HB 7041

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the Florida Self-Directed Care program;
3amending s. 394.9084, F.S.; authorizing the Department of
4Children and Family Services to expand the program
5statewide; requiring the department to implement a payment
6mechanism for mental health treatment and support
7services; defining the term "fiscal intermediary";
8providing for the duties of the fiscal intermediary;
9permitting the fiscal intermediary to receive funds on
10behalf of participants; requiring an evaluation by the
11Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
12Accountability by a certain date; providing evaluation
13criteria; deleting provisions relating to the evaluation
14of the original pilot program; deleting the expiration
15date of the program; providing an effective date.
16
17Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19     Section 1.  Subsections (1), (4), (6), (8), (9), and (10)
20of section 394.9084, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
21     394.9084  Florida Self-Directed Care program.--
22     (1)  The Department of Children and Family Services, in
23cooperation with the Agency for Health Care Administration, may
24provide develop a client-directed and choice-based Florida Self-
25Directed Care program in all department service districts, in
26addition to the pilot projects established project in district 4
27and district 8, three other districts to provide mental health
28treatment and support services to adults who have a serious
29mental illness. The department may also develop and implement a
30client-directed and choice-based pilot project in one district
31to provide mental health treatment and support services for
32children with a serious emotional disturbance who live at home.
33If established, any staff who work with children must be
34screened under s. 435.04. The department projects shall
35implement a payment mechanism model in which each client
36controls the money that is available for that client's mental
37health treatment and support services. The department shall
38establish interagency cooperative agreements and work with the
39agency, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and the
40Social Security Administration to implement and administer the
41Florida Self-Directed Care program.
42     (4)  The fiscal intermediary managing entity shall pay for
43the cost-efficient community-based services the participant
44selects to meet his or her mental health care and vocational
45rehabilitation needs and goals as identified on his or her
46recovery plan. For purposes of this section, the term "fiscal
47intermediary" means an entity approved by the department that
48helps the client manage his or her budget allowance, retains the
49funds, processes employment information, if any, and tax
50information, reviews records to ensure correctness, and writes
51paychecks to providers.
52     (6)  The department, the agency, and the division may
53transfer funds to the fiscal intermediary managing entity.
54     (8)  The department and the agency shall will complete a
55memorandum of agreement to delineate management roles for
56operation of the Florida Self-Directed Care program.
57     (9)  By December 31, 2009, the Office of Program Policy
58Analysis and Government Accountability shall evaluate the
59effectiveness The department, the agency, and the division shall
60each, on an ongoing basis, review and assess the implementation
61of the Florida Self-Directed Care program. The evaluation shall
62include an assessment of participant choice and access to
63services, cost savings, coordination and quality of care,
64adherence to principles of self-directed care, barriers to
65implementation, progress toward expansion of the program
66statewide, and recommendations for improvement in the program.
67     (a)  The department will implement an evaluation of the
68program and will include recommendations for improvements in the
69program.
70     (b)  At a minimum, the evaluation must compare between
71program participants and nonparticipants:
72     1.  Re-hospitalization rates.
73     2.  Levels of satisfaction.
74     3.  Service utilization rates.
75     4.  Residential stability.
76     5.  Levels of community integration and interaction.
77     (c)  The evaluation must evaluate adherence to the Centers
78for Medicare and Medicaid self-direction requirements,
79including:
80     1.  Person-centered planning.
81     2.  Individual budgets.
82     3.  Availability of independently brokered services from
83recovery coaches and quality advocates.
84     4.  Access to the program by all who are eligible to
85enroll.
86     5.  Participant safety and program incident management
87planning.
88     6.  An independently mediated grievance process.
89     (d)  The evaluation must assess the economic self-
90sufficiency of the program participants, including the number of
91Individual Development Accounts.
92     (e)  The evaluation must assess any adverse incidents
93resulting from the Florida Self-Directed Care, including
94consumer grievances, conflicts of interest, and patterns of
95self-referral by licensed professions.
96
97The department is authorized to spend up to $100,000 to pay for
98the evaluation. If the agency and the department obtain a
99federal waiver, the evaluation will be used to determine
100effectiveness.
101     (10)  This section expires July 1, 2008.
102     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.


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