(1) The department, when funds are available for such purposes, is authorized to contract for the establishment and operation of local substance abuse and mental health programs with any hospital, clinic, laboratory, institution, or other appropriate service provider.
(2)(a) Contracts for service shall be consistent with the approved district plan.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 394.74

  • Client: means any individual receiving services in any substance abuse or mental health facility, program, or service, which facility, program, or service is operated, funded, or regulated by the agency and the department or regulated by the agency. See Florida Statutes 394.67
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Crisis services: means short-term evaluation, stabilization, and brief intervention services provided to a person who is experiencing an acute mental or emotional crisis, as defined in subsection (18), or an acute substance abuse crisis, as defined in subsection (19), to prevent further deterioration of the person's mental health. See Florida Statutes 394.67
  • Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 394.67
  • District administrator: means the person appointed by the Secretary of Children and Families for the purpose of administering a department service district as set forth in 1s. See Florida Statutes 394.67
  • Local matching funds: means funds received from governing bodies of local government, including city commissions, county commissions, district school boards, special tax districts, private hospital funds, private gifts, both individual and corporate, and bequests and funds received from community drives or any other sources. See Florida Statutes 394.67
  • Mental health services: means those therapeutic interventions and activities that help to eliminate, reduce, or manage symptoms or distress for persons who have severe emotional distress or a mental illness and to effectively manage the disability that often accompanies a mental illness so that the person can recover from the mental illness, become appropriately self-sufficient for his or her age, and live in a stable family or in the community. See Florida Statutes 394.67
  • Patient fees: means compensation received by a community substance abuse or mental health facility for services rendered to a specific client from any source of funds, including city, county, state, federal, and private sources. See Florida Statutes 394.67
  • plan: means the combined district substance abuse and mental health plan approved by the district administrator and governing bodies in accordance with this part. See Florida Statutes 394.67
  • Substance abuse services: means services designed to prevent or remediate the consequences of substance abuse, improve an individual's quality of life and self-sufficiency, and support long-term recovery. See Florida Statutes 394.67
(b) Notwithstanding s. 394.76(3)(a) and (c), the department may use unit cost methods of payment in contracts for purchasing mental health and substance abuse services. The unit cost contracting system must account for those patient fees that are paid on behalf of a specific client and those that are earned and used by the provider for those services funded in whole or in part by the department. The department may also use a fee-for-service arrangement, case rates, or a capitation arrangement in order to account for those services. The department is authorized to implement through administrative rule fee-for-service, prepaid case rate, and prepaid capitation contract methodologies to purchase mental health and substance abuse services. Fee-for-service, prepaid case rate, or prepaid capitation mechanisms shall not be implemented statewide without the elimination of the unit cost method of payment. Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 394.76(3), the department may adopt administrative rules that account for local match in a manner that is consistent with fee-for-service, prepaid case rate, and prepaid capitated payment methodologies. Such provisions may not result in a change of the ratio of state to local matching resources or in the sources of local matching funds and may not increase the amount of required local matching funds. It is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions to account for local match be consistent with the financial principles adopted for the payment of state funds.
(c) The department may reimburse actual expenditures for startup contracts and fixed capital outlay contracts in accordance with contract specifications.
(3) Contracts shall include, but are not limited to:

(a) A provision that, within the limits of available resources, substance abuse and mental health crisis services, as defined in s. 394.67(4), shall be available to any individual residing or employed within the service area, regardless of ability to pay for such services, current or past health condition, or any other factor;
(b) A provision that such services be available with priority of attention being given to individuals who exhibit symptoms of chronic or acute substance abuse or mental illness and who are unable to pay the cost of receiving such services;
(c) A provision that every reasonable effort to collect appropriate reimbursement for the cost of providing substance abuse and mental health services to persons able to pay for services, including first-party payments and third-party payments, shall be made by facilities providing services pursuant to this act;
(d) A program description and line-item operating budget by program service component for substance abuse and mental health services, provided the entire proposed operating budget for the service provider will be displayed;
(e) A provision that client demographic, service, and outcome information required for the department’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse Data System be submitted to the department by a date specified in the contract. The department may not pay the provider unless the required information has been submitted by the specified date; and
(f) A requirement that the contractor must conform to department rules and the priorities established thereunder.
(4) The department shall develop standard contract forms for use between the district administrator and community substance abuse and mental health service providers.
(5) This part does not prevent any municipality or county, or combination of municipalities and counties, from owning, financing, and operating a substance abuse or mental health program by entering into an arrangement with the district to provide, and be reimbursed for, services provided as part of the district plan.
(6) The department may use a fee-for-service arrangement, case rates, or capitation in order to account for mental health and substance abuse services.
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