ENROLLED 2023 Legislature CS for SB 1540, 1st Engrossed 20231540er 1 2 An act relating to elder and vulnerable adult abuse 3 fatality review teams; amending s. 415.1103, F.S.; 4 authorizing the establishment of elder and vulnerable 5 adult abuse fatality review teams for certain 6 purposes; authorizing certain persons and entities to 7 initiate a review team; requiring the initiating 8 entity to determine the geographic area to be served 9 by the review team; providing a requirement for such 10 geographic area; revising the definition of the term 11 elder and vulnerable adult; revising review team 12 membership; authorizing continuance for review teams 13 in existence on a certain date; requiring the entity 14 that initiated the review team to call its first 15 meeting; specifying certain members to be co-chairs of 16 the review team; authorizing a review team to 17 determine the number and types of incidents to review; 18 removing provisions relating to state attorney 19 requirements; requiring members of a review team to 20 sign a written acknowledgment of public records 21 requirements; requiring such acknowledgment to 22 reference applicable criminal penalties for certain 23 disclosures; requiring the initiating entity to 24 provide the acknowledgment form and certain training; 25 revising review team requirements to conform to 26 changes made by the act; modifying the prohibition 27 from contacting, interviewing, or obtaining 28 information from the family of a victim; expanding 29 immunity from monetary liability to certain persons; 30 providing construction; providing that communications, 31 information, and records produced or acquired by a 32 review team are not subject to discovery or 33 introduction into evidence in certain proceedings 34 under certain circumstances; providing that a person 35 who attends a meeting or other authorized activity of 36 a review team may not testify in certain proceedings 37 as to certain records or information; providing 38 exceptions; providing an effective date. 39 40 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 41 42 Section 1.Section 415.1103, Florida Statutes, is amended 43 to read: 44 415.1103Elder and vulnerable adult abuse fatality review 45 teams. 46 (1)(a)A state attorney, or his or her designee, may 47 initiate An elder and vulnerable adult abuse fatality review 48 team may be established in his or her judicial circuit to review 49 incidents of deaths of elderly persons caused by, or related to, 50 abuse, exploitation, or neglect which are believed to have 51 caused or contributed to the death of an elderly person or 52 vulnerable adult. 53 (b)An elder and vulnerable adult abuse fatality review 54 team may be initiated by any of the following: 55 1.A state attorney. 56 2.A law enforcement agency. 57 3.The Department of Children and Families. 58 4.The Office of the Attorney General. 59 5.The Agency for Persons with Disabilities. 60 (c)The initiating entity shall determine the geographic 61 area that the review team will serve. The geographic area served 62 by the review team must be within the jurisdiction or service 63 area of the initiating entity. 64 (d)The purpose of a review team is to learn how to prevent 65 elder and vulnerable adult abuse and abuse-related deaths by 66 intervening early and improving the system response to elder and 67 vulnerable adult abuse, exploitation, and neglect. 68 (2)For purposes of this section and s. 415.1104, the term 69 elder and vulnerable adult refers to a person who meets the 70 criteria for any of the following terms: 71 (a)Vulnerable adult as defined in s. 415.102. 72 (b)Disabled adult as defined in s. 825.101. 73 (c)Elderly person as defined in s. 825.101. 74 (3)A An elder abuse fatality review team may include, but 75 is not limited to, representatives from any of the entities 76 listed under paragraph (1)(b) and any of the following persons 77 or entities or persons located in the review teams judicial 78 circuit: 79 1.Law enforcement agencies. 80 2.The state attorney. 81 1.3.The medical examiner. 82 2.4.A county court judge. 83 5.Adult protective services. 84 3.6.The area agency on aging. 85 4.7.The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. 86 5.8.The Agency for Health Care Administration. 87 9.The Office of the Attorney General. 88 6.10.The Office of the State Courts Administrator. 89 7.11.The clerk of the court. 90 8.12.A victim services program. 91 9.13.An elder law or disability rights attorney. 92 10.14.Emergency services personnel. 93 11.15.A certified domestic violence center. 94 12.16.An advocacy organization for victims of sexual 95 violence. 96 13.17.A funeral home director. 97 14.18.A forensic pathologist. 98 15.19.A geriatrician. 99 16.20.A geriatric nurse. 100 17.21.A geriatric psychiatrist or other individual 101 licensed to offer behavioral health services. 102 18.22.A hospital discharge planner. 103 19.23.A public guardian. 104 20.24.Any other persons who are identified and invited by 105 the review team and who have knowledge regarding fatal incidents 106 of elder abuse, vulnerable adult abuse, domestic violence, or 107 sexual violence, or suicide, including knowledge of research, 108 policy, law, and other matters connected with such incidents 109 involving elders and vulnerable adults, or who are recommended 110 for inclusion by the review team. 111 (4)(a)(c)Participation in a review team is voluntary. 112 Members of a review team shall serve without compensation and 113 may not be reimbursed for per diem or travel expenses. A review 114 team in existence on July 1, 2023, may continue to exist and 115 must comply with the requirements of this section Members shall 116 serve for terms of 2 years, to be staggered as determined by the 117 co-chairs. 118 (b)1.(d)The entity initiating the review team shall state 119 attorney may call the first organizational meeting of the team. 120 2.A representative of the entity initiating the review 121 team, who is chosen by that entity, shall serve as a co-chair of 122 the review team. At the initial meeting, members of a review 123 team shall elect a member choose two members to serve as an 124 additional co-chair. The co-chair elected by the review team 125 shall serve a 2-year term and co-chairs. Chairs may be reelected 126 by a majority vote of a review team for not more than two 127 consecutive terms. 128 3.At the initial meeting, members of a review team shall 129 establish a schedule for future meetings. Each review team shall 130 meet at least once each fiscal year. 131 (c)(e)Except as provided in subsection (1) and paragraph 132 (4)(b), each review team shall determine its structure, local 133 operations, and including, but not limited to, the process for 134 case selection, including, but not limited to, the number and 135 type of incidents it chooses to review. The state attorney shall 136 refer cases to be reviewed by each team. Reviews must be limited 137 to closed cases in which an elderly persons death was caused 138 by, or related to, abuse or neglect. All identifying information 139 concerning the elderly person must be redacted by the state 140 attorney in documents received for review. As used in this 141 paragraph, the term closed case means a case that does not 142 involve information considered active as defined in s. 143 119.011(3)(d). 144 (d)(f)Administrative costs of operating the review team 145 must be borne by the team members or entities they represent. 146 (e)1.Each member of a review team shall sign a written 147 acknowledgment that the member is obligated to comply with the 148 applicable provisions of chapter 119 and s. 24(a), Art. I of the 149 State Constitution and may not knowingly disclose or reveal 150 information or records produced, acquired, or discussed by the 151 review team which are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) 152 and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. The written 153 acknowledgment must reference applicable criminal penalties for 154 such disclosures and clearly identify the records for which such 155 penalties apply. 156 2.The entity initiating the review team shall provide the 157 acknowledgment form to be signed by each review team member and 158 shall provide training to review team members on the 159 requirements regarding records that are exempt or confidential 160 and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 161 Constitution. 162 (2)An elder abuse fatality review team in existence on 163 July 1, 2020, may continue to exist and must comply with the 164 requirements of this section. 165 (5)(3)A An elder abuse fatality review team must shall do 166 all of the following: 167 (a)Review incidents deaths of abuse, exploitation, or 168 neglect of elders and vulnerable adults in the review teams 169 geographic service area elderly persons in its judicial circuit 170 which are believed found to have been caused or contributed to 171 the death of such person by, or related to, abuse or neglect. 172 (b)Take into consideration the events leading up to a 173 fatal incident, available community resources, current law and 174 policies, and the actions taken by systems or individuals 175 related to the fatal incident, and any information considered 176 relevant by the team, including, but not limited to, a review of 177 public records and records for which a public records exemption 178 is granted. 179 (c)Identify potential gaps, deficiencies, or problems in 180 the delivery of services to elders and vulnerable adults elderly 181 persons by public and private agencies which may be related to 182 incidents deaths reviewed by the team. 183 (d)Whenever possible, develop communitywide approaches to 184 address the causes of, and contributing factors to, incidents 185 deaths reviewed by the team. 186 (e)Develop recommendations and potential changes in law, 187 rules, and policies to support the care of elders and vulnerable 188 adults elderly persons and to prevent abuse of such persons 189 elder abuse deaths. 190 (6)(a)(4)(a)A review team may share with other review 191 teams in this state any relevant information that pertains to 192 incidents identified or reviewed by the team the review of the 193 death of an elderly person. 194 (b)1.A review team member may not contact, interview, or 195 obtain information by request directly from a family member of a 196 person whose case is subject to review by the review team as 197 part of the review unless: 198 a.the deceased elders family as part of the review unless 199 A team member is authorized to do so in the course of his or her 200 employment duties; or 201 b.Such contact, interview, or request is necessary for the 202 review team to complete its review and determine findings and 203 such information is not obtainable through any other means. 204 2.A family member of a person whose case is subject to 205 review by the review team the deceased elders family may 206 voluntarily provide information or any record to a review team 207 but must be informed that such information or any record is 208 subject to public disclosure unless a public records exemption 209 applies. 210 (7)(a)(5)(a)Annually by September 1, each elder abuse 211 fatality review team shall submit a summary report to the 212 Department of Elderly Affairs which includes, but is not limited 213 to: 214 1.Descriptive statistics regarding cases reviewed by the 215 team, including, at a minimum, demographic information on 216 victims, and the causes and nature of their deaths, and the 217 incidents of abuse, exploitation, or neglect associated with 218 their deaths.; 219 2.Current policies, procedures, rules, or statutes the 220 review team has identified as contributing to the incidence of 221 elder and vulnerable adult abuse and abuse-related elder deaths, 222 and recommendations for system improvements and needed 223 resources, training, or information dissemination to address 224 such identified issues.; and 225 3.Any other recommendations to prevent fatal incidents of 226 deaths from elder abuse, exploitation, or neglect of elders and 227 vulnerable adults, based on an analysis of the data and 228 information presented in the report. 229 (b)Annually by November 1, the Department of Elderly 230 Affairs shall prepare a summary report of the review team 231 information submitted under paragraph (a). The department shall 232 submit its summary report to the Governor, the President of the 233 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the 234 Department of Children and Families. 235 (8)(a)(6)There is no monetary liability on the part of, 236 and a cause of action for damages may not arise against, any 237 member of a an elder abuse fatality review team, or any person 238 acting as a witness to, incident reporter to, or investigator 239 for a review team, for any act or proceeding taken or performed 240 within the scope and functions of the team, due to the 241 performance of his or her duties as a review team member in 242 regard to any discussions by, or deliberations or 243 recommendations of, the team or the member unless such person 244 member acted in bad faith, with wanton and willful disregard of 245 human rights, safety, or property. 246 (b)This subsection does not affect the requirements of s. 247 768.28. 248 (9)(a)Oral or written communications, information, and 249 records produced or acquired by the review team are not subject 250 to discovery and may not be introduced into evidence in any 251 civil, criminal, administrative, or disciplinary proceeding if 252 the communications, information, or records arose out of matters 253 that are the subject of evaluation and review by the review 254 team. Information, documents, and records otherwise available 255 from sources other than the review team are not immune from 256 discovery or introduction into evidence solely because the 257 information, documents, or records were presented to or reviewed 258 by a review team. 259 (b)A person who attends a meeting or other authorized 260 activity of a review team may not testify in any civil, 261 criminal, administrative, or disciplinary proceedings as to any 262 communications, records, or information produced or presented to 263 the review team during its meetings or other activities 264 authorized by this section. 265 (c)This subsection does not prohibit: 266 1.A person who testifies before a review team or is a 267 member of a review team from testifying in a civil, criminal, 268 administrative, or disciplinary proceeding to matters otherwise 269 within his or her knowledge; or 270 2.A member of a review team from testifying in a policy 271 related hearing or matter, as long as the member of the review 272 team does not disclose communications, records, or information 273 that would identify the victim or victims family or any other 274 confidential or exempt records or information pertaining to a 275 matter reviewed by the review team. 276 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.