1. (1) Service Delivery and Accessibility. At a minimum, information shall be provided to all persons accessing the ARC by telephone, the Internet, or in person.

   1. (a) The ARC shall, at a minimum, maintain regular business hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding state and national holidays.
   2. (b) A staff member shall be assigned to answer the published, main telephone number of the ARC during regular business hours.

   3. (c) The ARC shall ensure there is a system in place for answering and responding to calls received outside of the regular business hours.

      1. The system shall, at a minimum, identify the agency, hours of operation, and give callers the option to leave a message.

      2. The system shall instruct callers to dial “911” in the event of an emergency.

      3. Messages shall be responded to the next business day.

   4. (d) The ARC shall maintain an adequate number of access points to ensure that consumers who reside in all counties in the planning and service area have access to ARC services.

2. (2) Executive Staff Requirements: At a minimum, executive staffing requirements shall consist of:

   1. (a) An executive director who shall be a full-time employee having designated authority over the staff and all activities of the ARC; and,
   2. (b) A fiscal officer.

3. (3) Professional Staff Requirements: Professional staff shall be available to perform the tasks required of the ARC. Additional professional staff shall be required to adequately meet the needs of elders residing within the area served by the center if the minimum staffing standards cannot adequately meet those needs. At a minimum, the ARC shall employ the following professional staff:

   1. (a) One Information and Referral Specialist; and,

   2. (b) One Intake, Screening and Triaging Professional.

      The minimum professional staff requirement does not preclude an individual from performing the functions of both positions, provided the individual meets the minimum qualifications for each position as outlined in subsection (4), of this rule.

4. (4) Minimum Education and Experience Requirements: The ARC executive staff and professional staff shall meet minimum standards for education and experience and shall demonstrate competency in job knowledge pertinent to their areas of responsibility. The following are the criteria for ARC executive staff and professional staff:

   1. (a) The executive director shall meet the following minimum standards:

      1. Have a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in public administration, education, social work, or a related academic area with a minimum of five years of professional or administrative supervisory experience in social, economic, health, or rehabilitative services. A Master’s degree can substitute for one year of required work experience.

      2. Work experience as indicated above may be substituted for the required college education on a year for year basis.

      3. Five years experience in project management or community organization and planning related to elderly services is preferred.

   2. (b) The fiscal officer shall meet the following minimum standards:

      1. Have the appropriate educational and accounting experience as indicated below:

      a. A current CPA certification, or

      b. A Bachelor’s Degree in accounting with two years of cost accounting experience in a non-profit setting, or

      c. Have at least four years experience with Medicaid fiscal regulations and four years with state accounting procedures. The four years experience for each category may occur simultaneously.

      2. Demonstrate a working knowledge of cost principles and internal control procedures for grants and contracts with the federal government for non-profit organizations (OMB circulars A-87, A-110, A-122 and A-133).

   3. (c) The Information and Referral Specialist shall meet the following minimum standards:

      1. Have a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in a human services related field, or

      2. Have an Associate of Arts Degree from an accredited entity in a human services related field and a minimum of two years experience in information and referral services, case management, call center services, social services, or related work experience, or

      3. Have a high school diploma or GED and four years experience in information and referral services, case management, call center services, social services, or related work experience.

   4. (d) The Intake, Screening and Triaging Professional shall meet the following minimum standards:

      1. Have a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in a human services related field, or

      2. Have an Associate of Arts Degree from an accredited entity in a human service related field and a minimum of two years experience as a caseworker, case manager, intake specialist, or related work experience with the long-term care client population, or

      3. Have a high school diploma or GED and four years experience as a caseworker, case manager, intake specialist, or related work experience with the long-term care client population.

5. (5) Records: The ARC shall maintain books, records, and documents (including electronic storage media) in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and sound business practices that sufficiently and properly reflect all revenues and expenditures of funds provided by the department. This documentation shall be made available upon request for monitoring and auditing purposes.

   1. (a) All financial documents shall be filed, retained, and made available in the manner described in the contract with the department for a period of at least five (5) years after termination of the contract. If an audit has been initiated and audit findings have not been resolved at the end of the five (5) years, the records shall be retained at least until resolution of the audit findings.
   2. (b) The ARC shall be audited annually by an independent accounting firm and shall submit the final report of the audit to the Department within nine months after the end of the ARC’s fiscal year.

6. (6) Information Technology Standards: The ARC shall meet the minimum standards for information technology provided below.

   1. (a) The ARC shall have sufficient computer hardware and software resources to provide:

      1. Connectivity to DOEA applications via a private network such as the Florida Suncom network or a subscription Virtual Private Network (VPN). The department shall verify the security of all connections to its information systems.

      2. A computing environment sufficient to operate the department’s application programs. These applications require the current versions of the Microsoft or Netscape branded browsers that support the execution of Java Script, meet the version 4.0 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML 4.0) standards, and the version 1.0 Cascading Style Sheets (CCS 1.0) standard.

   2. (b) The ARC shall have information technology measures in place that meet security requirements for computer viruses, Denial of Service (DOS) attacks, and malware; and compliance with the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
   3. (c) The ARC shall maintain operational security including, but not limited to, current security patches that ensure stability of the network.
   4. (d) The ARC shall utilize information technology that ensures compatibility and connectivity with the department.
   5. (e) The ARC shall employ staff with technical expertise needed to support and maintain a computerized information system in accordance with the ARC’s contract with the department.
   6. (f) The ARC shall include information technology protocols in its disaster/emergency and continuity of operations plans to ensure data backup and continuity during a disaster or emergency.

Rulemaking Authority 430.08, 430.2053(10) FS. Law Implemented 430.2053 FS. History–New 4-16-07.