Florida Senate - 2025                             CS for SB 1736
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
       Senator Grall
       
       
       
       
       586-02607-25                                          20251736c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to insulin administration by direct
    3         support professionals and relatives; amending s.
    4         393.063, F.S.; defining the term “direct-support
    5         professional”; creating s. 393.504, F.S.; authorizing
    6         direct-support professionals and relatives of clients
    7         in group home facilities for individuals with
    8         developmental disabilities to administer insulin as
    9         prescribed to the client if specified conditions are
   10         met; providing group home facilities, direct-support
   11         professionals, and relatives of clients with immunity
   12         from civil liability for damages and civil and
   13         criminal penalties under certain circumstances;
   14         providing that the administration of insulin includes
   15         sliding scale insulin therapy; amending s. 393.506,
   16         F.S.; authorizing unlicensed direct service providers
   17         who meet certain requirements to administer and
   18         supervise the self-administration of insulin and
   19         epinephrine by certain methods; amending s. 1002.394,
   20         F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; providing an
   21         effective date.
   22          
   23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   24  
   25         Section 1. Present subsections (13) through (46) of section
   26  393.063, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (14)
   27  through (47), respectively, and a new subsection (13) is added
   28  to that section, to read:
   29         393.063 Definitions.—For the purposes of this chapter, the
   30  term:
   31         (13) Direct-support professional” means a person paid to
   32  provide services directly to a client receiving home and
   33  community-based services to address activities of daily living
   34  or instrumental activities of daily living, behavioral supports,
   35  employment supports, or other services to promote community
   36  integration of the client.
   37         Section 2. Section 393.504, Florida Statutes, is created to
   38  read:
   39         393.504 Administration of insulin.—
   40         (1)Notwithstanding any other law, a direct-support
   41  professional or a client’s relative may administer insulin to a
   42  client residing in a group home facility if all of the following
   43  conditions have been met:
   44         (a)The group home facility has an established procedure to
   45  provide training to the direct-support professional or relative
   46  in the administration of insulin. The training must be provided
   47  by a registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse, or an
   48  advanced practice registered nurse licensed under chapter 464; a
   49  physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; or a
   50  physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459.
   51         (b) The group home facility has adopted policies and
   52  procedures governing the administration of insulin by direct
   53  support professionals and relatives. The policies and procedures
   54  must include, but need not be limited to, the following
   55  provisions:
   56         1.For clients requiring insulin, the group home facility
   57  shall have on file the prescribed dosage of insulin required for
   58  the client and proof of the direct-support professional’s or
   59  relative’s training as required under paragraph (a).
   60         2.The group home facility and the direct-support
   61  professional or relative shall coordinate in advance before
   62  insulin is administered to the client to avoid duplication in
   63  administration.
   64         3.The group home facility shall establish emergency
   65  procedures related to the administration of insulin to clients.
   66         4.The group home facility must certify any direct-support
   67  professional or relative to administer insulin under this
   68  section if he or she is in compliance with the requirements of
   69  this section.
   70         5.The group home facility must immediately notify a
   71  direct-support professional or relative if he or she is not in
   72  compliance with this section and immediately cease to allow them
   73  to administer insulin.
   74         (2) A group home facility that complies with this section
   75  and its established policies and procedures is immune from civil
   76  liability for damages arising out of the administration of
   77  insulin by a direct-support professional or a client’s relative.
   78         (3)A direct-support professional or relative administering
   79  insulin to a client residing in a group home facility in
   80  compliance with this section is immune from civil liability for
   81  damages or civil or criminal penalties arising out of the
   82  administration of insulin to the client.
   83         (4) For the purposes of this section, the administration of
   84  insulin includes sliding scale insulin therapy, to include the
   85  calculation of an insulin dose based on current blood glucose
   86  and the administration of that calculated dose subcutaneously
   87  using an insulin pen containing premeasured doses or a syringe
   88  filled with the calculated dose drawn from a vial of insulin.
   89         Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 393.506, Florida
   90  Statutes, is amended to read:
   91         393.506 Administration of medication.—
   92         (1) An unlicensed direct service provider may supervise the
   93  self-administration of medication or may administer oral,
   94  transdermal, ophthalmic, otic, rectal, inhaled, enteral, or
   95  topical prescription medications to a client if the unlicensed
   96  direct service provider meets the requirements of this section.
   97  This includes the subcutaneous administration of insulin and
   98  epinephrine through an insulin pen, epinephrine pen, or similar
   99  device designed for self-administration.
  100         Section 4. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section
  101  1002.394, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  102         1002.394 The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program.—
  103         (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
  104         (e) “Disability” means, for a 3- or 4-year-old child or for
  105  a student in kindergarten to grade 12, autism spectrum disorder,
  106  as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
  107  Disorders, Fifth Edition, published by the American Psychiatric
  108  Association; cerebral palsy, as defined in s. 393.063; Down
  109  syndrome, as defined in s. 393.063; an intellectual disability,
  110  as defined in s. 393.063; a speech impairment; a language
  111  impairment; an orthopedic impairment; any other health
  112  impairment; an emotional or a behavioral disability; a specific
  113  learning disability, including, but not limited to, dyslexia,
  114  dyscalculia, or developmental aphasia; Phelan-McDermid syndrome,
  115  as defined in s. 393.063; Prader-Willi syndrome, as defined in
  116  s. 393.063; spina bifida, as defined in s. 393.063; being a
  117  high-risk child, as defined in s. 393.063(23)(a) s.
  118  393.063(22)(a); muscular dystrophy; Williams syndrome; rare
  119  diseases which affect patient populations of fewer than 200,000
  120  individuals in the United States, as defined by the National
  121  Organization for Rare Disorders; anaphylaxis; a hearing
  122  impairment, including deafness; a visual impairment, including
  123  blindness; traumatic brain injury; hospital or homebound; or
  124  identification as dual sensory impaired, as defined by rules of
  125  the State Board of Education and evidenced by reports from local
  126  school districts. The term “hospital or homebound” includes a
  127  student who has a medically diagnosed physical or psychiatric
  128  condition or illness, as defined by the state board in rule, and
  129  who is confined to the home or hospital for more than 6 months.
  130         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.