Florida Administrative Code › 58 - DEPARTMENT OF ELDER AFFAIRS › 58B - Division of Volunteer and Community Services › Chapter 58B-1 - AGING RESOURCE CENTERS › Section 58B-1.001 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
In addition to the definitions included in Chapter 430, F.S.,
				  the following terms shall apply in this rule chapter:
(1) Access Point: A service provider or other
				entity that performs one or more aging resource center functions under an
				agreement with the aging resource center. The agreement can be in the form of a
				referral agreement, contract, memorandum of understanding, or any similar
				document.
(2) Aging Resource Center
				(ARC): An entity approved by the Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA), accessible
				through multiple entry points, that provides access to economic and long-term
				care services for all elders and their families, regardless of ability to pay.
				The eligibility functions are determined by the Comprehensive Assessment and
				Review for Long-term Care Services (CARES)/DOEA and the Department of Children
				and Families (DCF) Economic Self - Sufficiency (ESS) programs integrated
				through collocation of DOEA and DCF staff.
(a)
				Determination of financial and technical eligibility for all public assistance
				programs, including Medicaid, is the responsibility of DCF/ESS staff.
(b) Determination of medical eligibility for
				Medicaid waiver services and nursing home placement is the responsibility of
				DOEA/CARES staff.
(c) The ARC
				coordinates the following functions under its contract with DOEA:
1. Access: Providing elders, their families
				and caregivers a customer friendly way to gain long-term care information and
				entry into services and programs.
2. Information: Responding to an inquiry from
				a person, or on behalf of a person, regarding public and private resources and
				available services.
3. Referral:
				Obtaining information about a person's needs; directing people to resources
				most capable of meeting the need; contacting the resource for the person as
				needed. (Follow-up is mandatory to determine the outcome of the
				Referral/Assistance.)
4. Screening:
				Performing standard data collection to gather information about an applicant
				for services and to conduct preliminary evaluation of eligibility for
				assistance.
5. Triaging: Sorting
				applicants for long-term care services and prioritizing access on the basis of
				need for or likely benefit from long-term care services.
6. Eligibility Determination: Reviewing and
				analyzing program specific criteria in order to decide if an individual is
				qualified to receive publicly funded program services.
7. Long-Term Care Options: Answering
				questions and providing unbiased information on available long-term care
				service options and advising on what factors to consider when selecting a
				program or provider.
8. Choice
				Counseling: Exploring all available alternatives to nursing facility placement
				and recommending placement and proper support services in the least
				restrictive, most appropriate setting possible; performed by DOEA CARES
				staff.
9. Fiscal Control:
				Maximizing the use, efficiency and targeting of public resources. Tools include
				Assessed Priority Consumer List (wait list) management and care plan
				review.
10. Quality Assurance:
				Ensuring that performance is in the client's best interest and long-term care
				services are cost-effective, of high quality, and responsive and appropriate to
				assessed needs.