HB 1527

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to maternal and child health; creating s.
3	383.2163, F.S., the "Florida Nurse Home Visitation Act";
4	providing a short title; establishing a nurse home
5	visitation pilot program in specified areas; providing
6	purpose; providing definitions; requiring local Healthy
7	Start coalitions to administer the program; providing
8	duties of the Department of Health; providing for
9	administration and evaluation of the program; providing
10	eligibility requirements; requiring the department to
11	adopt standards and guidelines; requiring the department
12	to submit an annual report to the Governor and
13	Legislature; providing an effective date.
14
15	WHEREAS, in order to adequately care for their newborns and
16	young children, new mothers may often seek and benefit from
17	receiving professional assistance and information, and, without
18	such assistance and information, a young mother may develop
19	habits or practices that are detrimental to her health and well-
20	being and the health and well-being of her child, and
21	WHEREAS, inadequate prenatal care and inadequate care in
22	infancy and early childhood often inhibit a child's ability to
23	learn and develop throughout his or her childhood and may have
24	lasting, adverse effects on the child's ability to function as
25	an adult, and
26	WHEREAS, implementation of a nurse home visitation program
27	that provides educational, health, and other resources for new
28	mothers during pregnancy and the first years of their infants'
29	lives has been proven to significantly reduce the number of
30	premature births, the incidence of drug, tobacco, and alcohol
31	use and abuse by mothers, the occurrence of criminal activity
32	engaged in by mothers and their children under 15 years of age,
33	and the number of reported incidents of child abuse and neglect,
34	and
35	WHEREAS, one example of this type of program, the Nurse-
36	Family Partnership, has succeeded in reducing the number of a
37	mother's subsequent births, increasing the length of time
38	between subsequent births, reducing the mother's need for other
39	forms of public assistance, and promoting the overall health and
40	developmental outcomes for the mother and her young children,
41	and
42	WHEREAS, the Nurse-Family Partnership model has been shown
43	to be cost effective, yielding a 5-to-1 return on investment for
44	every dollar spent on evidence-based nurse home visitation
45	services and producing a net benefit of $34,000 per high-risk
46	family served, NOW, THEREFORE,
47
48	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
49
50	Section 1.  Section 383.2163, Florida Statutes, is created
51	to read:
52	383.2163  Nurse home visitation pilot program.-
53	(1)  This section may be cited as the "Florida Nurse Home
54	Visitation Act."
55	(2)  A nurse home visitation pilot program is established
56	in the Lee County Healthy Start coalition service area. The
57	existing program in the Palm Beach County Healthy Start
58	coalition service area is included in the pilot program. The
59	purpose of the pilot program is to provide regular, in-home,
60	visiting nurse services to low-income, first-time mothers who
61	are identified as eligible based on the results of Healthy Start
62	risk screening. Visiting nurses shall educate mothers about the
63	importance of personal health, child health and development,
64	education and employment, and building supportive relationships.
65	In addition, visiting nurses may provide assistance to improve
66	the home and surrounding environment, manage child care, and
67	provide families with access to other community services. Any
68	assistance provided through the program shall be provided only
69	with the consent of the low-income, first-time mother. Services
70	shall begin during the mother's pregnancy and continue until her
71	child's second birthday; however, the mother may refuse to
72	continue receiving services at any time.
73	(3)  As used in this section, the term:
74	(a)  "Department" means the Department of Health.
75	(b)  "Local entity" means the local Healthy Start
76	coalition.
77	(c)  "Low-income" means having an annual household income
78	that does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
79	(d)  "Nurse" means a registered nurse, licensed practical
80	nurse, clinical nurse specialist, or advanced registered nurse
81	practitioner as defined in s. 464.003.
82	(e)  "Pilot program" or "program" means the nurse home
83	visitation pilot program established under this section.
84	(4)  The program shall be administered by the local entity
85	and provide services to a minimum of 100 low-income, first-time
86	mothers in that community who are identified as eligible based
87	on the results of Healthy Start risk screening. The department
88	may waive this requirement if the population base of the
89	community does not include 100 eligible mothers. The department
90	shall ensure the ability of the local entity to implement the
91	program within the smaller community and maintain compliance
92	with program requirements. A mother is eligible to receive
93	services through the program if she is pregnant with her first
94	child and her gross annual household income does not exceed 200
95	percent of the federal poverty level.
96	(5)  The department shall adopt standards and guidelines to
97	implement this section. Standards and guidelines that establish
98	program training requirements, protocols, management information
99	systems, and evaluation requirements shall be modeled after
100	practices and procedures of research-based programs that have
101	been implemented in one or more other states for at least 5
102	years. In order to produce sizeable, sustained outcomes for
103	families who receive services through the pilot program, the
104	department shall ensure that services are provided in accordance
105	with program standards that have been replicated in randomized
106	controlled trials conducted at multiple sites and that have
107	shown significant reductions in:
108	(a)  The number of babies born prematurely or with low
109	birth weight.
110	(b)  The occurrence of infant behavioral impairments due to
111	a mother's use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
112	(c)  The number of reported incidents of child abuse and
113	neglect.
114	(d)  The number of subsequent pregnancies.
115	(e)  The number of mothers receiving public assistance.
116	(f)  Criminal activity engaged in by a mother or her child
117	or children.
118	(6)  The department shall monitor the administration of the
119	program to ensure that the program is implemented according to
120	the program training requirements, protocols, management
121	information systems, and evaluation requirements established by
122	the department. The department shall evaluate the program and
123	submit an annual report of its findings and recommendations on
124	or before January 1 of each year to the Governor, the President
125	of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
126	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

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