Florida Senate - 2018                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 422
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì634064#Î634064                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  01/11/2018           .                                
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       Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
       (Gibson) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 415.1103, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         415.1103 Elder abuse fatality review teams.—
    8         (1)(a) An elder abuse fatality review team may be
    9  established in each judicial circuit to review deaths of elderly
   10  persons alleged or found to have been caused by, or related to,
   11  abuse or neglect.
   12         (b) An elder abuse fatality review team may include, but is
   13  not limited to, representatives from the following entities
   14  within the review team’s judicial circuit:
   15         1. Law enforcement agencies;
   16         2. The state attorney;
   17         3. The medical examiner;
   18         4. A county court judge;
   19         5. Adult protective services;
   20         6. The area agency on aging;
   21         7. The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program;
   22         8. The Agency for Health Care Administration;
   23         9. The Office of the Attorney General;
   24         10.The Office of the State Courts Administrator;
   25         11.The clerk of the court;
   26         12.A victim services program;
   27         13.An elder law attorney;
   28         14.Emergency services personnel;
   29         15.A certified domestic violence center;
   30         16.An advocacy organization for victims of sexual
   31  violence;
   32         17.A funeral home director;
   33         18.A forensic pathologist;
   34         19.A geriatrician;
   35         20.A geriatric nurse;
   36         21.A geriatric psychiatrist or other individual licensed
   37  to offer behavioral health services;
   38         22.A hospital discharge planner;
   39         23.A public guardian; or
   40         24.Any other persons who have knowledge regarding fatal
   41  incidents of elder abuse, domestic violence, or sexual violence,
   42  including knowledge of research, policy, law, and other matters
   43  connected with such incidents involving elders or who are
   44  recommended for inclusion by the review team.
   45         (c)A person eligible under paragraph (b) may initiate the
   46  establishment of a team in his or her judicial circuit and call
   47  the first organizational meeting of the team. The executive
   48  director of the local area agency on aging shall appoint the
   49  members of the team. At the initial meeting, members of the team
   50  shall choose two members to serve as co-chairs.
   51         (d)Participation in a review team is voluntary. Members of
   52  the review team shall serve without compensation and may not be
   53  reimbursed for per diem or travel expenses.
   54         (e)Members shall serve for terms of 2 years, to be
   55  staggered as determined by the co-chairs. Members may be
   56  reappointed by the executive director of the local area agency
   57  on aging but not for more than 3 consecutive terms. Chairs may
   58  be reelected by a majority of the review team but not for more
   59  than 2 consecutive terms.
   60         (f)A review team shall determine the local operations of
   61  the team, including, but not limited to, the process for case
   62  selection, which shall be limited to closed cases, and the
   63  meeting schedule, to include at least one meeting in each fiscal
   64  year.
   65         (g)Administrative costs of operating the review team shall
   66  be borne by the team members or entities whom they represent.
   67         (2) An elder abuse fatality review team must do all of the
   68  following:
   69         (a) Review deaths of elderly persons in its judicial
   70  circuit alleged or found to have been caused by, or related to,
   71  abuse or neglect.
   72         (b) Consider the events leading up to a fatal incident,
   73  available community resources, current law and policies, and the
   74  actions taken by systems and individuals related to the fatal
   75  incident.
   76         (c) Identify gaps, deficiencies, or problems in the
   77  delivery of services to elderly persons by public and private
   78  agencies which may be related to deaths reviewed by the team.
   79         (d) Whenever possible, develop a communitywide approach to
   80  address causes of and contributing factors to deaths reviewed by
   81  the team.
   82         (e) Develop practice standards and recommend changes in
   83  law, rules, and policies to support the care of elderly persons
   84  and prevent elder abuse deaths.
   85         (f) Implement such recommendations and practice standards
   86  to the extent possible.
   87         (3)(a)Upon written request from a co-chair of a review
   88  team, the following information or records pertaining to an
   89  elderly person whose death is being reviewed by the team shall
   90  be disclosed:
   91         1. Information and records held by a criminal justice
   92  agency, as defined in s. 119.011(4), not including active
   93  criminal intelligence or investigative information, as defined
   94  in s. 119.011(3).
   95         2. Information and records from Adult Protective Services
   96  pursuant to s. 415.107(3)(m).
   97         3. An autopsy report from the Medical Examiner’s Office,
   98  not including materials protected under s. 406.135.
   99         (b)Review teams may share with each other any relevant
  100  information that pertains to the review of the death of an
  101  elderly person.
  102         (c)A team member may not contact, interview, or obtain
  103  information by request directly from a member of the deceased
  104  elder’s family as part of the review, unless a team member is
  105  authorized to do so in the course of his or her employment
  106  duties. A member of the deceased elder’s family may voluntarily
  107  provide records or information to a review team.
  108         (4)(a) By September 1 of each year, each review team shall
  109  submit a report to the Department of Elderly Affairs, including,
  110  but not limited to:
  111         1. Descriptive statistics regarding cases reviewed by the
  112  review team, including demographic information regarding victims
  113  and caregivers, and the causes and nature of deaths;
  114         2. Current policies, procedures, rules, or statutes that
  115  the review team identified as contributing to the incidence of
  116  elder abuse and elder deaths, and recommendations for system
  117  improvement and needed resources, training, or information
  118  dissemination to address those identified issues;
  119         3. Any other recommendations to prevent deaths from elder
  120  abuse, based on an analysis of the data and information
  121  presented in the report; and
  122         4. Any steps taken by the review team and public and
  123  private agencies to implement necessary changes and improve the
  124  coordination of services and reviews.
  125         (b)By November 1 of each year, the Department of Elderly
  126  Affairs shall prepare a summary report of the information
  127  required by paragraph (a), which shall be provided to the
  128  Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
  129  of Representatives, and the Department of Children and Families.
  130         (5)Information and records acquired by an elder abuse
  131  fatality review team are not subject to discovery or
  132  introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal action or
  133  administrative or disciplinary proceeding by any state or local
  134  government department or agency if the information or records
  135  arose out of the matters that are the subject of review by a
  136  review team, unless the information and records are not
  137  discoverable from any other source. Information and records that
  138  are available from other sources are not immune from discovery
  139  or introduction into evidence solely because the information,
  140  documents, or records were presented to or reviewed by a review
  141  team.
  142         (6)A person who has attended a meeting of the review team
  143  or who has otherwise participated in the activities authorized
  144  by this section may not be allowed or required to testify in any
  145  civil, criminal, administrative, or disciplinary proceeding as
  146  to any records or information produced or presented to a team
  147  during a meeting or other activity authorized by this section,
  148  unless such testimony is necessary to determine the records or
  149  information that was available to the fatality review team.
  150  However, this paragraph does not prevent any person who
  151  testifies before the team or who is a member of the team from
  152  testifying as to matters otherwise within his or her knowledge.
  153         (7)There is no monetary liability on the part of, and a
  154  cause of action for damages may not arise against, any member of
  155  an elder abuse fatality review team in the performance of his or
  156  her duties as a review team member in regard to any discussions
  157  by, or deliberations or recommendations of, the team or the
  158  member, unless such member acted in bad faith, with wanton and
  159  willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property.
  160         (8) Elder abuse fatality review teams and their members may
  161  not disclose any information that is confidential pursuant to
  162  law.
  163         Section 2. Paragraph (m) is added to subsection (3) of
  164  section 415.107, Florida Statutes, to read:
  165         415.107 Confidentiality of reports and records.—
  166         (3) Access to all records, excluding the name of the
  167  reporter which shall be released only as provided in subsection
  168  (6), shall be granted only to the following persons, officials,
  169  and agencies:
  170         (m) An elder abuse fatality review team established under
  171  s. 415.1103(1) that is reviewing the death of an elderly person.
  172         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.
  173  
  174  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  175  And the title is amended as follows:
  176         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  177  and insert:
  178                        A bill to be entitled                      
  179         An act relating to elder abuse fatality review teams;
  180         creating s. 415.1103, F.S.; authorizing the
  181         establishment of elder abuse fatality review teams in
  182         each judicial circuit; providing conditions for team
  183         establishment and organization; specifying review team
  184         duties; providing review teams with access to and use
  185         of records; requiring each review team to submit an
  186         annual report by a certain date to the Department of
  187         Elderly Affairs containing specified information;
  188         requiring the department to prepare an annual report
  189         by a certain date with such information to the
  190         Governor, the Legislature, and the Department of
  191         Children and Families; exempting certain information
  192         and records from discovery; providing exceptions;
  193         prohibiting a member from testifying about information
  194         or records presented during meetings or activities of
  195         the team; providing immunity from monetary liability
  196         for members under certain conditions; prohibiting
  197         review teams and review team members from disclosing
  198         confidential information; amending s. 415.107, F.S.;
  199         requiring that elder abuse fatality review teams be
  200         granted access to certain records; providing an
  201         effective date.