(1) The Department of Health is designated as the state agency for:

(a) Administering or providing for maternal and child health services to provide periodic prenatal care for patients who are at low or medium risk of complications during pregnancy and to provide referrals to higher level medical facilities for those patients who develop medical conditions for which treatment is beyond the scope and capabilities of the county health departments. Maternal and child health services shall include encouragement of breastfeeding.

(b) Administering or providing for periodic medical examinations, nursing appraisals, and nutrition counseling for infant and child patients to assess developmental progress and general health conditions; administering or providing for treatment for health complications when such treatment is within the scope and capabilities of the county health departments or Children’s Medical Services. Nutrition counseling for newborn babies shall include encouragement of breastfeeding.

(c) Administering and providing for the expansion of the maternal and child health services to include pediatric primary care programs subject to the availability of moneys and the limitations established by the General Appropriations Act or chapter 216.

(d) Administering and providing for prenatal and infant health care delivery services through county health departments or subcontractors for the provision of the following enhanced services for medically and socially high-risk clients, subject to the availability of moneys and the limitations established by the General Appropriations Act or chapter 216:

1. Case finding or outreach.

2. Assessment of health, social, environmental, and behavioral risk factors.

3. Case management utilizing a service delivery plan.

4. Home visiting to support the delivery of and participation in prenatal and infant primary health care services.

5. Childbirth and parenting education, including encouragement of breastfeeding.

(e) The department shall establish in each county health department a Healthy Start Care Coordination Program in which a care coordinator is responsible for receiving screening reports and risk assessment reports from the Office of Vital Statistics; conducting assessments as part of a multidisciplinary team, where appropriate; providing technical assistance to the district prenatal and infant care coalitions; directing family outreach efforts; and coordinating the provision of services within and outside the department using the plan developed by the coalition. The care coordination process must include, at a minimum, family outreach workers and health paraprofessionals who will assist in providing the following enhanced services to pregnant women, infants, and their families that are determined to be at potential risk by the department’s screening instrument: case finding or outreach; assessment of health, social, environmental, and behavioral risk factors; case management utilizing the family support plan; home visiting to support the delivery of and participation in prenatal and infant primary care services; childbirth and parenting education, including encouragement of breastfeeding; counseling; and social services, as appropriate. Family outreach workers may include social work professionals or nurses with public health education and counseling experience. Paraprofessionals may include resource mothers and fathers, trained health aides, and parent educators. The care coordination program shall be developed in a coordinated, nonduplicative manner with the Developmental Evaluation and Intervention Program of Children’s Medical Services, using the local assessment findings and plans of the prenatal and infant care coalitions and the programs and services established in chapter 411, Pub. L. No. 99-457, and this chapter.

1. Families determined to be at potential risk based on the thresholds established in the department’s screening instrument must be notified by the department of the determination and recommendations for followup services. All Medicaid-eligible families shall receive Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) Services of the Florida Medicaid Program to help ensure continuity of care. All other families identified at potential risk shall be directed to seek additional health care followup visits as provided under s. 627.6579. A family identified as a family at potential risk is eligible for enhanced services under the care coordination process within the resources allocated, if it is not already receiving services from the Developmental Evaluation and Intervention Program. The department shall adopt rules regulating the assignment of family outreach workers and paraprofessionals based on the thresholds established in the department’s risk assessment tool.

2. As part of the care coordination process, the department must ensure that subsequent screenings are conducted for those families identified as families at potential risk. Procedures for subsequent screenings of all infants and toddlers must be consistent with the established periodicity schedule and the level of risk. Screening programs must be conducted in accessible locations, such as child care centers, local schools, teenage pregnancy programs, community centers, and county health departments. Care coordination must also include initiatives to provide immunizations in accessible locations. Such initiatives must seek ways to ensure that children not currently being served by immunization efforts are reached.

3. The provision of services under this section must be consistent with the provisions and plans established under chapter 411, Pub. L. No. 99-457, and this chapter.

(f) Receiving the federal maternal and child health and preventive health services block grant funds.

(g) Receiving the federal funds for the “Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children,” or WIC, authorized by the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended, and for providing clinical leadership for the statewide WIC program.

1. The department shall establish an interagency agreement with the Department of Children and Families for fiscal management of the program. Responsibilities are delegated to each department, as follows:

a. The department shall provide clinical leadership, manage program eligibility, and distribute nutritional guidance and information to participants.

b. The Department of Children and Families shall develop and implement an electronic benefits transfer system.

c. The Department of Children and Families shall develop a cost containment plan that provides timely and accurate adjustments based on wholesale price fluctuations and adjusts for the number of cash registers in calculating statewide averages.

d. The department shall coordinate submission of information to appropriate federal officials in order to obtain approval of the electronic benefits system and cost containment plan, which must include participation of WIC-only stores.

2. The department shall assist the Department of Children and Families in the development of the electronic benefits system to ensure full implementation no later than July 1, 2013.

(h) Designating facilities that provide maternity services or newborn infant care as “baby-friendly” when the facility has established a breastfeeding policy under s. 383.016.

(i) Receiving federal funds for children eligible for assistance through the portion of the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program for children, which is referred to as the Child Care Food Program, and for establishing and administering this program. The purpose of the Child Care Food Program is to provide nutritious meals and snacks for children in nonresidential day care. To ensure the quality and integrity of the program, the department shall develop standards and procedures that govern sponsoring organizations, day care homes, child care centers, and centers that operate outside school hours. Standards and procedures must address the following: participation criteria for sponsoring organizations, which may include administrative budgets, staffing requirements, requirements for experience in operating similar programs, operating hours and availability, bonding requirements, geographic coverage, and a required minimum number of homes or centers; procedures for investigating complaints and allegations of noncompliance; application and renewal requirements; audit requirements; meal pattern requirements; requirements for managing funds; participant eligibility for free and reduced-price meals; food storage and preparation; food service companies; reimbursements; use of commodities; administrative reviews and monitoring; training requirements; recordkeeping requirements; and criteria pertaining to imposing sanctions and penalties, including the denial, termination, and appeal of program eligibility.

(2) The Department of Health shall follow federal requirements and may adopt any rules necessary for the implementation of the maternal and child health care program, the WIC program, and the Child Care Food Program.

(a) The department may adopt rules that are necessary to administer the maternal and child health care program. The rules may include, but need not be limited to, requirements for client eligibility, program standards, service delivery, system responsibilities of county health departments and system assurance for healthy start coalitions, care coordination, enhanced services, quality assurance, and provider selection. The rules may also include provisions for the identification, screening, and intervention efforts by health care providers prior to and following the birth of a child and responsibilities for the interprogram coordination of prenatal and infant care coalitions.

(b) The department may adopt rules that are necessary to administer the statewide WIC program. The rules may include, but need not be limited to, criteria for grocers’ participation, client eligibility, contracts with local agencies for service delivery, and food purchases and penalties for program abuse.

(c) With respect to the Child Care Food Program, the department shall adopt rules that interpret and implement relevant federal regulations, including 7 C.F.R. part 226. The rules may address at least those program requirements and procedures identified in paragraph (1)(i).

History.—s. 1, ch. 88-153; s. 23, ch. 91-282; s. 3, ch. 94-217; s. 54, ch. 97-101; s. 16, ch. 98-151; s. 24, ch. 98-191; s. 56, ch. 99-397; s. 17, ch. 2000-242; s. 71, ch. 2012-184; s. 68, ch. 2014-19.