¹20.197 Agency for Persons with Disabilities.--

There is created the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, housed within the Department of Children and Family Services for administrative purposes only. The agency shall be a separate budget entity not subject to control, supervision, or direction by the Department of Children and Family Services in any manner, including, but not limited to, personnel, purchasing, transactions involving real or personal property, and budgetary matters.

1. (1) The director of the agency shall be the agency head for all purposes and shall be appointed by the Governor and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The director shall administer the affairs of the agency and establish administrative units as needed and may, within available resources, employ assistants, professional staff, and other employees as necessary to discharge the powers and duties of the agency.
2. (2) The agency shall be responsible for the provision of all services provided to persons with developmental disabilities pursuant to chapter 393, including the operation of all state institutional programs and the programmatic management of Medicaid waivers established to provide services to persons with developmental disabilities.
3. (3) The agency shall engage in such other administrative activities as are deemed necessary to effectively and efficiently address the needs of the agency's clients.

4. (4) The agency shall enter into an interagency agreement that delineates the responsibilities of the Agency for Health Care Administration for the following:

   1. (a) The terms and execution of contracts with Medicaid providers for the provision of services provided through Medicaid, including federally approved waiver programs.
   2. (b) The billing, payment, and reconciliation of claims for Medicaid services reimbursed by the agency.
   3. (c) The implementation of utilization management measures, including the prior authorization of services plans and the streamlining and consolidation of waivers services, to ensure the cost-effective provision of needed Medicaid services and to maximize the number of persons with access to such services.

   4. (d) A system of approving each client's plan of care to ensure that the services on the plan of care are those that without which the client would require the services of an intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled.

      ¹Note.--Section 87, ch. 2004-267, provides that:

      "(1) Effective October 1, 2004, the developmental disabilities program and the developmental services institutions in the Department of Children and Family Services shall be transferred to the Agency for Persons with Disabilities by a type two transfer pursuant to s. 20.06, Florida Statutes. Prior to that date:

      "(a) The Agency for Persons with Disabilities and the Department of Children and Family Services, in consultation with the Department of Management Services, shall determine the number of positions and resources within the department dedicated to the developmental disabilities program which shall be transferred to the agency and will develop an agreement that delineates who within the Department of Children and Family Services will provide administrative support to the agency.

      "(b) The Director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Department of Children and Family Services and the Agency for Health Care Administration or their designees, shall prepare a transition plan that must address, at a minimum, building leases, information support systems, cash ownership and transfer, administrative support functions, inventory and transfers of equipment and structures, expenditure transfers, budget authority and positions, and certifications forward. This plan shall be submitted by September 1, 2004, to the Executive Office of the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

      "(c) The Agency for Persons with Disabilities and the Department of Children and Family Services shall work with the Agency for Health Care Administration to develop a plan that ensures that all of the necessary electronic and paper-based data of the Developmental Disabilities program is accessible to the Medicaid program and that all electronic records will be migrated to a new data system that is compatible with the Florida Medicaid Management Information System.

      "(d) The Agency for Persons with Disabilities and the Agency for Health Care Administration shall develop a plan for the orderly relocation of the noncentral-office staff of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to the area offices of the Agency for Health Care Administration. Such plan shall include a schedule that takes into consideration the availability of space, the expiration of current leases, and the initiation of new leases that can accommodate the relocated staff, as well as appropriate reimbursement for collocation costs, including office space and other operating expenses.

      "(2) Effective October 1, 2004, the agency shall enter into an interagency agreement with the Department of Children and Family Services for the provision of the necessary day-to-day administrative and operational needs of the agency, including, but not limited to, personnel, purchasing, information technology support, legal support, and other related services. This interagency agreement shall continue until the agency no longer requires the provision of services through such agreement.

      "(3) This act does not affect the validity of any judicial or administrative proceeding pending on October 30, 2004, and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities is substituted as a real party in interest with respect to any proceeding pending on that date which involves the developmental services programs of the Department of Children and Family Services."

History.--s. 70, ch. 2004-267.