Last year, the Legislature created the Office of Long-Term Care Policy in DOEA and a 13-member Advisory Council to improve and coordinate the long-term care service delivery process. The Advisory Council published a preliminary report in February 2003 and identified the following four policy areas on which to focus future work and recommendations:
- Access
- Coordination/Integration of Services
- Quality/Evaluation of Services
- Financing/Resources
To better understand the issues, the Council heard presentations by experts, discussed the long-term care system in Florida and held public hearings. The information gathered indicated that there is a high level of fragmentation in the long-term care system, which creates unnecessary delays and duplicative functions. For example, five state social service agencies provide some part of publicly funded long-term care services in Florida.
In its report, the Council made two recommendations: 1) amend the law to reflect that the Long-Term Care Policy Office Director does not serve on the Council, and 2) design a template to evaluate all long-term care programs using a uniform methodology across all components.
The work of the Council is a multi-year effort, and it will continue to seek input from consumers and other key stakeholders to refine or augment draft recommendations. The Council will present its recommendations for improving Florida's long-term care continuum to the Governor and Legislature by November 1, 2003. Recommendations will be revised and updated annually.
© 2003, Florida Coalition for Optimal Mental Health & Aging