In recognition of the historical inequity in the funding of substance abuse and mental health services for the department‘s districts and regions and to rectify this inequity and provide for equitable funding in the future throughout the state, the following funding process shall be used:

(1) Funding thresholds for substance abuse and mental health services in each of the current districts, statewide, shall be established based on the current number of individuals in need per district of substance abuse and mental health services, respectively.
(2) “Individuals in need” means those persons who fit the profile of the respective priority populations and require mental health or substance abuse services.
(3) Any additional funding beyond the 2005-2006 fiscal year base appropriation for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services shall be allocated to districts for substance abuse and mental health services based on:

(a) Epidemiological estimates of disabilities that apply to the respective priority populations.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 394.908

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 394.67
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • 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
  • 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) A pro rata share distribution that ensures districts below the statewide average funding level per individual in each priority population of “individuals in need” receive funding necessary to achieve equity.
(4) Priority populations for individuals in need shall be displayed for each district and distributed concurrently with the approved operating budget. The display by priority population shall show: The annual number of individuals served based on prior year actual numbers, the annual cost per individual served, and the estimated number of the total priority population for individuals in need.
(5) The annual cost per individual served shall be defined as the total actual funding for each priority population divided by the number of individuals served in the priority population for that year.