HB 7083

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to programs of the Department of Children
3	and Family Services; amending s. 397.451, F.S.; requiring
4	service provider personnel who request an exemption from
5	disqualification to submit the request within a certain
6	time after notification of the disqualification; requiring
7	a service provider to comply with the provisions of s.
8	435.06, F.S.; deleting a provision requiring immediate
9	dismissal of service provider personnel upon disapproval
10	of a request for an exemption; prohibiting the department
11	from issuing a regular license to a service provider that
12	fails to provide proof that background screening
13	information has been submitted; repealing s. 3, ch. 2003-
14	279, Laws of Florida; abrogating the repeal of s.
15	20.19(2)(c) and (4)(b)6. and 8., F.S., relating to the
16	appointment of certain mental health and substance abuse
17	positions and the establishment of program offices for
18	mental health and substance abuse; amending s. 394.455,
19	F.S.; revising the definition of the term "service
20	provider" and providing a definition of the term "marriage
21	and family therapist"; amending s. 394.463, F.S.;
22	providing that a marriage and family therapist may execute
23	a certificate for involuntary examination; amending s.
24	394.4655, F.S.; providing that a marriage and family
25	therapist may deem a services treatment plan clinically
26	appropriate for an involuntary outpatient placement;
27	amending s. 394.467, F.S.; requiring that documentation of
28	any evaluation performed by a marriage and family
29	therapist be provided when a patient is ordered for
30	involuntary inpatient placement; providing effective
31	dates.
32
33	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35	Section 1.  Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section
36	397.451, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (g) is
37	added to that subsection, to read:
38	397.451  Background checks of service provider personnel.--
39	(1)  PERSONNEL BACKGROUND CHECKS; REQUIREMENTS AND
40	EXCEPTIONS.--
41	(f)  Service provider personnel who request an exemption
42	from disqualification must submit the request within 30 days
43	after being notified of the a pending disqualification. Upon
44	notification of the disqualification, the service provider shall
45	comply with the requirements regarding exclusions from
46	employment under s. 435.06. The employment of service provider
47	personnel shall not be adversely affected pending disposition of
48	the request for an exemption. Disapproval of a request for an
49	exemption shall result in the immediate dismissal of the service
50	provider personnel from employment with the provider.
51	(g)  The department may not issue a regular license to any
52	service provider that fails to provide proof that background
53	screening information has been submitted in accordance with
54	chapter 435.
55	Section 2.  Section 3 of chapter 2003-279, Laws of Florida,
56	is repealed.
57	Section 3.  Effective July 1, 2006, subsection (31) of
58	section 394.455, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection
59	(34) is added to that section, to read:
60	394.455  Definitions.--As used in this part, unless the
61	context clearly requires otherwise, the term:
62	(31)  "Service provider" means any public or private
63	receiving facility, an entity under contract with the Department
64	of Children and Family Services to provide mental health
65	services, a clinical psychologist, a clinical social worker, a
66	marriage and family therapist, a physician, a psychiatric nurse
67	as defined in subsection (23), or a community mental health
68	center or clinic as defined in this part.
69	(34)  "Marriage and family therapist" means a person
70	licensed as a marriage and family therapist under chapter 491.
71	Section 4.  Effective July 1, 2006, paragraph (a) of
72	subsection (2) of section 394.463, Florida Statutes, is amended
73	to read:
74	394.463  Involuntary examination.--
75	(2)  INVOLUNTARY EXAMINATION.--
76	(a)  An involuntary examination may be initiated by any one
77	of the following means:
78	1.  A court may enter an ex parte order stating that a
79	person appears to meet the criteria for involuntary examination,
80	giving the findings on which that conclusion is based. The ex
81	parte order for involuntary examination must be based on sworn
82	testimony, written or oral. If other less restrictive means are
83	not available, such as voluntary appearance for outpatient
84	evaluation, a law enforcement officer, or other designated agent
85	of the court, shall take the person into custody and deliver him
86	or her to the nearest receiving facility for involuntary
87	examination. The order of the court shall be made a part of the
88	patient's clinical record. No fee shall be charged for the
89	filing of an order under this subsection. Any receiving facility
90	accepting the patient based on this order must send a copy of
91	the order to the Agency for Health Care Administration on the
92	next working day. The order shall be valid only until executed
93	or, if not executed, for the period specified in the order
94	itself. If no time limit is specified in the order, the order
95	shall be valid for 7 days after the date that the order was
96	signed.
97	2.  A law enforcement officer shall take a person who
98	appears to meet the criteria for involuntary examination into
99	custody and deliver the person or have him or her delivered to
100	the nearest receiving facility for examination. The officer
101	shall execute a written report detailing the circumstances under
102	which the person was taken into custody, and the report shall be
103	made a part of the patient's clinical record. Any receiving
104	facility accepting the patient based on this report must send a
105	copy of the report to the Agency for Health Care Administration
106	on the next working day.
107	3.  A physician, clinical psychologist, psychiatric nurse,
108	mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, or
109	clinical social worker may execute a certificate stating that he
110	or she has examined a person within the preceding 48 hours and
111	finds that the person appears to meet the criteria for
112	involuntary examination and stating the observations upon which
113	that conclusion is based. If other less restrictive means are
114	not available, such as voluntary appearance for outpatient
115	evaluation, a law enforcement officer shall take the person
116	named in the certificate into custody and deliver him or her to
117	the nearest receiving facility for involuntary examination. The
118	law enforcement officer shall execute a written report detailing
119	the circumstances under which the person was taken into custody.
120	The report and certificate shall be made a part of the patient's
121	clinical record. Any receiving facility accepting the patient
122	based on this certificate must send a copy of the certificate to
123	the Agency for Health Care Administration on the next working
124	day.
125	Section 5.  Effective July 1, 2006, paragraphs (a) and (c)
126	of subsection (2) of section 394.4655, Florida Statutes, are
127	amended to read:
128	394.4655  Involuntary outpatient placement.--
129	(2)  INVOLUNTARY OUTPATIENT PLACEMENT.--
130	(a)1.  A patient may be retained by a receiving facility
131	upon the recommendation of the administrator of a receiving
132	facility where the patient has been examined and after adherence
133	to the notice of hearing procedures provided in s. 394.4599. The
134	recommendation must be supported by the opinion of a
135	psychiatrist and the second opinion of a clinical psychologist
136	or another psychiatrist, both of whom have personally examined
137	the patient within the preceding 72 hours, that the criteria for
138	involuntary outpatient placement are met. However, in a county
139	having a population of fewer than 50,000, if the administrator
140	certifies that no psychiatrist or clinical psychologist is
141	available to provide the second opinion, the second opinion may
142	be provided by a licensed physician who has postgraduate
143	training and experience in diagnosis and treatment of mental and
144	nervous disorders or by a psychiatric nurse as defined in this
145	chapter. Such a recommendation must be entered on an involuntary
146	outpatient placement certificate, which certificate must
147	authorize the receiving facility to retain the patient pending
148	completion of a hearing. The certificate shall be made a part of
149	the patient's clinical record.
150	2.  If the patient has been stabilized and no longer meets
151	the criteria for involuntary examination pursuant to s.
152	394.463(1), the patient must be released from the receiving
153	facility while awaiting the hearing for involuntary outpatient
154	placement. Prior to filing a petition for involuntary outpatient
155	treatment, the administrator of a receiving facility or a
156	designated department representative shall identify the service
157	provider that will have primary responsibility for service
158	provision under an order for involuntary outpatient placement,
159	unless the person is otherwise participating in outpatient
160	psychiatric treatment and is not in need of public financing for
161	that treatment, in which case the individual, if eligible, may
162	be ordered to involuntary treatment pursuant to the existing
163	psychiatric treatment relationship.
164	3.  The service provider shall prepare a written proposed
165	treatment plan in consultation with the patient or the patient's
166	guardian advocate, if appointed, for the court's consideration
167	for inclusion in the involuntary outpatient placement order. The
168	service provider shall also provide a copy of the proposed
169	treatment plan to the patient and the administrator of the
170	receiving facility. The treatment plan must specify the nature
171	and extent of the patient's mental illness. The treatment plan
172	must address the reduction of symptoms that necessitate
173	involuntary outpatient placement and include measurable goals
174	and objectives for the services and treatment that are provided
175	to treat the person's mental illness and to assist the person in
176	living and functioning in the community or to attempt to prevent
177	a relapse or deterioration. Service providers may select and
178	provide supervision to other individuals to implement specific
179	aspects of the treatment plan. The services in the treatment
180	plan must be deemed to be clinically appropriate by a physician,
181	clinical psychologist, psychiatric nurse, marriage and family
182	therapist, or clinical social worker, as defined in this
183	chapter, who consults with, or is employed or contracted by, the
184	service provider. The service provider must certify to the court
185	in the proposed treatment plan whether sufficient services for
186	improvement and stabilization are currently available and
187	whether the service provider agrees to provide those services.
188	If the service provider certifies that the services in the
189	proposed treatment plan are not available, the petitioner may
190	not file the petition.
191	(c)1.  The administrator of the treatment facility shall
192	provide a copy of the involuntary outpatient placement
193	certificate and a copy of the state mental health discharge form
194	to a department representative in the county where the patient
195	will be residing. For persons who are leaving a state mental
196	health treatment facility, the petition for involuntary
197	outpatient placement must be filed in the county where the
198	patient will be residing.
199	2.  The service provider that will have primary
200	responsibility for service provision shall be identified by the
201	designated department representative prior to the order for
202	involuntary outpatient placement and must, prior to filing a
203	petition for involuntary outpatient placement, certify to the
204	court whether the services recommended in the patient's
205	discharge plan are available in the local community and whether
206	the service provider agrees to provide those services. The
207	service provider must develop with the patient, or the patient's
208	guardian advocate, if appointed, a treatment or service plan
209	that addresses the needs identified in the discharge plan. The
210	plan must be deemed to be clinically appropriate by a physician,
211	clinical psychologist, psychiatric nurse, marriage and family
212	therapist, or clinical social worker, as defined in this
213	chapter, who consults with, or is employed or contracted by, the
214	service provider.
215	3.  If the service provider certifies that the services in
216	the proposed treatment or service plan are not available, the
217	petitioner may not file the petition.
218	Section 6.  Effective July 1, 2006, paragraph (e) of
219	subsection (6) of section 394.467, Florida Statutes, is amended
220	to read:
221	394.467  Involuntary inpatient placement.--
222	(6)  HEARING ON INVOLUNTARY INPATIENT PLACEMENT.--
223	(e)  The administrator of the receiving facility shall
224	provide a copy of the court order and adequate documentation of
225	a patient's mental illness to the administrator of a treatment
226	facility whenever a patient is ordered for involuntary inpatient
227	placement, whether by civil or criminal court. The Such
228	documentation shall include any advance directives made by the
229	patient, a psychiatric evaluation of the patient, and any
230	evaluations of the patient performed by a clinical psychologist,
231	a marriage and family therapist, or a clinical social worker.
232	The administrator of a treatment facility may refuse admission
233	to any patient directed to its facilities on an involuntary
234	basis, whether by civil or criminal court order, who is not
235	accompanied at the same time by adequate orders and
236	documentation.
237	Section 7. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
238	act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.