(1) EMERGENCY STANDARDS.
    (a) Direct service providers shall be knowledgeable in facility procedures for handling emergencies.
    (b) There shall be at least one telephone which is accessible to direct service providers and residents for emergency use at all times. The facility must have the following telephone numbers readily accessible at each telephone extension in the facility:
    1. Local law enforcement;
    2. Fire Department;
    3. Residents’ doctors;
    4. Ambulance;
    5. Support Coordinator for each client;
    6. Regional Office;
    7. Emergency Agency on-call number, as assigned by the Regional Office;
    8. Florida Abuse Hotline; and,
    9. Poison Control Hotline.
    (c) A violation of this subsection shall constitute a Class III violation.
    (2) FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS. The local authority having jurisdiction over fire safety or the State Fire Marshall shall be requested to annually inspect the facility for compliance with chapter 69A-38, F.A.C., as applicable. Dates and results of required monthly fire drills (i.e., time of day, points of exit used, evacuation time, and signature of person conducting the drill) shall be recorded and maintained for one year following the date of the drills. Required monthly fire drills shall not be conducted between the hours of midnight and 5:00 a.m. Regional Office employees shall be afforded the opportunity to observe monthly fire drills in order to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of evacuations. A violation of this subsection shall constitute a Class III violation.
    (3) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANS.
    (a) EMERGENCY PLAN COMPONENTS. Pursuant to Florida Statutes § 393.067(8), each facility shall prepare a written comprehensive emergency management plan which shall be updated as needed and on an annual basis. The emergency management plan must address the following:
    1. Provision for all hazards. Each plan shall describe the potential hazards to which the facility is vulnerable such as hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, fires, hazardous materials, incidents from fixed facilities or transportation accidents, and power outages during severe cold or hot weather.
    2. Provision for the care of residents remaining in the facility during an emergency including pre-disaster or emergency preparation; protecting the facility; supplies; emergency power; food and water; staffing; and emergency equipment.
    3. Provision for the care of residents who are evacuated from the facility during an emergency and provision for the care of any residents that remain in the facility during an emergency, including identification of such residents and transfer of resident records; evacuation transportation; sheltering arrangements; supplies; staffing; emergency equipment; and medications.
    4. Identification of residents with mobility limitations who may need specialized assistance either at the facility or in case of evacuation.
    5. Identification of and coordination with the local emergency management agency.
    6. Arrangement for post-disaster activities including responding to family inquiries, obtaining medical intervention for residents; transportation; and reporting to the county office of emergency management the number of residents who have been relocated and the place of relocation.
    7. The identification of staff responsible for implementing each part of the plan.
    (b) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENT.
    1. Emergency management plans shall be updated at least annually and may be developed with the assistance of appropriate resource persons from the local fire marshal, Regional Office, or local emergency management agency. Comprehensive transitional education programs and facilities which serve residents with complex medical conditions must have their emergency management plans approved by the local emergency management agency.
    2. The facility shall review its emergency management plan on an annual basis.
    (c) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN IMPLEMENTATION. In the event of an internal or external disaster, the facility shall implement the facility’s emergency management plan in accordance with sections 252.355 and 252.356, F.S.
    1. All staff must be trained in their duties and are responsible for implementing the emergency management plan.
    2. If telephone service is not available during an emergency, the facility shall request assistance from local law enforcement or emergency management personnel in maintaining communication.
    (d) FACILITY EVACUATION. The facility must evacuate the premises during or after an emergency if so directed by the local emergency management agency.
    1. The facility shall report the evacuation to the local office of emergency management or designee and to the Agency within six hours of the evacuation order and at every six hour interval until the evacuation is complete.
    2. The facility shall not be re-occupied until the area is cleared for reentry by the local emergency management agency or its designee and the facility can meet the immediate needs of the residents.
    3. In cases where the facility experiences significant structual damage, the licensee or facility staff must relocate residents until the facility can be safely re-occupied.
    4. The licensee or designated facility staff is responsible for knowing the location of all re-located residents until such time that those residents return to the facility.
    5. The licensee or designated facility staff shall provide the Agency with the name of a contact person who shall be available by telephone 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until the facility is re-occupied.
    6. The licensee or designated facility staff shall assist in the relocation of residents and shall cooperate with outreach teams established by the Agency or emergency management officials to assist in relocation efforts. Resident needs and preferences shall be considered to the greatest extent possible in any relocation decision.
    (e) EMERGENCY SHELTER. In the event a state of emergency has been declared and the facility is not required to evacuate the premises, the facility may provide emergency shelter above the facility’s licensed capacity provided the following conditions are met:
    1. Life safety will not be jeopardized for any individual;
    2. The immediate needs of residents and other individuals sheltered at the facility can be met by the facility;
    3. Within forty-eight (48) hours following the facility exceeding its capacity, the facility reports to the Agency that the facility is over capacity and describes the conditions which have caused it to be over capacity. If the facility will continue to be over capacity after the declared emergency ends, the Agency shall review such ongoing requests on a case-by-case basis; and,
    4. The facility maintains a log of the additional persons being housed in the facility. The log shall include the individual’s name, usual address, and the dates of arrival and departure. The log shall be available for review by representatives of the Agency and the local emergency management agency or its designee. The admissions and discharge log maintained by the facility may be used for this purpose provided the information is maintained in a manner that is easily accessible.
    (f) A violation of this subsection shall constitute a Class II violation.
    (4) MISSING RESIDENTS. Beyond one hour after determining that a child or an adult who has been adjudicated incompetent is missing, staff shall immediately call local law enforcement and ask the officer to:
    (a) Take a report of the missing resident;
    (b) Assign a case number and provide the number to the person reporting the resident as missing; and,
    (c) Provide a copy of the law enforcement missing person report when it is available to the group home.
    (d) If the responding law enforcement officer refuses to take a missing person report for any reason, the person making the report will document the name of the officer and call the responding local law enforcement agency and request to speak to the appropriate Watch Commander about the refusal to take a missing person report. If the local law enforcement officials do not accept the report, the staff shall immediately notify the Regional Office. A violation of this paragraph shall constitute a Class III violation.
    (e) Except as otherwise provided a violation of this subsection shall constitute a Class II violation.
    (5) INCIDENT REPORTING. In all cases involving known or suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation, the incident shall be reported immediately to the Florida Abuse Hotline as required under sections 39.201 and 415.1034, F.S. The Provider or Covered person must take immediate action in the situation to resolve the emergency and ensure the individual’s health and safety. This action may include, but is not limited to, calling 911, or performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for recipients without a pulse who are not breathing and do not have a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order, or back blows and abdominal thrust maneuvers for choking. In all cases involving known or suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation, the incident shall be reported immediately to the Florida Abuse Hotline as required under sections 39.201 and 415.1034, F.S. In addition, all incidents must be reported to the Regional Office in the following manner and according to the specified timeframes utilizing the APD Incident Reporting, Form APD OP 3-0006, effective May 25, 2018, which may be obtained at http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-09533, which is herein incorporated by reference. A copy of this form may be obtained from the Regional Office.
    (a) Critical incidents must be reported to the appropriate Regional Office by telephone or in person within 1 hour after facility staff become aware of the incident. If this occurs after normal business hours or on a weekend or holiday the person reporting the incident shall call the Regional Office after-hours designee. If the incident occurs between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., a telephonic or in-person contact must be made with the Regional Office no later than 9:00 a.m. It shall be within the provider’s discretion and judgment to determine the appropriateness of waiting until the following morning. A supervisor may be the one to make the verbal report. Telephonic or in-person contacts should be followed up with the submission of a completed APD Incident Reporting Form to the Regional Office within 1 business day following the critical incident. This form should be faxed, electronically mailed, or personally delivered to the Regional Office. The information contained in the first page must be provided by the person with firsthand knowledge of the incident. Additionally, any and all follow-up measures taken by a Provider or Covered Person to protect a resident or client, gain control or manage the situation must be noted on the second page of the incident reporting form, which may be completed and submitted to the Regional Office at a later date, not to exceed five business days. The measures must specify what actions will be taken to mitigate a recurrence of the same type of incident. Critical incidents include the following:
    1. The unexpected death of a resident or a client;
    2. Any sexual activity, as defined in Florida Statutes § 393.135, between a covered person and a resident or client regardless of the consent of the resident or client, incidents of nonconsensual sexual activity between residents or clients, sexual activity involving any resident or client who is a minor; and nonconsensual sexual activity between a resident or client and any person in the community.
    3. The unexpected absence or unknown whereabouts, beyond one hour, of a resident or client who is a minor or an adult resident or client who has been adjudicated incompetent;
    4. A resident or client has sustained a life-threatening injury or illness;
    5. Negative news media reports regarding the operation of the facility or the care of residents or clients;
    6. The arrest of a resident or client for a violent criminal offense;
    7. The arrest of a covered person for a potentially disqualifying offense specified in Florida Statutes § 393.0655; or
    8. The Department of Children and Families has made a finding of verified abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment by the provider or the provider’s employees.
    (b) Other reportable incidents must be reported to the Regional Office within one business day following the incident through the completion of a written incident report which may be faxed, electronically mailed, or personally delivered to the Regional Office. Additionally, any and all follow-up measures taken by a Provider or Covered Person to protect a resident or client, gain control or manage the situation must be noted on the second page of the incident reporting form, which may be completed and submitted to the Regional Office at a later date, not to exceed five business days. Reportable incidents include:
    1. The death of a resident or client that does not constitute an unexpected death;
    2. Physical altercations occurring between a resident or client and a member of the community, a resident or client and direct service providers, or two or more residents or clients, that results in law enforcement contact;
    3. Any injury to a resident or client due to an accident, act of abuse, neglect or other incident that occurs or allegedly occurs while the resident or client is receiving services from a covered person that requires the resident or client to receive medical treatment in an urgent care center, emergency room or physician office setting due to injury that is being reported currently or requires admission to a hospital;
    4. The arrest of a resident or client for a non-violent offense while that resident or client is under the care of a provider or covered person;
    5. The unexpected absence or unknown whereabouts of a legally competent adult resident or client beyond eight hours;
    6. Any act which clearly reflects the physical attempt by a resident or client to cause his or her own death;
    7. The commitment of a resident or client to mental health services pursuant to chapter 394, F.S., also known as the “”Baker Act;”” or
    8. Any sudden onset of illness to a resident or client while receiving services from a covered person that requires the resident or client to receive medical treatment in an urgent care center, emergency room or physician office setting due to sudden onset of illness or requires admission to a hospital.
    (c) The person making the report shall also immediately notify the resident’s authorized representative and support coordinator, as appropriate and, for children in the custody of the Department of Children and Families, the designated caseworker.
    (d) Upon statewide implementation of the Agency’s electronic incident reporting system, licensees shall also be required to submit all critical and reportable incidents to the Agency via the electronic system.
    (e) A violation of this subsection shall constitute a Class II violation.
Rulemaking Authority 393.501(1), 393.067 FS. Law Implemented Florida Statutes § 393.067. History—New 7-1-14, Amended 7-1-18.