About Us

Our Vision

All youth in Florida will successfully transition to every aspect of adult life, including adult health care, work, and independence.

Our Values

Youth and young adults will:

1. Participate in decision-making at all levels, and be satisfied with the services they receive,
2. Receive coordinated, ongoing, comprehensive care within a medical home,
3. Have adequate private and/or public insurance to pay for the services they need,
4. Be continuously screened to detect other conditions and prevent secondary disabilities,
5. Access community-based systems that are integrated, collaborative, and organized so they can be easily used, and
6. Will receive services that meet their physical, social, and developmental needs.

Background

Increasing awareness of the difficulties youth with disabilities encounter when they transition from pediatric to adult health care prompted passage of  state legislation during the 2008 Florida session.  SB 988/HB 793 called for the establishment of a statewide Task Force to assess the need for health care transition services, develop strategies to ensure successful transition from pediatric to adult health care systems, and identify existing and potential funding sources.

Under the leadership of the Florida Department of Health, and with support from the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, Inc., (FDDC), a diverse group of experts, agency representatives, advocates, families, and young adults with disabilities worked together from August through December 2008 to identify pertinent research data, performance measures, best practices, and recommended strategies. The final Task Force Legislative Report  was presented to the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives on December 30, 2008.

While the legislatively mandated Task Force dissolved at that time, workgroup members continued with strategic plan development based on findings and recommendations in the legislative report.  In 2009, the initiative was officially named Florida Health and Transition Services, or FloridaHATS.  Implementation activities outlined in the strategic plan include the development of Regional Health Care Transition Coalitions.  A Strategic Planning Guide for Health Care Transition Coalitions was created to help these communities in building local systems of care.  Most recently, FloridaHATS has focused its activities around Florida’s Title V 5-Year Action Plan in the 2016 Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant.

Since its inception, FloridaHATS has developed numerous educational and training materials for both consumers and practitioners. Recent presentations and products are listed below and in the Tool Box; older documents can be found in the Archive.  Please see below for recent publications and presentations:

Recent Publications/Presentations

**see Archive for additional documents

• FloridaHATS Brochure (2018)
• Family Café presentation in Orlando (June 2018), “Preparing Teens for Transition to Adult Health Care:  10 Steps to Successful Health Care Transition”.
• Presentation for University of South Florida Student Health (January 2018), “Transitions in Care for Young Adults with Disabilities.”
• Health Care Transition Training for Health Care Professionals  (2017 update; see flyer)
• Presentation at the “Creating a Plan for the Future” Workshop in Hillsborough County, “10 Steps to Successful Health Care Transition”  (October 2017)
• “Transitions in Care for Adolescents and Young Adults with Disabilities” (September 2017 presentation fo University of South Florida medical students, Tampa)
• Presentation “Transitions in Care for Adolescents and Young Adults with Special Health Care Needs”, for public health graduate students at the University of South Florida, March, 2017.
• Presentation “10 Steps to Taking Charge of Your Health Care Using the GLADD Approach” for students with developmental and intellectual disabilities at the USF Learning Academy, February, 2107.
• See presentations on “My Health Care: Health Literacy, Communication and Self-Advocacy for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities”: here for the Hartwick Symposium (Miami, September 2016); here for Florida Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Annual Conference (Sarasota, October 2016); here for the Health Care Transition Research Consortium/Research Symposium (Houston, October 2016); and here for the January 9th, 2017, webinar of the HCT Research Consortium.
• Lost in Transition: The Challenges of Navigating Adult-Oriented Health Care for People with Disabilities (2016 presentation at Florida Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Orlando)
• The Adults Years: Pediatric to Adult Medical Care (presentation from CdLS Foundation Conference, Orlando, 2016)
• 10 Steps to Successful Health Care Transition (English/Spanish) (English/Haitian Creole)
• Just the Facts: The 411 on Health Insurance for Young Adults Ages 18-30; (English) (Spanish) (Haitian-Creole)
• Strategic Planning Guide for Health Care Transition Coalitions  (updated 2014)
• Resource Brief for Florida Pediatric Providers
• Resource Brief for Pediatric Providers (in Hillsborough County)
• Ask Them 3! Postcard (from Hillsborough County)
• Transition 2 Go: MedWaiver Programs (English)  (Spanish)  (Haitian Creole)
• Transition 2 Go: Guardianship (English) (Spanish)  (Haitian Creole)
• Transition 2 Go: Social Security (English)  (Spanish)  (Haitian Creole)
• Algorithm for YSHCN in Florida
• Advocating for Yourself in School (English) (Spanish) (Haitian Creole)  Tips for middle and high school students
• Preparing for IEP Meetings (English)  (Spanish)  (Haitian Creole) 10 steps for parents to prepare for IEP meetings
• A Guide to the Florida Juvenile Justice System for Parents of Youth with Disabilities or Chronic Health Conditions(English)  (Spanish) (Haitian Creole)
• JaxHATS Business Plan