Fla. Stat. § 397.311 — Florida Code / Title XXIX / Chapter 397 / Part I / Section 397.311
397.311 Definitions.
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter, except part VIII, the term:

(1) “Ancillary services” are services that include, but are not limited to, special diagnostic, prenatal and postnatal, other medical, mental health, legal, economic, vocational, employment, and educational services.

(2) “Authorized agent of the department” means a person designated by the department to conduct any audit, inspection, monitoring, evaluation, or other duty imposed upon the department pursuant to this chapter. An authorized agent must be qualified by expertise and experience to perform these functions.

(3) “Beyond the safe management capabilities of the service provider” refers to an individual who is in need of: (a) Supervision; (b) Medical care; or (c) Services, beyond that which the service provider or service component can deliver.

(4) “Certificate of compliance” means a certificate that is issued by a credentialing entity to a recovery residence or a recovery residence administrator.

(5) “Certified recovery residence” means a recovery residence that holds a valid certificate of compliance and is actively managed by a certified recovery residence administrator. (a) A Level I certified recovery residence houses individuals in recovery who have completed treatment, with a minimum of 9 months of sobriety. A Level I certified recovery residence is democratically run by the members who reside in the home. (b) A Level II certified recovery residence encompasses the traditional perspectives of sober living homes. There is oversight from a house manager who has experience with living in recovery. Residents are expected to follow rules outlined in a resident handbook provided by the certified recovery residence administrator. Residents must pay dues, if applicable, and work toward achieving realistic and defined milestones within a chosen recovery path. (c) A Level III certified recovery residence offers higher supervision by staff with formal training to ensure resident accountability. Such residences are staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and offer residents peer-support services, which may include, but are not limited to, life skill mentoring, recovery planning, and meal preparation. Clinical services may not be performed at the residence. Such residences are most appropriate for persons who require a more structured environment during early recovery from addiction. (d) A Level IV certified recovery residence is a residence offered, referred to, or provided by, a licensed service provider to its patients who are required to reside at the residence while receiving intensive outpatient and higher levels of outpatient care. Such residences are staffed 24 hours a day and combine outpatient licensable services with recovery residential living. Residents are required to follow a treatment plan and attend group and individual sessions, in addition to developing a recovery plan within the social model of living in a sober lifestyle. No clinical services are provided at the residence and all licensable services are provided offsite.

(6) “Certified recovery residence administrator” means a recovery residence administrator who holds a valid certificate of compliance.

(7) “Clinical assessment” means the collection of detailed information concerning an individual’s substance use, emotional and physical health, social roles, and other areas that may reflect the severity of the individual’s abuse of alcohol or drugs. The collection of information serves as a basis for identifying an appropriate treatment regimen.

(8) “Clinical supervisor” means a person who meets the requirements of a qualified professional whose functions include managing personnel who provide direct clinical services or maintaining lead responsibility for the overall coordination and provision of clinical services.

(9) “Community housing” means a certified recovery residence offered, referred to, or provided by a licensed service provider that provides housing to its patients who are required to reside at the residence while receiving intensive outpatient and higher levels of outpatient care. A certified recovery residence used by a licensed service provider that meets the definition of community housing shall be classified as a Level IV level of support, as described in subsection (5).

(10) “Court” means the court of legal jurisdiction in the context in which the term is used in this chapter.

(11) “Credentialing entity” means a nonprofit organization that develops and administers professional, facility, or organization certification programs according to applicable nationally recognized certification or psychometric standards.

(12) “Department” means the Department of Children and Families.

(13) “Director” means the chief administrative or executive officer of a service provider or recovery residence.

(14) “Disclose” or “disclosure” means a communication of identifying information, the affirmative verification of another person’s communication of identifying information, or the communication of any information regarding an individual who has received services. Any disclosure made pursuant to this chapter must be limited to that information which is necessary to carry out the purpose of the disclosure.

(15) “Fee system” means a method of establishing charges for services rendered, in accordance with an individual’s ability to pay, used by providers that receive state funds.

(16) “For profit” means registered as for profit by the Secretary of State and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a for-profit entity.

(17) “Habitual abuser” means a person who is brought to the attention of law enforcement for being substance impaired, who meets the criteria for involuntary admission in s. 397.675, and who has been taken into custody for such impairment three or more times during the preceding 12 months.

(18) “Hospital” means a hospital or hospital-based component licensed under chapter 395.

(19) “Identifying information” means the name, address, social security number, fingerprints, photograph, and similar information by which the identity of an individual can be determined with reasonable accuracy directly or by reference to other publicly available information.

(20) “Impaired” or “substance abuse impaired” means having a substance use disorder or a condition involving the use of alcoholic beverages, illicit or prescription drugs, or any psychoactive or mood-altering substance in such a manner as to induce mental, emotional, or physical problems or cause socially dysfunctional behavior.

(21) “Incompetent to consent to treatment” means a state in which a person’s judgment is so affected by a substance abuse impairment that he or she lacks the capacity to make a well-reasoned, willful, and knowing decision concerning his or her medical health, mental health, or substance abuse treatment.

(22) “Individual” means a person who receives alcohol or other drug abuse treatment services delivered by a service provider. The term does not include an inmate pursuant to part VIII of this chapter unless expressly so provided.

(23) “Informed consent” means consent voluntarily given in writing by a competent person after sufficient explanation and disclosure of the subject matter involved to enable the person to make a knowing and willful decision without any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, or other form of constraint or coercion.

(24) “Involuntary treatment services” means an array of behavioral health services that may be ordered by the court for persons with substance abuse impairment or co-occurring substance abuse impairment and mental health disorders.

(25) “Law enforcement officer” means a law enforcement officer as defined in s. 943.10(1).

(26) “Licensed service provider” means a public agency under this chapter, a private for-profit or not-for-profit agency under this chapter, a physician or any other private practitioner licensed under this chapter, or a hospital that offers substance abuse services through one or more licensed service components.

(27) Licensed service components include a comprehensive continuum of accessible and quality substance abuse prevention, intervention, and clinical treatment services, including the following services: (a) “Clinical treatment” means a professionally directed, deliberate, and planned regimen of services and interventions that are designed to reduce or eliminate the misuse of drugs and alcohol and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. As defined by rule, “clinical treatment services” include, but are not limited to, the following licensable service components: 1. “Addictions receiving facility” is a secure, acute care facility that provides, at a minimum, detoxification and stabilization services; is operated 24 hours per day, 7 days per week; and is designated by the department to serve individuals found to be substance use impaired as described in s. 397.675 who meet the placement criteria for this component. 2. “Day or night treatment” is a service provided in a nonresidential environment, with a structured schedule of treatment and rehabilitative services. 3. “Day or night treatment with community housing” means a program intended for individuals who can benefit from living independently in peer community housing while participating in treatment services for a minimum of 5 hours a day for a minimum of 25 hours per week. 4. “Detoxification” is a service involving subacute care that is provided on an inpatient or an outpatient basis to assist individuals to withdraw from the physiological and psychological effects of substance abuse and who meet the placement criteria for this component. 5. “Intensive inpatient treatment” includes a planned regimen of evaluation, observation, medical monitoring, and clinical protocols delivered through an interdisciplinary team approach provided 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, in a highly structured, live-in environment. 6. “Intensive outpatient treatment” is a service that provides individual or group counseling in a more structured environment, is of higher intensity and duration than outpatient treatment, and is provided to individuals who meet the placement criteria for this component. 7. “Medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders” is a service that uses methadone or other medication as authorized by state and federal law, in combination with medical, rehabilitative, supportive, and counseling services in the treatment of individuals who are dependent on opioid drugs. 8. “Outpatient treatment” is a service that provides individual, group, or family counseling by appointment during scheduled operating hours for individuals who meet the placement criteria for this component. 9. “Residential treatment” is a service provided in a structured live-in environment within a nonhospital setting on a 24-hours-per-day, 7-days-per-week basis, and is intended for individuals who meet the placement criteria for this component. (b) “Intervention” means structured services directed toward individuals or groups at risk of substance abuse and focused on reducing or impeding those factors associated with the onset or the early stages of substance abuse and related problems. (c) “Prevention” means a process involving strategies that are aimed at the individual, family, community, or substance and that preclude, forestall, or impede the development of substance use problems and promote responsible lifestyles.

(28) “Medication-assisted treatment (MAT)” is the use of medications approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a holistic approach to the treatment of substance abuse.

(29) “Medical monitoring” means oversight and treatment, 24 hours per day by medical personnel who are licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, or chapter 464, of individuals whose subacute problems are so severe that the individuals require intensive inpatient treatment by an interdisciplinary team.

(30) “Not for profit” means registered as not for profit by the Secretary of State and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a not-for-profit entity.

(31) “Peer specialist” means a person who has been in recovery from a substance use disorder or mental illness for at least 2 years who uses his or her personal experience to provide services in behavioral health settings to support others in their recovery, or a person who has at least 2 years of experience as a family member or caregiver of an individual who has a substance use disorder or mental illness. The term does not include a qualified professional or a person otherwise certified under chapter 394 or this chapter.

(32) “Physician” means a person licensed under chapter 458 to practice medicine or licensed under chapter 459 to practice osteopathic medicine, and may include, if the context so indicates, an intern or resident enrolled in an intern or resident training program affiliated with an approved medical school, hospital, or other facility through which training programs are normally conducted.

(33) “Physician assistant” means a person licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician or psychiatrist whose specialty includes substance abuse treatment.

(34) “Private practitioner” means a physician or a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, a psychologist licensed under chapter 490, or a clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, or mental health counselor licensed under chapter 491.

(35) “Program evaluation” or “evaluation” means a systematic measurement of a service provider’s achievement of desired individual or service outcomes.

(36) “Qualified professional” means a physician or a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; a professional licensed under chapter 490 or chapter 491; an advanced practice registered nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464; or a person who is certified through a department-recognized certification process for substance abuse treatment services and who holds, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree. A person who is certified in substance abuse treatment services by a state-recognized certification process in another state at the time of employment with a licensed substance abuse provider in this state may perform the functions of a qualified professional as defined in this chapter but must meet certification requirements contained in this subsection no later than 1 year after his or her date of employment.

(37) “Quality improvement” means a systematic and organized approach to monitor and continuously improve the quality of services in order to maintain, restore, or improve outcomes in individuals and populations throughout a system of care.

(38) “Recovery” means a process of personal change through which individuals achieve abstinence from alcohol or drug use and improve health, wellness, and quality of life.

(39) “Recovery residence” means a residential dwelling unit, the community housing component of a licensed day or night treatment facility with community housing, or other form of group housing, which is offered or advertised through any means, including oral, written, electronic, or printed means, by any person or entity as a residence that provides a peer-supported, alcohol-free, and drug-free living environment.

(40) “Recovery residence administrator” means the person responsible for overall management of the recovery residence, including, but not limited to, the supervision of residents and staff employed by, or volunteering for, the residence.

(41) “Recovery support” means services designed to strengthen or assist individuals to regain skills, develop the environmental supports necessary to help the individual thrive in the community, and meet life goals that promote recovery from alcohol and drug use. These services include, but are not limited to, economic, vocational, employment, educational, housing, and other ancillary services.

(42) “Screening” means the gathering of initial information to be used in determining a person’s need for assessment, services, or referral.

(43) “Secure facility,” except where the context indicates a correctional system facility, means a provider that has the authority to deter the premature departure of involuntary individuals whose leaving constitutes a violation of a court order or community-based supervision as provided by law. The term “secure facility” includes addictions receiving facilities and facilities authorized by local ordinance for the treatment of habitual abusers.

(44) “Service component” or “component” means a discrete operational entity within a service provider which is subject to licensing as defined by rule. Service components include prevention, intervention, and clinical treatment described in subsection (27).

(45) “Service provider” or “provider” means a public agency, a private for-profit or not-for-profit agency, a person who is a private practitioner, or a hospital licensed under this chapter or exempt from licensure under this chapter.

(46) “Service provider personnel” or “personnel” includes all owners, directors, chief financial officers, staff, and volunteers, including foster parents, of a service provider.

(47) “Stabilization” means: (a) Alleviation of a crisis condition; or (b) Prevention of further deterioration, and connotes short-term emergency treatment.

(48) “Substance abuse” means the misuse or abuse of, or dependence on alcohol, illicit drugs, or prescription medications. As an individual progresses along this continuum of misuse, abuse, and dependence, there is an increased need for substance abuse intervention and treatment to help abate the problem.

(49) “Substate entity” means a departmental office designated to serve a geographical area specified by the department.

(50) “System of care” means a coordinated continuum of community-based services and supports that are organized to meet the challenges and needs of individuals who are at risk of developing substance abuse problems or individuals who have substance abuse problems.

(51) “Treatment plan” means an immediate and a long-range plan based upon an individual’s assessed needs and used to address and monitor an individual’s recovery from substance abuse.

History: s. 2, ch. 93-39; s. 55, ch. 95-228; s. 1, ch. 98-107; s. 1, ch. 98-262; s. 107, ch. 99-8; s. 52, ch. 2000-139; s. 1, ch. 2002-196; s. 78, ch. 2004-11; s. 2, ch. 2005-55; s. 8, ch. 2009-132; s. 80, ch. 2010-5; s. 112, ch. 2014-19; s. 1, ch. 2015-100; s. 21, ch. 2016-241; s. 2, ch. 2017-173; s. 24, ch. 2018-106; s. 2, ch. 2019-159; s. 9, ch. 2020-39; s. 1, ch. 2024-176; s. 21, ch. 2024-245.