HB 5305

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to child welfare; amending s. 402.302,
3F.S.; defining the term "child welfare provider"; creating
4s. 402.7306, F.S.; requiring the Department of Children
5and Family Services, the Department of Health, the Agency
6for Persons with Disabilities, the Agency for Health Care
7Administration, and community-based care lead agencies to
8adopt policies for the administrative monitoring of child
9welfare providers; authorizing private-sector entities to
10establish an Internet-based data warehouse and archive for
11the maintenance of specified records of child welfare
12providers; providing agency and provider requirements;
13providing for access to the data warehouse under certain
14conditions; amending s. 402.7305, F.S.; providing a
15limitation on the frequency of monitoring of child-caring
16and child-placing service providers; prohibiting certain
17duplicative monitoring; amending s. 409.1451, F.S.;
18providing the Department of Children and Family Services
19with rulemaking authority with respect to payments and
20conditions relating to youth and young adults in the
21independent living transition services program; repealing
22s. 409.1663, F.S., relating to adoption benefits for
23qualifying adoptive employees of state agencies; amending
24s. 409.1671, F.S.; revising provisions relating to funding
25for contracts established between the Department of
26Children and Family Services and community-based care lead
27agencies; authorizing the department to outsource certain
28functions; authorizing a community-based care lead agency
29to make certain expenditures; amending s. 409.166, F.S.;
30deleting a reference to conform to changes made by the
31act; authorizing the Department of Children and Family
32Services to provide services to certain dependent
33children; providing exceptions; authorizing the department
34and the participating dependency court to develop
35eligibility criteria; providing an effective date.
36
37Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
38
39     Section 1.  Subsections (4) through (16) of section
40402.302, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (5)
41through (17), respectively, and a new subsection (4) is added to
42that section to read:
43     402.302  Definitions.-
44     (4)  "Child welfare provider" means a licensed child-caring
45or child-placing agency.
46     Section 2.  Section 402.7306, Florida Statutes, is created
47to read:
48     402.7306  Administrative monitoring for child welfare
49providers.-The Department of Children and Family Services, the
50Department of Health, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities,
51the Agency for Health Care Administration, and community-based
52care lead agencies shall identify and implement changes that
53improve the efficiency of administrative monitoring of child
54welfare services. To assist with that goal, each such agency
55shall adopt the following policies:
56     (1)  Limit administrative monitoring to once every 3 years
57if the child welfare provider is accredited by the Joint
58Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the
59Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, or the
60Council on Accreditation of Children and Family Services. If the
61accrediting body does not require documentation that the state
62agency requires, that documentation shall be requested by the
63state agency and may be posted by the provider on the data
64warehouse for the agency's review. Notwithstanding the survey or
65inspection of an accrediting organization specified in this
66subsection, an agency specified in and subject to this section
67may continue to monitor the provider as necessary with respect
68to:
69     (a)  Ensuring that services for which the agency is paying
70are being provided.
71     (b)  Investigating complaints or suspected problems and
72monitoring the provider's compliance with any resulting
73negotiated terms and conditions, including provisions relating
74to consent decrees that are unique to a specific service and are
75not statements of general applicability.
76     (c)  Ensuring compliance with federal and state laws,
77federal regulations, or state rules if such monitoring does not
78duplicate the accrediting organization's review pursuant to
79accreditation standards.
80
81Medicaid certification and precertification reviews are exempt
82from this subsection to ensure Medicaid compliance.
83     (2)  Allow private-sector development and implementation of
84an Internet-based, secure, and consolidated data warehouse and
85archive for maintaining corporate, fiscal, and administrative
86records of child welfare providers. A provider shall ensure that
87the data is up to date and accessible to the applicable agency
88under this section and the appropriate agency subcontractor. A
89provider shall submit any revised, updated information to the
90data warehouse within 10 business days after receiving the
91request. An agency that conducts administrative monitoring of
92child welfare providers under this section must use the data
93warehouse for document requests. If the information provided to
94the agency by the provider's data warehouse is not current or is
95unavailable from the data warehouse and archive, the agency may
96contact the provider directly. A provider that fails to comply
97with an agency's requested documents may be subject to a site
98visit to ensure compliance. Access to the data warehouse must be
99provided without charge to an applicable agency under this
100section. At a minimum, the records must include the provider's:
101     (a)  Articles of incorporation.
102     (b)  Bylaws.
103     (c)  Governing board and committee minutes.
104     (d)  Financial audits.
105     (e)  Expenditure reports.
106     (f)  Compliance audits.
107     (g)  Organizational charts.
108     (h)  Governing board membership information.
109     (i)  Human resource policies and procedures.
110     (j)  Staff credentials.
111     (k)  Monitoring procedures, including tools and schedules.
112     (l)  Procurement and contracting policies and procedures.
113     (m)  Monitoring reports.
114     Section 3.  Subsection (4) of section 402.7305, Florida
115Statutes, is amended to read:
116     402.7305  Department of Children and Family Services;
117procurement of contractual services; contract management.-
118     (4)  CONTRACT MONITORING REQUIREMENTS AND PROCESS.-The
119department shall establish contract monitoring units staffed by
120career service employees who report to a member of the Selected
121Exempt Service or Senior Management Service and who have been
122properly trained to perform contract monitoring., with At least
123one member of the contract monitoring unit must possess
124possessing specific knowledge and experience in the contract's
125program area. The department shall establish a contract
126monitoring process that includes must include, but is need not
127be limited to, the following requirements:
128     (a)  Performing a risk assessment at the start of each
129fiscal year and preparing an annual contract monitoring schedule
130that considers includes consideration for the level of risk
131assigned. The department may monitor any contract at any time
132regardless of whether such monitoring was originally included in
133the annual contract monitoring schedule.
134     (b)  Preparing a contract monitoring plan, including
135sampling procedures, before performing onsite monitoring at
136external locations of a service provider. The plan must include
137a description of the programmatic, fiscal, and administrative
138components that will be monitored on site. If appropriate,
139clinical and therapeutic components may be included.
140     (c)  Conducting analyses of the performance and compliance
141of an external service provider by means of desk reviews if the
142external service provider will not be monitored on site during a
143fiscal year.
144     (d)  Unless the department sets forth in writing the need
145for an extension, providing a written report presenting the
146results of the monitoring within 30 days after the completion of
147the onsite monitoring or desk review.
148     (e)  Developing and maintaining a set of procedures
149describing the contract monitoring process.
150
151Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
152department shall limit monitoring of a child-caring or child-
153placing services provider under this subsection to only once per
154year. Such monitoring may not duplicate administrative
155monitoring that is included in the survey of a child welfare
156provider conducted by a national accreditation organization
157specified under s. 402.7306(1).
158     Section 4.  Subsection (10) of section 409.1451, Florida
159Statutes, is amended to read:
160     409.1451  Independent living transition services.-
161     (10)  RULEMAKING.-The department shall adopt by rule
162procedures to administer this section, including balancing the
163goals of normalcy and safety for the youth and providing the
164caregivers with as much flexibility as possible to enable the
165youth to participate in normal life experiences. The department
166shall not adopt rules relating to reductions in awards. The
167department shall engage in appropriate planning to prevent, to
168the extent possible, a reduction in awards after issuance. The
169department shall adopt rules to govern the payments and
170conditions related to payments for services to youth or young
171adults provided under this section.
172     Section 5.  Section 409.1663, Florida Statutes, is
173repealed.
174     Section 6.  Subsections (8), (9), (10), and (11) of section
175409.1671, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (10),
176(14), (15), and (16), respectively, and new subsections (8),
177(9), (11), (12), and (13) are added to that section to read:
178     409.1671  Foster care and related services; outsourcing.-
179     (8)  A contract established between the department and a
180community-based care lead agency under this section must be
181funded by a grant of general revenue, other applicable state
182funds, or applicable federal funding sources. A community-based
183care lead agency may carry forward documented unexpended state
184funds from one fiscal year to the next; however, the cumulative
185amount carried forward may not exceed 8 percent of the total
186contract. Any unexpended state funds in excess of that
187percentage must be returned to the department. The funds carried
188forward may not be used in any way that would create increased
189recurring future obligations, and such funds may not be used for
190any type of program or service that is not currently authorized
191by the existing contract with the department. Expenditures of
192funds carried forward must be separately reported to the
193department. Any unexpended funds that remain at the end of the
194contract period shall be returned to the department. Funds
195carried forward may be retained through any contract renewals
196and any new procurements as long as the same community-based
197care lead agency is retained by the department.
198     (9)  The method of payment for a fixed-price contract with
199a community-based care lead agency shall provide for a 2-month
200advance payment at the beginning of each fiscal year and equal
201monthly payments thereafter.
202     (11)  Notwithstanding subsection (10), the amount of the
203annual contract for a community-based care lead agency may be
204increased by excess federal funds earned in accordance with s.
205216.181(11).
206     (12)  The department may outsource programmatic,
207administrative, or fiscal monitoring oversight of community-
208based care lead agencies.
209     (13)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
210community-based care lead agency may make expenditures for staff
211cellular telephone allowances, contracts requiring deferred
212payments and maintenance agreements, security deposits for
213office leases, related agency professional membership dues other
214than personal professional membership dues, promotional
215materials, and grant writing services. Expenditures for food and
216refreshments, other than those provided to clients in the care
217of the agency or to foster parents, adoptive parents, and
218caseworkers during training sessions, are not allowable.
219     Section 7.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
220409.166, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
221     409.166  Children within the child welfare system; adoption
222assistance program.-
223     (2)  DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term:
224     (b)  "Adoption assistance" means financial assistance and
225services provided to a child and his or her adoptive family.
226Such assistance may include a maintenance subsidy, medical
227assistance, Medicaid assistance, and reimbursement of
228nonrecurring expenses associated with the legal adoption. The
229term also includes a tuition exemption at a postsecondary career
230program, community college, or state university, and a state
231employee adoption benefit under s. 409.1663.
232     Section 8.  The Department of Children and Family Services
233may serve dependent children deemed to be in need of family-
234centered, cognitive-behavioral interventions designed to
235mitigate out-of-home placements. Treatment services may be
236evidenced-based with family therapy and group therapy components
237for youth for whom these services are appropriate. Dependent
238youth at risk of out-of-home placement or currently within the
239foster care system are eligible for these family therapy and
240group therapy services. The services shall be provided as an
241alternative to specialized therapeutic foster or group care. A
242child who has been adjudicated delinquent, had adjudication
243withheld, or committed any violent crime, except for females
244adjudicated delinquent for domestic violence, any first-degree
245felony, or any felony direct-filed in adult court, may not be
246served by the program. The department and each participating
247dependency court may jointly develop eligibility criteria to
248identify youth appropriate for services in this program.
249     Section 9.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.


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