The Florida Senate

393.0661  Home and community-based services delivery system; comprehensive redesign.--The Legislature finds that the home and community-based services delivery system for persons with developmental disabilities and the availability of appropriated funds are two of the critical elements in making services available. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Children and Family Services shall develop and implement a comprehensive redesign of the system. The redesign shall include, at a minimum, all actions necessary to achieve an appropriate rate structure, client choice within a specified service package, appropriate assessment strategies, an efficient billing process that contains reconciliation and monitoring components, a redefined role for support coordinators that avoids potential conflicts of interest, and family/client budgets linked to levels of need. Prior to the release of funds in the lump-sum appropriation, the department shall present a plan to the Executive Office of the Governor, the House Fiscal Responsibility Council, and the Senate Appropriations Committee. The plan must result in a full implementation of the redesigned system no later than July 1, 2003. At a minimum, the plan must provide that the portions related to direct provider enrollment and billing will be operational no later than March 31, 2003. The plan must further provide that a more effective needs assessment instrument will be deployed by January 1, 2003, and that all clients will be assessed with this device by June 30, 2003. In no event may the department select an assessment instrument without appropriate evidence that it will be reliable and valid. Once such evidence has been obtained, however, the department shall determine the feasibility of contracting with an external vendor to apply the new assessment device to all clients receiving services through the Medicaid waiver. In lieu of using an external vendor, the department may use support coordinators for the assessments if it develops sufficient safeguards and training to significantly improve the inter-rater reliability of the support coordinators administering the assessment.

History.--s. 39, ch. 2002-400.