Bill > S1726

This bill requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to establish standards and protocols for collecting, storing, transmitting, and analyzing data on the use of crisis stabilization services provided by public receiving facilities, which are licensed facilities designated to operate as public receiving facilities under Florida law and are licensed as crisis stabilization units. These standards will ensure that data from these facilities is compatible and can be shared with managing entities, which are organizations contracted to oversee behavioral health services within specific geographic areas, and the DCF. Managing entities must ensure that the public receiving facilities they contract with submit daily data on admissions and discharges of indigent clients, as well as daily census information including total licensed beds, department-purchased beds, beds occupied by indigent clients, and unoccupied beds. Facilities must also submit monthly and annual aggregated data to their managing entities, who will then reconcile this information for accuracy before submitting it to the DCF. The DCF will then use this data to create a statewide database to analyze the funding and utilization of crisis stabilization services, particularly those funded under the Baker Act, a Florida law related to mental health. The DCF is also mandated to adopt rules to implement these requirements and report annually on the progress of data collection and analysis, with the implementation contingent on specific funding allocations.