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:
- Participate in decision-making at all levels, and be satisfied with the services they receive,
- Receive coordinated, ongoing, comprehensive care within a medical home,
- Have adequate private and/or public insurance to pay for the services they need,
- Be continuously screened to detect other conditions and prevent secondary disabilities,
- Access community-based systems that are integrated, collaborative, and organized so they can be easily used, and
- 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 Transition Action Plan in the 2019 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 in the Tool Box.
