Fla. Stat. § 1004.44 — Florida Code / Title XLVIII / Chapter 1004 / Part II / Section 1004.44
1004.44 Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute.
Status: in_force

There is established the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute within the University of South Florida.

(1) The purpose of the institute is to strengthen mental health services throughout the state by providing technical assistance and support services to mental health agencies and mental health professionals. Such assistance and services shall include: (a) Technical training and specialized education. (b) Development, implementation, and evaluation of mental health service programs. (c) Evaluation of availability and effectiveness of existing mental health services. (d) Analysis of factors that influence the incidence and prevalence of mental and emotional disorders. (e) Dissemination of information about innovations in mental health services. (f) Consultation on all aspects of program development and implementation. (g) Provisions for direct client services, provided for a limited period of time either in the institute facility or in other facilities within the state, and limited to purposes of research or training. (h) Submission of a report analyzing substance abuse and mental health services provided in the state through publicly funded programs, including Medicare. The review shall, at a minimum, identify services covered by such programs, assess quality of care and cost management, and identify services for which additional providers are needed in the state. The institute shall submit the report to the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives by June 30, 2026.

(2) The Department of Children and Families is authorized to designate the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute a treatment facility for the purpose of accepting voluntary and involuntary clients in accordance with institute programs. Clients to be admitted are exempted from prior screening by a community mental health center.

(3) The institute may provide direct services in coordination with other agencies. The institute may also provide support services to state agencies through joint programs, collaborative agreements, contracts, and grants.

(4) By August 1, 2020, the institute shall develop a model response protocol for schools to use mobile response teams established under s. 394.495. In developing the protocol, the institute shall, at a minimum, consult with school districts that effectively use such teams, school districts that use such teams less often, local law enforcement agencies, the Department of Children and Families, managing entities as defined in s. 394.9082(2), and mobile response team providers.

(5) The institute shall operate under the authority of the President of the University of South Florida and shall employ a mental health professional as director. The director shall hold a faculty appointment in a university’s college or department related to mental health within the university. The director has primary responsibility for establishing active liaisons with the community of mental health professionals and other related constituencies in the state and may, with approval of the university president, establish appropriate statewide advisory groups to assist in developing these communication links.

(6)(a) There is established within the institute the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce. The purpose of the center is to support an adequate, highly skilled, resilient, and innovative workforce that meets the current and future human resources needs of the state’s behavioral health system in order to provide high-quality care, services, and supports to Floridians with, or at risk of developing, behavioral health conditions through original research, policy analysis, evaluation, and development and dissemination of best practices. The goals of the center are, at a minimum, to research the state’s current behavioral health workforce and future needs; expand the number of clinicians, professionals, and other workers involved in the behavioral health workforce; and enhance the skill level and innovativeness of the workforce. The center shall, at a minimum, do all of the following: 1. Describe and analyze the current workforce and project possible future workforce demand, especially in critical roles, and develop strategies for addressing any gaps. The center’s efforts may include, but need not be limited to, producing a statistically valid biennial analysis of the supply and demand of the behavioral health workforce. 2. Expand pathways to behavioral health professions through enhanced educational opportunities and improved faculty development and retention. The center’s efforts may include, but need not be limited to: a. Identifying best practices in the academic preparation and continuing education of behavioral health professionals. b. Facilitating and coordinating the development of academic-practice partnerships that support behavioral health faculty employment and advancement. c. Developing and implementing innovative projects to support the recruitment, development, and retention of behavioral health educators, faculty, and clinical preceptors. d. Developing distance learning infrastructure for behavioral health education and the evidence-based use of technology, simulation, and distance learning techniques. 3. Promote behavioral health professions. The center’s efforts may include, but need not be limited to: a. Conducting original research on the factors affecting recruitment, retention, and advancement of the behavioral health workforce, such as designing and implementing a longitudinal study of the state’s behavioral health workforce. b. Developing and implementing innovative projects to support the recruitment, development, and retention of behavioral health workers, including, but not limited to, projects to provide additional stipends, compensation, and financial support for clinical supervisors, workers, interns, and students currently working in the behavioral health field. 4. Request from the Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling, and the board must provide to the center upon its request, any information held by the board regarding the clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, and mental health counselors licensed in this state or information reported to the board by employers of such counselors, other than personal identifying information. (b) The center may: 1. Convene groups, including, but not limited to, behavioral health clinicians, professionals, and workers, and employers of such individuals; other health care providers; individuals with behavioral health conditions and their families; and business and industry leaders, policymakers, and educators, to assist the center in its work; and 2. Request from any board as defined in s. 456.001 any information held by the board regarding a behavioral health professional licensed in this state or holding a multistate license pursuant to a professional multistate licensure compact or information reported to the board by employers of such behavioral health professionals, other than personal identifying information. The boards must provide such information to the center upon request. (c) By January 10 of each year, the center shall submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives providing details of its activities during the preceding calendar year in pursuit of its goals and in the execution of its duties under paragraph (a). The report submitted in 2025 must include an initial statewide strategic plan for meeting the goals in this subsection, which must be updated in each subsequent report.

(7) The Board of Governors and the State Board of Education, in consultation with the center, shall expeditiously adopt any necessary regulations and rules, as applicable, to allow the center to perform its responsibilities under subsection (6) as soon as practicable.

History: s. 190, ch. 2002-387; s. 371, ch. 2014-19; s. 10, ch. 2020-107; s. 6, ch. 2024-12; s. 101, ch. 2025-6; s. 8, ch. 2025-184.