The Florida Senate

394.82  Funding of expanded services.--

(1)  Pursuant to the General Appropriations Acts for the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 fiscal years, funds appropriated to the Department of Children and Family Services for the purpose of expanding community mental health services must be used to implement programs that emphasize crisis services as defined in s. 394.67(3) and treatment services, rehabilitative services, support services, and case management services, as defined in s. 394.67(15). Following the 2002-2003 fiscal year, the Department of Children and Family Services must continue to expand the provision of these community mental health services.

(2)  In order to estimate the cost of the expansion of community mental health services, the Department of Children and Family Services in collaboration with the Agency for Health Care Administration shall develop, and update annually, estimates of the need for mental health services, including forecasts of Baker Act expenditures, based on periodic actuarial analysis, caseload estimates of adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance, the associated costs per person served, and recommendations for maximizing the use of federal funds to meet these needs. The estimates must be submitted to the Executive Office of the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on August 1 of each year.

(3)  Each fiscal year, any funding increases for crisis services or community mental health services that are included in the General Appropriations Act shall be appropriated in a lump-sum category as defined in s. 216.011(1)(aa). In accordance with s. 216.181(6)(a), the Executive Office of the Governor shall require the Department of Children and Family Services to submit a spending plan for the use of funds appropriated for this purpose. The spending plan must include a schedule for phasing in the new community mental health services in each service district of the department and must describe how the new services will be integrated and coordinated with all current community-based health and human services.

(4)  By January 1, 2004, the crisis services defined in s. 394.67(3) shall be implemented, as appropriate, in the state's public community mental health system to serve children and adults who are experiencing an acute mental or emotional crisis, as defined in s. 394.67(17). By January 1, 2006, the mental health services defined in s. 394.67(15) shall be implemented, as appropriate, in the state's public community mental health system to serve adults and older adults who have a severe and persistent mental illness and to serve children who have a serious emotional disturbance or mental illness, as defined in s. 394.492(6).

(5)  The provisions of subsections (1) and (4) shall be implemented to the extent of available appropriations contained in the annual General Appropriations Act for such purposes.

History.--s. 1, ch. 2002-290; s. 56, ch. 2005-2; s. 28, ch. 2007-230.