Florida Administrative Code › 65 - DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES › 65G - Agency for Persons with Disabilities › Chapter 65G-2 - LICENSURE OF RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES › Section 65G-2.008 - Staffing Requirements

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) The licensee
				shall employ adequate staff to maintain the facility in a manner that promotes
				and ensures the health, safety, and welfare of residents, and protects those
				who are not residents of the facility from any known dangerous behaviors that
				the residents exhibit. A violation of this subsection shall constitute a Class
				I violation.
(a) The appropriate number and
				type of staff employed by the licensee is dependent upon a number of factors
				including state and/or federal requirements, court orders, the number of
				residents and their unique service requirements, the competency, training, and
				education of staff, and the range of services offered. At a minimum, the
				licensee shall maintain the staffing pattern delineated and described on its
				most recent application for licensure. A violation of this paragraph shall
				constitute a Class II violation.
(b) At least one staff person must be present
				at all times while clients are in the facility unless the licensee has received
				Agency approval for a specified client to be left alone for limited periods of
				time during the day or night pursuant to paragraph
				 65G-2.009(6)(b),
				F.A.C. A violation of this paragraph shall constitute a Class I
				violation.
(c) Direct service
				providers shall not be under the influence of alcoholic beverages or illegal
				controlled substances to the extent their normal faculties are impaired. For
				purposes of this paragraph "normal faculties" include but are not limited to
				the ability to see, hear, walk, talk, judge distances, drive an automobile,
				make judgments, act in emergencies and, in general, to normally perform the
				many mental and physical acts of daily life. A violation of this paragraph
				shall constitute a Class I violation.
(d) Direct service providers shall be at
				least 18 years of age. A violation of this paragraph shall constitute a Class
				III violation.
(e) Direct service
				providers must have at least a high school diploma or equivalent. When
				determining the equivalency of high school diplomas, providers may accept
				official transcripts, affidavits from educational institutions, and other
				formal or legal documents that can be reasonably used to determine educational
				background. Direct service providers who have been hired using the best
				judgment of the licensee prior to the date of this rule revision, are exempt
				from this education-related documentation screening requirement. A violation of
				this paragraph shall constitute a Class III violation.
(f) Prior to beginning employment, direct
				service providers must have at least one year of experience in a medical,
				psychiatric, nursing or childcare setting or working with persons with a
				developmental disability. Successfully completed college, vocational or
				technical training equal to 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or 720
				classroom hours in special education, mental health, counseling, guidance,
				social work or health and rehabilitative services can substitute for the
				required experience. Direct service providers hired by the licensee prior to
				July 1, 2014, shall continue to be exempt from this paragraph. Licensees may
				allow direct service providers to begin their employment without meeting the
				experience requirements described within this section if such direct service
				providers spend their first 90 days of employment working directly under the
				supervision or oversight of another direct service provider who does possess
				the required experience requirements. For purposes of this section, "direct
				supervision or oversight" refers to the physical presence of a direct service
				provider who meets the experience requirements and who is immediately available
				for assistance as needed and who at all times shall be under the same
				contiguous roof line as the direct service provider who does not meet the one
				year experience requirement. The direct service provider who does not meet the
				one year experience requirement may take residents out of the facility only if
				accompanied by another direct service provider who meets the one-year
				experience requirement as long as the experienced direct service provider
				remains at all times within 100 feet of the direct service provider who does
				not meet the one year experience requirement. If such arrangements will be made
				for a direct service provider, the licensee shall provide written notification
				to the Regional Office, to include the name of the direct service provider and
				the facility in which he or she will be working, no later than five business
				days after the direct service provider starts employment with the licensee. The
				licensee shall conduct a performance evaluation of any direct service provider
				employed under the exception to the experience requirement of this paragraph no
				later than 120 days after the direct service provider began his or her
				employment with the licensee. This performance evaluation shall, at a minimum,
				include an assessment of the direct service provider's ability to perform the
				prescribed duties of his or her position. Documentation of this performance
				evaluation shall be maintained within the personnel file of the direct service
				provider and made available to the Agency upon request. A violation of this
				paragraph shall constitute a Class III violation.
(g) Direct service providers must be capable
				of demonstrating effective communication with the residents of the homes as
				well as other individuals such as waiver support coordinators, Agency staff,
				family members of residents, and others who routinely interact with residential
				staff. A violation of this paragraph shall constitute a Class III
				violation.
(h) Direct service
				providers must be mentally competent to comprehend, comply with, and implement
				all requirements provided by law and Agency rule for the provision of services
				rendered to residents of their facilities. In addition, they must be physically
				capable of performing duties for which they are responsible. A violation of
				this paragraph shall constitute a Class II violation.