Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 2352
       
       
       
       By Senator Aronberg
       
       
       
       
       27-00070-10                                           20102352__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to maternal and child health; creating
    3         s. 383.2163, F.S., the “Florida Nurse Home Visitation
    4         Act”; providing a short title; establishing a nurse
    5         home visitation pilot program in specified areas;
    6         providing purpose; providing definitions; requiring
    7         local Healthy Start coalitions to administer the
    8         program; providing duties of the Department of Health;
    9         providing for administration and evaluation of the
   10         program; providing eligibility requirements; requiring
   11         the department to adopt standards and guidelines;
   12         requiring the department to submit an annual report to
   13         the Governor and Legislature; providing an effective
   14         date.
   15  
   16         WHEREAS, in order to adequately care for their newborns and
   17  young children, new mothers may often seek and benefit from
   18  receiving professional assistance and information, and, without
   19  such assistance and information, a young mother may develop
   20  habits or practices that are detrimental to her health and well
   21  being and the health and well-being of her child, and
   22         WHEREAS, inadequate prenatal care and inadequate care in
   23  infancy and early childhood often inhibit a child’s ability to
   24  learn and develop throughout his or her childhood and may have
   25  lasting, adverse effects on the child’s ability to function as
   26  an adult, and
   27         WHEREAS, implementation of a nurse home visitation program
   28  that provides educational, health, and other resources for new
   29  mothers during pregnancy and the first years of their infants’
   30  lives has been proven to significantly reduce the number of
   31  premature births, the incidence of drug, tobacco, and alcohol
   32  use and abuse by mothers, the occurrence of criminal activity
   33  engaged in by mothers and their children under 15 years of age,
   34  and the number of reported incidents of child abuse and neglect,
   35  and
   36         WHEREAS, one example of this type of program, the Nurse
   37  Family Partnership, has succeeded in reducing the number of a
   38  mother’s subsequent births, increasing the length of time
   39  between subsequent births, reducing the mother’s need for other
   40  forms of public assistance, and promoting the overall health and
   41  developmental outcomes for the mother and her young children,
   42  and
   43         WHEREAS, the Nurse-Family Partnership model has been shown
   44  to be cost effective, yielding a 5-to-1 return on investment for
   45  every dollar spent on evidence-based nurse home visitation
   46  services and producing a net benefit of $34,000 per high-risk
   47  family served, NOW, THEREFORE,
   48  
   49  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   50  
   51         Section 1. Section 383.2163, Florida Statutes, is created
   52  to read:
   53         383.2163 Nurse home visitation pilot program.—
   54         (1) This section may be cited as the “Florida Nurse Home
   55  Visitation Act.”
   56         (2) A nurse home visitation pilot program is established in
   57  the Lee County Healthy Start coalition service area. The
   58  existing program in the Palm Beach County Healthy Start
   59  coalition service area is included in the pilot program. The
   60  purpose of the pilot program is to provide regular, in-home,
   61  visiting nurse services to low-income, first-time mothers who
   62  are identified as eligible based on the results of Healthy Start
   63  risk screening. Visiting nurses shall educate mothers about the
   64  importance of personal health, child health and development,
   65  education and employment, and building supportive relationships.
   66  In addition, visiting nurses may provide assistance to improve
   67  the home and surrounding environment, manage child care, and
   68  provide families with access to other community services. Any
   69  assistance provided through the program shall be provided only
   70  with the consent of the low-income, first-time mother. Services
   71  shall begin during the mother’s pregnancy and continue until her
   72  child’s second birthday; however, the mother may refuse to
   73  continue receiving services at any time.
   74         (3) As used in this section, the term:
   75         (a) “Department” means the Department of Health.
   76         (b) “Local entity” means the local Healthy Start coalition.
   77         (c) “Low-income” means having an annual household income
   78  that does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
   79         (d) “Nurse” means a registered nurse, licensed practical
   80  nurse, clinical nurse specialist, or advanced registered nurse
   81  practitioner as defined in s. 464.003.
   82         (e) “Pilot program” or “program” means the nurse home
   83  visitation pilot program established under this section.
   84         (4) The program shall be administered by the local entity
   85  and provide services to a minimum of 100 low-income, first-time
   86  mothers in that community who are identified as eligible based
   87  on the results of Healthy Start risk screening. The department
   88  may waive this requirement if the population base of the
   89  community does not include 100 eligible mothers. The department
   90  shall ensure the ability of the local entity to implement the
   91  program within the smaller community and maintain compliance
   92  with program requirements. A mother is eligible to receive
   93  services through the program if she is pregnant with her first
   94  child and her gross annual household income does not exceed 200
   95  percent of the federal poverty level.
   96         (5) The department shall adopt standards and guidelines to
   97  implement this section. Standards and guidelines that establish
   98  program training requirements, protocols, management information
   99  systems, and evaluation requirements shall be modeled after
  100  practices and procedures of research-based programs that have
  101  been implemented in one or more other states for at least 5
  102  years. In order to produce sizeable, sustained outcomes for
  103  families who receive services through the pilot program, the
  104  department shall ensure that services are provided in accordance
  105  with program standards that have been replicated in randomized
  106  controlled trials conducted at multiple sites and that have
  107  shown significant reductions in:
  108         (a) The number of babies born prematurely or with low birth
  109  weight.
  110         (b) The occurrence of infant behavioral impairments due to
  111  a mother’s use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
  112         (c) The number of reported incidents of child abuse and
  113  neglect.
  114         (d) The number of subsequent pregnancies.
  115         (e) The number of mothers receiving public assistance.
  116         (f) Criminal activity engaged in by a mother or her child
  117  or children.
  118         (6) The department shall monitor the administration of the
  119  program to ensure that the program is implemented according to
  120  the program training requirements, protocols, management
  121  information systems, and evaluation requirements established by
  122  the department. The department shall evaluate the program and
  123  submit an annual report of its findings and recommendations on
  124  or before January 1 of each year to the Governor, the President
  125  of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
  126         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.