• Additional Funding for Crisis Stabilization
Unit Beds. The acute care system in Sarasota County is in a state of
crisis. The County’s designated Baker Act public receiving facility, the
Crisis Stabilization Unit operated by Coastal Behavioral Healthcare, is
running at or over capacity nearly every day. When these beds are full,
indigent patients are being diverted—of necessity but inappropriately—to
other facilities in the area, including the private receiving facilities
operated by Bayside Center for Behavioral Health and Bon Secours-Venice
Behavioral Health Services. When beds are not available in these
facilities, the overflow of patients is ending up in Sarasota Memorial
Hospital’s emergency room (compromising the hospital’s ability to
provide acute medical care), in the county jail, and in facilities
outside the county. The Community Alliance has recently undertaken an
analysis of the county’s acute care system which will be complete by the
end of December. While the recommendations which will come forth from
that analysis and report are not known, it is expected that at least one
of the recommendations will be for increased funding from the
legislature for Crisis Stabilization Unit beds. In anticipation of that
recommendation, the Community Alliance would support a budget request by
the Department of Children and Families for increased funding for CSU
beds.
• Tiered Reimbursement for Child Day Care.
State legislation previously allowed local school readiness coalitions
to utilize tiered rating systems, and hence tiered reimbursement
systems, through what was known as the Gold Seal Program. This program
permitted different levels of reimbursement to day care centers for
different levels of service, encouraging innovation and rewarding day
care centers which provided higher quality child care. This legislation
was repealed by the Legislature in May, 2001, effective at the end of
December, 2001. Without authority to set up a system of different levels
of service to reward providers who are willing to go beyond the bare
minimum required for state licensing, the School Readiness Coalition
cannot develop a program that is truly responsive to the needs of
children in the county, and all that will be left is basic “child care”
at the lowest rate. To give the Sarasota School Readiness Coalition (and
others throughout the state) the flexibility needed to structure
educational programs which are responsive to local conditions and set
rates which are consistent with the local market and at levels
commensurate with the varying levels of care offered by providers, the
Community Alliance would support legislation which permits local control
of these issues by school readiness coalitions.
• Co-Occurring Treatment Continuum for Strong
Families Pilot Project. A majority of the families involved with the
child welfare system have multiple problems, which often include
co-occurring substance abuse problems, domestic violence issues, and/or
mental health issues. An estimated one-fourth of these families need
intensive outpatient services or residential treatment. The demand for
these services and the rapid growth in the number of families being
referred to the dependency system are overwhelming the capacity of local
providers. The Community Alliance would support a pilot project with a
strong diversion focus which would be a collaborative effort among local
treatment providers. The project would offer a continuum of care,
including outpatient treatment, residential treatment, an in-home
parenting program, life skills training, youth activity and education
programs, with contingency funds available to remove barriers to
participation such as lack of transportation or child care.
• Revenue Maximization. The
Funding Catalyst Work Group is focusing on revenue maximization efforts
which would permit local funds to be used as match for federal dollars.
This would involve no new state funds, allow local control of programs,
and enable the community to fill gaps in existing services. The
Community Alliance would support legislation being proposed as a
collaborative effort of the United Way of Florida and the state
association of children’s service councils.
• Devolution. The Community
Alliance would oppose any legislation which would shift responsibility
for human service programs from the state to the local government level
which does not include a corresponding transfer of funds to local
governments. The Florida Association of Counties and its affiliated
groups have the lead on this issue.
• Expansion of Healthy Families
Florida. This statewide program has proven its effectiveness in
building strong families and diverting children and families from the
child welfare system. However, the program is only able to serve a
fraction of the population which need these services. The Community
Alliance would support legislative budget requests to increase funding
for this successful program.
