Senate Bill sb0922

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 922

    By Senator Wise





    5-483A-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the personal care attendant

  3         program; amending s. 413.402, F.S.; revising

  4         provisions governing a program to provide

  5         personal care attendants for persons who have

  6         disabilities; directing the Florida Association

  7         of Centers for Independent Living to administer

  8         a program to provide such attendants to persons

  9         who have severe and chronic disabilities;

10         removing a provision requiring interagency

11         memoranda of agreement; revising eligibility

12         requirements for persons to participate in the

13         personal care attendant program; removing

14         provisions concerning the training, selection,

15         and recruitment of personal care attendants;

16         providing for training of program participants

17         concerning hiring and managing an assistant;

18         providing for the review and revision of

19         program policies and procedures by the

20         association in cooperation with an oversight

21         group; providing for membership in the

22         oversight group to include, but not be limited

23         to, representatives from the Department of

24         Revenue, the Department of Children and Family

25         Services, the Agency for Health Care

26         Administration, the Department of Health, and

27         the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational

28         Rehabilitation; providing for automatic

29         enrollment in the program for certain persons;

30         providing an effective date.

31  

                                  1

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






    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 922
    5-483A-07




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

 2  

 3         Section 1.  Section 413.402, Florida Statutes, is

 4  amended to read:

 5         413.402  Personal care attendant program.--The Florida

 6  Association of Centers for Independent Living, in conjunction

 7  with the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program in the

 8  Department of Health, shall administer develop a program to

 9  provide personal care attendants to persons who have severe

10  and chronic disabilities of all kinds and who are eligible

11  under pursuant to subsection (1). The association and the

12  Department of Health shall jointly develop memoranda of

13  understanding with the Department of Revenue, the Florida

14  Medicaid program in the Agency for Health Care Administration,

15  the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational

16  Rehabilitation, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation

17  of the Department of Education.

18         (1)  To be Persons eligible to participate in the

19  program a person must:

20         (a)  Be at least 18 years of age and be significantly

21  and chronically disabled due to a traumatic spinal cord

22  injury;

23         (b)  Require a personal care attendant for assistance

24  with, or cueing and support for, at least two activities of

25  daily living such as bathing, dressing, bowel and bladder

26  management, grooming and hygiene, organization, and

27  transportation;

28         (c)  Require a personal care attendant in order to

29  accept a job or maintain substantial gainful employment; and

30         (d)  Be able to acquire hire and direct supervise a

31  personal care attendant.; and

                                  2

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






    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 922
    5-483A-07




 1         (e)  Meet one of the following requirements:

 2         1.  Live in a nursing home;

 3         2.  Have moved out of a nursing home within the

 4  preceding 180 days due to participation in a Medicaid home and

 5  community-based waiver program targeted to persons with brain

 6  or spinal cord injuries; or

 7         3.  Presently be employed but, because of a loss of a

 8  caregiver, will lose employment and potentially return to a

 9  nursing home.

10         (2)(a)  The Florida Association of Centers for

11  Independent Living, in cooperation with the Department of

12  Health and the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational

13  Rehabilitation, shall develop a program to recruit, screen,

14  and select candidates to be trained as personal care

15  attendants.

16         (b)  The services of a nurse registry licensed pursuant

17  to s. 400.506 may be utilized to recruit and screen candidates

18  and to operate as a fiscal intermediary through which payments

19  are made to individuals performing services as personal care

20  attendants under the program. The Department of Health and the

21  Agency for Health Care Administration shall seek any federal

22  waivers necessary to implement this provision.

23         (3)  The association and the Department of Health, in

24  cooperation with the Florida Endowment Foundation for

25  Vocational Rehabilitation, shall provide develop a training to

26  program participants on hiring and managing a personal care

27  attendant and, in cooperation with the oversight group

28  described in paragraph (b), review and revise the policies and

29  procedures governing the program.

30         (b)  The oversight group shall include, but need not be

31  limited to, a member of the Florida Association of Centers for

                                  3

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






    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 922
    5-483A-07




 1  Independent Living, a person who is participating in the

 2  program, and one representative each from the Department of

 3  Revenue, the Department of Children and Family Services, the

 4  Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in the Department of

 5  Education, the Florida Medicaid Program in the Agency for

 6  Health Care Administration, the Florida Endowment Foundation

 7  for Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Brain and Spinal Cord

 8  Injury Program in the Department of Health. program for

 9  personal care attendants.

10         (4)  The association, in cooperation with the

11  Department of Health and the Florida Endowment Foundation for

12  Vocational Rehabilitation, shall establish procedures for

13  selecting persons eligible under subsection (1) to participate

14  in the program.

15         (5)  The association, in cooperation with the

16  Department of Revenue, the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury

17  Program in the Department of Health, the Florida Medicaid

18  program in the Agency for Health Care Administration, a

19  representative from the state attorney's office in each of the

20  judicial circuits participating in the program, the Florida

21  Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, and the

22  Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of

23  Education, shall develop a plan for implementation of the

24  program.

25         (6)  The Department of Health shall establish an

26  oversight workgroup for the personal care attendant program to

27  oversee the implementation and administration of the program.

28  The workgroup shall be composed of one representative from the

29  Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program in the Department of

30  Health, one representative from the Department of Revenue, one

31  representative from the Florida Medicaid Program in the Agency

                                  4

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






    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 922
    5-483A-07




 1  for Health Care Administration, one representative from the

 2  Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation,

 3  one representative from the Florida Association of Centers for

 4  Independent Living, one representative from the Division of

 5  Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education, and

 6  two members who are persons with traumatic spinal cord

 7  injuries or are family members of persons with traumatic

 8  spinal cord injuries.

 9         Section 2.  Notwithstanding any other law, each person

10  enrolled in the personal care attendant program under s.

11  413.402, Florida Statutes, on June 30, 2007, is automatically

12  eligible for and enrolled in the personal care attendant

13  program, as amended by this act on July 1, 2007.

14         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

15  

16            *****************************************

17                          SENATE SUMMARY

18    Revises provisions governing a program to provide
      personal care attendants to persons who have
19    disabilities. Directs the Florida Association of Centers
      for Independent Living to administer a program to provide
20    attendants to persons who have severe and chronic
      disabilities. Revises program eligibility requirements.
21    Provides for training of program participants concerning
      hiring and managing an assistant. Provides for review and
22    revision of program policies and procedures by the
      association in cooperation with an oversight group.
23    Provides for membership in the oversight group to
      include, but not be limited to, representatives from the
24    Department of Revenue, the Department of Children and
      Family Services, the Agency for Health Care
25    Administration, the Department of Health, and the Florida
      Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation.
26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

                                  5

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