Senate Bill sb1694c2

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    Florida Senate - 2006                    CS for CS for SB 1694

    By the Committees on Health and Human Services Appropriations;
    Children and Families; and Senator Campbell




    603-2307-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to community-based care;

  3         establishing a 3-year pilot program in

  4         Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Broward Counties;

  5         providing for the transfer of certain

  6         responsibilities from the Department of

  7         Children and Family Services to specified

  8         community-based care lead agencies; providing

  9         for funding the pilot program from grants and

10         federal funds; requiring that the department

11         enter into fixed-payment contracts; requiring

12         that annual financial statements regarding the

13         pilot program be provided to the Governor, the

14         department, and the Legislature; requiring that

15         an independent arbitrator resolve certain

16         disputes related to contracts; requiring that

17         contract management and oversight be conducted

18         by third-party entities; providing an exemption

19         from s. 287.057, F.S.; requiring such entities

20         to submit reports to the Governor and the

21         Legislature; requiring that the department, the

22         lead agencies implementing the pilot program,

23         and the Agency for Health Care Administration

24         develop a plan for integrating certain Medicaid

25         mental health services; specifying that the

26         annual evaluation required in s. 409.1671,

27         F.S., include the pilot program; directing the

28         Office of Program Policy Analysis and

29         Government Accountability and the Office of the

30         Auditor General to complete an evaluation of

31         the pilot program; providing an effective date.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                    CS for CS for SB 1694
    603-2307-06




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

 2  

 3         Section 1.  (1)  A 3-year pilot program is established

 4  for the community-based care lead agencies serving Miami-Dade,

 5  Monroe, and Broward Counties. This pilot program shall allow

 6  for the transfer of the current lead agency oversight

 7  responsibilities of the Department of Children and Family

 8  Services to independent agents and for funding the program

 9  through a grant that enhances funding flexibility. The pilot

10  program shall expand the responsibilities and services

11  provided by these lead agencies.

12         (2)  The Department of Children and Family Services

13  shall enter into a 3-year contract with the designated

14  community-based care lead agency serving Miami-Dade and Monroe

15  Counties and with the designated community-based care lead

16  agency serving Broward County, which have been established in

17  accordance with s. 409.1671, Florida Statutes. The contracts

18  must be fixed-payment contracts funded in 36 equal monthly

19  installments. The first 2 months shall be paid in advance, and

20  the contract must contain the elements outlined in this

21  section. The initial 2-month advance payment is due July 10,

22  2006. The contracts shall be funded by general revenue through

23  a grant and by federal Title IV-E funding and other federal

24  funding sources. The amount of federal Title IV-E funding

25  allocated in each year of the 3-year pilot program shall be

26  equal to the amount earned by each of the lead agencies during

27  the 2005-2006 fiscal year. The state shall be held harmless

28  for any shortfall caused by the lead agencies' inability to

29  earn the allocated Title IV-E funding, and each lead agency's

30  contract shall be increased in accordance with any federal

31  overearnings. Funding in excess of the contracted amounts for

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    Florida Senate - 2006                    CS for CS for SB 1694
    603-2307-06




 1  the lead agencies shall be available only in the event of

 2  additional specific legislative appropriations for services

 3  provided under s. 409.1671, Florida Statutes; an increase in

 4  the population of children served which exceeds 3 percent of

 5  the population of children served on June 15, 2005, by either

 6  lead agency; or unforeseen catastrophic events as determined

 7  by the Governor and funded by the Legislature. The lead

 8  agencies shall annually provide certified audited financial

 9  statements to the Governor, the Department of Children and

10  Family Services, and the appropriations committees of the

11  Legislature. All other required fiscal reporting shall be

12  determined by the independent fiscal monitors selected by the

13  parties. For purposes of this section, the term "parties"

14  means the two lead agencies implementing this pilot program

15  and the Department of Children and Family Services. In order

16  to facilitate and expedite the execution of this section, the

17  parties shall engage an independent arbitrator for purposes of

18  dispute resolution, including any disputes related to the form

19  and substance of the contract to execute the pilot program,

20  with an award of fees and costs to the prevailing party. The

21  arbitrator's role shall be limited to selecting which of the

22  party's position is more reasonable.

23         (3)  Contract management, fiscal oversight, and

24  programmatic oversight shall be conducted by independent,

25  nongovernmental third-party entities under contract to the

26  department and shall be conducted in a manner jointly agreed

27  to by the lead agencies and the department. The cost of

28  contracting with these independent entities shall be funded by

29  the department. Notwithstanding any other provision to the

30  contrary, the pilot program may not be implemented until the

31  parties have agreed to the selection of these entities and the

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    Florida Senate - 2006                    CS for CS for SB 1694
    603-2307-06




 1  manner in which they are to carry out their responsibilities.

 2  Such agreement must be reached by the parties no later than

 3  July 1, 2006. The selection of the entities for purposes of

 4  compliance with this subsection shall be exempt from the

 5  provisions of s. 287.057, Florida Statutes. Fiscal oversight

 6  shall be conducted in a manner similar to the model used by

 7  the department during the 2005-2006 fiscal year in Miami-Dade

 8  and Monroe Counties. In order to be able to compare the

 9  performance of the pilot program's lead agencies with that of

10  other lead agencies, the programmatic performance of the pilot

11  program's lead agencies shall be measured and monitored by

12  outcome measures contained in their contracts with the

13  department which are in effect on the effective date of this

14  section. The independent entities shall submit their reports

15  directly to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the

16  Speaker of the House of Representatives.

17         (4)  The department and the lead agencies implementing

18  the pilot program shall develop an implementation plan with

19  the Agency for Health Care Administration regarding the

20  pending Medicaid mental health reform for the purpose of

21  implementing a local reform model that allows for the

22  integration of services in the current systems of care.

23         (5)  The annual evaluation required by s.

24  409.1671(4)(a), Florida Statutes, shall include an evaluation

25  of the pilot program described in this act which compares the

26  performance and fiscal management of the community-based care

27  lead agencies in the pilot program to those that are not in

28  the pilot program. In addition, the Office of Program Policy

29  Analysis and Government Accountability and the Office of the

30  Auditor General shall jointly complete an evaluation of the

31  pilot program and provide an interim report to the Legislature

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    Florida Senate - 2006                    CS for CS for SB 1694
    603-2307-06




 1  no later than February 1, 2008, and a final report no later

 2  than February 1, 2009.

 3         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

 4  law.

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 6          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
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 7                          CS for SB 1694

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 9  Clarifies that funding for the pilot program shall be
    accomplished through a "grant," not a "block grant."
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    Deletes language specifying the level of appropriation to the
11  pilot.

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