Florida Senate - 2009                                    SB 2462
       
       
       
       By Senator Deutch
       
       
       
       
       30-01144E-09                                          20092462__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to veterans; requiring school
    3         districts to observe Veterans' Day and Veterans'
    4         Appreciation Week; providing requirements for such
    5         recognition; directing the Department of Children and
    6         Family Services to establish up to three pilot
    7         projects for the purpose of reducing suicide among
    8         veterans and increasing access to services; providing
    9         duties of the department; providing requirements for
   10         the pilot project programs; requiring the Statewide
   11         Office of Suicide Prevention, the Department of
   12         Veterans' Affairs, and the Florida National Guard to
   13         enter into partnerships with the pilot projects and
   14         community providers to implement the initiative;
   15         requiring an evaluation and a report to the Governor
   16         and Legislature; providing for expiration of the pilot
   17         projects; establishing a veterans' suicide prevention
   18         direct-support organization answerable to the
   19         Statewide Office for Suicide Prevention to assist with
   20         funding veterans' suicide prevention initiatives;
   21         providing corporate requirements; providing for a
   22         board of directors; providing for a contract with the
   23         office and requirements for the contract; authorizing
   24         the organization to use the property, facilities, and
   25         personnel services of the office; requiring the moneys
   26         of the organization to be deposited in a separate
   27         account in the name of the organization; providing an
   28         effective date.
   29  
   30  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   31  
   32         Section 1. Veterans' Appreciation Week.—
   33         (1)Each school district shall observe November 11 of each
   34  year as the Veterans' Day holiday and shall observe that week as
   35  Veterans' Appreciation Week. In any year in which November 11
   36  falls on a Saturday or Sunday, Veterans' Appreciation Week shall
   37  be observed the week immediately preceding or following November
   38  11, to coincide with the date that Veterans' Day is observed as
   39  a federal holiday.
   40         (2)During Veterans' Appreciation Week, the district shall
   41  provide programs that instruct students on the role of veterans
   42  in the history of our state and country and shall recognize the
   43  contributions made by veterans to our state and country.
   44         Section 2. Veterans' suicide prevention pilot projects.—
   45         (1)PURPOSE.—The Department of Children and Family
   46  Services, subject to the availability of public or private
   47  funding, shall establish up to three pilot projects in the three
   48  areas of the state which have the largest concentration of
   49  veteran residents. The purpose of the projects is to reduce the
   50  incidence of suicide by increasing access to services and
   51  supports for veterans and their families who may be in need of
   52  mental health services and who are not currently being served by
   53  the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
   54         (2)DEPARTMENT DUTIES.—The department shall work with the
   55  Florida Certification Board to develop a new veteran-peer
   56  specialist credential and develop a statewide certification
   57  process for certifying veteran peer specialists through the
   58  Florida Certification Board in order to create a cadre of
   59  certified specialists to assist in providing peer support for
   60  veterans through the pilot projects.
   61         (3)PILOT PROJECTS.—Each pilot project must:
   62         (a)Develop a veteran-to-veteran peer support program that
   63  reaches out to veterans on a continual basis by mail, e-mail,
   64  telephone, or face-to-face contact in order to:
   65         1.Reduce isolation and the risk of suicide through regular
   66  and ongoing, long-term contact;
   67         2.Conduct informal assessments to determine if a referral
   68  is needed; and
   69         3.Assist in connecting veterans to local resources.
   70         (b)Conduct a needs assessment of local substance abuse and
   71  mental health providers in the pilot project area to determine
   72  if local providers are trained and able to meet the specific
   73  needs of veterans and the increase in demand for services.
   74         (c)Establish a veterans information program at each pilot
   75  project site to serve as a resource for student veterans and
   76  college and university personnel serving student veterans. The
   77  program must provide prevention education, as well as early
   78  intervention and counseling, and assist student veterans who
   79  have personal problems. The key components of the program
   80  include:
   81         1.A faculty-training component under which project
   82  personnel work with a faculty coordinator from each of the
   83  colleges and universities in the pilot project area to provide
   84  training on the symptoms and warning signs of suicide to faculty
   85  members. The training must focus on the special circumstances
   86  that are unique to this population, such as posttraumatic stress
   87  disorder, traumatic brain injuries, and issues specific to
   88  female veterans.
   89         2.A component that disseminates information and provides
   90  education for student veterans. The program must hold regular
   91  educational workshops for student veterans related to veterans
   92  issues and stresses that are experienced in an academic setting.
   93  Printed literature that is specific to veterans shall be
   94  disseminated regularly.
   95         3.An outreach component under which program personnel
   96  shall reach out, engage, and educate student veterans, their
   97  families, and the community in order to increase information on
   98  and access to services for veterans who are at risk of suicide.
   99  Outreach activities include linkage with service resources,
  100  dissemination of information, and education to:
  101         a.Increase public awareness about the unique needs of
  102  veterans and the risks of suicide and warning signs of suicide
  103  in veterans, without creating additional stigma.
  104         b.Coordinate and train professionals who provide services
  105  for at-risk veterans.
  106         c.Identify available services and specialized assistance
  107  for veterans and family members.
  108         d.Provide education on veterans' issues and trauma.
  109         e.Mobilize a recovery-oriented system of care within the
  110  community for at-risk veterans.
  111         4.A component for responding to critical incidents, such
  112  as traumatic death or medical crisis, campus violence, or other
  113  incidents that may have a significant emotional impact on
  114  student veterans. This includes providing trained debriefing
  115  counselors, as well as group counseling for affected student
  116  veterans and consultation services related to crisis management
  117  and veterans.
  118         (d)Work with community emergency response resources to
  119  more effectively address crisis involving veterans and their
  120  families. This includes linking emergency responders to
  121  veterans' resources and persons trained in veterans' issues.
  122  Regular pilot staff shall be trained on dealing with emergency
  123  referrals, including training in being able to differentiate
  124  between the need for face-to-face intervention or phone
  125  intervention. All staff shall be made aware of the necessity for
  126  immediate documentation of all contacts inclusive of intentional
  127  self-injurious behavior, statements of threat, written forms of
  128  threat, extreme withdrawal, significant loss of appetite or
  129  weight, and crisis warning signs unique to veterans. All
  130  referrals in the areas served by the pilot projects must be
  131  followed up with telephone contact and field-based intervention
  132  services, if agreed to by the veteran or family member.
  133         (e)Offer postdeployment reintegration sessions for
  134  veterans who were deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom or
  135  Operation Enduring Freedom through community providers at 4, 6,
  136  and 10 months after returning home to complement the
  137  reintegration efforts that the United States Department of
  138  Defense oversees. Because symptoms of stress and warning signs
  139  are often delayed, continual contact over time is important. The
  140  timing protocol for reintegration sessions may vary for each
  141  pilot project in order to evaluate the effectiveness of
  142  different models.
  143         (4)OTHER AGENCIES.—The Statewide Office of Suicide
  144  Prevention, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and the Florida
  145  National Guard shall enter into partnerships with the pilot
  146  projects and community providers in order to implement this
  147  initiative.
  148         (5)EVALUATION.—The department, together with input from
  149  each of the pilot projects, shall design an evaluation
  150  methodology for measuring the efficacy of the pilot projects.
  151  The evaluation shall be presented to the Governor, the President
  152  of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
  153  by March 1, 2012. The evaluation must consider whether the pilot
  154  projects have:
  155         (a)Improved veteran access to community linkages and
  156  resources, including primary care, behavioral health care
  157  providers, and veterans’ services, in order to provide needed
  158  services and to help veterans be self-sufficient members of the
  159  community.
  160         (b)Educated, increased awareness of, and mobilized the
  161  community about suicide as a public health problem, especially
  162  as it relates to veterans.
  163         (c)Reduced the danger and incidence of suicide and self
  164  harm among veterans.
  165         (d)Increased the likelihood of long-term community
  166  commitment to providing veterans' support.
  167         (8)EXPIRATION.—The pilot projects shall expire July 1,
  168  2012.
  169         Section 3. Veterans' suicide prevention direct-support
  170  organization.—The Statewide Office for Suicide Prevention may
  171  establish a direct-support organization to assist with securing
  172  funding for veterans' suicide prevention and other suicide
  173  prevention initiatives, including any pilot projects established
  174  by the Department of Children and Family Services to reduce the
  175  incidence of suicide among veterans.
  176         (1)The direct-support organization must be:
  177         (a)A not-for-profit Florida corporation, incorporated
  178  under chapter 617, Florida Statutes, and approved by the
  179  Secretary of State.
  180         (b)Organized and operated exclusively to solicit funds;
  181  request and receive grants, gifts, and bequests of money;
  182  acquire, receive, hold, invest, and administer property and
  183  funds in its own name; and make expenditures for the benefit of
  184  the purposes specified by this section.
  185         (c)Certified by the office, after review, to be operating
  186  in a manner consistent with the goals of this section and in the
  187  best interests of the state. Such certification must be made
  188  annually and reported to the Office of Drug Control.
  189         (2)The direct-support organization shall be governed by a
  190  seven-member board of directors. The members of the board shall
  191  be appointed by the office, shall serve at the pleasure of the
  192  office, and be appointed to terms that may not exceed 4 years.
  193         (3)The direct-support organization shall operate under
  194  written contract with the commission. The contract must provide
  195  for:
  196         (a)Approval of the articles of incorporation and bylaws of
  197  the direct-support organization by the office.
  198         (b)The fiscal year of the direct-support organization to
  199  begin July 1 of each year and end June 30 of the following year.
  200         (c)Submission of an annual budget for the approval of the
  201  office.
  202         (d)Any procedures or conditions with which the direct
  203  support organization must comply to use property, facilities, or
  204  personnel services of the commission and to meet the
  205  administrative requirements of the office.
  206         (e)The disclosure of the material provisions of the
  207  contract and the distinction between the Office for Suicide
  208  Prevention and the direct-support organization to donors of
  209  gifts, contributions, or bequests, as well as on all promotional
  210  and fundraising publications.
  211         (f)The reversion to the office or the state of moneys and
  212  property held in trust by the direct-support organization if the
  213  direct-support organization is no longer approved to operate or
  214  ceases to exist.
  215         (4)The office may authorize the use of its facilities and
  216  property, other than money, to the direct-support organization
  217  as well as personnel services. The term “personnel services”
  218  includes full-time personnel and part-time personnel as well as
  219  payroll processing.
  220         (5)Moneys of the direct-support organization shall be held
  221  in a separate depository account in the name of the direct
  222  support organization and subject to the provisions of the
  223  contract with the office. Such moneys may include membership
  224  fees, private donations, income derived from fundraising
  225  activities, and grants applied for and received by the direct
  226  support organization.
  227         (6)The direct-support organization is subject to an annual
  228  financial audit in accordance with s. 215.981, Florida Statutes.
  229         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.