(1) ADMINISTRATION. The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services is designated the "Mental Health Authority" of Florida. The department shall exercise executive and administrative supervision over all mental health facilities, programs, and services.

(2) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT. The department is responsible for the planning, evaluation, and coordination of a complete and comprehensive statewide program of mental health including community services, receiving and treatment facilities, child services, research, and training. The department is also responsible for the implementation of programs and coordination of efforts with other departments and divisions of the state government, county and municipal governments, and private agencies concerned with and providing mental health services. It is responsible for establishing standards, providing technical assistance, and exercising supervision of mental health programs of, and the treatment of patients at, state-supported community facilities, other facilities for the mentally ill, and any agency or facility providing services to patients pursuant to s. 394.463(2)(c). The department shall provide for the publication and distribution of an information handbook to facilitate understanding of this act, the policies and procedures involved in its implementation, and the responsibilities of the various providers of services under this act. It shall stimulate research by public and private agencies, institutions of higher learning, and hospitals in the interest of the elimination and amelioration of mental illness. The department may contract for residential and nonresidential services to be provided by receiving and treatment facilities and shall promulgate rules to implement any such services.

(3) POWER TO CONTRACT. The department may contract to provide, and be provided with, services and facilities in order to carry out its responsibilities under this part with the following agencies: public and private hospitals; clinics; laboratories; departments, divisions, and other units of state government; the state colleges and universities; the community colleges; private colleges and universities; counties, municipalities, and any other governmental unit, including facilities of the United States Government; and any other public or private entity which provides or needs facilities or services. Services contracted for by the department may be reimbursed by the state at a rate up to 100 percent. The department shall make periodic audits and inspections to assure that the contracted services are provided and meet the standards of the department.

(4) APPLICATION FOR AND ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS AND GRANTS. The department may apply for and accept any funds, grants, gifts, or services made available to it by any agency or department of the Federal Government or any other public or private agency or individual in aid of mental health programs. All such moneys shall be deposited in the State Treasury and shall be disbursed as provided by law.

(5) RULES; PERSONNEL.

(a) The department shall adopt rules necessary for administration of this part in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 120. No program subject to the provisions of this act shall be operated without rules established to ensure the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the patients treated through such program.

(b) The department shall, by regulation, establish standards of education and experience for professional and technical personnel employed in mental health programs.

[Footnote 1] (6) SCREENING OF MENTAL HEALTH PERSONNEL.

(a) The department shall require employment screening pursuant to chapter 435, using the standards for level 1 screening set forth in that chapter.

(b) The department may grant exemptions from disqualification as provided in s. 435.06.

(7) HEARING OFFICERS.

(a) One or more hearing officers shall be assigned by the Division of Administrative Hearings to conduct hearings for continued involuntary placement.

(b) Hearings on requests for orders authorizing continued involuntary placement filed in accordance with s. 394.467(4) shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of s. 120.57(1), except that any order entered by the hearing officer shall be final and subject to judicial review in accordance with s. 120.68, except that orders concerning patients committed after successfully pleading not guilty by reason of insanity shall be governed by the provisions of s. 916.16.

(8) PAYMENT FOR CARE OF PATIENTS. Fees and fee collections for patients in treatment facilities shall be according to s. 402.33.

(9) DESIGNATION OF TREATMENT FACILITIES. Florida State Hospital located at Chattahoochee, Gadsden County; G. Pierce Wood Memorial Hospital located at Arcadia, DeSoto County; South Florida State Hospital located at Hollywood, Broward County; and Northeast Florida State Hospital located at Macclenny, Baker County; and such other facilities as may be established by law or designated by the department in order to ensure availability of the least restrictive environment, including facilities of the United States Government, if such designation is agreed to by the appropriate governing body or authority, are designated as treatment facilities.

(10) DESIGNATION OF APPROVED PRIVATE PSYCHIATRIC FACILITIES. Private psychiatric facilities may be approved by the department to provide examination and treatment on an involuntary basis. Such facilities are authorized to act in the same capacity as receiving and treatment facilities and are subject to all the provisions of this part. History: s. 1, ch. 57-317; s. 1, ch. 59-222; s. 1, ch. 65-13; s. 3, ch. 65-22; s. 1, ch. 65-145; s. 1, ch. 67-334; ss. 11, 19, 31, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 4, ch. 71-131; s. 70, ch. 72-221; s. 2, ch. 72-396; s. 2, ch. 73-133; s. 25, ch. 73-334; s. 1, ch. 74-233; s. 200, ch. 77-147; s. 19, ch. 78-95; s. 3, ch. 78-332; s. 3, ch. 79-298; s. 6, ch. 82-212; s. 4, ch. 84-285; s. 12, ch. 85-54; s. 11, ch. 87-238; s. 2, ch. 90-225; s. 28, ch. 90-347; s. 7, ch. 91-33; s. 22, ch. 91-57; s. 89, ch. 91-221; s. 2, ch. 91-249; s. 11, ch. 93-156; s. 19, ch. 94-134; s. 19, ch. 94-135; s. 15, ch. 95-152; s. 37, ch. 95-228; s. 124, ch. 95-418. [Footnote 1] Note. As amended by s. 37, ch. 95-228. This version is published here as the last expression of legislative will (see Journal of the Senate 1995, pp. 1011 and 1181). Subsection (6) was also amended by s. 15, ch. 95-152, and s. 124, ch. 95-418; and that version reads: (6) SCREENING OF MENTAL HEALTH PERSONNEL. (a) The department shall establish minimum standards as to good moral character, based on screening, for mental health personnel. Such minimum standards for screening shall ensure that no mental health personnel have been found guilty of, regardless of adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to, any offense prohibited under any of the following provisions of the Florida Statutes or under any similar statute of another jurisdiction: 1. Section 782.04, relating to murder. 2. Section 782.07, relating to manslaughter. 3. Section 782.071, relating to vehicular homicide. 4. Section 782.09, relating to killing of an unborn child by injury to the mother. 5. Section 784.021, relating to aggravated assault. 6. Section 784.045, relating to aggravated battery. 7. Section 787.01, relating to kidnapping. 8. Section 787.02, relating to false imprisonment. 9. Section 787.04, relating to removing minors from the state or concealing minors contrary to court order. 10. Section 794.011, relating to sexual battery. 11. Chapter 796, relating to prostitution. 12. Section 798.02, relating to lewd and lascivious behavior. 13. Chapter 800, relating to lewdness and indecent exposure. 14. Section 806.01, relating to arson. 15. Section 812.13, relating to robbery. 16. Section 825.102, relating to abuse or neglect of a disabled adult or an elderly person. 17. Section 825.103, relating to exploitation of a disabled adult or an elderly person. 18. Section 826.04, relating to incest. 19. Section 827.03, relating to aggravated child abuse. 20. Section 827.04, relating to child abuse. 21. Section 827.05, relating to negligent treatment of children. 22. Section 827.071, relating to sexual performance by a child. 23. Chapter 847, relating to obscene literature. 24. Section 784.011, relating to assault, if the victim of the offense was a minor. 25. Section 784.03, relating to battery, if the victim of the offense was a minor. 26. Chapter 893, relating to drug abuse prevention and control, only if the offense was a felony or if any other person involved in the offense was a minor. 27. Section 817.563, relating to fraudulent sale of controlled substances, only if the offense was a felony. For the purposes of this subsection, a finding of delinquency or a plea of nolo contendere or other plea amounting to an admission of guilt to a petition alleging delinquency pursuant to part II, chapter 39, or similar statutes of another jurisdiction, for any of the foregoing acts has the same effect as a finding of guilt, regardless of adjudication or disposition. (b) Standards for screening shall also ensure that the person: 1. Has not been judicially determined to have committed abuse or neglect against a child as defined in s. 39.01(2) and (47); or 2. Does not have a confirmed report of abuse, neglect, or exploitation as defined in s. 415.102(6) or abuse or neglect as defined in [Footnote 2] s. 415.503(6) which has been uncontested or upheld pursuant to the procedures of s. 415.1075 or [Footnote 3] s. 415.504; 3. Does not have a proposed confirmed report that remains unserved and is maintained in the central abuse registry and tracking system pursuant to s. 415.1065(2)(c); or 4. Has not committed an act that constitutes domestic violence as defined in s. 741.28. (c)1. For the following, the department may grant to any person an exemption from disqualification from working with children or the developmentally disabled: a. Felonies, other than specified felonies, prohibited under any of the foregoing Florida Statutes cited in paragraph (a) or under similar statutes of other jurisdictions, committed more than 3 years previously. For the purposes of this sub-subparagraph, "specified felony" means those felonies in the Florida Statutes enumerated in subparagraphs (a)1., 2., 4., 10., 11., 13., 16., 17., 18., 19., 20., 22., 23., 26., and 27., or under any similar statute of another jurisdiction; b. Misdemeanors prohibited under any of the foregoing Florida Statutes cited in this subsection or under similar statutes of other jurisdictions; c. Offenses which were a felony when committed but are now a misdemeanor; d. Findings of delinquency as specified in this subsection; e. Judicial determinations of abuse or neglect under chapter 39; f. Confirmed reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation under chapter 415 which have been uncontested or have been upheld pursuant to the procedures provided in s. 415.1075 or [Footnote 3] s. 415.504; or g. Commissions of domestic violence. 2. In order to grant an exemption to a person, the department must have clear and convincing evidence to support a reasonable belief that the person is of good character so as to justify an exemption. The person shall bear the burden of setting forth sufficient evidence of rehabilitation, including, but not limited to, the circumstances surrounding the incident, the time period that has elapsed since the incident, the nature of the harm occasioned to the victim, and the history of the person since the incident or such other circumstances that shall by the aforementioned standards indicate that the person will not present a danger to the safety or well-being of children. The decision of the department regarding an exemption may be contested through a hearing under chapter 120. (d) The disqualification from employment provided in paragraph (a) shall not be removed from any person found guilty of, regardless of adjudication, or having entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to, any felony covered by paragraph (a) solely by reason of any pardon, executive clemency, or restoration of civil rights. (e) The department shall ensure that mental health personnel meet the minimum standards for good moral character as contained in this section. 1. Each private or public mental health program and facility shall submit to the department a list of mental health personnel for whom a written assurance of compliance was provided by the department and identifying those mental health personnel who have worked on a continuous basis at the program or facility since submitting fingerprints to the department, identifying those mental health personnel who have recently begun working at the program or facility and are awaiting the results of the required fingerprint check along with the date of the submission of those fingerprints for processing. The department shall by rule determine the frequency with which programs and facilities shall submit such lists of mental health personnel and the frequency of requests to the Department of Law Enforcement to run state criminal records checks for such mental health personnel except for those mental health personnel awaiting the results of initial fingerprint checks for employment at the program or facility. The department shall review the records of the mental health personnel at the program or facility with respect to the crimes contained in this section and shall notify the program or facility of its findings. When disposition information is missing on a criminal record, it shall be the responsibility of the person being screened, upon request of the department, to obtain and supply within 30 days the missing disposition information to the department. Failure to supply missing information within 30 days or to show reasonable efforts to obtain such information shall result in automatic disqualification. 2. The program director of each public or private mental health program and facility shall sign an affidavit annually, under penalty of perjury, stating that all new mental health personnel have been fingerprinted and that the program's or facility's remaining mental health personnel either have worked at the program or facility on a continuous basis since being initially screened at that program or facility or have a written assurance of compliance from the department. (f) As a prerequisite to operating a new public or private mental health program or facility: 1. The owner or program director shall submit to the department a complete set of fingerprints, taken by an authorized law enforcement agency or an employee of the department who is trained to take fingerprints, for the program director of the program or facility; 2. The department shall submit the fingerprints to the Department of Law Enforcement for state processing and for federal processing by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and 3. The department shall review the record of the program director with respect to the crimes contained in this section and shall notify the owner or program director of its findings. When disposition information is missing on a criminal record, it shall be the responsibility of the program director, upon request of the department, to obtain and supply within 30 days the missing disposition information to the department. Failure to supply missing information within 30 days or to show reasonable efforts to obtain such information shall result in automatic disqualification. (g) The public or private mental health program or facility shall automatically terminate the employment of any of its mental health personnel found to be in noncompliance with the minimum standards for good moral character as contained in this section. (h) Mental health personnel shall, within 5 working days after starting to work at a public or private mental health program or facility, submit to the program or facility for submission, within 48 hours, to the department a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law enforcement agency or an employee of the department who is trained to take fingerprints. The department shall submit the fingerprints to the Department of Law Enforcement for state processing and for federal processing by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The department shall review the record of the person being screened with respect to the crimes contained in this section and shall notify the program or facility of its findings. When disposition information is missing on a criminal record, it shall be the responsibility of the person being screened, upon request of the department, to obtain and supply within 30 days the missing disposition information to the department. Failure to supply missing information within 30 days or to show reasonable efforts to obtain such information shall result in automatic disqualification. 1. Under the penalty of perjury, such mental health personnel shall attest to compliance with the minimum standards for good moral character as contained in this section. 2. New mental health personnel shall be on probationary status pending a determination of compliance with minimum standards for good moral character. 3. The department, upon request of a program or facility, shall provide written assurance of compliance with this section for new mental health personnel who have been fingerprinted and screened for the program or facility at which they previously worked. However, if the person has been unemployed for more than 60 days, screening shall be required. (i) The costs of processing fingerprints and the state criminal records checks shall be borne by the program or facility or the mental health personnel being screened. (j) When the department has reasonable cause to believe that grounds for denial or termination of employment exist, it shall notify, in writing, the program or facility and the mental health personnel affected, stating the specific record which indicates noncompliance with the standards in this section. The procedures established for hearing under chapter 120 shall be available to the program or facility and the mental health personnel affected in order to present evidence relating either to the accuracy of the basis of exclusion or to the denial of an exemption from disqualification. (k) The department or a mental health program or facility may not use the criminal records, juvenile records, or abuse registry information of a person obtained under this subsection for any purpose other than determining if that person meets the minimum standards for good moral character for mental health personnel. The criminal records, juvenile records, or abuse registry information obtained by the department or a mental health program or facility for determining the moral character of mental health personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1). This exemption is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with [Footnote 4] s. 119.14. (l) It is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, for any person willfully, knowingly, or intentionally to: 1. Fail, by false statement, misrepresentation, impersonation, or other fraudulent means, to disclose in any application for voluntary or paid employment a material fact used in making a determination as to such person's qualifications to be a program director, staff member, or volunteer in a public or private mental health program or facility; 2. Operate or attempt to operate a public or private mental health program or facility with mental health personnel who are in noncompliance with the minimum standards for good moral character as contained in this section; or 3. Use information from the criminal records or central abuse registry obtained under this section for any purpose other than screening that person for employment as specified in this section or release such information to any other person for any purpose other than screening for employment as specified in this section. (m) It is a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, for any person willfully, knowingly, or intentionally to use information from the juvenile records of a person obtained under this section for any purpose other than screening for employment as specified in this section or to release information from such records to any other person for any purpose other than screening for employment as specified in this section. [Footnote 2] Note. Repealed by s. 43, ch. 95-228. [Footnote 3] Note. As amended by s. 44, ch. 95-228, s. 415.504 does not provide procedures for contesting a report. [Footnote 4] Note. A. Repealed by s. 1, ch. 95-217. B. Section 4, ch. 95-217, provides that "notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, exemptions from chapter 119, Florida Statutes, or chapter 286, Florida Statutes, which are prescribed by law and are specifically made subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with section 119.14, Florida Statutes, are not subject to review under that act, and are not abrogated by the operation of that act, after October 1, 1995." Note. Former s. 965.01(3), s. 402.10.