Florida Senate - 2018 SB 326
By Senator Young
18-00376A-18 2018326__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to services for veterans and their
3 families; creating s. 394.9087, F.S.; requiring that
4 the Department of Children and Families establish the
5 Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program to provide
6 veterans and their families with behavioral health
7 care referral and care coordination services;
8 requiring that the department contract with managing
9 entities to enter into agreements with Florida 211
10 Network participants for such services; providing
11 program goals; providing for the statewide delivery of
12 specified services by program teams; requiring Florida
13 211 Network participants to collect certain data on
14 the implementation of the program and submit the data
15 to the department; requiring the department to submit
16 a report on the program’s implementation to the
17 Governor and Legislature by a specified date;
18 providing an appropriation; providing an effective
19 date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Section 394.9087, Florida Statutes, is created
24 to read:
25 394.9087 Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program.—
26 (1) As used in this section, the term “veteran” means a
27 wartime veteran as defined in s. 1.01(14).
28 (2) The Department of Children and Families, in
29 consultation with the Florida Alliance of Information and
30 Referral Services, shall establish the Florida Veterans’ Care
31 Coordination Program. The department shall contract with
32 managing entities, as defined in s. 394.9082(2), to enter into
33 agreements with Florida 211 Network participants to provide
34 veterans and their families in this state with dedicated
35 behavioral health care referral services, especially mental
36 health and substance abuse services. The department shall model
37 the program after the proof-of-concept pilot program established
38 in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Manatee Counties in
39 2014 by the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay and the Florida
40 Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
41 (3) The goals of the program are to:
42 (a) Prevent suicides by veterans.
43 (b) Increase the use of United States Department of
44 Veterans Affairs programs and services by veterans.
45 (c) Increase the number of veterans who use other available
46 community-based programs and services.
47 (4) The program must be available statewide. Program
48 services must be provided by program teams operated by Florida
49 211 Network participants, as authorized by s. 408.918. A Florida
50 211 Network participant may provide services in more than one
51 managing entity’s geographic area under a single contract.
52 (5) The program teams shall provide referral and care
53 coordination services to veterans and their families and expand
54 the existing Florida 211 Network to include the optimal range of
55 veterans’ service organizations and programs. Program services
56 must include:
57 (a) Telephonic peer support, crisis intervention, and the
58 communication of information on referral resources.
59 (b) Treatment coordination, including coordination of
60 followup care.
61 (c) Suicide assessment.
62 (d) Promotion of the safety and wellness of veterans and
63 their families, including continuous support.
64 (e) Coordination of resources to facilitate acceptance,
65 enrollment, and attendance of veterans and their families in
66 United States Department of Veterans Affairs programs and
67 services and other available community-based programs and
68 services.
69 (f) Immediate needs assessments, including safety planning
70 and support.
71 (g) Data analysis to improve the efficiency of referral and
72 care coordination services to veterans and their families.
73 (6) To enhance program services, program teams shall:
74 (a) Track the number of requests from callers who are
75 veterans or their family members.
76 (b) Follow up with callers or their family members to
77 determine whether they have acted on the referrals or received
78 the assistance needed, and if additional referral or advocacy is
79 needed.
80 (c) Develop and implement communication strategies, such as
81 media promotions, public service announcements, print and
82 Internet articles, and community presentations, to inform
83 veterans and their families about available United States
84 Department of Veterans Affairs programs and services and other
85 available community-based programs and services.
86 (d) Document all calls and capture all necessary data to
87 improve outreach to veterans and their families and report such
88 data to the managing entity.
89 (7) Florida 211 Network participants shall collect and
90 submit data on the implementation of the program to the
91 department in the format prescribed by the department. The
92 department shall use such data to prepare a report for submittal
93 to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
94 the House of Representatives by December 15, 2019. The report
95 must include:
96 (a) The number of calls received.
97 (b) Demographic information for each caller, including, but
98 not limited to, the caller’s military affiliation, the caller’s
99 veteran status, and if the caller is receiving services through
100 United States Department of Veterans Affairs programs and
101 services or other available community-based programs and
102 services.
103 (c) The nature of each call, including, but not limited to,
104 the concerns prompting the call and the services requested.
105 (d) The outcome of each call, including, but not limited
106 to, the service referrals made and the organizations to which
107 the caller was referred.
108 (e) Services received as a result of each call.
109 (f) Followup by the program team, including, but not
110 limited to, the percentage of calls receiving followup and the
111 amount of time between initial contact and followup.
112 (g) The program’s impact on each caller’s quality of life
113 and on the avoidance of negative outcomes, including arrest and
114 suicide.
115 (h) Each caller’s satisfaction with program services.
116 Section 2. For the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the sum of
117 $2,000,155 in recurring funds is appropriated from the General
118 Revenue Fund to the Department of Children and Families for the
119 purpose of implementing this act.
120 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.