Bill Text: FL S1222 | 2019 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Services for Veterans and Their Families
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Appropriations [S1222 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S1222-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2019 CS for SB 1222
By the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs and Space; and
Senators Harrell and Mayfield
583-03494-19 20191222c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to services for veterans and their
3 families; creating s. 394.9087, F.S.; requiring the
4 Department Veterans’ Affairs to establish the Florida
5 Veterans’ Care Coordination Program to provide
6 veterans and their families with behavioral health
7 care referral and care coordination services;
8 requiring the department to contract with a certain
9 nonprofit entity to enter into agreements with Florida
10 211 Network participants to provide such services;
11 providing program goals; providing for the statewide
12 delivery of specified services by program teams;
13 requiring Florida 211 Network participants to collect
14 program implementation data and submit such data to
15 the department; requiring the department to submit a
16 report to the Governor and Legislature; providing an
17 effective date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Section 394.9087, Florida Statutes, is created
22 to read:
23 394.9087 Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program.—
24 (1) The Department of Veterans’ Affairs shall establish the
25 Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program. The Department of
26 Veterans’ Affairs shall contract with a nonprofit entity that is
27 accredited by the Council on Accreditation, is fully accredited
28 by the National Alliance of Information and Referral Services,
29 and has statewide phone capacity to serve veterans, to enter
30 into agreements with Florida 211 Network participants to provide
31 veterans and their families in this state with dedicated
32 behavioral health care referral services, especially mental
33 health and substance abuse services. The Department of Veterans’
34 Affairs shall model the program after the proof-of-concept pilot
35 program established in 2014 by the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay
36 and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in Hillsborough, Pasco
37 Pinellas, Polk, and Manatee counties.
38 (2) The goals of the program are to:
39 (a) Prevent suicides by veterans.
40 (b) Increase veterans’ use of programs and services
41 provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
42 (c) Increase the number of veterans who use other available
43 community-based programs and services.
44 (3) The program must be available statewide. Program
45 services must be provided by program teams operated by Florida
46 211 Network participants, as authorized by s. 408.918. A Florida
47 211 Network participant may provide services in more than one
48 geographic area under a single contract.
49 (4) The program teams shall provide referral and care
50 coordination services to veterans and their families and expand
51 the existing Florida 211 Network to include the optimal range of
52 veterans’ service organizations and programs. Florida 211
53 Network participants in the Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination
54 Program must include:
55 (a) Telephonic peer support, crisis intervention, and the
56 communication of information on referral resources.
57 (b) Treatment coordination, including coordination of
58 followup care.
59 (c) Suicide risk assessment.
60 (d) Promotion of the safety and wellness of veterans and
61 their families, including continuous safety planning and
62 support.
63 (e) Resource coordination, including data analysis, to
64 facilitate acceptance, enrollment, and attendance of veterans
65 and their families in programs and services provided by the
66 United States Department of Veterans Affairs and other available
67 community-based programs and services.
68 (f) Immediate needs assessments, including safety planning
69 and support.
70 (5) To enhance program services, program teams shall:
71 (a) Track the number of requests from callers who are
72 veterans or members of a veteran’s family.
73 (b) Follow up with callers who are veterans or members of a
74 veteran’s family to determine whether they have acted on the
75 referrals or received the assistance needed and whether
76 additional referral or advocacy is needed.
77 (c) Develop and implement communication strategies, such as
78 media promotions, public service announcements, print and
79 Internet articles, and community presentations, to inform
80 veterans and their families about available programs and
81 services provided by the United States Department of Veterans
82 Affairs and other available community-based programs and
83 services.
84 (d) Document all calls and capture all necessary data to
85 improve outreach to veterans and their families and report such
86 data to the contracted entity.
87 (6) Florida 211 Network participants in the Florida
88 Veterans’ Care Coordination Program shall maintain a database of
89 veteran-specific services available in the communities served by
90 the programs. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs and its
91 selected contractor shall work with managing entities as defined
92 in s. 394.9082(2)(e)to educate service providers about the
93 Florida Veterans Support Line and Veterans Care Coordination
94 Program.
95 (7) Florida 211 Network participants shall collect data on
96 the program and submit such data to the Department of Veterans’
97 Affairs in the format prescribed by the Department of Veterans’
98 Affairs. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs shall use such data
99 to prepare a report for submittal to the Governor, the President
100 of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
101 by December 15, 2020. The report must include:
102 (a) The number of calls received.
103 (b) Demographic information for each caller, including, but
104 not limited to, the caller’s military affiliation, the caller’s
105 veteran status, and whether the caller is receiving services
106 provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or
107 other available community-based programs and services.
108 (c) The nature of each call, including, but not limited to,
109 the concerns prompting the call and the services requested.
110 (d) The outcome of each call, including, but not limited
111 to, the services for which referrals were made and the
112 organizations to which the caller was referred.
113 (e) Services received as a result of each call.
114 (f) Information regarding followup by the program team,
115 including, but not limited to, the percentage of calls receiving
116 followup and the outcome of followup.
117 (g) Information regarding the program’s impact on each
118 caller’s quality of life and on the avoidance of negative
119 outcomes, including arrest and suicide.
120 (h) Each caller’s level of satisfaction with program
121 services.
122 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.
