Community Rehabilitation Programs

HB 897 2026

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to community rehabilitation programs; 2
amending s. 413.014, F.S.; providing minimum standards 3
a community rehabilitation program must meet to 4
qualify to enter into a cooperative agreement with the 5
Division of Blind Services to provide certain 6
services; authorizing the director of the division to 7
temporarily waive certain requirements for certain 8
purposes; providing that a community rehabilitation 9
program that meets specified requirements is 10
considered a priority service provider for purposes of 11
program funding; authorizing the division to enter 12
into a cooperative agreement with a noncommunity 13
rehabilitation program private vendor under certain 14
circumstances; providing requirements for such 15
cooperative agreement; requiring the Florida 16
Association of Agencies Serving the Blind, Inc., to 17
coordinate with the division to ensure cooperative 18
agreements meet certain needs; providing for funding; 19
providing an effective date. 20
21
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
23
Section 1. Section 413.014, Florida Statutes, is amended 24
to read: 25

HB 897 2026

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413.014 Community rehabilitation programs.— 26
(1) The Division of Blind Services shall enter into 27
cooperative agreements with community rehabilitation programs as 28
defined by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, to be the 29
service providers for the blind citizens of their communities. 30
(2) The division shall, as rapidly as feasible, increase 31
the amount of such services provided by community rehabilitation 32
programs under subsection (3). The goal shall be to decrease the 33
amount of such services provided by division employees and to 34
increase to the maximum extent allowed by federal law the amount 35
of such services provided through cooperative agreements with 36
community service providers. The division shall seek, to the 37
maximum extent allowed by federal and state law and regulation, 38
all available federal funds for such purposes. Funds and in-kind 39
matching contributions from community and private sources shall 40
be used to maximize federal funds. Unless prohibited by federal 41
law or regulation, the share of the federal vocational 42
rehabilitation grant apportioned for services to the blind may 43
not be less than 17 percent. 44
(3) A community rehabilitation program must meet all of 45
the following requirements to enter into a cooperative agreement 46
with the division to provide services to persons who are blind 47
or visually impaired: 48
(a) Be a qualified nonprofit agency for the blind as 49
defined in s. 413.033(3) and be organized and operated 50

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exclusively for charitable purposes under s. 501(c)(3) of the 51
Internal Revenue Code or be an approved program at a state 52
college or university. 53
(b) Maintain current accreditation from at least one of 54
the following national accrediting organizations: 55
1. The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation 56
Facilities. 57
2. The Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the 58
Blind and Visually Impaired. 59
3. Any other nationally recognized accrediting body for 60
vision rehabilitation services as determined by the director of 61
the division. 62
(c) Employ staff who hold current, valid certification 63
from at least one of the following: 64
1. The Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation 65
and Education Professionals. 66
2. The National Blindness Professional Certification 67
Board. 68
3. Any other nationally recognized certifying body for 69
vision rehabilitation professionals as determined by the 70
director of the division. 71
(d) Provide services required under the cooperative 72
agreement by the division, including, but not limited to, the 73
following: 74
1. Activities of daily living. 75

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2. Assessments. 76
3. Assistive technology training. 77
4. Guidance and career counseling. 78
5. Communication skills training. 79
6. Community integration. 80
7. Counseling. 81
8. Low vision training. 82
9. Orientation and mobility training. 83
10. Preemployment transition services, including, but not 84
limited to, career coaching, development, and placement; 85
workplace readiness; personal assistance; vocational 86
rehabilitation; technology training; and transportation 87
services. 88
11. Recreation and leisure activities training. 89
12. Self-advocacy training. 90
13. Sensory and cognitive development. 91
14. Other services as determined by the director of the 92
division as may be required by state and federal guidelines. 93
94
The director of the division may temporarily waive staff 95
requirements and community rehabilitation program requirements 96
under this subsection for approval of new community 97
rehabilitation program organizations. 98
(4)(a) A community rehabilitation program that meets the 99
requirements in subsection (3) is a priority service provider 100

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for purposes of program funding. In addition to the requirements 101
in subsection (3), the community rehabilitation program shall be 102
qualified, accredited, and certified with evidence-supported 103
outcomes aligned with the federal Rehabilitation Services 104
Administration performance indicators for services to persons 105
who are blind or visually impaired to ensure quality, safety, 106
accountability, and sustainability. 107
(b) In the event a community rehabilitation program is 108
unable to provide services to a specific client for reasons 109
including client choice, suspension of services, capacity, or 110
timeliness, the division may enter into a cooperative agreement 111
for services with a noncommunity rehabilitation program private 112
vendor. The noncommunity rehabilitation program private vendor 113
must meet the requirements in subsection (3) and comply with all 114
requirements provided in the community rehabilitation program 115
cooperative agreement to ensure quality, safety, accountability, 116
and sustainability. If the division enters into a cooperative 117
agreement with a noncommunity rehabilitation program private 118
vendor to provide services, the community rehabilitation program 119
serving that same geographic area must be notified by the 120
division of the name of the private vendor to ensure that the 121
client receives the same level of high-quality service offered 122
by the community rehabilitation program. 123
(5) The Florida Association of Agencies Serving the Blind, 124
Inc., shall coordinate with the division to ensure cooperative 125

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agreements for services meet the needs of blind and visually 126
impaired clients served by community rehabilitation program 127
member organizations and act on behalf of such clients on 128
cooperative agreement issues or other issues in the best 129
interest of serving the clients. 130
(6) As authorized by and consistent with funding 131
appropriated in the General Appropriations Act, the Florida 132
Association of Agencies Serving the Blind, Inc., may submit 133
requests to the Legislature for funding for community 134
rehabilitation programs from the funds available as provided in 135
the General Appropriations Act. The division shall disperse 136
these funds to community rehabilitation programs that are 137
considered priority service providers under paragraph (4)(a) 138
within 45 days after receipt of a qualified invoice from a 139
community rehabilitation program with subsequent monthly 140
payments thereafter. 141
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 142