Florida Involuntary Admissions
Submitted | Oct. 26, 2020 |
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Communications
From: HIJ Action Lab
To Whom It May Concern:
The Health in Justice Action Lab at Northeastern University is interested in Florida’s involuntary admission procedures under Fla. Stat. § 397.675. Specifically, we are looking for data concerning individuals civilly committed for substance use and addiction treatment, the programmatic offerings for those individuals, and Florida’s response to COVID-19 in its civil commitment system.
In order to permit the public to understand how the state of Florida is administering involuntary commitment, the outcomes of that program, and the impact on Florida’s public health, the Health in Justice Action Lab is making this request pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 119.01 for the following records:
1. State-wide volume. Any record showing the number of people who were civilly committed for substance use and addiction in each year since 2015 to the latest available.
2. Demographic information. Any and all records reflecting de-identified demographic summary statistics, including (but not necessarily limited to) race, gender, age, and pregnancy status, pertaining to individuals who have been civilly committed for substance use and addiction, from 2015 to latest available.
3. Facility information. Summary statistics, reports, or relevant documentation detailing facilities that are used to house people civilly commitment for substance use and addiction, including the following information:
a) Summary of the number of individuals committed to each individual facility for substance use in each year since 2015, to latest available.
b) For each facility housing people civilly committed for substance use, summary of the number of individuals also being held on criminal charges in those same facilities
c) Which facilities employ or contract health care providers licensed to prescribe methadone and/or buprenorphine.
d) Number of individuals each facility is licensed to house.
e) State agency managing each facility housing people civilly committed for substance use disorder.
f) Any and all documentation noting the number of non-fatal and fatal overdose incidents within each facility housing people civilly committed for substance use disorder in each year since 2015.
4. Financial information. Summary statistics, reports, or relevant documentation regarding government resources or insurance funds that are used to pay for civil commitment for substance use/addiction in each year since 2015.
5. Re-entry planning. Any and all documentation regarding the re-entry planning process for people discharged from civil commitment for substance use disorder, including:
a) Overdose education and naloxone distribution
b) Linkage to treatment in the community
c) Linkage to housing in the community
d) Insurance assistance
e) Any other support or health services
6. External overdose data. Any and all documentation noting the number of overdose incidents of patients within 1 year of re-entry from civil commitment for substance use disorder/addiction in each year since 2015.
Because this request involves a matter of public concern and because it is made on behalf of a nonprofit organization, we ask that you waive any fees. If you decide not to waive fees, we request that you permit us to examine, at our election, the responsive documents before deciding which portions to transmit. We prefer the documents in electronic format.
Should you determine that some portion of the documents requested are exempt from disclosure, please release any reasonably segregable portions that are not exempt. In addition, please note the applicable statutory exemption and explain why it applies to the redacted portions. As you know, a custodian of public records shall comply with a request within 10 business days days after receipt.
Thank you for your assistance. We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Louis Miyara
Health in Justice Action Lab
Northeastern University
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Florida Sunshine Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 26, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From:
Good afternoon:
I have heard from the program regarding your request. It is my understanding that the Department only has limited information. The Department only has information regarding SAMH funded individuals. The Department will only be able to provide you with some demographics and name of the facility where the individual was treated. Knowing this information, do you still want the Department to move forward with your data request. Please let us know. Thank you.
Elizabeth Floyd
Assistant General Counsel
Office of the General Counsel
Department of Children and Families
1317 Winewood Blvd. Building 2
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Office: (850) 488-4119
Elizabeth.Floyd@myflfamilies.com<mailto:Elizabeth.Floyd@myflfamilies.com>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication and any attachments thereto, constitute an "electronic communication" within the meaning of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C.A. §2510, and disclosure of these contents is limited to the recipient(s) intended by the sender of this message. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in this electronic message may be legally privileged and confidential, and is, in fact, intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity(ies) to which it is addressed above. Confidentiality may, without limitation, be based upon the Lawyer-Client Privilege, the Work-Product Doctrine, or the Mediation Privilege (see Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495 (1947), §§ 44.405, 90.408, 90.502, 119.071, and 119.0714<tel:119.0714>, Fla. Stat.). It is not the intent of the author of this communication to voluntarily disclose any privileged information to any person who is not the intended recipient of this communication. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication or any of its components is strictly prohibited. NOTICE REGARDING DESIGNATED E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: The e-mail address from which this communication was sent is for correspondence only. It may have not been designated for service of documents and pleadings and any attempted service will be considered a nullity, unless the address has been specifically designated for service in a specific case. UNLESS PRIVILEGED, EXCLUDED, OR EXEMPTED, THIS COMMUNICATION AND ANY RESPONSE(S) MAY BE A PUBLIC RECORD SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE, PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 119, FLA. STAT.
From: HIJ Action Lab
Dear Attorney Floyd,
Thank you for your response. Although the Department of Children and Families has only limited data regarding SAMH funded individuals, we still request that the Department moves forward with our data request and supply all available information you have. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you regarding the information available.
Regards,
Louis Miyara
From: Department of Children and Families
This request will be addressed with the SAMH program. If there is a cost associated with this data request, we will let you know. Thank you.
Elizabeth Floyd
Assistant General Counsel
Office of the General Counsel
Department of Children and Families
1317 Winewood Blvd. Building 2
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Office: (850) 488-4119
Elizabeth.Floyd@myflfamilies.com<mailto:Elizabeth.Floyd@myflfamilies.com>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication and any attachments thereto, constitute an “electronic communication” within the meaning of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C.A. §2510, and disclosure of these contents is limited to the recipient(s) intended by the sender of this message. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in this electronic message may be legally privileged and confidential, and is, in fact, intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity(ies) to which it is addressed above. Confidentiality may, without limitation, be based upon the Lawyer-Client Privilege, the Work-Product Doctrine, or the Mediation Privilege (see Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495 (1947), §§ 44.405, 90.408, 90.502, 119.071, and 119.0714<tel:119.0714>, Fla. Stat.). It is not the intent of the author of this communication to voluntarily disclose any privileged information to any person who is not the intended recipient of this communication. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication or any of its components is strictly prohibited. NOTICE REGARDING DESIGNATED E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: The e-mail address from which this communication was sent is for correspondence only. It may have not been designated for service of documents and pleadings and any attempted service will be considered a nullity, unless the address has been specifically designated for service in a specific case. UNLESS PRIVILEGED, EXCLUDED, OR EXEMPTED, THIS COMMUNICATION AND ANY RESPONSE(S) MAY BE A PUBLIC RECORD SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE, PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 119, FLA. STAT.
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~WRD0003
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Florida Sunshine Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 26, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Florida Sunshine Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 26, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Children and Families
Good afternoon:
Please find the attached records that are responsive to your request. This is a partial release.
A copy of 65D-30 is attached which may be of interest. Specifically:
* 65D-30.004 Common Licensing Standards requires licensed substance abuse providers to develop overdose prevention plans
* 65D-30.0046 Staff Training, Qualifications, and Scope of Practice, specifies training requirements related to overdose prevention
* 65D-30.0142 Clinical and Operational Standards for Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders requires licensed providers to develop overdose prevention plans.
* 65D-30.012 Standards for Intervention specifies that Employee Assistance Programs will include linkage to community services and where case management is a licensable sub-component of intervention services that case management will include linkage to services as dictated by individual needs.
* 65D-30.0142 Clinical and Operational Standards for Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders states that when an individual changes methadone providers, the evidence of linkage to care shall be noted in the clinical record.
* 65D-30.002 Definitions- defines “Case Management” means services provided to or on behalf of an individual in order to assess his or her needs, plan or arrange services, coordinate service providers, link the service system to an individual, monitor service delivery, and evaluate the effect of the services received
* 65D-30.0044 Plans, Progress Notes, and Summaries requires referrals for ancillary services and documentation maintained in their clinical record.
* 65D-30.007 Standards for Residential Treatment requires treatment to be structured to develop sufficient recovery skills for the transition to a less restrictive level of care or reintegration into the general community in accordance with placement criteria.
The Department’s Overdose Prevention Program works with community-based organizations across the state to increase access to naloxone among people who use drugs, people with a history of drug/opioid use, others at risk of experiencing an opioid overdose, and friends and family that may witness an opioid overdose. The attached documents include the enrollment forms for providers to participate in the program and receive free naloxone from the Department to distribute to at-risk individuals and their loved ones. Prior to enrollment in the program, providers are given training from the Department on harm reduction and naloxone distribution (training PowerPoint attached).
The Department does not collect overdose data in our data system. We do however, collect self-reported overdoses from our Overdose Prevention Program (6,476 self-reported reversals since August 2016), but it is not specific to individuals within 1 year of re-entry from a civil commitment. In addition, it would definitely be an underrepresentation of overdose reversals as they are self-reported. The Department of Health collects overdose data but the data may not be captured the way requested.
Also, all of our Guidance Documents, which are incorporated into our contracts with the Managing Entities can be found at: https://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/samh/managing-entities/2020-contract-docs.shtml . In addition, attached are the Care Coordination and Transitional Vouchers as examples.
The Department has some data on DCF funded Marchman Acts, but the Department is not required to collect this data. The Office of the State Court Administrator has data on Marchman Acts that includes all fund sources.
Here is the most recent numbers we have:
January 2019
748
February 2019
752
March 2019
797
April 2019
819
May 2019
899
June 2019
873
July 2019
893
August 2019
863
September 2019
872
October 2019
854
November 2019
636
December 2019
734
January 2020
838
February 2020
863
March 2020
734
April 2020
527
May 2020
671
June 2020
878
July 2020
711
August 2020
738
Source: Office of the State Court Administrator, data is subject to change.
Thank you.
Elizabeth Floyd
Assistant General Counsel
Office of the General Counsel
Department of Children and Families
1317 Winewood Blvd. Building 2
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Office: (850) 488-4119
Elizabeth.Floyd@myflfamilies.com<mailto:Elizabeth.Floyd@myflfamilies.com>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication and any attachments thereto, constitute an “electronic communication” within the meaning of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C.A. §2510, and disclosure of these contents is limited to the recipient(s) intended by the sender of this message. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in this electronic message may be legally privileged and confidential, and is, in fact, intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity(ies) to which it is addressed above. Confidentiality may, without limitation, be based upon the Lawyer-Client Privilege, the Work-Product Doctrine, or the Mediation Privilege (see Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495 (1947), §§ 44.405, 90.408, 90.502, 119.071, and 119.0714<tel:119.0714>, Fla. Stat.). It is not the intent of the author of this communication to voluntarily disclose any privileged information to any person who is not the intended recipient of this communication. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication or any of its components is strictly prohibited. NOTICE REGARDING DESIGNATED E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: The e-mail address from which this communication was sent is for correspondence only. It may have not been designated for service of documents and pleadings and any attempted service will be considered a nullity, unless the address has been specifically designated for service in a specific case. UNLESS PRIVILEGED, EXCLUDED, OR EXEMPTED, THIS COMMUNICATION AND ANY RESPONSE(S) MAY BE A PUBLIC RECORD SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE, PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 119, FLA. STAT.
From: HIJ Action Lab
Dear Ms. Floyd,
Thank you very much for the records you've provided. You mentioned that this is a partial release, can we expect to receive more records in the future? And if so, when might we expect to receive them?
Thank you,
Louis Miyara
From: Department of Children and Families
I will inquire and get back to you. Thank you.
Elizabeth Floyd
Assistant General Counsel
Office of the General Counsel
Department of Children and Families
1317 Winewood Blvd. Building 2
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Office: (850) 488-4119
Elizabeth.Floyd@myflfamilies.com<mailto:Elizabeth.Floyd@myflfamilies.com>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication and any attachments thereto, constitute an “electronic communication” within the meaning of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C.A. §2510, and disclosure of these contents is limited to the recipient(s) intended by the sender of this message. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in this electronic message may be legally privileged and confidential, and is, in fact, intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity(ies) to which it is addressed above. Confidentiality may, without limitation, be based upon the Lawyer-Client Privilege, the Work-Product Doctrine, or the Mediation Privilege (see Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495 (1947), §§ 44.405, 90.408, 90.502, 119.071, and 119.0714<tel:119.0714>, Fla. Stat.). It is not the intent of the author of this communication to voluntarily disclose any privileged information to any person who is not the intended recipient of this communication. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication or any of its components is strictly prohibited. NOTICE REGARDING DESIGNATED E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: The e-mail address from which this communication was sent is for correspondence only. It may have not been designated for service of documents and pleadings and any attempted service will be considered a nullity, unless the address has been specifically designated for service in a specific case. UNLESS PRIVILEGED, EXCLUDED, OR EXEMPTED, THIS COMMUNICATION AND ANY RESPONSE(S) MAY BE A PUBLIC RECORD SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE, PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 119, FLA. STAT.
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~WRD0331
From: Department of Children and Families
Good morning:
Attached please find the remaining responsive records to your request. Thank you.
Elizabeth Floyd
Assistant General Counsel
Office of the General Counsel
Department of Children and Families
1317 Winewood Blvd. Building 2
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Office: (850) 488-4119
Elizabeth.Floyd@myflfamilies.com<mailto:Elizabeth.Floyd@myflfamilies.com>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication and any attachments thereto, constitute an “electronic communication” within the meaning of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C.A. §2510, and disclosure of these contents is limited to the recipient(s) intended by the sender of this message. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in this electronic message may be legally privileged and confidential, and is, in fact, intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity(ies) to which it is addressed above. Confidentiality may, without limitation, be based upon the Lawyer-Client Privilege, the Work-Product Doctrine, or the Mediation Privilege (see Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495 (1947), §§ 44.405, 90.408, 90.502, 119.071, and 119.0714<tel:119.0714>, Fla. Stat.). It is not the intent of the author of this communication to voluntarily disclose any privileged information to any person who is not the intended recipient of this communication. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication or any of its components is strictly prohibited. NOTICE REGARDING DESIGNATED E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: The e-mail address from which this communication was sent is for correspondence only. It may have not been designated for service of documents and pleadings and any attempted service will be considered a nullity, unless the address has been specifically designated for service in a specific case. UNLESS PRIVILEGED, EXCLUDED, OR EXEMPTED, THIS COMMUNICATION AND ANY RESPONSE(S) MAY BE A PUBLIC RECORD SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE, PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 119, FLA. STAT.
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image001
From: HIJ Action Lab
Hi,
Thanks so much for your help with this request! I really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
HIJ Action Lab
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