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The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, and community efforts.

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Group Care

Contact the Florida Department of Health Residential Group Care Program

Rule Revision

In June of 2023, DOH restarted the rule revision process for Chapter 64E-12, Florida Administrative Code. A notice of development of rulemaking was advertised in the Florida Administrative Register.


The Florida Department of Health DOES NOT license any residential group care facilities, provide services for residents seeking placement in Florida, OR provide any type of funding for residential group care.

A group home is a generic term for various types of 24-hour residential group care facilities licensed by one of three other state agencies:

Florida AgencyPhoneLicensing Information
Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA)850-412-4304AHCA lienses homes/facilities serving the elderly, the disabled and crisis stabilization mental health facilities. Locate facility information.
Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF)850-487-1111DCF licenses homes/facilities serving children or inpatient facilities providing drug, alcohol and mental health services.
Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD)850-488-4257APD licenses homes/facilities serving only individuals with disabilities. Provider search.

 

DOH receives many inquiries daily from the public who are looking for information on how to open a group home. DOH is not a primary licensing agency for a residential group care facility or group home. Anyone looking to open a group home should contact one of the three primary licensing agencies listed above to obtain information on how to open or receive a license from that agency                                                                       

The Group Care Program consists of educational facilities (public, private, and charter schools) and certain residential facilities. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Disaster Preparedness

Disasters can happen at any time of the year. The Group Care Program recommends using the residential group care preparedness toolkit - designed as a completely customizable preparedness planning tool for any type of residential facility, but especially those serving the disabled and/or vulnerable populations.

The toolkit can assist facility owners, operators, managers, and/or administrators in preparing for and responding to issues that arise as a result of a disaster or emergency. While this toolkit is designed to be as comprehensive as possible, it is not an all inclusive toolkit, but one that can be tailored to each facility by providing a one-stop resource of emergency preparedness forms, procedures, assessments, and checklists.

The assessment questionnaires were created based on identified environmental and public health issues, which were recognized by various national preparedness resources. Using this tool will enable a residential facility to be better prepared and better able to respond in the case of a disaster and be prepared to keep their residents and employees protected. This toolkit is not part of any regulatory standard, but is available and encouraged to be used by anyone who may benefit from it use.