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HB 1033 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to procedures for discharging persons 2
to avoid homelessness; providing a short title; 3
amending s. 420.626, F.S.; revising legislative 4
intent; encouraging certain facilities and 5
institutions, in collaboration with a Continuum of 6
Care lead agency, to develop and implement certain 7
procedures for when persons are discharged from 8
certain facilities or institutions; requiring the 9
Department of Children and Families to conduct a pilot 10
program in specified counties; requiring the 11
department to submit certain quarterly and, beginning 12
on a specified date, annual reports to the Governor 13
and the Legislature; revising certain procedures; 14
defining the term "client-level data"; requiring the 15
sharing of client-level data to comply with specified 16
state and federal laws and regulations; requiring a 17
Continuum of Care lead agency to evaluate certain 18
procedures and identify gaps and opportunities for 19
improvement in its annual Continuum of Care plan; 20
authorizing the State Office on Homelessness, in 21
conjunction with the Council on Homelessness, to 22
provide guidance to a Continuum of Care lead agency 23
for a specified purpose; providing an effective date. 24
25
HB 1033 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26
27
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Bridging Systems 28
to Housing Act." 29
Section 2. Section 420.626, Florida Statutes, is amended 30
to read: 31
420.626 Homelessness; discharge guidelines.— 32
(1) It is the intent of the Legislature, to encourage 33
mental health facilities or institutions under contract with, 34
operated, licensed, or regulated by the state and local 35
governments to ensure, to the extent practicable, that persons 36
leaving the their care or custody of hospitals and other 37
facilities and institutions under contract with, operated, 38
licensed, or regulated by the state and local governments are 39
not discharged into homelessness without connecting such persons 40
to the Homeless Continuum of Care. 41
(2) The following facilities and institutions, in 42
collaboration with the Continuum of Care lead agency in the 43
facility's or institution's catchment area, are encouraged to 44
develop and implement procedures as provided under subsection 45
(4), which are designed to reduce the discharge of persons into 46
homelessness when such persons are admitted or housed for more 47
than 24 hours at such facilities or institutions: hospitals and 48
inpatient medical facilities not located in a county in which a 49
pilot program is conducted under subsection (3); crisis 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
stabilization units; residential treatment facilities; assisted 51
living facilities; and detoxification centers. 52
(3) The department shall conduct a pilot program in 53
Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, and Pinellas Counties for the 54
development and implementation of the procedures required under 55
subsection (4) for all hospitals and inpatient medical 56
facilities located in those counties. 57
(a) Until the pilot program is fully implemented, the 58
department must submit to the Governor, the President of the 59
Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives 60
quarterly reports on the status of the pilot program in each 61
designated county. 62
(b) The department shall assess the effectiveness of each 63
pilot program and, by November 30, 2027, and annually 64
thereafter, submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 65
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a report on the 66
effectiveness of each program. 67
(4)(3) The procedures, for persons who consent to 68
participate in services, must should include all of the 69
following: 70
(a) Development and implementation of an early assessment 71
a screening process or other mechanism for identifying persons 72
to be discharged from the facility or institution who reported 73
being homeless at the time of intake, are at considerable risk 74
for homelessness, or face some imminent threat to health and 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
safety upon discharge. 76
(b) Development and implementation of a discharge plan 77
that ensures addressing how identified persons are offered a 78
transition from the facility or institution to the local 79
Continuum of Care for connection to housing or shelter 80
resources, if available, or supportive services will secure 81
housing and other needed care and support upon discharge. 82
(c) Communication with the entities to whom identified 83
persons may potentially be discharged to determine their 84
capability to serve such persons and their acceptance of such 85
persons into their programs, and selection of the entity 86
determined to be best equipped to provide or facilitate the 87
provision of suitable care and support. A discharge to an entity 88
may only occur during normal operating hours when the receiving 89
entity is open to receive the discharged person. 90
(d) Coordination of effort and sharing of information with 91
entities that are expected to bear the responsibility for 92
providing care or support to identified persons upon discharge 93
through the following processes: 94
1. Enrollment in the Homeless Management Information 95
System to collect and share client-level data in order to gain 96
an understanding of an identified person's characteristics, 97
eligibility, and needs for housing and related services; or 98
2. With an identified person's consent, development and 99
implementation of a process or mechanism to share client-level 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
data regarding a person's medical and mental health needs 101
outside of the Homeless Management Information System. 102
103
As used in this paragraph, the term "client-level data" means 104
detailed, individual-level information regarding the housing and 105
other relevant needs, such as mental health support, of a person 106
being discharged from a facility or institution. Client-level 107
data sharing is used to ensure the timely, continuous, and 108
coordinated delivery of housing-related services and supports 109
after an identified person is stabilized and before the person 110
is released from the facility or institution. The sharing of 111
client-level data must comply with federal and state privacy and 112
confidentiality laws and regulations. 113
(e) Provision of sufficient medication, medical equipment 114
and supplies, clothing, transportation, and other basic 115
resources necessary to ensure that the health and well-being of 116
identified persons are not jeopardized upon their discharge. 117
(f) Development and implementation of a process for 118
facilities and institutions to verify in the Homeless Management 119
Information System if a person is registered with the Homeless 120
Continuum of Care and, if so, the entry of a referral in the 121
Homeless Management Information System for such person. If a 122
person is identified at intake as homeless or is at considerable 123
risk of homelessness upon discharge, but the person is not 124
registered in the Homeless Management Information System, the 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
facility or institution must ensure such person contacts the 126
211-call center or other local nonemergency service referral 127
hotline to facilitate registration in the Homeless Management 128
Information System in order to receive a referral to the 129
Homeless Continuum of Care coordinated entry system. 130
(g) Provision of information, such as a website or other 131
resource guides if available, to identified persons regarding 132
resource availability through the 211-call center, any other 133
local nonemergency service referral hotline, or the Continuum of 134
Care. 135
(5) The Continuum of Care lead agency shall evaluate the 136
procedures developed and implemented under subsection (4) and 137
identify gaps and opportunities for improvement in its annual 138
Continuum of Care plan submitted to the State Office on 139
Homelessness. The State Office on Homelessness, in conjunction 140
with the Council on Homelessness, may provide the Continuum of 141
Care lead agency guidance to address ongoing gaps in services to 142
strengthen local discharge planning practices. 143
(6)(4) This section is intended only to recommend model 144
guidelines and procedures that mental health facilities or 145
institutions under contract with or operated, licensed, or 146
regulated by the state or local governments may consider when 147
discharging persons into the community. This section is not an 148
entitlement, and no cause of action shall arise against the 149
state, the local government entity, or any other political 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
subdivision of this state for failure to follow any of the 151
procedures or provide any of the services suggested under this 152
section. 153
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 154