House Bill hb1461

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 1461

        By Representative Gottlieb






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to foster care and related

  3         services; amending s. 409.1671, F.S.; extending

  4         phase-in of the statewide foster care

  5         privatization plan; providing for incremental

  6         transition into community-based care; requiring

  7         the Department of Children and Family Services

  8         to provide an operations prospectus to lead

  9         agency contract bidders; specifying contents;

10         requiring oversight and quality assurance of

11         the privatization process by the Office of

12         Program Policy Analysis and Government

13         Accountability; providing for the development

14         and use of outcome measures; providing for

15         incorporation of the outcome measures in lead

16         agency contracts; providing an effective date.

17

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

19

20         Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1), paragraph

21  (a) of subsection (2), and paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of

22  section 409.1671, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

23         409.1671  Foster care and related services;

24  privatization.--

25         (1)(a)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the

26  Department of Children and Family Services shall privatize the

27  provision of foster care and related services statewide. It is

28  further the Legislature's intent to encourage communities and

29  other stakeholders in the well-being of children to

30  participate in assuring that children are safe and

31  well-nurtured. However, while recognizing that some local

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 1461

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  1  governments are presently funding portions of certain foster

  2  care and related services programs and may choose to expand

  3  such funding in the future, the Legislature does not intend by

  4  its privatization of foster care and related services that any

  5  county, municipality, or special district be required to

  6  assist in funding programs that previously have been funded by

  7  the state. Nothing in this paragraph prohibits any county,

  8  municipality, or special district from future voluntary

  9  funding participation in foster care and related services. As

10  used in this section, the term "privatize" means to contract

11  with competent, community-based agencies. The department shall

12  submit a plan to accomplish privatization statewide, through a

13  competitive process, phased in over a 5-year 3-year period

14  beginning January 1, 2000. The privatization plan shall allow

15  for the incremental transition of each district into

16  community-based care so that the lead agency can, prior to

17  assuming responsibility for other children and families,

18  demonstrate to the Office of Program Policy Analysis and

19  Government Accountability and the community that with each

20  incremental transition it is meeting the performance criteria

21  established by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and

22  Government Accountability pursuant to paragraph (4)(a). This

23  plan must be developed with local community participation,

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

25  providers that are currently under contract with the

26  department to furnish community-based foster care and related

27  services, and must include a methodology for determining and

28  transferring all available funds, including federal funds that

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

30  portion of general revenue funds which is currently associated

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

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 1461

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  1  methodology must provide for the transfer of funds

  2  appropriated and budgeted for all services and programs that

  3  have been incorporated into the project, including all

  4  management, capital (including current furniture and

  5  equipment), and administrative funds to accomplish the

  6  transfer of these programs. This methodology must address

  7  current and expected workload and at least the 3 previous

  8  years' experience in expenses and workload. With respect to

  9  any district or portion of a district in which privatization

10  cannot be accomplished within the 5-year 3-year timeframe, the

11  department must clearly state in its plan the reasons the

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

13  remediate the obstacles, which may include alternatives to

14  total privatization, such as public-private partnerships. As

15  used in this section, the term "related services" includes,

16  but is not limited to, family preservation, independent

17  living, emergency shelter, residential group care, foster

18  care, therapeutic foster care, intensive residential

19  treatment, foster care supervision, case management,

20  postplacement supervision, permanent foster care, and family

21  reunification. Unless otherwise provided for, beginning in

22  fiscal year 1999-2000, either the state attorney or the Office

23  of the Attorney General shall provide child welfare legal

24  services, pursuant to chapter 39 and other relevant

25  provisions, in Sarasota, Pinellas, Pasco, Broward, and Manatee

26  Counties.  Such legal services shall commence and be

27  effective, as soon as determined reasonably feasible by the

28  respective state attorney or the Office of the Attorney

29  General, after the privatization of associated programs and

30  child protective investigations has occurred.  When a private

31  nonprofit agency has received case management

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  1  responsibilities, transferred from the state under this

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

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

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

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

  6  child is unavailable and his or her whereabouts cannot

  7  reasonably be ascertained. The private nonprofit agency may

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

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

10  or her whereabouts cannot reasonably be ascertained, and a

11  court order for such emergency medical services cannot be

12  obtained because of the severity of the emergency or because

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

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

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

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

17  circumstances.

18         (2)(a)  The department may contract for the delivery,

19  administration, or management of protective services, the

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

21  and other related services or programs, as appropriate.

22  However, no later than 60 days after the effective date of

23  this act, the department shall ensure that all lead agency

24  contract bidders are provided with a prospectus which shall

25  set forth a full and fair disclosure of all material

26  information regarding the current operation of each district's

27  family foster care program and related services. The

28  prospectus shall contain, at a minimum: all current and

29  projected case management and out-of-home care needs of

30  children; all current and projected mental health needs of

31  children, including the need for residential mental health

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  1  treatment; all state and federal performance and compliance

  2  reports, audits, and system performance data; all incident

  3  reports, inspector general reports, provider audits,

  4  evaluations of contractor performance, and other available

  5  investigative reports; the current and proposed budgeted funds

  6  which will be available to the lead agency to implement

  7  community-based care, including all funds derived from federal

  8  and state revenues, grants, trust funds, and earnings; all

  9  known current costs associated with operating the family

10  foster care program and related services, including unit costs

11  for services based upon geographical locations and

12  cost-of-services increases; and all known or anticipated risk

13  management claims and litigation involving children who have

14  been or are currently receiving services from the department

15  or any contract providers. The department shall retain

16  responsibility for the quality of contracted services and

17  programs and shall ensure, by employing the outcome measures

18  developed by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and

19  Government Accountability and by any other appropriate means,

20  that services are delivered in accordance with applicable

21  federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations and in a

22  manner so that children are safe and nurtured while receiving

23  service pursuant to chapter 39.

24         (4)(a)  There shall be independent third-party

25  oversight and quality assurance of the privatization process

26  by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government

27  Accountability in each district, which shall utilize federal

28  and state standards, recognized child welfare monitoring

29  standards, and all performance expectations of the department

30  as to the lead agency to develop appropriate outcome measures

31  and monitor and assess the transition to community-based care

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  1  and the performance of the lead agency to ensure that all

  2  children receiving community-based care services are safe,

  3  nurtured, and receiving the benefits and protections afforded

  4  to them under state and federal law. The outcome measures

  5  established by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and

  6  Government Accountability shall be incorporated into any

  7  contracts entered into with any agency assuming lead agency

  8  responsibilities. The department shall establish a quality

  9  assurance program for privatized services. The quality

10  assurance program shall be based on standards established by a

11  national accrediting organization such as the Council on

12  Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc.

13  (COA) or CARF--the Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission.

14  The department may develop a request for proposal for such

15  oversight. This program must be developed and administered at

16  a statewide level. The Legislature intends that the department

17  be permitted to have limited flexibility to use funds for

18  improving quality assurance. To this end, effective January 1,

19  2000, the department may transfer up to 0.125 percent of the

20  total funds from categories used to pay for these

21  contractually provided services, but the total amount of such

22  transferred funds may not exceed $300,000 in any fiscal year.

23  When necessary, the department may establish, in accordance

24  with s. 216.177, additional positions that will be exclusively

25  devoted to these functions. Any positions required under this

26  paragraph may be established, notwithstanding ss.

27  216.262(1)(a) and 216.351. The department, in consultation

28  with the community-based agencies that are undertaking the

29  privatized projects, shall establish minimum thresholds for

30  each component of service, consistent with standards

31  established by the Legislature. Each program operated under

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  1  contract with a community-based agency must be evaluated

  2  annually by the department. The department shall submit an

  3  annual report regarding quality performance, outcome measure

  4  attainment, and cost efficiency to the President of the

  5  Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the

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

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

  8  project in operation during the preceding fiscal year.

  9         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

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11            *****************************************

12                          HOUSE SUMMARY

13
      Extends from 3 to 5 years the phase-in of the statewide
14    foster care privatization plan. Requires the plan to
      allow for the incremental transition of each district
15    into community-based care to facilitate demonstrating
      that performance criteria are met. Requires the
16    Department of Children and Family Services to provide a
      prospectus to lead agency contract bidders containing
17    specified information on current district foster care and
      related services operations. Provides for use of certain
18    outcome measures and other means to ensure service
      delivery in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and
19    standards. Requires oversight and quality assurance of
      the privatization process in each district by the Office
20    of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.
      Provides for the development of outcome measures and for
21    their incorporation into lead agency contracts.

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