SB 1222 — Services for Veterans and Their Families

Florida Senate - 2019 CS for SB 1222 By Senatorthe HarrellCommittee 25-01617B-19on 20191222__Military Aand billVeterans toAffairs be entitled An act relating to services for veterans and theirSpace; families;

and Senators Harrell and Mayfield 583-03494-19 20191222c1 A bill to be entitled An act relating to services for veterans and their families;

requiring the Department ofVeterans’ ChildrenAffairs and Families to establish the Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program to provide veterans and their families with behavioral health care referral and care coordination services;

requiring the department to contract with managinga entitiescertain nonprofit entity to enter into agreements with Florida 211 Network participants to provide such services;

394.9087 Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program.— (1) The Department of ChildrenVeterans’ andAffairs Families, in consultation with the Florida Alliance of Information and Referral Services, shall establish the Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program.

The departmentDepartment of Veterans’ Affairs shall contract with managinga entitiesnonprofit asentity definedthat is accredited by the Council on Accreditation, is fully accredited by the National Alliance of Information and Referral Services, and has statewide phone capacity to serve veterans, to enter into agreements with Florida 211 Network participants to provide veterans and their families in s.this state with dedicated behavioral health care referral services, especially mental health and substance abuse services.

394.9082(2)(e)The toDepartment enterof intoVeterans’ agreementsAffairs withshall Floridamodel 211the Networkprogram participantsafter tothe provideproof-of-concept veteranspilot andprogram theirestablished families in this2014 stateby withthe dedicatedCrisis behavioralCenter healthof careTampa referralBay services,and especiallythe mentalDepartment healthof andVeterans’ substanceAffairs abusein services.Hillsborough, Pasco Pinellas, Polk, and Manatee counties.

The department shall model the program after the proof-of-concept pilot program established in 2014 by the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay and the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Manatee Counties.

A Florida 211 Network participant may provide services in more than one managing entity’s geographic area under a single contract.

ProgramFlorida services211 Network participants in the Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program must include:

(d) Document all calls and capture all necessary data to improve outreach to veterans and their families and report such data to the managingcontracted entity.

(6) Florida 211 Network participants shallin collectthe dataFlorida onVeterans’ theCare implementationCoordination ofProgram theshall programmaintain anda submitdatabase suchof dataveteran-specific toservices theavailable department in the formatcommunities prescribedserved by the department.programs.

The departmentDepartment shall use such data to prepare a report for submittal to the Governor, the President of theVeterans’ Senate,Affairs and theits Speakerselected ofcontractor theshall Housework ofwith Representativesmanaging byentities Decemberas 15,defined 2020.in s.

394.9082(2)(e)to educate service providers about the Florida Veterans Support Line and Veterans Care Coordination Program.

(7) Florida 211 Network participants shall collect data on the program and submit such data to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in the format prescribed by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs shall use such data to prepare a report for submittal to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 15, 2020.

(f) Information regarding followup by the program team, including, but not limited to, the percentage of calls receiving followup and the amountoutcome of time between initial contact and followup.