Florida Administrative Code › 65 - DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES › 65D - Substance Abuse Program › Chapter 65D-30 - SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES OFFICE › Section 65D-30.0037 - Department Licensing Procedures

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1)
				Department Licensing Procedures. The regional offices shall be responsible for
				licensing providers operating within their geographic boundaries but are not
				prohibited from reviewing applications or conducting audits of service
				providers outside the boundary.
(a)
				Application Process. The regional offices shall process all new and renewal
				applications for licensing and shall notify both new and renewal applicants in
				writing within 30 business days of receipt of the application that it is
				complete or incomplete. Where an application is incomplete, the regional office
				shall specify in writing to the applicant the items that are needed to complete
				the application. Following receipt of the regional office's response, the
				applicant shall have 10 business days to submit the required information to the
				regional office. If the applicant needs additional time to submit the required
				information, it may request such additional time within five (5) business days
				of the deadline for submitting the information. Within five (5) business days
				of receipt of the request, the regional office shall approve the request for up
				to an additional 30 business days. Any renewal applicant that fails to meet
				these deadlines shall be assessed an additional fee equal to the late fee
				provided for in subsection
				 397.407(3),
				F.S., $100 per licensed component for each specific location. If the applicant
				is seeking a new license and fails to meet these deadlines, the application and
				all fees shall be returned to the applicant unprocessed.
(b) Licensing Inspection. The regional office
				may conduct announced or unannounced on-site licensing inspections pursuant to
				section  397.411, F.S. Prior to any
				scheduled inspection, the regional office shall notify the applicant of its
				intent to conduct an on-site licensing inspection or electronic file review and
				of the proposed date of the inspection. The regional office shall include the
				name(s) of the authorized agents who will conduct the inspection and the
				specific components and facilities to be inspected. This notification, however,
				shall not prohibit the regional office from inspecting other components or
				facilities maintained by a provider at the time of the review.
(c) Licensing Determination. A
				performance-based rating system shall be used to evaluate a provider's
				compliance with licensing standards. Providers shall attain at least 80 percent
				compliance overall on each component reviewed. This means that each set of
				standards within each facility operated by a provider is subject to the 80
				percent compliance requirement. If any set of standards within a facility falls
				below 80 percent compliance, an interim license will be issued for that
				component. In addition, there may be instances where a component is rated at an
				80 percent level of compliance overall but is in substantial noncompliance with
				standards related to health, safety, and welfare of individuals or staff. This
				includes significant or chronic violations regarding standards that do not
				involve direct services to individuals. In such cases, the regional office
				shall issue an interim license to the provider or take other regulatory action
				as permitted in section
				 397.415, F.S.
(d) Notifying Providers Regarding Disposition
				on Licensing. In the case of new and renewal applications, the regional office
				shall give written notice to the applicant as required in section
				 120.60(3),
				F.S., that the regional office has granted or denied its application for a
				license. In the case of new applicants, this shall occur within the 90-day
				period following receipt of the completed application. In the case of renewal
				applicants, this shall occur prior to expiration of the current
				license.
(e) Reports of Licensing
				Inspections. The regional offices shall prepare and distribute to providers a
				report of licensing inspections that shall include:
1. The name and address of the
				facility;
2. The names and titles
				of principal provider staff interviewed;
3. An overview of the components and
				facilities inspected and a brief description of the provider;
4. A summary of findings from each component
				and facility inspected;
5. A list
				of noncompliance issues, if any, with rule or statutory references and a
				request that the provider submit a plan for corrective action, including
				required completion dates;
6.
				Recommendations for issuing a probationary, a regular, or an interim license
				and recommendations regarding other actions permitted under chapter 397, F.S.;
				and
7. The name and title of each
				authorized agent of the Department.
8. If the criteria established for a
				licensable component are not met, deficiencies must be classified according to
				the nature and scope of the deficiency and cited as isolated, patterned, or
				widespread. The type must be identified on the licensing
				inspection.
(f)
				Distribution of Licenses and Notices. For new and renewal applications,
				regional offices shall send providers a written, signed license along with the
				written notice as described in subparagraph 4 of this section. Additionally,
				any adverse action by regional offices (e.g., issuance of an interim license,
				license suspension, denial, revocation, fine or moratorium) shall be
				accompanied by notice of the right of appeal as required by chapter 120,
				F.S.
(g) Content of Licensing
				Records. The regional offices shall maintain current electronic licensing files
				on each provider licensed under chapter 397, F.S. The contents of the files
				shall include those items submitted to the Department, as required in
				subsections  65D-30.0036(1) 
				-(3), F.A.C., as appropriate, and subparagraph
				 65D-30.0037(1)(a) 
				5., F.A.C. All documentation and updates will be entered into the Department
				approved database within 35 business days of changes to the applicant or
				provider status to ensure contents of licensing records are current.
(h) Listing of Licensed Providers. The
				regional offices shall maintain a current listing of all licensed providers by
				components, with license expiration dates as required by section
				 397.6774, F.S.
(i) Complaint Log. The regional offices shall
				electronically document all complaints regarding providers in the data system
				approved by the Department. Documentation shall include the date the complaint
				was received, dates review was initiated and completed, and all findings,
				penalties imposed, fines collected, reports to other licensing or credentialing
				entities, and other information relevant to the complaint.
(j) Publishing Provider Information. A list
				of licensed providers shall be published to the Department's website. The list
				shall include provider name(s), address(es), contact information, number of
				beds for inpatient services, inspection score, and other information the
				Department deems useful to the public.