HB 1143

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to human services; creating s. 287.0576,
3	F.S.; providing definitions; allowing the national
4	accreditation of human service providers to substitute for
5	certain agency licensure and monitoring requirements;
6	providing exceptions; requiring a single lead agency to be
7	responsible for monitoring human services delivery for
8	designated populations; requiring the lead agency to
9	develop monitoring protocols, develop a plan for
10	coordinating monitoring activities, adopt rules, provide a
11	list of required documents, and develop forms by a certain
12	date; providing that background screening conducted for
13	one agency satisfies the screening requirements of other
14	agencies; requiring the agency to accept all mandated
15	reports and invoices electronically and to allow all core
16	documents to be posted in secure electronic storage;
17	requiring agencies to provide an analysis of every new
18	governmental mandate to an affected contractor before the
19	mandate may be required or imposed; requiring a
20	contracting agency to negotiate a contract amendment for
21	any material change to a contract that will have a
22	financial impact on a contractor; requiring human service
23	contracts to include a cost-of-living adjustment or allow
24	the contractor to reduce services; providing an exception
25	under certain circumstances; requiring a contract to
26	ensure payment for undisputed issues, not allow a private
27	entity performing contract monitoring to impose additional
28	requirements, and allow unexpended funds to be carried
29	forward; providing that failure by an agency to negotiate
30	a contract amendment or provide a remedy to a material
31	adverse impact of a new governmental mandate constitutes
32	an agency action for the purposes of ch. 120, F.S.;
33	requiring each agency to compile a list of contractor
34	requirements and submit such list to the Governor;
35	amending s. 216.136, F.S.; requiring the Social Services
36	Estimating Conference to determine mental health,
37	substance abuse, child welfare, and juvenile justice
38	services needs; providing an effective date.
39
40	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
41
42	Section 1.  Section 287.0576, Florida Statutes, is created
43	to read:
44	287.0576  Outsourced human services.-
45	(1)  As used in this section, the term:
46	(a)  "Financial impact" means an increase in reasonable
47	costs of 5 percent or more in the annual aggregate payment to a
48	contractor performing a contract for outsourced human services.
49	(b)  "Human services" means services related to mental
50	health, substance abuse, child welfare, or juvenile justice.
51	(c)  "New governmental mandate" means a statutory
52	requirement, administrative rule, regulation, assessment,
53	executive order, judicial order, or other governmental
54	requirement, or an agency policy, that was not in effect when a
55	contract for the outsourcing of human services was originally
56	entered into and that directly imposes an obligation on the
57	contractor to take, or to refrain from taking, an action in
58	order to fulfill its contractual obligation.
59	(2)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order
60	to create a more stable business environment for contractors
61	providing outsourced human services and to ensure
62	accountability, eliminate duplication, and improve efficiency
63	with respect to the provision of such services, national
64	accreditation of human services providers by the Joint
65	Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the
66	Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and
67	the Council on Accreditation shall be accepted by an agency in
68	lieu of the agency's facility licensure onsite review and
69	administrative requirements, and as a substitute for the
70	agency's licensure, administrative, and program monitoring
71	requirements. Accreditation for administrative requirements
72	satisfies the administrative requirements for licensure during
73	the time period that the accreditation is effective.
74	Notwithstanding a survey or inspection by an accreditation
75	organization, the agency may continue to inspect and monitor the
76	contractor as necessary with respect to:
77	(a)  Reimbursement matters for any contract.
78	(b)  Complaint investigations, suspected problems, or the
79	implementation of the terms of consent decrees or other orders.
80	(c)  Ensuring compliance with federal or state laws and
81	rules that are not covered by the accreditation.
82	(3)  To facilitate service delivery and compliance with the
83	provisions of this part, a single agency shall take the lead
84	with respect to developing policies and monitoring requirements
85	for specified human services. The agency that has been
86	designated by the Federal Government or state law as the
87	authorized state entity with respect to a defined human service
88	population shall be the lead agency for the provision of all
89	related human services.
90	(a)  By October 1, 2011, each lead agency shall:
91	1.  Develop a common monitoring protocol to be used by all
92	agencies serving the same population;
93	2.  Develop and implement a plan that coordinates
94	monitoring activities related to the delivery of services to the
95	populations being served by multiple agencies. Monitoring by
96	multiple agencies shall be combined so that interruptions to the
97	contractor and to the services provided are minimized;
98	3.  Adopt rules that guide the delivery of services across
99	the jurisdictions of multiple agencies serving the same
100	population and coordinate all monitoring activities;
101	4.  Provide a master list of core documents required for
102	contract monitoring purposes and provide for the submission or
103	posting of such documentation by each contractor; and
104	5.  If the same information or documentation is required by
105	more than one agency, develop a common form to be used by all
106	agencies requesting that information or documentation.
107	(b)  Level 2 background screening conducted for one lead
108	agency shall satisfy the screening requirements for all agencies
109	requiring such screening.
110	(4)  The department or agency must accept all mandated
111	reports and invoices from human services contractors
112	electronically, and allow all core documents required under
113	subparagraph (3)(a)4. to be posted in secure electronic storage.
114	The department shall recognize electronic document vaults
115	established for the purpose of storing, delivering, and
116	retrieving documents required in monitoring and regulatory
117	review processes. To the greatest extent possible, the
118	department shall promote the development, implementation, and
119	maintenance of such vaults by service providers or provider
120	trade associations. If a contractor uses such storage, the
121	department or agency must have access to the electronic storage
122	in order to monitor required documents, and shall by rule or
123	contract require the contractor to deposit documents requested
124	by the agency in such storage.
125	(5)  Agencies shall provide to the contractor an analysis
126	of every new governmental mandate affecting the human services
127	contractor. The analysis must identify the estimated cost of the
128	mandate to the contractor and must be transmitted to the
129	contractor before the mandate may be required or imposed.
130	(6)  Contracts to outsource human services must:
131	(a)  Provide that if a material change to the scope of the
132	contract is imposed upon a contractor and compliance with such
133	change will have a financial impact on the contractor, the
134	contracting agency shall negotiate a contract amendment to
135	increase the maximum obligation amount or unit price of the
136	contract to offset the financial impact of the change if the
137	contractor furnishes evidence of such impact along with a
138	request to renegotiate the contract based on the proposed change
139	to the agency. The contractor may not be held to requirements or
140	obligations that are not required by law or are not included in
141	the original contract or by negotiated amendment to the
142	contract. The agency may issue emergency requirements to ensure
143	the continued safety of the population served by the contractor
144	for up to 90 days, during which the agency shall negotiate
145	contract changes as described in this paragraph.
146	(b)  Provide, subject to appropriations, an annual cost-of-
147	living adjustment that reflects increases in the consumer price
148	index. In the absence of a cost-of-living adjustment, the
149	contract must allow the contractor to reduce the number of
150	services or units contracted for, or require the agency to
151	provide documentation substantiating the reasons a reduction is
152	not possible.
153	(c)  Ensure that:
154	1.  Payment will be made on all items not under dispute and
155	that payment will not be withheld on undisputed issues pending
156	the resolution of disputed issues.
157	2.  If the agency engages a private entity to conduct
158	contract monitoring or otherwise delegates any contract
159	administration functions to an outside entity, such entity shall
160	uniformly administer the contract and not impose any
161	requirements that exceed law, rule, or the contract terms.
162	3.  Notwithstanding s. 216.301, any dispersed funds that
163	remain unexpended during the contract term are approved as
164	authorized revenue and carry over into the next year for the
165	purposes of cash flow and continuation of the contract.
166	(7)  Any material change to a human services contract
167	imposed pursuant to paragraph (6)(a) constitutes an agency
168	action pursuant to chapter 120. Any contractor aggrieved by the
169	refusal or failure of an agency to negotiate a contract
170	amendment to provide a remedy for the fiscal impact of a
171	material change to the scope of the contract may seek a remedy
172	pursuant to chapter 120.
173	(8)  Each agency shall annually compile and list all
174	contract requirements, mandated reports, outcome measures, and
175	other requirements imposed on its human services contractors.
176	The list must provide a law, rule, contract, or policy citation
177	for each requirement. The list shall be submitted to the
178	Governor.
179	Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section
180	216.136, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
181	216.136  Consensus estimating conferences; duties and
182	principals.-
183	(6)  SOCIAL SERVICES ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.-
184	(a)  The Social Services Estimating Conference shall
185	develop such official information relating to the social
186	services system of the state, including forecasts of social
187	services caseloads, utilization, and expenditures, as the
188	conference determines is needed for the state planning and
189	budgeting system. Such official information shall include, but
190	not be limited to, cash assistance and Medicaid caseloads, as
191	well as mental health, substance abuse, child welfare, and
192	juvenile justice services needs given current and estimated
193	population growth and economic trends.
194	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

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