Committee advances bill requiring background screens and review of waiver support coordination

The Senate committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs on Wednesday advanced CS for SB 7794, a measure that requires background screening of employees at residential facilities and day‑training programs for people with developmental disabilities and calls for a comprehensive review of waiver support coordination across Florida.

Senator Jones said the bill aims to assess quality, consistency and access to waiver support‑coordination services, evaluate recruitment and retention challenges, case loads, and caregiver satisfaction, and then recommend core competencies and assessment methods to the Legislature and the governor by February 2027. The bill includes an amendment to align the Senate language with the House version, which the committee adopted.

Several supporters waived into the record, including representatives who signed appearance forms. With no substantive debate recorded, Nikki called the roll and CS for SB 7794 was reported favorably by the committee.

Next steps: The committee reported the bill favorably and it will proceed to subsequent Senate consideration.