HB 939

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to maternal and child health; creating s.
3	383.2163, F.S., the "Florida Nurse Home Visitation Act";
4	providing a short title; establishing a nurse home
5	visitation pilot program in specified areas; providing
6	purpose; providing definitions; requiring local Healthy
7	Start coalitions to administer the program; providing
8	duties of the Department of Health; providing for
9	administration of the program; providing eligibility
10	requirements; requiring the department to adopt rules;
11	requiring the department to submit an annual report to the
12	Governor and Legislature; providing an effective date.
13
14	WHEREAS, in order to adequately care for their newborns and
15	young children, new mothers may often seek and benefit from
16	receiving professional assistance and information, and, without
17	such assistance and information, a young mother may develop
18	habits or practices that are detrimental to her health and well-
19	being and the health and well-being of her child, and
20	WHEREAS, inadequate prenatal care and inadequate care in
21	infancy and early childhood often inhibit a child's ability to
22	learn and develop throughout his or her childhood and may have
23	lasting, adverse effects on the child's ability to function as
24	an adult, and
25	WHEREAS, implementation of a nurse home visitation program
26	that provides educational, health, and other resources for new
27	mothers during pregnancy and the first years of their infants'
28	lives has been proven to significantly reduce the number of
29	premature births, the incidence of drug, tobacco, and alcohol
30	use and abuse by mothers, the occurrence of criminal activity
31	engaged in by mothers and their children under 15 years of age,
32	and the number of reported incidents of child abuse and neglect,
33	and
34	WHEREAS, one example of this type of program, the Nurse-
35	Family Partnership, has succeeded in reducing the number of a
36	mother's subsequent births, increasing the length of time
37	between subsequent births, reducing the mother's need for other
38	forms of public assistance, and promoting the overall health and
39	developmental outcomes for the mother and her young children,
40	and
41	WHEREAS, the Nurse-Family Partnership model has been shown
42	to be cost effective, yielding a 5-to-1 return on investment for
43	every dollar spent on evidence-based nurse home visitation
44	services and producing a net benefit of $34,000 per high-risk
45	family served, NOW, THEREFORE,
46
47	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
48
49	Section 1.  Section 383.2163, Florida Statutes, is created
50	to read:
51	383.2163  Nurse home visitation pilot program.--
52	(1)  This section may be cited as the "Florida Nurse Home
53	Visitation Act."
54	(2)  A nurse home visitation pilot program is established
55	in Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee Counties and shall be
56	administered in at least two communities located in each county.
57	The purpose of the pilot program is to provide regular, in-home,
58	visiting nurse services to low-income, first-time mothers.
59	Visiting nurses shall educate mothers about the importance of
60	nutrition, the benefits of avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and drugs,
61	and the best ways to provide care for their children. In
62	addition, visiting nurses may provide assistance to enable
63	mothers to continue their education or find employment. Any
64	assistance provided through the program shall be provided only
65	with the consent of the low-income, first-time mother. Services
66	shall begin during the mother's pregnancy and continue until her
67	child's second birthday; however, the mother may refuse to
68	continue receiving services at any time.
69	(3)  As used in this section, the term:
70	(a)  "Department" means the Department of Health.
71	(b)  "Local entity" means the local Healthy Start
72	coalition.
73	(c)  "Low-income" means having an annual household income
74	that does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
75	(d)  "Nurse" means a registered nurse, licensed practical
76	nurse, clinical nurse specialist, or advanced registered nurse
77	practitioner as defined in s. 464.003.
78	(e)  "Pilot program" or "program" means the nurse home
79	visitation pilot program established under this section.
80	(4)  The program shall be administered by the local entity
81	and provide services to a minimum of 100 low-income, first-time
82	mothers in that community. The department may waive this
83	requirement if the population base of the community does not
84	include 100 eligible mothers. The department shall ensure the
85	ability of the local entity to implement the program within the
86	smaller community and maintain compliance with program
87	requirements. A mother is eligible to receive services through
88	the program if she is pregnant with her first child and her
89	gross annual household income does not exceed 200 percent of the
90	federal poverty level.
91	(5)  The department shall adopt rules pursuant to ss.
92	120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section. Rules that
93	establish program training requirements, protocols, management
94	information systems, and evaluation requirements shall be
95	modeled after practices and procedures of research-based
96	programs that have been implemented in one or more other states
97	for at least 5 years. In order to produce sizeable, sustained
98	outcomes for families who receive services through the pilot
99	program, the department shall ensure that services are provided
100	in accordance with outcome standards that have been replicated
101	in randomized controlled trials conducted at multiple sites and
102	that have shown significant reductions in:
103	(a)  The number of babies born prematurely or with low
104	birth weight.
105	(b)  The occurrence of infant behavioral impairments due to
106	a mother's use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
107	(c)  The number of reported incidents of child abuse and
108	neglect.
109	(d)  The number of subsequent pregnancies.
110	(e)  The number of mothers receiving public assistance.
111	(f)  Criminal activity engaged in by a mother or her child
112	or children.
113	(6)  The department shall monitor the administration of the
114	program to ensure that the program is implemented according to
115	the program training requirements, protocols, management
116	information systems, and evaluation requirements established by
117	rule of the department. The department shall evaluate the
118	program and submit an annual report of its findings and
119	recommendations on or before January 1 of each year to the
120	Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
121	House of Representatives.
122	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.

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