20-004473FL Agency For Persons With Disabilities vs. Burke Street Group Home, Owned And Operated By Santa Maria Home Care, Inc. Status: Closed Settled and/or Dismissed prior to entry of RO/FO on Thursday, December 17, 2020.

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO APPEAL

A party who is adversely affected by this final order is entitled to judicial

review. To initiate judicial review, the party seeking it must file one copy of a

"Notice of Appeal" with the Agency Clerk. The party seeking judicial review must also file another copy of the "Notice of Appeal," accompa nied by the filing fee

required by law, with the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, Florida, or

with the District Court of Appeal in the district where the party resides. The Notices

must be filed within thirty (30) days of the rendition of thi s final order.

1

Copies furnished to:

Trevor Suter, Esq. Rory B. Weiner, Esq.

Agency for Persons with Disabilities Rory B. Weiner, P.A.

4030 Esplanade Way, Suite 3 80 Lumsden Executive Park

Tallahassee, FL 32399 - 0950 635 West Lumsden Road

[e-mail] Brandon, Florida 33511 - 5911

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

DOAH Michael Taylor

1230 Apalachee Parkway Regional Operations Manager

Tallahassee, FL 32399 - 3060 APD Suncoast Region

Filed via e - ALJ

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a copy of this Final Order was provided by regular

US or electronic mail to the above individuals at the addresses listed on

____ _____________________ ________, 202 2 .

______________________________

Nathan Koch , Esq.

Agency Clerk

Agency for Persons with Disabilities

4030 Esplanade Way, Suite 3 35

Tallahassee, FL 32399 - 0950

[e-mail]

1 “rendition” of this Final Order is the date that the Agency Clerk The date of

certified it was sent to the named individuals.

APD – Santa Maria Home Care , Inc. FO Page 3 of 3

STATE OF FLORIDA

AGENCY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

IN THE MATTER OF:

SANTA MARIA HOME CARE, INC., LICENSE NUMBER: 5654-6-GA

______________________/

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

This Settlement Agreement is made by and between the State of Florida, Agency for Persons

with Disabilities, 4030 Esplanade Way, Suite 380, Tallahassee, Florida, 32399-0950 (“Agency”

or “APD”) and Santa Maria Home Care, Inc. (“Santa Maria”, or “Respondent”), 3808 North Lincoln

Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33607 (collectively, “parties”).

WHEREAS this matter originated from verified findings of neglect and abuse committed

against vulnerable minor residents of the Burke Street Group Home, owned and operated by

Santa Maria Home Care, Inc.

WHEREAS, on September 3, 2020, the Agency filed an administrative complaint against Burke

Street Group Home in Case No. 20-4473FL, owned and operated by Santa Maria Home Care,

Inc.

WHEREAS, the Agency and Santa Maria Home Care, Inc. have determined that it is in the best

interest of the parties to enter into this Agreement to avoid the uncertainty of litigation and

related costs.

THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows:

1. Unless otherwise indicated, Santa Maria Home Care, Inc. shall initiate and fully implement

the following actions within 45 days of execution of this Settlement Agreement and shall

continue such actions for two years following execution of this Settlement Agreement:

a.) Santa Maria Home Care, Inc. agrees to terminate the employment of any employee

verified by the Department of Children and Families to have committed abuse,

neglect, or exploitation that occurs on or after the date of execution of this Settlement

Agreement. Termination of employment shall occur immediately upon notification of

the verified findings of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

b.) Santa Maria will ensure that all ownership and management of Santa Maria Home

Care, Inc. and all staff assigned to work at Burke Street Group Home are retrained

on Zero Tolerance. Certificates of completion for all staff must be provided to APD,

along with the current Clearinghouse employee roster for Burke Street Group Home.

c.) Santa Maria will ensure that all staff assigned to work at Burke Street Group Home

are re-certified in Professional Crisis Management (“PCM”), which is an approved

emergency procedure curriculum. Certificates of completion for all staff re-certified

must be provided to APD, along with the current Clearinghouse employee roster for

Burke Street Group Home.

d.) Santa Maria will ensure that all staff assigned to work at Burke Street Group Home

are retrained by a behavior analyst on each resident’s behavior analysis support

plan, to include the individual supervision needs of each resident. Written verification

of the training from the BCBA shall be provided to APD and include the date, staff

names, the type of training, who conducted the training and the credentials of the

person conducting the training, along with the current Clearinghouse employee

roster for Burke Street Group Home.

e.) Santa Maria will ensure that all ownership and management of Santa Maria Home

Care, Inc. and all staff assigned to work at Burke Street Group Home are retrained

on incident reporting requirements and procedures. Such training shall include

descriptions of critical and reportable incident types, time frames for reporting, and

how reports shall be documented and submitted to the Agency. Documentation of

the training shall be provided to APD, along with the current Clearinghouse

employee roster for Burke Street Group Home. Written verification of the training

shall include the date, staff names, the type of training, and the trainer name and

credentials.

2. Santa Maria agrees to review staffing patterns in the Burke Street Group Home and

revise as needed, but no less frequently than monthly and prior to admission of any new

client, to ensure sufficient staff are present for effective implementation of behavior

plans, meet resident-specific supervision needs, and to allow staff passing medications

during scheduled medication administration times to do so with undivided attention.

3. Santa Maria will notify the Agency in the event a referral for placement is accepted.

Upon accepting the placement referral, within 15 days, Santa Maria will provide the

Agency with an updated employee schedule and staffing calculations sheet for the Burke

Street Group Home to ensure adequate staff are present in the facility.

4. Santa Maria will submit to the Agency a table of organization identifying the management

structure for the Burke Street Group Home and will develop a system of unannounced

visits at least twice weekly by either the management or Santa Maria Home Care, Inc.

president Marie Chery.

5. Santa Maria will develop a Quality Assurance Checklist to use during unannounced visits.

The checklist will include basic health and safety items to be reviewed, document the staff

and residents present at the time of the visit, the date, time, and duration of the visit, and

include other items such as the level of staff engagement with consumers and whether

the residents are engaged in meaningful activities during the visit.

6. A log of such visits, including observations and any actions taken by Santa Maria in

response, will be maintained and made available to the Agency upon request.

7. For two years, Santa Maria agrees that all staff assigned to work at Burke Street Group

Home must be certified in Professional Crisis Management, complete 20 hours of

behavior analysis training, and be trained on the individual behavior plans for each

resident prior to providing any direct care services to residents. Any staff with an

expired certification in Professional Crisis Management shall be removed from providing

any direct care services to residents until they have renewed their PCM certification.

Staff who fail to successfully complete PCM certification or re-certification shall not be

permitted to provide any direct care services to residents. Certification and training will

be documented, with such documentation made available to the Agency upon request.

8. For two years, Santa Maria agrees to have the behavior analyst providing clinical

oversight of the Burke Street Group Home provide behavioral training for staff monthly.

Written verification of the training shall be provided to APD monthly and include the date,

staff names, the training topics, who conducted the training and the credentials of the

person conducting the training. A copy of the current Clearinghouse employee roster for

Burke Street Group Home will be submitted each month with the training documentation.

9. For two years, Santa Maria agrees to have the behavior analyst providing clinical

oversight of the Burke Street Group Home conduct monthly reviews of monitoring

completed by the client-specific behavior analyst, and schedule retraining as indicated

by the proficiency scores. Documentation of the monthly reviews and retraining, as

needed, shall be maintained and made available to the Agency upon request.

10. For two years, Santa Maria agrees to notify APD of any personnel change with the

behavior analyst providing clinical oversight of the Burke Street Group Home within 15

days of the change and provide a copy of the contract for the new behavior analyst

providing clinical oversight to the Agency.

11. Santa Maria Home Care, Inc. will submit all documentation specified in this Settlement

Agreement to APD Residential Program Supervisor Myra Leitold at

[e-mail] or 1313 N. Tampa Street, Suite 515, Tampa, Florida 33602.

12. Any verified breach by Santa Maria of the terms of this agreement may result in

administrative action pursuant to section 393.0673, and Chapter 120, Florida Statutes.

The parties agree that this settlement agreement may be enforced in circuit court in Leon

County, Florida.

13. This Settlement Agreement supersedes and replaces any prior oral or written agreements

between the parties. All terms and conditions of this settlement are fully set forth in this

document and no other material terms of settlement exist outside this document.

14. If any verified breach of this Settlement Agreement is identified by the Agency, then the

Agency shall provide Respondent with written notice of the breached terms. Upon receipt

of such notice, Respondent shall have fifteen (15) business days by which to remedy the

identified violations before any action to interpret, challenge or enforce the terms of this

Settlement Agreement may be brought.

15. Santa Maria Home Care, Inc. will voluntarily withdraw its petition in DOAH Case Number:

20-4473FL upon execution of this Settlement Agreement.

16. By executing this Settlement Agreement, the parties stipulate that the settlement of this

matter shall constitute a compromise of the disputed claims, and that this Settlement

Agreement does not constitute any admission of liability by the Respondent for the facts

contained in Administrative Complaint and DOAH case number 20-4473FL against license

number 5654-6-GA.

17. Nothing herein shall preclude the Agency from imposing a sanction against the

Respondent for any deficiency/violation of statute or rule that has not been alleged in the

Agency’s Administrative Complaint dated September 3, 2020.

18. Respondent acknowledges that this proposed Settlement Agreement is subject to

approval of the Director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, and that this

Settlement Agreement will have no force and effect until signed by the Director or her

designee.

19. Each signatory to this Settlement Agreement will sign and date the document

and email it to the counsel for the Agency, Trevor Suter, who will distribute copies to

all parties once all signature pages ar e received. The document can be emailed to

[e-mail].

20. This Settlement Agreement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing or error by

either party with respect to this case or any other matter.

21. The parties agree that each party shall bear its own costs and attorney’s fees, unless

legal action is required to enforce the terms of this Settlement Agreement, in which case

the prevailing party will be entitled to re cover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs

incurred in the enforcement action from the non-prevailing party. Venue for enforcement

by either party of any alleged breach of this Settlement Agreement shall lie exclusively in

the Second Judicial Circuit in and for Leon County, Tallahassee, Florida.

22. This Settlement Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding on each party’s

successors, assigns, heirs, administrators, representatives, and trustees.