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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Department of Elderly Affairs; 2
amending s. 400.0069 F.S.; revising the individuals 3
who may not be appointed as ombudsmen under the State 4
Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program; amending s. 5
430.0402, F.S.; revising exemptions from level 2 6
background screening requirements for certain persons; 7
amending s. 744.2001, F.S.; deleting obsolete 8
language; providing additional duties for the 9
executive director of the Office of Public and 10
Professional Guardians; amending s. 744.2003, F.S.; 11
revising continuing education requirements for 12
professional guardians; amending s. 744.2004, F.S.; 13
requiring the office to notify a complainant within a 14
specified timeframe after determining that a complaint 15
against a professional guardian is not legally 16
sufficient; reducing the timeframe within which the 17
office must complete and provide its initial 18
investigative findings and recommendations, if any, to 19
the professional guardian who is the subject of the 20
investigation and to the complainant; requiring the 21
office to provide a certain written statement to the 22
complainant and the professional guardian within a 23
specified timeframe after completing an investigation; 24
deleting obsolete language; amending s. 744.3145, 25
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F.S.; providing an additional method of complying with 26
certain instruction and education requirements for 27
court-appointed guardians; amending s. 744.368, F.S.; 28
requiring clerks of the court to report to the office 29
within a specified timeframe after the court imposes 30
any sanctions on a professional guardian; provid ing an 31
effective date. 32
33
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34
35
Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 36
400.0069, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 37
400.0069 Long-term care ombudsman districts; local long -38
term care ombudsman councils; duties; appointment. — 39
(4) Each district and local council shall be composed of 40
ombudsmen whose primary residences are located within the 41
boundaries of the district. 42
(b) The following individuals may not be appointed as 43
ombudsmen: 44
1. The owner or representative of a long -term care 45
facility. 46
2. A provider or representative of a provider of long -term 47
care service. 48
3. An employee of the agency. 49
4. An employee of the department who is not employed in 50
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the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, except for staff certified 51
as ombudsmen in the district offices . 52
5. An employee of the Department of Children and Families. 53
6. An employee of the Agency for Persons with 54
Disabilities. 55
Section 2. Subsections (4), (5), and (6) of section 56
430.0402, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3), 57
(4), and (5), respectively, and paragraph (b) of subsection (1), 58
paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (2), and subsection (3) of 59
that section are amended, to read: 60
430.0402 Screening of dire ct service providers. — 61
(1) 62
(b) For purposes of this section, the term "direct service 63
provider" means a person 18 years of age or older who, pursuant 64
to a program to provide services to the elderly, has direct, 65
face-to-face contact with a client while providing services to 66
the client and has access to the client's living areas, funds, 67
personal property, or personal identification information as 68
defined in s. 817.568. The term includes , but is not limited to, 69
the administrator or a similarly titled perso n who is 70
responsible for the daily operation of the provider; the 71
financial officer or similarly titled person who is responsible 72
for the financial operation of the provider; coordinators, 73
managers, and supervisors of residential facilities ; and 74
volunteers; and any other person seeking employment with a 75
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provider who is expected to or whose responsibilities may 76
require him or her to provide personal care or services directly 77
to clients or have access to client funds, financial matters, 78
legal matters, persona l property, or living areas . 79
(2) Level 2 background screening pursuant to chapter 435 80
and this section is not required for the following direct 81
service providers: 82
(a)1. Licensed physicians, nurses, or other professionals 83
licensed by the Department of H ealth who are providing a service 84
that is within the scope of their license, who have been 85
fingerprinted and undergone background screening as part of 86
their licensure; and 87
2. Attorneys in good standing with The Florida Bar; 88
89
if they are providing a servi ce that is within the scope of 90
their licensed practice . 91
(c) Volunteers who assist on an intermittent basis for 92
less than 20 hours per month and who are not listed on the 93
Department of Law Enforcement Career Offender Search or the Dru 94
Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website. 95
1. The program that provides services to the elderly is 96
responsible for verifying that the volunteer is not listed on 97
either database. 98
2. Once the department is participating as a specified 99
agency in the clearinghouse created u nder s. 435.12, The 100
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provider shall forward the volunteer information to the 101
Department of Elderly Affairs if the volunteer is not listed in 102
either database specified in subparagraph 1 . The department must 103
then perform a check of the clearinghouse. If a dis qualification 104
is identified in the clearinghouse, the volunteer must undergo 105
level 2 background screening pursuant to chapter 435 and this 106
section. 107
(3) Until the department is participating as a specified 108
agency in the clearinghouse created under s. 435. 12, the 109
department may not require additional level 2 screening if the 110
individual is qualified for licensure or employment by the 111
Agency for Health Care Administration pursuant to the agency's 112
background screening standards under s. 408.809 and the 113
individual is providing a service that is within the scope of 114
his or her licensed practice or employment. 115
Section 3. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 744.2001, 116
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 117
744.2001 Office of Public and Professional Guardians. —118
There is created the Office of Public and Professional Guardians 119
within the Department of Elderly Affairs. 120
(2) The executive director shall, within available 121
resources: 122
(a) Have oversight responsibilities for all public and 123
professional guardians. 124
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(b) Establish standards of practice for public and 125
professional guardians by rule, in consultation with 126
professional guardianship associations and other interested 127
stakeholders, no later than October 1, 2016. The executive 128
director shall provide a draft of the standards to the Governor, 129
the Legislature, and the secretary for review by August 1, 2016 . 130
(c) Review and approve the standards and criteria for the 131
education, registration, and certification of public and 132
professional guardians in Florida. 133
(d) Offer and make available online an education course to 134
satisfy the requirements of s. 744.3145(2). 135
(e) Produce and make available information about 136
alternatives to and types of guardianship for dissemination by 137
area agencies on aging as defined in s. 430.203 and aging 138
resource centers as described in s. 430.2053. 139
(3) The executive director's oversight responsibilities of 140
professional guardians must be finalized by October 1, 2016, and 141
shall include, but are not limited to: 142
(a) Developing and implementing a monitoring tool to 143
ensure compliance of professional guardians with the standards 144
of practice established by the Office of Public and Professional 145
Guardians. This monitoring tool may not include a financial 146
audit as required by the clerk of the circuit co urt under s. 147
744.368. 148
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(b) Developing procedures, in consultation with 149
professional guardianship associations and other interested 150
stakeholders, for the review of an allegation that a 151
professional guardian has violated the standards of practice 152
established by the Office of Public and Professional Guardians 153
governing the conduct of professional guardians. 154
(c) Establishing disciplinary proceedings, conducting 155
hearings, and taking administrative action pursuant to chapter 156
120. 157
Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 744.2003, Florida 158
Statutes, is amended to read: 159
744.2003 Regulation of professional guardians; 160
application; bond required; educational requirements. — 161
(3) Each professional guardian as defined in s. 162
744.102(17) and public guardian must receiv e a minimum of 40 163
hours of instruction and training. Each professional guardian 164
must receive a minimum of 30 16 hours of continuing education 165
every 2 calendar years after the year in which the initial 40 -166
hour educational requirement is met. The continuing education 167
must include at least 2 hours on fiduciary responsibilities; 2 168
hours on professional ethics; 1 hour on advance directives; 3 169
hours on abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and 4 hours on 170
guardianship law. The instruction and education must be 171
completed through a course approved or offered by the Office of 172
Public and Professional Guardians. The expenses incurred to 173
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satisfy the educational requirements prescribed in this section 174
may not be paid with the assets of any ward. This subsection 175
does not apply to any attorney who is licensed to practice law 176
in this state or an institution acting as guardian under s. 177
744.2002(7). 178
Section 5. Subsections (1) and (6) of section 744.2004, 179
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 180
744.2004 Complaints; disciplinary proceedings; penalties; 181
enforcement.— 182
(1) By October 1, 2016, The Office of Public and 183
Professional Guardians shall establish procedures to: 184
(a) Review and, if determined legally sufficient, initiate 185
an investigation within 10 business days after receipt of 186
investigate any complaint that a professional guardian has 187
violated the standards of practice established by the Office of 188
Public and Professional Guardians governing the conduct of 189
professional guardians. A complaint is legally sufficient if it 190
contains ultimate facts that show a violation of a standard of 191
practice by a professional guardian has occurred. 192
(b) Notify the complainant Initiate an investigation no 193
later than 10 business days after the Office of Public and 194
Professional Guardians determines that a complaint is not 195
legally sufficient receives a complaint . 196
(c) Complete and provide initial investigative findings 197
and recommendations, if any, to the professional guardian and 198
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the person who filed the complaint within 45 60 days after 199
receipt of a complaint. 200
(d) Obtain supporting information or documentation to 201
determine the legal sufficiency of a complaint. 202
(e) Interview a ward, a family member, or an interested 203
party to determine the legal sufficiency of a complaint. 204
(f) Dismiss any complaint if, at any time after legal 205
sufficiency is determined, it is found there is insufficient 206
evidence to support the allegations contained in the complaint. 207
(g) Within 10 business days after completing an 208
investigation, provide to the complaina nt and the professional 209
guardian a written statement specifying any finding of a 210
violation of a standard of practice by the professional guardian 211
and any actions taken, or specifying that no such violation was 212
found, as applicable. 213
(h)(g) Coordinate, to the greatest extent possible, with 214
the clerks of court to avoid duplication of duties with regard 215
to the financial audits prepared by the clerks pursuant to s. 216
744.368. 217
(6) By October 1, 2016, The Department of Elderly Affairs 218
shall adopt rules to implem ent the provisions of this section. 219
Section 6. Subsection (4) of section 744.3145, Florida 220
Statutes, is amended to read: 221
744.3145 Guardian education requirements. — 222
(4) Each person appointed by the court to be a guardian 223
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must complete the required n umber of hours of instruction and 224
education within 4 months after his or her appointment as 225
guardian. The instruction and education must be completed 226
through a course approved by the chief judge of the circuit 227
court and taught by a court -approved organization or through a 228
course offered by the Office of Public and Professional 229
Guardians under s. 744.2001 . Court-approved organizations may 230
include, but are not limited to, community or junior colleges, 231
guardianship organizations, and the local bar association or The 232
Florida Bar. 233
Section 7. Subsection (8) is added to section 744.368, 234
Florida Statutes, to read: 235
744.368 Responsibilities of the clerk of the circuit 236
court.— 237
(8) Within 10 business days after the court imposes any 238
sanctions on a professional g uardian, including, but not limited 239
to, contempt of court or removal of the professional guardian, 240
the clerk shall report such actions to the Office of Public and 241
Professional Guardians. 242
Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 243