Florida Senate - 2019                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1222
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì450876JÎ450876                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/26/2019           .                                
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       The Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs and Space
       (Harrell) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 394.9087, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         394.9087 Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program.—
    8         (1) The Department of Veterans’ Affairs shall establish the
    9  Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program. The Department of
   10  Veterans’ Affairs shall contract with a nonprofit entity that is
   11  accredited by the Council on Accreditation, is fully accredited
   12  by the Alliance of Information and Referral Services, and has
   13  statewide phone capacity to serve veterans, to enter into
   14  agreements with Florida 211 Network participants to provide
   15  veterans and their families in this state with dedicated
   16  behavioral health care referral services, especially mental
   17  health and substance abuse services. The Department of Veterans’
   18  Affairs shall model the program after the proof-of-concept pilot
   19  program established in 2014 by the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay
   20  and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in Hillsborough, Pasco
   21  Pinellas, Polk, and Manatee counties.
   22         (2) The goals of the program are to:
   23         (a) Prevent suicides by veterans.
   24         (b) Increase veterans’ use of programs and services
   25  provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
   26         (c) Increase the number of veterans who use other available
   27  community-based programs and services.
   28         (3) The program must be available statewide. Program
   29  services must be provided by program teams operated by Florida
   30  211 Network participants, as authorized by s. 408.918. A Florida
   31  211 Network participant may provide services in more than one
   32  geographic area under a single contract.
   33         (4) The program teams shall provide referral and care
   34  coordination services to veterans and their families and expand
   35  the existing Florida 211 Network to include the optimal range of
   36  veterans’ service organizations and programs. Florida 211
   37  Network participants in the Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination
   38  Program must include:
   39         (a) Telephonic peer support, crisis intervention, and the
   40  communication of information on referral resources.
   41         (b) Treatment coordination, including coordination of
   42  followup care.
   43         (c) Suicide risk assessment.
   44         (d) Promotion of the safety and wellness of veterans and
   45  their families, including continuous safety planning and
   46  support.
   47         (e) Resource coordination, including data analysis, to
   48  facilitate acceptance, enrollment, and attendance of veterans
   49  and their families in programs and services provided by the
   50  United States Department of Veterans Affairs and other available
   51  community-based programs and services.
   52         (f) Immediate needs assessments, including safety planning
   53  and support.
   54         (5) To enhance program services, program teams shall:
   55         (a) Track the number of requests from callers who are
   56  veterans or members of a veteran’s family.
   57         (b) Follow up with callers who are veterans or members of a
   58  veteran’s family to determine whether they have acted on the
   59  referrals or received the assistance needed and whether
   60  additional referral or advocacy is needed.
   61         (c) Develop and implement communication strategies, such as
   62  media promotions, public service announcements, print and
   63  Internet articles, and community presentations, to inform
   64  veterans and their families about available programs and
   65  services provided by the United States Department of Veterans
   66  Affairs and other available community-based programs and
   67  services.
   68         (d) Document all calls and capture all necessary data to
   69  improve outreach to veterans and their families and report such
   70  data to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.
   71         (6)Florida 211 Network participants in the Florida
   72  Veterans’ Care Coordination Program shall maintain a database of
   73  veteran-specific services available in the communities served by
   74  the programs. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs and its
   75  selected contractor shall work with managing entities as defined
   76  in s. 394.9082(2)(e)to educate service providers about the
   77  Florida Veterans Support Line and Veterans Care Coordination
   78  Program.
   79         (7) Florida 211 Network participants shall collect data on
   80  the program and submit such data to the Department of Veterans’
   81  Affairs in the format prescribed by the Department of Veterans’
   82  Affairs. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs shall use such data
   83  to prepare a report for submittal to the Governor, the President
   84  of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
   85  by December 15, 2020. The report must include:
   86         (a)The number of calls received.
   87         (b) Demographic information for each caller, including, but
   88  not limited to, the caller’s military affiliation, the caller’s
   89  veteran status, and whether the caller is receiving services
   90  provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or
   91  other available community-based programs and services.
   92         (c) The nature of each call, including, but not limited to,
   93  the concerns prompting the call and the services requested.
   94         (d) The outcome of each call, including, but not limited
   95  to, the services for which referrals were made and the
   96  organizations to which the caller was referred.
   97         (e) Services received as a result of each call.
   98         (f) Information regarding followup by the program team,
   99  including, but not limited to, the percentage of calls receiving
  100  followup and the outcome of followup.
  101         (g) Information regarding the program’s impact on each
  102  caller’s quality of life and on the avoidance of negative
  103  outcomes, including arrest and suicide.
  104         (h) Each caller’s level of satisfaction with program
  105  services.
  106         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.
  107  
  108  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  109  And the title is amended as follows:
  110         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  111  and insert:
  112                        A bill to be entitled                      
  113         An act relating to services for veterans and their
  114         families; creating s. 394.9087, F.S.; requiring the
  115         Department Veterans’ Affairs to establish the Florida
  116         Veterans’ Care Coordination Program to provide
  117         veterans and their families with behavioral health
  118         care referral and care coordination services;
  119         requiring the department to contract with a certain
  120         nonprofit entity to enter into agreements with Florida
  121         211 Network participants to provide such services;
  122         providing program goals; providing for the statewide
  123         delivery of specified services by program teams;
  124         requiring Florida 211 Network participants to collect
  125         program implementation data and submit such data to
  126         the department; requiring the department to submit a
  127         report to the Governor and Legislature; providing an
  128         effective date.