The 2023 Florida Statutes (including Special Session C)

Title XXIX
PUBLIC HEALTH

Chapter 394
MENTAL HEALTH

View Entire Chapter

F.S. 394.47865

394.47865 South Florida State Hospital; privatization.—

(1) The Department of Children and Families shall, through a request for proposals, privatize South Florida State Hospital. The department shall plan to begin implementation of this privatization initiative by July 1, 1998.

(a) Notwithstanding s. 287.057(14), the department may enter into agreements, not to exceed 20 years, with a private provider, a coalition of providers, or another agency to finance, design, and construct a treatment facility having up to 350 beds and to operate all aspects of daily operations within the facility. The department may subcontract any or all components of this procurement to a statutorily established state governmental entity that has successfully contracted with private companies for designing, financing, acquiring, leasing, constructing, and operating major privatized state facilities.

(b) The selected contractor is authorized to sponsor the issuance of tax-exempt bonds, certificates of participation, or other securities to finance the project, and the state is authorized to enter into a lease-purchase agreement for the treatment facility.

(2) The contractor shall operate South Florida State Hospital as a mental health treatment facility that serves voluntarily and involuntarily committed indigent adults who meet the criteria of part I of this chapter and who reside in the South Florida State Hospital service area.

(a) South Florida State Hospital shall remain a participant in the mental health disproportionate share program so long as the residents receive eligible services.

(b) The department and the contractor shall ensure that the treatment facility is operated as a part of a total continuum of care for persons who are mentally ill. The contractor shall have as its primary goal for the treatment facility to effectively treat and assist residents to return to the community as quickly as possible.

(3)(a) Current South Florida State Hospital employees who are affected by the privatization shall be given first preference for continued employment by the contractor. The department shall make reasonable efforts to find suitable job placements for employees who wish to remain within the state Career Service System.

(b) Any savings that result from the privatization of South Florida State Hospital shall be directed to the department’s service districts 9, 10, and 11 for the delivery of community mental health services.

History.—s. 14, ch. 97-260; s. 14, ch. 2001-278; s. 35, ch. 2002-207; s. 30, ch. 2010-151; s. 86, ch. 2014-19; s. 12, ch. 2021-225.

F.S. 394.47865 on Google Scholar

F.S. 394.47865 on Casetext

Amendments to 394.47865

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 394.47865

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 394.47865.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases from cite.case.law:

ADVOCACY CENTER FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, INC. D. H. D. A. v. STATE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,, 721 So. 2d 753 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1998)

. . . In 1997, the legislature enacted section 394.47865, Florida Statutes (1997), directing the Department . . . Section 394.47865 was enacted to ensure fair and competitive bidding in the privatization of SFSH, and . . . Accordingly, the injuries that appellants allege are not the type that section 394.47865 was designed . . . In conclusion, the legislature decided that SFSH must be privatized and implemented section 394.47865 . . . Section 394.47865(2)(b) expressly directs the department and whichever contractor it selects to operate . . .