HB 0981

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to caregivers for frail or elderly adults;
3	providing legislative intent to foster caregiving as a
4	nonlicensed paraprofessional activity and to promote the
5	caregivers' use of best practices; creating the Florida
6	Caregiver Institute, Inc., an independent nonprofit
7	corporation housed in the Agency for Workforce Innovation;
8	providing purposes, duties, and powers of the corporation;
9	providing for a board of directors; providing for
10	membership, terms of office, meetings, and powers and
11	duties of and restrictions on the board; requiring reports
12	to the Governor and the Legislature; providing duties of
13	the Agency for Workforce Innovation and other public
14	agencies; providing for the Office of Program Policy
15	Analysis and Government Accountability to conduct a review
16	of the corporation by a specified date and to report to
17	the Governor and the Legislature; providing an effective
18	date.
19
20	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22	Section 1.  Caregivers, legislative intent; Florida
23	Caregiver Institute, Inc., creation, duties, board of directors,
24	reports.--
25	(1)  It is the intent of the Legislature to foster the
26	development of caregiving as a nonlicensed paraprofessional
27	activity that is critical to the provision of community based
28	and institutional care for frail and vulnerable Floridians who
29	live in the community, in a licensed assisted living facility,
30	or in a licensed adult family-care home. It is the further
31	intent of the Legislature to promote the use of nationally
32	recognized best-practices information by front line caregivers
33	so as to improve the quality of care both in the community and
34	in facilities licensed by the state and to ensure some degree of
35	uniformity as to the techniques, practices, and standards used
36	in caring for the state's most vulnerable residents.
37	(2)  In order to accomplish the goal of developing best-
38	practices information and placing that information into the
39	hands of front line caregivers that care for Floridians who live
40	in the community or reside in facilities licensed by the state
41	under part III or part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes,
42	there is created the Florida Caregiver Institute, Inc., a not-
43	for-profit corporation that is to be registered, incorporated,
44	organized, and operated in compliance with chapter 617, Florida
45	Statutes, and that is not a unit or entity of state government.
46	The Florida Caregiver Institute, Inc., hereinafter referred to
47	as "the corporation," shall be administratively housed within
48	the Agency for Workforce Innovation. Although the corporation is
49	not subject to the control of the Agency for Workforce
50	Innovation, the corporation shall work in collaboration with the
51	agency to help improve the availability of caregivers and the
52	use of best practices by front line caregivers in facilities
53	licensed by the state under part III or part VII of chapter 400,
54	Florida Statutes, and by caregivers in the community.
55	(3)  The corporation shall assist the Agency for Workforce
56	Innovation in the development of policy recommendations to
57	enhance the agency's efforts to improve the availability and
58	skills of individuals who seek to work as caregivers in the
59	home, in the community, or in a facility licensed by the state
60	under part III or part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes. The
61	corporation also:
62	(a)  Shall seek to identify funding for the purpose of
63	providing training in and promotion of the use of best practices
64	to front line caregivers through state, federal, and private
65	sources.
66	(b)  Shall work with universities, policy exchange centers,
67	and other related parties to develop training materials,
68	identify best-practices techniques, and develop a curriculum.
69	(c)  Shall conduct a needs assessment of the nonlicensed
70	caregivers who work in the community or in facilities that are
71	licensed under part III or part VII of chapter 400, Florida
72	Statutes.
73	(d)  Shall make recommendations to the Agency for Workforce
74	Innovation, the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Department of
75	Children and Family Services, the Agency for Health Care
76	Administration, and the Department of Health regarding policy
77	and related changes that will help improve the quality,
78	availability, and retention of nonlicensed caregivers who work
79	in the community or in facilities licensed under part III or
80	part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes.
81	(e)  Shall review and forecast the need for nonlicensed
82	caregivers to work in the community or in facilities licensed
83	under part III or part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes.
84	This information must be provided annually to the President of
85	the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
86	Governor.
87	(f)  Shall make recommendations to the President of the
88	Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
89	Governor on proposed legislative changes and budget related
90	items that would affect the quality, availability, and retention
91	of trained nonlicensed caregivers who work in the community or
92	in facilities licensed under part III or part VII of chapter
93	400, Florida Statutes.
94	(g)  Shall develop agreements with the Agency for Health
95	Care Administration, the Department of Elderly Affairs, the
96	Department of Health, the Department of Children and Family
97	Services, and any other state agency it considers necessary, for
98	the exclusive purpose of accessing state buildings and state
99	employees for the purpose of providing low-cost, effective
100	training and paraprofessional development assistance to
101	nonlicensed caregivers who work in the community or in
102	facilities licensed under part III or part VII of chapter 400,
103	Florida Statutes.
104	(h)  May charge a reasonable fee for the provision of
105	training of nonlicensed caregivers who work in the community or
106	in facilities licensed under part III or part VII of chapter
107	400, Florida Statutes. The corporation shall take all steps
108	possible to offer high-quality training at the most cost-
109	effective rates.
110	(i)  May offer to assisted living facilities core training,
111	testing, and other training that the facilities may be able to
112	provide to help achieve their goals.
113	(j)  Shall collect information regarding the development of
114	nonlicensed caregivers who work in the community and in
115	facilities licensed under part III or part VII of chapter 400,
116	Florida Statutes. The information collected must include, but
117	need not be limited to, the salary rates for various positions,
118	professional development needs of nonlicensed caregivers,
119	turnover rates, information regarding turnover and retention,
120	and data that identifies the number of caregivers using best-
121	practices information in day-to-day, care-related activities.
122	(k)  Shall develop a memorandum of understanding with the
123	Agency for Workforce Innovation which describes how the
124	corporation will interact with the agency and other state
125	agencies in carrying out its responsibilities.
126	(l)  Shall develop an agreement with the Agency for
127	Workforce Innovation for the provision of administrative support
128	and startup, with the expectation that the corporation will not
129	rely upon the agency for staff or financial assistance after
130	2006.
131	(m)  May contract with the Agency for Workforce Innovation
132	for the provision of staff support, research, technical
133	assistance, and data storage under a memorandum of agreement.
134	(4)(a)  The board of directors of the corporation shall
135	consist of thirteen members who represent the views, interests,
136	and perspectives of the parties, individuals, and stakeholders
137	affected by the activities of the corporation. Each member of
138	the board shall be appointed to a 2-year term and may not be
139	reappointed to more than three additional terms, except that the
140	initial legislative appointments shall be for a period of 3
141	years each.
142	(b)  The board of directors of the corporation shall
143	include:
144	1.  One member appointed by the Florida Association of
145	Homes for the Aged.
146	2.  One member appointed by the Florida Assisted Living
147	Affiliation.
148	3.  One member appointed by the Alzheimer's Association.
149	4.  One member appointed by the Florida Council on Aging.
150	5.  Three members appointed by the Governor.
151	6.  Three members appointed by the President of the Senate.
152	7.  Three members appointed by the Speaker of the House of
153	Representatives.
154
155	The Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
156	the House of Representatives must make their respective initial
157	appointments not later than September 1, 2004.
158	(c)  The chair shall be elected by the members, may not
159	serve more than two 1-year terms, and may not be a state
160	employee.
161	(d)  The corporation shall adopt bylaws that describe how
162	it will do its work. The corporation shall follow Robert's Rules
163	of Order, revised edition, for all procedural matters that
164	arise.
165	(e)  A majority of the members of the corporation's board
166	of directors constitutes a quorum.
167	(f)  The corporation shall make its meetings open to any
168	member of the public and shall make provision for accepting
169	input from family members, consumers, stakeholders, providers,
170	or other parties affected by the activities of the corporation.
171	The corporation shall make every effort to make its schedule and
172	meeting location accessible to the public, by means including
173	the use of websites and public buildings.
174	(g)  The chair of the corporation's board of directors
175	shall ensure that accurate minutes are kept which reflect the
176	attendance, motions, and actions of the board and the discussion
177	of matters brought before the board. These minutes shall be made
178	available to the public for inspection and review and, if
179	possible, posted on a website to provide greater public access.
180	(h)  The chair shall call a meeting quarterly and may
181	schedule other meetings using electronic means as he or she
182	considers appropriate. The chair must call at least one meeting
183	per year for the purpose of establishing goals and evaluating
184	the progress of the previous year.
185	(i)  The chair of the corporation's board of directors may
186	appoint advisory committees to advise the corporation on
187	specific issues that fall within the corporation's scope of work
188	and stated objectives.
189	(j)  Each member of the corporation's board of directors
190	and its advisory committees shall serve at his or her own
191	expense.
192	(k)  The chair may remove a member of the board for three
193	unexcused absences from regularly scheduled meetings.
194	(l)  An appointed member serves at the pleasure of the
195	entity that has made the appointment and may be removed by that
196	entity without cause.
197	(5)(a)  The chair of the corporation's board of directors
198	shall establish an audit committee to annually review and report
199	on the financial condition of the corporation. A copy of the
200	audit committee's report shall be provided to the members, the
201	Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
202	House of Representatives. The audit committee shall consist of
203	board members, and its report must include a complete accounting
204	for all revenues and expenses incurred by the corporation.
205	(b)  The corporation may employ staff, contract with
206	consultants, and otherwise conduct its affairs using standard
207	accepted business practices to accomplish its goals.
208	(c)  The corporation shall annually evaluate and, in
209	October of each year, shall report to the Legislature and the
210	Governor the status of its work relative to promoting the use of
211	best practices by front line caregivers and developing
212	nonlicensed caregivers who work in the community or in
213	facilities licensed under part III or part VII of chapter 400,
214	Florida Statutes.
215	(d)  Each public-sector agency that provides training or
216	support for nonlicensed caregivers who work in the community or
217	in facilities licensed under part III or part VII of chapter
218	400, Florida Statutes, shall cooperate with the corporation, and
219	the Agency for Workforce Innovation shall certify as to whether
220	the corporation is receiving the necessary and requested support
221	from various public-sector organizations that provide training
222	to such nonlicensed caregivers.
223	Section 2.  By October 1, 2007, the Office of Program
224	Policy Analysis and Government Accountability shall conduct a
225	review of the Florida Caregiver Institute, Inc., the
226	"corporation," and shall report to the Legislature and the
227	Governor as to whether the corporation has been effective in
228	helping the state meet its goals of improving the retention of
229	nonlicensed caregivers in the community or in facilities
230	licensed under part III or part VII of chapter 400, Florida
231	Statutes, and whether it has been successful in promoting the
232	use of best-practices techniques by front line caregivers who
233	care for Florida's frail and disabled adult population.
234	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

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