Hispanic whites. Indicators of
13 support and commitment may include agreements to participate
14 in the program, letters of endorsement, letters of commitment,
15 interagency agreements, or other forms of support.
16 (d) Demonstrate a high degree of participation by the
17 health care community in clinical preventive service
18 activities and community-based health promotion and disease
19 prevention interventions.
20 (e) Are submitted by counties that have a high
21 proportion of residents who live in poverty and exhibit poor
22 health status indicators.
23 (g) Demonstrate a coordinated community approach to
24 addressing racial and ethnic health issues with existing
25 publicly financed health care programs.
26 (h) Incorporate intervention mechanisms that have a
27 high probability for improving the targeted population's
28 health status.
29 (i) Demonstrate a commitment to quality management in
30 all aspects of project administration and implementation.
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1 Section 6. Section 381.7356, Florida Statutes, is
2 created to read:
3 381.7356 Local matching funds; grant awards.--
4 (1) Only one Closing the Gap grant shall be awarded
5 per county or to a group of counties applying jointly.
6 However, neighborhood grants may be awarded in a county or
7 counties that are also receiving a grant.
8 (2) Closing the Gap grants shall be awarded on a
9 matching basis. One dollar in local matching funds must be
10 provided for each $3 grant payment made by the state, except
11 that:
12 (a) In counties having populations greater than
13 50,000, up to 50 percent of the local match may be in-kind in
14 the form of free services or human resources. At least 50
15 percent of the local match must be in the form of cash.
16 (b) A county having a population of less than 50,000
17 may provide the required local matching funds entirely through
18 in-kind contributions.
19 (c) Neighborhood grants do not entail a matching
20 requirement.
21 (3) The amount of the grant award must be based on a
22 county or neighborhood's population, or on the combined
23 population of a group of counties applying for a singe grant,
24 and on other factors determined by the department.
25 (4) Dissemination of grant awards shall begin no later
26 than January 1, 2001.
27 (5) A Closing the Gap grant shall be funded for 1 year
28 and may be renewed annually upon application to and approval
29 by the department, subject to the meeting of quality
30 standards, objectives, and outcomes and to the availability of
31 funds.
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1 (6) Implementation of the grant program is contingent
2 upon a specific appropriation's being provided in the General
3 Appropriations Act.
4 Section 7. The sum of $10 million is appropriated from
5 the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Health to be
6 used to establish and implement the Reducing Racial and Ethnic
7 Health Disparities--Closing the Gap Act, including funding one
8 full-time-equivalent position.
9 Section 8. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
10 law.
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13 SENATE SUMMARY
14 Creates the "Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health
Disparities--Closing the Gap Act." Provides legislative
15 findings and intent. Provides for a grant program to be
administered by the Department of Health. Provides
16 requirements for receiving grants, including contents of
proposals. Limits grant awards. Requires local matching
17 funds, except for neighborhood grants. Provides an
appropriation.
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