No. SB 1438
Filed under Healthcare.
Agency for Health Care Administration; Requiring the Agency for Health Care Administration to require certain background screening for certain persons; providing eligibility requirements for admission to a medically complex children’s home; providing for the denial, suspension, and revocation of a license; requiring the agency, by a specified date, to review and determine eligibility for specified criminal history checks, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDA new licensed category, the medically complex children's home, lets small residential homes care for up to six children who depend on medical equipment or procedures to survive, as an alternative to hospitals or institutions.
Only children moving from an in-state hospital or facility, or from a parent or guardian whose primary residence is in Florida, may be admitted; homes are not meant to serve out-of-state families.
Homes must have licensed nursing staff on site at all times, an automatic fire sprinkler system, a permanent generator, and background-screened staff, with unannounced inspections during the first licensing period.
An existing group home already sharing ownership with a nursing agency, therapy clinic, and medical-equipment supplier can skip full initial review if it already holds a valid license. Violations bring fines up to $1,000 per incident.
AIA new type of state-licensed home may care for up to six children who depend on medical equipment or procedures to survive, run by someone unrelated to the children by blood, marriage, or adoption, as an alternative to institutional care.
AIA child may be admitted only from a higher level of care at an in-state facility, or from the home of a parent or guardian whose primary residence is in Florida, closing the door to out-of-state placements.
AIAn existing chapter 393 group home serving medically complex children is treated as already meeting initial licensure if, as of June 30, 2026, it holds a license in good standing and shares ownership with a nursing agency, a pediatric extended care center, a home medical equipment provider, and a therapy clinic.
AIMinimum standards must require a medically complex children's home to keep licensed nursing staff on duty in the home at all times, alongside sanitary conditions, staffing tied to residents' ages and needs, and a homelike environment.
AIIf a provisional licensee still has uncorrected violations after two inspections, the agency may not extend its provisional license further, and the licensee may not admit any new children until it completes a plan to safely discharge current residents.
AIStarting in mid-2028, or later if the agency chooses, the Agency for Health Care Administration must also review and clear criminal history checks submitted through the statewide screening clearinghouse for other specified agencies, beyond the Department of Education checks it already handles.
AIViolations are classified by severity, with fines ranging from $100 to $200 for the least serious class up to $500, $750, or $1,000 depending on how widespread a Class I violation is found to be.
AIBy adding medically complex children's homes to the list of facility types covered by the state's in-person visitation statute, residents and their families gain the same visitation protections given to nursing home and assisted living facility residents.