Service providers; quality assurance; fitness for responsibilities; background screening.

(1) Service providers must apply to the division. To qualify for approval, a service provider must maintain an internal system of quality assurance, have proven functional systems, meet the minimum qualifications, and be subject to a due-diligence inquiry as to its fitness to undertake service responsibilities.

(a) The division shall establish minimum qualifications for service providers. The division shall establish an annual application period for service providers to submit applications. The division may approve or deny any service provider application. Beginning January 1, 2027, only service providers that meet the minimum qualifications established by the division and that have been approved to provide employment-related services to individuals with disabilities may participate in the vocational rehabilitation program.

(b) The division shall develop and make publicly available an annual report of service provider effectiveness, which includes an evaluation system measuring the effectiveness of all service providers that are approved by the division to provide employment-related services to individuals with disabilities.

(c) In order to maintain approved status with the division, service providers must meet minimum standards of effectiveness in the provision of vocational rehabilitation services, including placement of individuals in competitive and integrated employment.

(d) Rates for vocational rehabilitation services must be allocable, reasonable, and necessary, as determined by the division.

(2)(a) As a condition of registration under this section, level 2 background screening pursuant to chapter 435 must be conducted by the division on each of the following persons:

1. The administrator or a similarly titled person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the service provider.

2. The financial officer or similarly titled person who is responsible for the financial operation of the service provider.

3. Any person employed by, or otherwise engaged on the behalf of, a service provider who is expected to have direct, face-to-face contact with a vulnerable person as defined in s. 435.02 while providing services to the vulnerable person and having access to that person’s living areas, funds, personal property, or personal identification information as defined in s. 817.568.

4. A director of the service provider.

(b) Level 2 background screening pursuant to chapter 435 is not required for the following persons:

1. A licensed physician, nurse, or other professional who is licensed by the Department of Health and who has undergone fingerprinting and background screening as part of such licensure if providing a service that is within the scope of her or his licensed practice.

2. A relative of the vulnerable person receiving services. For purposes of this section, the term “relative” means an individual who is the father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, great-grandmother, great-grandfather, grandson, granddaughter, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister of the vulnerable person.

(c) Service providers are responsible for initiating and completing the background screening as a condition of registration.

(d)1. Every 5 years following the initial screening, each person subject to background screening under this section must submit to level 2 background rescreening as a condition of the service provider retaining such registration.

2. Until the person’s background screening results are retained in the clearinghouse created under s. 435.12, the division may accept as satisfying the requirements of this section proof of compliance with level 2 screening standards submitted within the previous 5 years to meet any provider or professional licensure requirements of the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of Health, the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, or the Department of Children and Families, provided:

a. The screening standards and disqualifying offenses for the prior screening are equivalent to those specified in s. 435.04 and this section;

b. The person subject to screening has not had a break in service from a position that requires level 2 screening for more than 90 days; and

c. Such proof is accompanied, under penalty of perjury, by an affidavit of compliance with the provisions of chapter 435 and this section.

(e) In addition to the disqualifying offenses listed in s. 435.04, all persons subject to undergo background screening pursuant to this section must not have an arrest awaiting final disposition for, must not have been found guilty of, regardless of adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to, and must not have been adjudicated delinquent, and the record has not been expunged for, any offense prohibited under any of the following provisions or similar law of another jurisdiction:

1. Section 409.920, relating to Medicaid provider fraud.

2. Section 409.9201, relating to Medicaid fraud.

3. Section 741.28, relating to domestic violence.

4. Section 817.034, relating to fraudulent acts through mail, wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photooptical systems.

5. Section 817.234, relating to false and fraudulent insurance claims.

6. Section 817.505, relating to patient brokering.

7. Section 817.568, relating to criminal use of personal identification information.

8. Section 817.60, relating to obtaining a credit card through fraudulent means.

9. Section 817.61, relating to fraudulent use of credit cards, if the offense was a felony.

10. Section 831.01, relating to forgery.

11. Section 831.02, relating to uttering forged instruments.

12. Section 831.07, relating to forging bank bills, checks, drafts, or promissory notes.

13. Section 831.09, relating to uttering forged bank bills, checks, drafts, or promissory notes.

14. Section 831.31, relating to the sale, manufacture, delivery, or possession with the intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver any counterfeit controlled substance, if the offense was a felony.

(f) The division may grant an exemption from disqualification from this section only as provided in s. 435.07.

(3) The cost of the state and national criminal history records checks required by level 2 screening and their retention shall be borne by the service provider or the person being screened.

(4)(a) The division shall deny, suspend, terminate, or revoke a registration, rate agreement, purchase order, referral, contract, or other agreement, or pursue other remedies in addition to or in lieu of denial, suspension, termination, or revocation, for failure to comply with this section.

(b) If the division has reasonable cause to believe that grounds for denial or termination of registration exist, it shall provide written notification to the person affected, identifying the specific record that indicates noncompliance with the standards established in this section.

(c) If a provider refuses to remove a person who is employed by, or otherwise engaged on behalf of, the provider and who is found to be not in compliance with the standards established in this section from contact with any vulnerable person, the service provider’s registration and contract shall be revoked.

(5) The background screening requirements of this section apply only to registrations entered into or renewed with the division after the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse becomes operational and retains the background screening results in the clearinghouse under s. 435.12.