Capitol Update

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Will Hawke wrote: Capitol Update Capitol Update Florida

Developmental Disabilities Council, Inc. 124 Marriott Drive, Suite 203, Tallahassee, FL 32301-2981 Phone: / ~ Fax: ~ TDD / www.fddc.org The session is over. The dust has settled. And there was legislation passed that supports individuals with developmental disabilities and there were failed well-intentioned attempts to pass legislation that would support these individuals. The first notable issue is the proviso language of the triage system for the Home and Community Based Waiver. The Florida Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC) supported a change in proviso language that redefines the triage system to place people on the Home

and Community Based Waiver. This new language would have added the choice of living with one's family if an individual needs the additional services provided in this waiver. The Legislature decided that the only change in proviso was to add individuals with Autism to those who are eligible for the large waiver. This requirement does not address our position for equity in waiver eligibility. The council continues to support a triage system based on need, one that supports families and all individuals with developmental disabilities equally. For those who do not know, last year the new appropriations proviso language for individuals with developmental disabilities who were

accessing the Home and Community Based Waiver (which became effective on July 1, 2005) excluded individuals with developmental disabilities who choose to live with their families. Individuals who choose to live at home are now only eligible for the Family and Supported Living Waiver unless they need nursing services beyond the Medicaid State Plan. The Family and Supported Living Waiver offers individuals with developmental disabilities eleven services and is capped at $14,282.00 per year. This waiver is helpful for some individuals but not for those who need more services or different services that are only offered in the Home and Community based waiver. In order to be eligible for the Home and Community Based Waiver one must choose a licensed residential facility; require nursing services beyond the Medicaid State Plan or choose to live in a supported living situation, which means living alone or with a roommate(s). Statistics from ARC and VOR Ed and Virginia Caraway with Voice of the Retarded and Hall with ARC Florida sent us

these startling statistics on the lack of support for families that include an individual with developmental disabilities from the State of the States study: May 15, 2006 Volume 5, Issue 7 2 AAMR F.Y.I. April 2006, Vol. 6, Number

4 While family spending increased 16% from 2002-2004, it still constitutes a small fraction of public spending on developmental disability services, reveals new data from the well-known State of the States study by L. Braddock at the University of Colorado. In 2004, 395,978 families received family support services, an increase of only 2,249 families from the number supported in 2002. In 2004,

the average spending per family across the states was $5,005, ranging from $235 per year per family in Alabama to over $10,000 in nine states. With more state budget cuts planned and a shortage of direct support workers, family support services remains more vulnerable than ever. Read the data from the study at http://ici.umn.edu/products/prb/171/default. html *** $5,000,000 for the Early Steps Program! Your calls made the difference! The final appropriation for Part C went up to $5,000,000 in new funding from a $1,000,000 budget conference recommendation and was more than the $4,100,000 in new funding that the governor had recommended. Early Steps is the Florida early intervention program that follows Federal Part C guidelines. The program uses Federal and State funding to provide therapies for children age 0-3 so they can complete their developmental milestones if it has been determined that there is a developmental delay. Research indicates that this early intervention provided at this critical time significantly improves outcomes as the children grow up. Proven Benefits of Early Childhood Intervention The RAND Corporation's recently released research identifies the most

effective practices and features of early intervention programs, based on a literature review and analysis. The study focused on diverse programs throughout the country that offered parent education and support, including home visits, center-based visits, or a combination. Key findings include: . Early childhood intervention programs have been shown to yield benefits in academic achievement, behavior, educational progression and attainment, delinquency and crime, and

labor market success, among other domains. . Interventions with better-trained caregivers and smaller child-to-staff ratios appear to offer more favorable results. . Well-designed early childhood interventions have been found to generate a return to society ranging from $1.80 to $17.07 for each dollar spent on the program. Information is available to download by clicking the link below: Full 200+ Page

Report *** In this last issue of this year's Capitol Update, we have separated the bills of interest to individuals with developmental disabilities that the Council has been tracking into those that PASSED and those 3 that DID NOT. You may be surprised to know a number of the measures endorsed by those "failed" bills have found their way unto other bills that were successful. House Bill 785 by Representative Ausley and Senate Bill 1478 by Senator Wise

were added to the House A++ bill (HB 7087) as two amendments that were changed slightly to satisfy all stakeholders so that the differences between accommodations and modifications could be clarified and a testing tool developed to assess progress for those seeking a special diploma. The A++ Bill also contains co-teaching language. Senate Bill 120 by Senator Wise and House Bill 169 by Representative Llorente were added as an amendment to HB 1503, the bill that updates Florida Statute 393 from the Agency for Persons with

Disabilities (APD). These bills were also amended with compromise language to ensure Federal 508 compliance when procuring IT equipment so that the equipment is accessible to all individuals regardless of ability. We hope you find this interesting and of value as you go about your advocacy. And we thank you very much for your notes, your comments and your kudos throughout the session. Most of all, we thank you for taking the time to make those calls and send those emails when Legislative Alerts were sent out asking for your active participation. As you can read below, you helped make a difference! Have a great summer! *** Bills That Passed HB 1319 - Relating to Swimming Instructors/Certification by Goldstein CS Sponsors: Health Care Appropriations, Health Care Regulation, Business Regulation Summary Swimming Instructors/Certification;

this bill requires additional certification of swimming instructors specializing in training people who have developmental disabilities. It requires the Dan Marino Foundation, Inc., to develop certification requirements, a training curriculum and the submission of certification requirements to DOH for review. The bill provides deadlines for certification and provides a remedy for certification violations APPROPRIATION: $535,000. Actions On Calendar 04/28/06 HOUSE Read Second Time; Amendment(s) Adopted; Read Third Time; Passed (Vote: 115 Yeas / 0 Nays); In Senate Messages; Received, referred to Health Care; Community Affairs; Immediately withdrawn from Health Care; Community Affairs; Substituted for SB 2426; Read Second Time; Read Third Time; Passed (Vote: 40 Yeas / 0 Nays); Immediately certified; Ordered enrolled Similar Bill SB 2426 - Relating to Public Swimming Facilities Sponsor(s) by Argenziano CS Sponsors: Health Care Actions 04/28/06 SENATE Read Second Time; Substituted for HB 1319; Laid on Table, Refer to HB 1319 HB 487 - Relating to Transportation Disadvantaged - Robaina, Cosponsors: Bullard

(E), Goldstein, Mahon, Porth, Sansom CS Sponsors: State Infrastructure Council 4 Summary General Transportation Disadvantaged; this bill revises membership of Commission for Transportation Disadvantaged and it provides qualifications for appointment to membership on the commission. Two of the individuals appointed to the commission must have a disability and use the

TD system. It requires that candidates for appointment to the commission meet certain standards for background screening and authorizes commission to appoint technical advisory groups. It also requires commission to develop

transportation fund allocation methodology for certain purposes. Actions 04/20/06 SENATE Read Third Time; Passed (Vote: 37 Yeas / 0 Nays) 04/21/06 HOUSE Ordered enrolled Similar Bill SB 0634 - Relating to Transportation Disadvantaged by Constantine Actions 4/19/06 SENATE Read Second Time; Substituted for HB 0487; Laid on Table, Refer to HB 0487 HB 457 - Relating to Guardianship Sands Cosponsors: Bullard (E), Goldstein, Seiler CS Sponsors: Future of Florida's Families, Civil Justice Summary General Guardianship; This bill defines the terms "audit" & "surrogate guardian". It provides that the Statewide Public Guardianship Office need not review credit & criminal investigations from college or university before registering an institution as a professional guardian. It provides that in event of death, the surviving parent is the sole natural guardian of a minor. It requires that a professional guardian ensure that each of his or her wards is personally visited at least quarterly. This bill includes some of the blue ribbon task force recommendations for guardianship. Actions 05/05/06 HOUSE Received from Messages; Concurred with Senate Amendment(s); Passed (Vote: 119 Yeas / 0 Nays); Ordered engrossed, then enrolled Linked Bill HB 0459 - Relating to Guardianship Off./Direct-Support Org by Sands Actions 05/04/06 SENATE Read Third Time; Passed (Vote: 40 Yeas / 0 Nays);

House Ordered enrolled Similar SB 472 - Relating to Guardianship by Saunders CS Sponsors: Judiciary, Children and Families Actions 05/04/06 SENATE Read Third Time; Amendment(s) Adopted; Substituted for HB 0457; Laid on Table, Refer to HB 0457 CS for CS for SB 170 General Administration of Medication - Baker, CS Sponsors: Health Care, Children and Families Summary General

Administration of Medication; An act relating to the Administration of Medication; It authorizes direct service providers to administer medication to clients or to supervise selfadministration of medication by clients if competency is demonstrated. This bill deletes requirements for unlicensed staff members of direct care facilities to administer prescribed medications to persons with developmental disabilities and allows the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to establish rules. Actions 05/03/06 HOUSE Substituted for HB 181; Read Second Time; Read Third Time; 5 Passed (Vote: 120 Yeas / 0 Nays); Senate Ordered enrolled Compare HB 0181 - Relating to Administration of Medication by Hays Actions 05/03/06 HOUSE Substituted for SB 170; Laid on Table, Refer to SB 170 SB 2048 - Relating to Education - Sponsor(s) by Education Summary General Education. This bill

requires that Legislative Budget Commission review proposed federal education plans. It specifies that the mission of the state's K-20 education system is to provide high quality, rigorous, and relevant learning opportunities for students and it requires

legislative approval of a revised state plan to implement certain federal requirements. For example, the bill includes adding Speech and Language pathology services as a related service to ensure greater access for students with developmental disabilities to these services. This bill is a large education bill that includes recommendations and federal compliance for the Florida Department of Education. Actions 05/03/06 SENATE Read Second Time; Amendment(s) Adopted; Amendment(s) Withdrawn; Amendment(s) Failed; Substituted for HB 7087; Laid on Table, Refer to HB 7087 Compare HB 7087 05/04/06 SENATE Read Third Time; Passed (Vote: 39 Yeas / 1 Nays); In Returning House Messages; HOUSE Received from Messages; Concurred with Senate Amendment(s); Passed (Vote: 90 Yeas / 24 Nays); Ordered engrossed, then enrolled SB 1278 -

Relating to Interagency Services Committee/Disabled - by Wise Summary General - Interagency Services Committee/Disabled. This bill creates the Interagency Services Committee for Persons with Disabilities. It provides legislative intent and provides that the committee be staffed by member agencies of the committee. This bill was inspired by Senator Wise's involvement in the National Governor's Association on Transition for students with disabilities. The bill puts into statute interagency efforts to provide optimal educational experiences that will lead to productive employment opportunities for students with disabilities. The bill specifies membership and the duties and responsibilities for the committee. It requires the committee to submit a report to Governor. Actions 05/03/06 HOUSE Substituted for HB 1623; Read Second Time; Read Third Time; Passed (Vote: 120 Yeas / 0 Nays); Ordered enrolled Identical Bill HB 1623 - Relating to Interagency Committee/Disabled by Bean 05/03/06 HOUSE Substituted for SB 1278; Laid on Table, Refer to SB 1278 SB 2012 - Relating to Agency for Persons with

Disabilities - by Baker Summary General - Agency for Persons with Disabilities. This bill provides for certain employees, agents, and contract providers of the agency to have access to records concerning cases of child abuse or neglect for specified purposes. The bill revises duties of the agency regarding prevention 6 services, evaluations and assessments, intervention services, and support services. It revises screening requirements for direct service

providers and revises requirements governing agency's licensure procedures. The bill requires that rules be adopted for use of restraint and seclusion. Actions 05/03/06 SENATE Read Second Time; Substituted for HB 1503; Laid on

Table, Refer to HB 1503 Similar Bill HB 1503, by Galvano Actions 05/04/06 SENATE Read Third Time; Passed (Vote: 37 Yeas / 0 Nays); Ordered enrolled HB 351 - Relating to Community Residential Homes - by - Cantera Co- Sponsors: Legg CS Sponsors: Future of Florida's Families, Growth Management Summary General Community Residential Homes. This bill revises definitions and requires sponsoring agency of community residential home to provide certain information to local government under certain circumstances. This bill

failed last year. It puts the burden of enforcing the 1,000-foot rule on sponsoring agencies. If an agency wants to sponsor a group home in a neighborhood, they must first prove that there are no other small group homes from any agency within 1,000 feet. The 1,000-foot rule was designed to prevent clustering in residential neighborhoods. Actions 05/02/06 SENATE Read Third Time; Passed (Vote: 37 Yeas / 0 Nays); House Ordered enrolled Similar Bill SB 1006 by Fasano 05/01/06 SENATE Read Second Time; Amendment(s) Adopted; Substituted for HB 0351; Laid on Table, Refer to HB 0351 *** Bills that DID NOT Pass SB 2050 - Relating to Florida KidCare Program by Peaden, Jr. Cosponsors: Hill CS Sponsors: Health Care Summary Florida KidCare Program; this bill provides that eligibility for this program be at or below the maximum income threshold rather than a specified percentage of federal poverty level. It requires AHCA to seek approval from Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to use the highest maximum income threshold allowed by federal law or regulation, which is up to 300 percent of the most recently stated federal poverty limit. Actions 05/05/06 SENATE

Died in Committee on Health and Human Services Appropriations Similar Bill HB 1365 - Relating to Florida KidCare Program - Sponsor(s) by (M) Cosponsors: Bucher, Grant, Harrell, Kendrick, Roberson, Sobel CS Sponsors: Health Care Appropriations , Future of Florida's Families Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died in Committee on Health Care HB 1233 - Relating to Fla. Early Learning Advisory Council - Ausley, CS Sponsors: PreK-12 7 Summary General Fla. Early Learning Advisory Council; This bill requires a study by said council, in conjunction with Agency for Workforce Innovation, to examine early learning quality incentives

and rating systems. It requires OPPAGA to study administration and regulation of child care services and, in cooperation with said council, study the effectiveness of Child Care Executive Partnership Act. Actions 05/05/06 HOUSE Died in Committee on Education Appropriations Similar Bill SB 2376 - Early Learning Incentives Task Force, by Rich Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died in Committee on Education HB 249 Relating to 211 Network- Jennings, Jr. Co -Sponsors: , , Baxley, Cretul, (M), Gannon, Joyner, Murzin, Stansel CS Sponsors: Utilities & Telecommunications, Health Care Appropriations Summary General Florida 211 Network. This bill requires the 211 Network to provide services in each county and to coordinate services with county

emergency management agencies during disasters. It provides requirements for distribution of state funds appropriated for such purposes and requires local matching funds. It requires expenditure reports to Fla. Alliance of Information & Referral Services, AHCA, Governor, and the Legislature. The bill defines "211 provider" as an information and referral organization whose primary purpose is to maintain information about human service resources in the community, supply descriptive information about the agencies or organizations that offer services, and assist consumers in accessing appropriate providers. This bill expands the Florida 211 Network to all counties. This bill clarifies that coordination among information and referral systems includes those serving persons with disabilities and special health needs. APPROPRIATION: $5,000,000 Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died in Messages Similar Bill SB 0156 - Relating to Florida 211 Network by Lynn Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died in

Committee on Ways and Means SB 82 Relating to Immunizations - Lynn Summary General

Immunizations. This bill prohibits vaccinating any woman who is knowingly pregnant or child who is younger than specified age with vaccine that contains any mercury or injecting such woman or child with product that contains more than specified amount of mercury. The

bill provides for State Health Officer to authorize the use of vaccines that contain greater amounts of mercury than is otherwise allowed if Health Secretary declares public health emergency & makes certain findings. Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died on Calendar Similar Bill HB 0491 - Relating to Immunizations/Vaccines with Mercury by Goldstein 8 Actions 05/05/06 HOUSE Died in Committee on Health Care Regulation HB 203 - Relating to Public School Class Size/Co-teaching - 2006 Vana Co-Sponsors: Bucher, Fields, Machek, Porth Summary General - Public School

Class Size/Coteaching. This bill includes co-teaching as an option to meet constitutional class size maximums. It authorizes co-teaching to be used in determining teacher-to-student ratio per classroom. Actions 05/05/06 HOUSE Died in Committee on Choice & Innovation Identical Bill SB 0668 - Relating to Public School Class Size/Co-teaching by Rich 05/05/06 SENATE Died in Committee on Education SB 1224 - Relating to Prosperity Campaigns - Rich - Cosponsors: Margolis Summary General Prosperity Campaigns. This bill establishes a Prosperity Campaign Office to be administratively housed in Workforce Florida, Inc. It provides for establishment of the Florida Prosperity Campaign Council and requires the development of financial literacy instruction to be included in high school life management skills coursework. It amends specified

provisions for the general requirements for high school graduation. Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died in Committee on Education Identical Bill HB 0531 - Relating to Prosperity Campaigns -

Jennings, Jr. Actions 5/05/06 SENATE Died in Messages SB 2288 - An act relating to young adults with disabilities; creating the ville Health and Transition Services Pilot Program - Wise Summary General - Health & Transition Services Pilot. This bill creates the ville Health and Transition Services Pilot Program. It assigns the program for administrative purposes to Children's Medical Services in the Department of Health. It provides for the purpose of the program, which is to transition young adults who outgrow the medical services guidelines for specific ages. It delineates the target population and describes participating service providers and ancillary services that they are to provide on a voluntary basis. It provides for design and implementation of a comprehensive evaluation of the pilot program. APPROPRIATION: $300,000 Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died in Committee on Health and Human Services Appropriations Similar Bill HB 1327 Relating to Disabilities/Transition Services - Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died in Messages SB 120 - Contracts/Electronic Info/Disabled - Wise Summary This bill requires contractors to comply with certain federally mandated Internet accessibility

requirements for persons with 9 disabilities. It specifies contract requirements and conditions for breach and termination of contract. It requires state agencies to comply with such federal requirements under certain

circumstances and requires DMS and stakeholders to adopt rules. This bill requires that the state comply with the federal provisions of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. This language has also been amended to SB 2012. Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died in Committee on General Government Appropriations Identical Bill HB 0169 - Relating to Contracts/Electronic Info/Disabled by Llorente Actions 05/05/06 HOUSE Died in Committee on Elder & Long-Term Care SB 1478 - Relating to Student Assessment Program - Wise Summary General Student Assessment Program. This bill deletes obsolete provisions and requires that the student assessment program include identification of readiness of students to graduate from high school with special diploma. It requires that the Department of Education (DOE) develop and implement a battery of assessment tools for students seeking a special diploma. It also requires that school performance grade category designation include achievement scores and learning gains for students seeking a special diploma. Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died in Committee on Education HB 785 - Relating to Statewide Assessment Program/FCAT - Ausley Summary General Statewide Assessment Program/FCAT. This bill revises provisions regarding design

and implementation of the FCAT. It authorizes the State Board of Education to adopt rules specifying grade 10 FCAT passing scores and it authorizes certain accommodations if included in a student's individual education plan and access to waiver of grade 10 FCAT requirements for high school graduation. It also provides field-testing and analysis requirements. Actions 05/05/06 HOUSE Died in Committee on PreK-12 SB 1058 - Relating to Emergency Management - by de la Portilla Co- Sponsors: Wise CS Sponsors: Domestic Security Summary General Emergency Management; This bill specifies that additional agencies are required to provide

registration information to special needs clients and persons with disabilities or special needs who receive services from such agencies for purposes of inclusion within a registry of persons with special needs that are maintained by local emergency management agencies. It provides for the operation, maintenance, and closure of special needs shelters. Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died on Calendar Similar Bill HB 7139 - Relating to Emergency Management by Health Care General, Harrell Actions 05/05/06 SENATE Died in Committee on Domestic Security 10 Public Policy Staff Contact Margaret Hooper

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