Senate Bill sb2098c2

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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 2098

    By the Committees on Health, Aging, and Long-Term Care;
    Children and Families; and Senators Wise and Webster




    317-2502-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to caregivers for disabled or

  3         elderly adults; providing legislative intent to

  4         foster caregiving as a nonlicensed

  5         paraprofessional activity and to promote the

  6         caregivers' use of best practices; creating the

  7         Florida Caregiver Institute, Inc., an

  8         independent nonprofit corporation housed in the

  9         Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging at the

10         University of South Florida; providing

11         purposes, duties, and powers of the

12         corporation; providing for a board of

13         directors; providing for membership, terms of

14         office, meetings, and powers and duties of and

15         restrictions on the board; requiring reports to

16         the Governor and the Legislature; providing

17         duties of the Florida Policy Exchange Center on

18         Aging and other public agencies; providing for

19         the Office of Program Policy Analysis and

20         Government Accountability to conduct a review

21         of the corporation by a specified date and to

22         report to the Governor and the Legislature;

23         providing an effective date.

24  

25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

26  

27         Section 1.  Caregivers; legislative intent; Florida

28  Caregiver Institute, Inc.; creation, duties, board of

29  directors, and reports.--

30         (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature to foster the

31  development of caregiving as a nonlicensed paraprofessional

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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 2098
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 1  activity that is critical to the provision of community-based

 2  and institutional care for frail and vulnerable Floridians who

 3  live in the community, reside in a licensed assisted living

 4  facility or licensed adult family-care home, or attend a

 5  licensed adult day care center. It is the further intent of

 6  the Legislature to promote the use of nationally recognized

 7  best-practices information by caregivers so as to improve the

 8  quality of care both in the community and in long-term care

 9  facilities licensed by the state and to ensure some degree of

10  uniformity as to the techniques, practices, and standards used

11  in caring for the state's most vulnerable residents.

12         (2)  In order to accomplish the goal of developing

13  best-practices information and placing that information into

14  the hands of caregivers that care for Floridians who live in

15  the community, reside in facilities licensed by the state

16  under part III or part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes,

17  or attend an adult day care center licensed under part V of

18  chapter 400, Florida Statutes, there is created the Florida

19  Caregiver Institute, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that

20  is to be registered, incorporated, organized, and operated in

21  compliance with chapter 617, Florida Statutes, and that is not

22  a unit or entity of state government.  The Florida Caregiver

23  Institute, hereinafter referred to as "the corporation," shall

24  be administratively housed in the Florida Policy Exchange

25  Center on Aging at the University of South Florida.

26         (3)  The corporation shall assist the Florida Policy

27  Exchange Center on Aging in the development of policy

28  recommendations to enhance the center's efforts to improve the

29  availability and skills of individuals who seek to work as

30  caregivers in the home, in the community, or in a facility

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 2098
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 1  licensed by the state under part III, part V, or part VII of

 2  chapter 400, Florida Statutes.  The corporation also:

 3         (a)  Shall seek to identify funding for the purpose of

 4  providing training in and promotion of the use of best

 5  practices to front line caregivers through state, federal, and

 6  private sources.

 7         (b)  Shall work with universities and other related

 8  parties to develop training materials, identify best-practices

 9  techniques, and develop a curriculum.

10         (c)  Shall conduct a needs assessment of the

11  nonlicensed caregivers who work in the community or in

12  facilities that are licensed under part III, part V, or part

13  VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes.

14         (d)  Shall make recommendations to the Department of

15  Elderly Affairs, the Department of Children and Family

16  Services, the Agency for Health Care Administration, and the

17  Department of Health regarding policy and related changes that

18  will help improve the quality, availability, and retention of

19  nonlicensed caregivers who work in the community or in

20  facilities licensed under part III, part V, or part VII of

21  chapter 400, Florida Statutes.

22         (e)  Shall make recommendations on proposed legislative

23  changes and budget-related items that would affect the

24  quality, availability, and retention of nonlicensed

25  caregivers, and review the need for nonlicensed caregivers to

26  work in the community or in facilities licensed under part

27  III, part V, or part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes.

28  This information must be provided to the President of the

29  Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the

30  Governor by January 1 of each year.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 2098
    317-2502-04




 1         (f)  Shall develop agreements with the Agency for

 2  Health Care Administration, the Department of Elderly Affairs,

 3  the Department of Health, the Department of Children and

 4  Family Services, and any other state agency it considers

 5  necessary, for the exclusive purpose of accessing state-owned

 6  buildings and state employees for the purpose of providing

 7  low-cost, effective training and paraprofessional development

 8  assistance to nonlicensed caregivers who work in the community

 9  or in facilities licensed under part III, part V, or part VII

10  of chapter 400, Florida Statutes.

11         (g)  May charge a reasonable fee, on a sliding scale,

12  as provided in the bylaws of the corporation for the provision

13  of training of nonlicensed caregivers who work in the

14  community or in facilities licensed under part III, part V, or

15  part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes.  The corporation

16  shall take all steps possible to offer high-quality training

17  at the most cost-effective rates.

18         (h)  May offer to assisted living facilities, adult

19  family day care homes, and adult day care centers core

20  training and other training. The Departmental of Elderly

21  Affairs, in consultation with the corporation and the

22  contractor responsible for the development of the core

23  training testing materials, shall annually evaluate the

24  testing materials and make any necessary changes to these

25  materials.

26         (i)  Shall collect information regarding nonlicensed

27  caregivers who work in the community and in facilities

28  licensed under part III, part V, or part VII of chapter 400,

29  Florida Statutes.  The information collected must include, but

30  need not be limited to, the salary rates for various

31  positions, professional development needs of nonlicensed

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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 2098
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 1  caregivers, information regarding turnover and retention, and

 2  data that identifies the number of caregivers using

 3  best-practices information in day-to-day, care-related

 4  activities.

 5         (j)  Shall develop a memorandum of understanding with

 6  the Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging which describes

 7  how the corporation will interact with the center in carrying

 8  out its responsibilities.

 9         (k)  Shall develop an agreement with the Florida Policy

10  Exchange Center on Aging for the provision of administrative

11  support and startup, with the expectation that the corporation

12  will not rely upon the center for staff or financial

13  assistance after June 1, 2006.

14         (l)  May contract with the Florida Policy Exchange

15  Center on Aging for the provision of staff support, research,

16  technical assistance, and data storage under a memorandum of

17  agreement.

18         (4)(a)  The board of directors of the corporation shall

19  consist of 13 members who represent the views, interests, and

20  perspectives of the parties, individuals, and stakeholders

21  affected by the activities of the corporation.  Each member of

22  the board shall be appointed to a 2-year term and may not be

23  reappointed to more than three additional terms, except that

24  the initial legislative appointments shall be for a period of

25  3 years each.

26         (b)  The board of directors of the corporation shall

27  include:

28         1.  One member appointed by The Florida Association of

29  Homes for the Aging.

30         2.  One member appointed by the Florida Assisted Living

31  Affiliation.

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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 2098
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 1         3.  One member appointed by the Alzheimer's

 2  Association.

 3         4.  One member appointed by the Florida Council on

 4  Aging.

 5         5.  One member appointed by the Florida Adult Day Care

 6  Association.

 7         6.  One member appointed by the Florida Respite

 8  Council.

 9         7.  One member appointed by the State Long-Term Care

10  Ombudsman.

11         8.  Two members appointed by the Governor.

12         9.  Two members appointed by the President of the

13  Senate.

14         10.  Two members appointed by the Speaker of the House

15  of Representatives.

16  

17  The Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of

18  the House of Representatives must make their respective

19  initial appointments not later than September 1, 2004.

20         (c)  The chair shall be elected by the members, may not

21  serve more than two 1-year terms, and may not be a state

22  employee.

23         (d)  The corporation shall adopt bylaws that describe

24  how it will do its work.  The corporation shall follow

25  Robert's Rules of Order, newly revised edition, for all

26  procedural matters that arise.

27         (e)  A majority of the members of the corporation's

28  board of directors constitutes a quorum.

29         (f)  The corporation shall be accountable to the board

30  of directors and make its meetings open to any member of the

31  public and shall make provision for accepting input from

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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 2098
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 1  family members, consumers, stakeholders, providers, or other

 2  parties affected by the activities of the corporation.  The

 3  corporation shall make every effort to make its schedule and

 4  meeting location accessible to the public, by means including

 5  the use of websites and public buildings.

 6         (g)  The chair of the corporation's board of directors

 7  shall ensure that accurate minutes are kept which reflect the

 8  attendance, motions, and actions of the board and the

 9  discussion of matters brought before the board.  These minutes

10  shall be made available to the public for inspection and

11  review and, if possible, posted on a website to provide

12  greater public access.

13         (h)  The chair shall call a meeting quarterly and may

14  schedule other meetings using electronic means as he or she

15  considers appropriate. The chair must call at least one

16  meeting per year for the purpose of establishing goals and

17  evaluating the progress of the corporation in the previous

18  year.

19         (i)  The chair of the corporation's board of directors

20  may appoint advisory committees to advise the corporation on

21  specific issues that fall within the corporation's scope of

22  work and stated objectives.

23         (j)  Each member of the corporation's board of

24  directors and its advisory committees shall serve at his or

25  her own expense, including travel or other costs associated

26  with their duties as a member of the board of directors.

27         (k)  The chair may remove a member of the board for

28  three unexcused absences from regularly scheduled meetings.

29         (l)  An appointed member serves at the pleasure of the

30  entity that has made the appointment and may be removed by

31  that entity without cause.

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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 2098
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 1         (5)(a)  The chair of the corporation's board of

 2  directors shall establish an audit committee, consisting of at

 3  least three board members, to annually review and report on

 4  the financial condition of the corporation. A copy of the

 5  audit committee's report shall be provided to the board

 6  members, the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the

 7  Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 10 of each

 8  year.  The audit committee's report must include a complete

 9  accounting of all revenues and expenses incurred by the

10  corporation during that year.

11         (b)  The corporation may employ staff, contract with

12  consultants, and otherwise retain the necessary staff within

13  available funds to accomplish its goals and purposes.

14         (c)  The corporation shall annually evaluate and, by

15  January 10 of each year, shall report to the Legislature and

16  the Governor the status of its work relative to promoting the

17  use of best practices by caregivers and developing nonlicensed

18  caregivers who work in the community or in facilities licensed

19  under part III, part V, or part VII of chapter 400, Florida

20  Statutes.

21         (d)  Each public-sector agency that provides training

22  or support for nonlicensed caregivers who work in the

23  community or in facilities licensed under part III, part V, or

24  part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes, shall cooperate

25  with the corporation, and the Florida Policy Exchange Center

26  on Aging shall certify to the Governor, the President of the

27  Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, using

28  criteria that include communication, timeliness of response,

29  and coordination efforts, as to whether the corporation is

30  receiving the necessary and requested support from various

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 2098
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 1  public-sector organizations that provide training to such

 2  nonlicensed caregivers.

 3         Section 2.  By October 1, 2007, the Office of Program

 4  Policy Analysis and Government Accountability shall conduct a

 5  review of the Florida Caregiver Institute, Inc., and shall

 6  report to the Legislature and the Governor as to whether the

 7  corporation has been effective in helping the state meet its

 8  goals of improving the retention of nonlicensed caregivers in

 9  the community or in facilities licensed under part III, part

10  V, or part VII of chapter 400, Florida Statutes, and whether

11  it has been successful in promoting the use of best-practices

12  techniques by caregivers who care for Florida's frail and

13  disabled adult population.

14         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

15  

16          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
17                            CS/SB 2098

18                                 

19  The committee substitute makes the following changes to CS/SB
    2098:
20  
    Provides that the Caregiver Institute, Inc. (corporation)
21  shall be housed in the Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging
    at the University of South Florida instead of in the Agency
22  for Workforce Innovation, and provides that the corporation
    will not rely on the Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging
23  for staff or financial assistance after June 1, 2006.

24  Requires the Department of Elderly Affairs, in consultation
    with the corporation and the contractor responsible for the
25  development of the core training testing materials, to
    annually evaluate the testing materials and make any necessary
26  changes to these materials.

27  Changes the board membership to include one member appointed
    by the Florida Respite Council, one member appointed by the
28  State Long-Term Ombudsman, and one member appointed by the
    Florida Adult Day Care Center Association.
29  
    Changes the number of board members appointed by the Governor,
30  the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President
    of the Senate from three to two members each.
31  

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