HB 7233

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to background screening; amending s.
3	430.0402, F.S.; revising the definition of the term
4	"direct service provider" for purposes of required
5	background screening; exempting a volunteer who meets
6	certain criteria and a client's relative or spouse from
7	the screening requirement; exempting persons screened as a
8	licensure requirement from further screening under certain
9	circumstances; requiring direct service providers working
10	as of a certain date to be screened within a specified
11	period; providing a phase-in for screening direct service
12	providers; providing rulemaking authority to the
13	Department of Elderly Affairs to implement the phase-in;
14	requiring that employers of direct service providers and
15	certain other individuals be rescreened every 5 years
16	unless fingerprints are retained electronically by the
17	Department of Law Enforcement; removing an offense from
18	the list of disqualifying offenses for purposes of
19	background screening; amending s. 464.203, F.S.; requiring
20	the Board of Nursing to waive background screening
21	requirements for certain certified nursing assistants;
22	providing an effective date.
23
24	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26	Section 1.  Section 430.0402, Florida Statutes, is amended
27	to read:
28	430.0402  Screening of direct service providers.-
29	(1)(a)  Level 2 background screening pursuant to chapter
30	435 is required for direct service providers. Background
31	screening includes employment history checks as provided in s.
32	435.03(1) and local criminal records checks through local law
33	enforcement agencies.
34	(b)  For purposes of this section, the term "direct service
35	provider" means a person 18 years of age or older, including a
36	volunteer, who, pursuant to a program to provide services to the
37	elderly, has direct, face-to-face contact with a client while
38	providing services to the client and or has access to the
39	client's living areas or to the client's funds or personal
40	property. The term does not include a volunteer who assists on
41	an intermittent basis for less than 20 hours per month of
42	direct, face-to-face contact with a client, an individual who is
43	related by blood to a client, or a client's spouse includes
44	coordinators, managers, and supervisors of residential
45	facilities and volunteers.
46	(2)  Licensed physicians, nurses, or other professionals
47	licensed by the Department of Health are not subject to
48	background screening if they are providing a service that is
49	within the scope of their licensed practice.
50	(3)  Individuals qualified for employment by the Agency for
51	Health Care Administration pursuant to the agency's background
52	screening standards for licensure or employment contained in s.
53	408.809 are not subject to subsequent or additional level 2
54	screening pursuant to chapter 435, or to the unique screening
55	requirements of this section, by virtue of their employment as
56	direct service providers if they are providing a service that is
57	within the scope of their licensed practice.
58	(4)(3)  Refusal on the part of an employer to dismiss a
59	manager, supervisor, or direct service provider who has been
60	found to be in noncompliance with standards of this section
61	shall result in the automatic denial, termination, or revocation
62	of the license or certification, rate agreement, purchase order,
63	or contract, in addition to any other remedies authorized by
64	law.
65	(5)  Individuals serving as direct service providers on
66	July 31, 2010, must be screened by July 1, 2012. The department
67	may adopt rules to establish a schedule to stagger the
68	implementation of the required screening over a 1-year period,
69	beginning July 1, 2011, through July 1, 2012.
70	(6)  An employer of a direct service provider who
71	previously qualified for employment or volunteer work under
72	level 1 screening standards or an individual who is required to
73	be screened according to level 2 screening standards contained
74	in chapter 435, pursuant to this section, shall be rescreened
75	every 5 years following the date of his or her last background
76	screening or exemption, unless such individual's fingerprints
77	are continuously retained and monitored by the Department of Law
78	Enforcement in the federal fingerprint retention program
79	according to the procedures specified in s. 943.05.
80	(7)(4)  The background screening conducted pursuant to this
81	section must ensure that, in addition to the disqualifying
82	offenses listed in s. 435.04, no person subject to the
83	provisions of this section has an arrest awaiting final
84	disposition for, has been found guilty of, regardless of
85	adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to,
86	or has been adjudicated delinquent and the record has not been
87	sealed or expunged for, any offense prohibited under any of the
88	following provisions of state law or similar law of another
89	jurisdiction:
90	(a)  Any authorizing statutes, if the offense was a felony.
91	(a)(b)  Section 409.920, relating to Medicaid provider
92	fraud.
93	(b)(c)  Section 409.9201, relating to Medicaid fraud.
94	(c)(d)  Section 817.034, relating to fraudulent acts
95	through mail, wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or
96	photooptical systems.
97	(d)(e)  Section 817.234, relating to false and fraudulent
98	insurance claims.
99	(e)(f)  Section 817.505, relating to patient brokering.
100	(f)(g)  Section 817.568, relating to criminal use of
101	personal identification information.
102	(g)(h)  Section 817.60, relating to obtaining a credit card
103	through fraudulent means.
104	(h)(i)  Section 817.61, relating to fraudulent use of
105	credit cards, if the offense was a felony.
106	(i)(j)  Section 831.01, relating to forgery.
107	(j)(k)  Section 831.02, relating to uttering forged
108	instruments.
109	(k)(l)  Section 831.07, relating to forging bank bills,
110	checks, drafts, or promissory notes.
111	(l)(m)  Section 831.09, relating to uttering forged bank
112	bills, checks, drafts, or promissory notes.
113	Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 464.203, Florida
114	Statutes, is amended to read:
115	464.203  Certified nursing assistants; certification
116	requirement.-
117	(1)  The board shall issue a certificate to practice as a
118	certified nursing assistant to any person who demonstrates a
119	minimum competency to read and write and successfully passes the
120	required background screening pursuant to s. 400.215. If the
121	person has successfully passed the required background screening
122	pursuant to s. 400.215 or s. 408.809 within 90 days before the
123	application for a certificate to practice, the board shall waive
124	the requirement that the applicant successfully pass an
125	additional background screening pursuant to s. 400.215. The
126	person must also meet and meets one of the following
127	requirements:
128	(a)  Has successfully completed an approved training
129	program and achieved a minimum score, established by rule of the
130	board, on the nursing assistant competency examination, which
131	consists of a written portion and skills-demonstration portion
132	approved by the board and administered at a site and by
133	personnel approved by the department.
134	(b)  Has achieved a minimum score, established by rule of
135	the board, on the nursing assistant competency examination,
136	which consists of a written portion and skills-demonstration
137	portion, approved by the board and administered at a site and by
138	personnel approved by the department and:
139	1.  Has a high school diploma, or its equivalent; or
140	2.  Is at least 18 years of age.
141	(c)  Is currently certified in another state; is listed on
142	that state's certified nursing assistant registry; and has not
143	been found to have committed abuse, neglect, or exploitation in
144	that state.
145	(d)  Has completed the curriculum developed under the
146	Enterprise Florida Jobs and Education Partnership Grant and
147	achieved a minimum score, established by rule of the board, on
148	the nursing assistant competency examination, which consists of
149	a written portion and skills-demonstration portion, approved by
150	the board and administered at a site and by personnel approved
151	by the department.
152	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

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