HB 0049CS

CHAMBER ACTION




1The Elder & Long-Term Care Committee recommends the following:
2
3     Council/Committee Substitute
4     Remove the entire bill and insert:
5
A bill to be entitled
6An act relating to caregivers for adults; providing
7legislative intent to foster caregiving as a nonlicensed
8paraprofessional activity and to promote the caregivers'
9use of best practices; providing for the Department of
10Elderly Affairs to contract with a not-for-profit
11corporation; specifying requirements of the contract;
12requiring reports to the Governor and the Legislature;
13providing duties of the Florida Policy Exchange Center on
14Aging and other public agencies; providing for the Office
15of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
16to conduct a review of the corporation by a specified date
17and to report to the Governor and the Legislature;
18providing an effective date.
19
20Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22     Section 1.  Legislative intent; contract with corporation;
23purposes and duties; reports.--
24     (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature to foster the
25development of caregiving for frail elders and disabled adults
26as a nonlicensed paraprofessional activity that is critical to
27the provision of community-based and institutional care for
28frail elders and disabled adults who live in the community or in
29an assisted living facility licensed under part III of chapter
30400, Florida Statutes, or an adult family-care home licensed
31under part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes, or who attend
32an adult day care center licensed under part V of chapter 400,
33Florida Statutes. It is the further intent of the Legislature to
34promote the use of nationally recognized best practices
35information by caregivers so as to improve the quality of care
36in the community and in long-term care facilities licensed by
37the state and to ensure some degree of uniformity of techniques,
38practices, and standards used in caring for frail elders and
39disabled adults residing in the state.
40     (2)  In order to accomplish the goal of developing best
41practices information and providing that information to
42caregivers of frail elders or disabled adults who live in the
43community, reside in facilities licensed by the state under part
44III or part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes, or attend an
45adult day care center licensed under part V of chapter 400,
46Florida Statutes, the Department of Elderly Affairs may contract
47with a not-for-profit corporation operated in compliance with
48chapter 617, Florida Statutes. The contracted corporation may be
49physically located in the Florida Policy Exchange Center on
50Aging at the University of South Florida.
51     (3)  The contract with the corporation shall provide for
52the corporation to assist the Florida Policy Exchange Center on
53Aging in the development of policy recommendations to enhance
54the center's efforts to improve the skills and availability of
55individuals who seek to work as caregivers in the home, in the
56community, or in a facility licensed by the state under part
57III, part V, or part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes. The
58contract must provide that the corporation also:
59     (a)  Shall seek to identify funding by state, federal, and
60private sources for the purpose of providing training in and
61promotion of the use of best practices to caregivers.
62     (b)  Shall work with universities and other related parties
63to develop training materials and a curriculum and identify best
64practices.
65     (c)  Shall conduct a needs assessment of the nonlicensed
66caregivers who work in the community or in facilities that are
67licensed under part III, part V, or part VII of chapter 400,
68Florida Statutes.
69     (d)  Shall make recommendations to the Department of
70Elderly Affairs, the Department of Children and Family Services,
71the Agency for Health Care Administration, and the Department of
72Health regarding policy and related changes that will improve
73the quality, availability, and retention of nonlicensed
74caregivers who work in the community or in facilities licensed
75under part III, part V, or part VII of chapter 400, Florida
76Statutes.
77     (e)  Shall make recommendations on proposed legislative
78changes and budget-related items that would affect the quality,
79availability, and retention of nonlicensed caregivers and review
80the need for nonlicensed caregivers to work in the community or
81in facilities licensed under part III, part V, or part VII of
82chapter 400, Florida Statutes. This information shall be
83provided to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
84Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 1 of each
85year.
86     (f)  Shall develop agreements with the Department of
87Elderly Affairs, the Department of Children and Family Services,
88the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of
89Health, and any other state agency it considers necessary for
90the exclusive purpose of providing access to state buildings and
91state employees in order to offer low-cost, effective training
92and paraprofessional development assistance to nonlicensed
93caregivers who work in the community or in facilities licensed
94under part III, part V, or part VII of chapter 400, Florida
95Statutes.
96     (g)  May charge a reasonable fee, on a sliding scale, as
97provided in the bylaws of the corporation for the training of
98nonlicensed caregivers who work in the community or in
99facilities licensed under part III, part V, or part VII of
100chapter 400, Florida Statutes. The corporation shall take all
101steps possible to offer high-quality training at the most cost-
102effective rates.
103     (h)  May offer training to the personnel of assisted living
104facilities, adult family-care homes, and adult day care centers.
105The Department of Elderly Affairs, in consultation with the
106corporation and the contractor responsible for the development
107of training materials, shall annually evaluate and make any
108necessary changes to these materials.
109     (i)  Shall collect information regarding nonlicensed
110caregivers who work in the community and in facilities licensed
111under part III, part V, or part VII of chapter 400, Florida
112Statutes. The information collected must include, but need not
113be limited to, the salary rates for various positions,
114professional development needs of nonlicensed caregivers,
115information regarding turnover rates and retention, and data
116that identify the number of caregivers using best practices in
117daily care-related activities.
118     (j)  Shall develop a memorandum of understanding with the
119Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging that describes how the
120corporation will interact with the center in carrying out its
121responsibilities.
122     (k)  Shall develop an agreement with the Florida Policy
123Exchange Center on Aging for the provision of administrative
124support and startup costs, with the expectation that the
125corporation will not rely upon the center for staff or financial
126assistance after June 1, 2008.
127     (l)  May contract with the Florida Policy Exchange Center
128on Aging for the provision of staff support, research, technical
129assistance, and data storage under a memorandum of agreement.
130     (m)  Shall, by January 10 of each year, issue a report to
131the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
132the House of Representatives that evaluates the status of the
133work of the corporation relating to the use of best practices by
134caregivers and the development of nonlicensed caregivers who
135work in the community or in facilities licensed under part III,
136part V, or part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes.
137     (4)  Each public sector agency that provides training or
138support for nonlicensed caregivers who work in the community or
139in facilities licensed under part III, part V, or part VII of
140chapter 400, Florida Statutes, shall cooperate with the
141corporation. The Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging shall
142certify to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
143Speaker of the House of Representatives, using criteria that
144include communication, timeliness of response, and coordination
145of efforts, whether the corporation is receiving the necessary
146and requested support from public sector organizations that
147provide training to nonlicensed caregivers.
148     Section 2.  By October 1, 2009, the Office of Program
149Policy Analysis and Government Accountability shall conduct a
150review of the contracted services for developing best practices
151information and providing it to caregivers and shall issue a
152report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
153Speaker of the House of Representatives evaluating the
154effectiveness of the corporation in helping the state meet its
155goals of improving the retention of nonlicensed caregivers in
156the community or in facilities licensed under part III, part V,
157or part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes, and whether it has
158been successful in promoting the use of best practices by
159caregivers of the state's frail elder and disabled adult
160population.
161     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.


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