Florida Senate - 2019 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1222
Ì450876JÎ450876
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs and Space
(Harrell) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 394.9087, Florida Statutes, is created
6 to read:
7 394.9087 Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program.—
8 (1) The Department of Veterans’ Affairs shall establish the
9 Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program. The Department of
10 Veterans’ Affairs shall contract with a nonprofit entity that is
11 accredited by the Council on Accreditation, is fully accredited
12 by the Alliance of Information and Referral Services, and has
13 statewide phone capacity to serve veterans, to enter into
14 agreements with Florida 211 Network participants to provide
15 veterans and their families in this state with dedicated
16 behavioral health care referral services, especially mental
17 health and substance abuse services. The Department of Veterans’
18 Affairs shall model the program after the proof-of-concept pilot
19 program established in 2014 by the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay
20 and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in Hillsborough, Pasco
21 Pinellas, Polk, and Manatee counties.
22 (2) The goals of the program are to:
23 (a) Prevent suicides by veterans.
24 (b) Increase veterans’ use of programs and services
25 provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
26 (c) Increase the number of veterans who use other available
27 community-based programs and services.
28 (3) The program must be available statewide. Program
29 services must be provided by program teams operated by Florida
30 211 Network participants, as authorized by s. 408.918. A Florida
31 211 Network participant may provide services in more than one
32 geographic area under a single contract.
33 (4) The program teams shall provide referral and care
34 coordination services to veterans and their families and expand
35 the existing Florida 211 Network to include the optimal range of
36 veterans’ service organizations and programs. Florida 211
37 Network participants in the Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination
38 Program must include:
39 (a) Telephonic peer support, crisis intervention, and the
40 communication of information on referral resources.
41 (b) Treatment coordination, including coordination of
42 followup care.
43 (c) Suicide risk assessment.
44 (d) Promotion of the safety and wellness of veterans and
45 their families, including continuous safety planning and
46 support.
47 (e) Resource coordination, including data analysis, to
48 facilitate acceptance, enrollment, and attendance of veterans
49 and their families in programs and services provided by the
50 United States Department of Veterans Affairs and other available
51 community-based programs and services.
52 (f) Immediate needs assessments, including safety planning
53 and support.
54 (5) To enhance program services, program teams shall:
55 (a) Track the number of requests from callers who are
56 veterans or members of a veteran’s family.
57 (b) Follow up with callers who are veterans or members of a
58 veteran’s family to determine whether they have acted on the
59 referrals or received the assistance needed and whether
60 additional referral or advocacy is needed.
61 (c) Develop and implement communication strategies, such as
62 media promotions, public service announcements, print and
63 Internet articles, and community presentations, to inform
64 veterans and their families about available programs and
65 services provided by the United States Department of Veterans
66 Affairs and other available community-based programs and
67 services.
68 (d) Document all calls and capture all necessary data to
69 improve outreach to veterans and their families and report such
70 data to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.
71 (6) Florida 211 Network participants in the Florida
72 Veterans’ Care Coordination Program shall maintain a database of
73 veteran-specific services available in the communities served by
74 the programs. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs and its
75 selected contractor shall work with managing entities as defined
76 in s. 394.9082(2)(e)to educate service providers about the
77 Florida Veterans Support Line and Veterans Care Coordination
78 Program.
79 (7) Florida 211 Network participants shall collect data on
80 the program and submit such data to the Department of Veterans’
81 Affairs in the format prescribed by the Department of Veterans’
82 Affairs. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs shall use such data
83 to prepare a report for submittal to the Governor, the President
84 of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
85 by December 15, 2020. The report must include:
86 (a) The number of calls received.
87 (b) Demographic information for each caller, including, but
88 not limited to, the caller’s military affiliation, the caller’s
89 veteran status, and whether the caller is receiving services
90 provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or
91 other available community-based programs and services.
92 (c) The nature of each call, including, but not limited to,
93 the concerns prompting the call and the services requested.
94 (d) The outcome of each call, including, but not limited
95 to, the services for which referrals were made and the
96 organizations to which the caller was referred.
97 (e) Services received as a result of each call.
98 (f) Information regarding followup by the program team,
99 including, but not limited to, the percentage of calls receiving
100 followup and the outcome of followup.
101 (g) Information regarding the program’s impact on each
102 caller’s quality of life and on the avoidance of negative
103 outcomes, including arrest and suicide.
104 (h) Each caller’s level of satisfaction with program
105 services.
106 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.
107
108 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
109 And the title is amended as follows:
110 Delete everything before the enacting clause
111 and insert:
112 A bill to be entitled
113 An act relating to services for veterans and their
114 families; creating s. 394.9087, F.S.; requiring the
115 Department Veterans’ Affairs to establish the Florida
116 Veterans’ Care Coordination Program to provide
117 veterans and their families with behavioral health
118 care referral and care coordination services;
119 requiring the department to contract with a certain
120 nonprofit entity to enter into agreements with Florida
121 211 Network participants to provide such services;
122 providing program goals; providing for the statewide
123 delivery of specified services by program teams;
124 requiring Florida 211 Network participants to collect
125 program implementation data and submit such data to
126 the department; requiring the department to submit a
127 report to the Governor and Legislature; providing an
128 effective date.