Are job descriptions required for Florida APD group home staff?

Yes. Rule 65G-2.008(6)(a)1., F.A.C. states that all licensees with employees shall develop and maintain job descriptions for paid staff, alongside training documentation, separate personnel records, and a weekly written staff schedule.

How long does a Florida group home have to produce personnel records for APD?

Three calendar days. Rule 65G-2.008(6)(b), F.A.C. states the licensee shall provide a copy of any or all of the items in 65G-2.008(6)(a) to the Agency or Regional Office upon request, within three calendar days.

What training deadlines belong in a Florida group home job description?

Zero Tolerance before providing direct services with a refresher every three years; Direct Care Core Competency, CPR and first aid, and an HIV/AIDS course each within 90 days; and the facility emergency management plan within 30 days of hire, then annually. Rules 65G-2.008(7) and 65G-2.010(4), F.A.C.

Can group home CPR training be done online in Florida?

No. Rule 65G-2.008(7)(d), F.A.C. states that online or computer-based courses are not acceptable for the first aid and CPR requirement; the training must be provided in a classroom setting by a certified trainer.

Does a Florida group home need someone CPR certified on site at all times?

Whenever residents are present. Rule 65G-2.008(7)(d), F.A.C. states that facilities shall ensure there is always at least one direct service provider with current CPR certification onsite when residents are present.

How quickly must a group home report a critical incident to APD?

Initial notice within four hours of becoming aware, under Rule 65G-2.010(6)(f), F.A.C., by the Agency's incident reporting system, email or a phone call — text messages do not count. A complete APD Incident Reporting Form follows electronically within one calendar day.

What must group home staff do if a resident is missing?

Rule 65G-2.010(5), F.A.C. requires staff, after determining a resident is missing, to immediately call local law enforcement and ask the officer to take a report, assign a case number and provide it, and provide a copy of the law enforcement report.

Does a Florida group home have to keep a written staff schedule?

Yes. Rule 65G-2.008(6)(a)4., F.A.C. requires a weekly written schedule indicating staff coverage at least one week in advance, and weekly schedules of actual staff coverage must be maintained for a six-month period.

Staffing09/04/2026·9 min read

Florida Requires a Written Job Description for Every Paid Group Home Employee — Here Is What Belongs In One

Rule 65G-2.008(6)(a)1 lists job descriptions for paid staff as something every licensee with employees must develop and maintain — and the same subsection gives APD the right to ask for them and be handed a copy within three calendar days. A generic care-work job description will not carry the parts that matter, because almost every duty in a group home has a deadline attached.

Does Florida require a written job description for group home staff?

Yes. Rule 65G-2.008(6)(a), F.A.C.: "All licensees with employees shall develop and maintain the following: 1. Job descriptions for paid staff..." — alongside training documentation, separate personnel records for each employee, and a weekly written staff schedule. And 65G-2.008(6)(b) gives that list teeth: the licensee must provide a copy of any or all of it to the Agency or Regional Office on request, within three calendar days.

Most people write a job description because it is sensible management. It is — but in a Florida APD group home it is also a licensure document, sitting in the same short list as your training records and your staff schedule. Chapter 65G-2 was re-issued on 26 March 2026, so this is current text.

The four documents, and the three-day clock

65G-2.008(6)(a) requires every licensee with employees to keep:

1. Job descriptions for paid staff;
2. Documentation of all facility staff training, including a record of training dates, training content and trainers, and staff in attendance;
3. Separate personnel records for each full and part-time employee containing education, qualifications, experience, references, background screening, staff training participation, and any disciplinary action taken;
4. A weekly written schedule indicating staff coverage for at least one week in advance — with weekly schedules of actual staff coverage maintained for a six-month period.

Then (6)(b): all of it, or any of it, to APD within three calendar days of being asked. That is an unusual kind of deadline. Everywhere else in compliance the question is when is this due. Here the question is how fast can you put your hand on it — which is a question about how your records are organised, not about whether you did the work.

Why a generic job description does not do the job

Download a care-worker job description from anywhere and you will get duties written as attitudes: maintain a safe environment, support residents with daily living, follow all applicable regulations. None of that is wrong and none of it is usable. A new employee cannot tell from it what they must do this week, and neither can you.

What makes a group home job different is that most of its real duties have dates attached. Written properly, the job description is where a staff member finds out that their CPR card has to exist within 90 days and cannot come from an online course, and that if they are the one who notices a resident is missing, the first call is to law enforcement and they need to come back with a case number.

What belongs in it, and the rule behind each part

Before the first shift

At least 18 years old; cleared employment screening under s. 393.0655, F.S. and ch. 435; a high school diploma or equivalent; and one year of relevant experience or 30 semester / 45 quarter / 720 classroom hours of qualifying training instead. 65G-2.008(2).
If they are starting without the year of experience, say so in the document: their first 90 days are supervised by a provider who meets the requirement, present "under the same contiguous roof line", and when residents leave the facility that person stays within 100 feet. 65G-2.008(2)(f).

Training, with the actual deadlines

Zero Tolerance — completed before providing direct services, refreshed every three years. The rule adds that staff must be able to demonstrate abuse reporting procedures "both in theory and in practice", which is worth quoting into the job description as written. 65G-2.008(7)(c).
Direct Care Core Competency — within 90 days of first providing services or supports. 65G-2.008(7)(a).
First aid and CPR — including the abdominal thrust manoeuvre, with current CPR certification maintained, within 90 days. And the sentence that catches people: "Online or computer-based courses are not acceptable" — it must be classroom, by a certified trainer. The facility must also ensure at least one provider with current CPR is onsite whenever residents are present, which is a scheduling duty as much as a training one. 65G-2.008(7)(d).
HIV/AIDS educational course — within 90 days of providing direct services. 65G-2.008(7)(e).
The facility emergency management plan — trained within 30 days of hire, then annually after the plan's annual update. 65G-2.010(4)(c).
Behaviour plans, for residents who have them — training on the current plan, delivered by a certified behaviour analyst, documented in the personnel record. 65G-2.008(7)(f). Reactive strategies are governed separately by Chapter 65G-8.

Keep the documentation rule in mind while you write this section: written proof of required training must be kept at least three years after it was received. 65G-2.008(7)(b).

Driving, if this job includes it

Make it a named part of the role rather than an assumption. A provider who transports residents must hold a valid licence, must not have a DUI or a licence-suspending moving violation within the past three years, and must obey all traffic laws while transporting. The licensee updates driving history annually. 65G-2.008(4)(b).

Emergencies and reporting — the part worth writing carefully

Staff shall be knowledgeable in facility procedures for handling emergencies, and every staff member is responsible for implementing the emergency management plan. 65G-2.010(1)(a), 65G-2.010(4)(c).
A missing resident. After determining a resident is missing, staff shall immediately call local law enforcement and ask the officer to take a report, assign a case number and provide it, and provide a copy of the law enforcement report. 65G-2.010(5).
Known or suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation — reported immediately to the Florida Abuse Hotline under ss. 39.201 and 415.1034, F.S. 65G-2.010(6)(a).
Act first. The rule is explicit that the provider or covered person must take immediate action to resolve the emergency — "calling 911, performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)... and back blows and abdominal thrust maneuvers for choking." 65G-2.010(6)(d).
A critical incident: four hours. Initial notice within four hours of becoming aware, by the Agency's reporting system, email or a phone call — and "Telephonic contact does not include the sending of text messages over the phone." A complete APD Incident Reporting Form follows electronically within one calendar day. A supervisor may make the initial notice, so say in the job description who that is. 65G-2.010(6)(f).
Also notify the resident's legal representative and support coordinator, and for children in DCF custody the designated caseworker. 65G-2.010(6)(c).

Fit for duty, and the evaluation

65G-2.008(4)(a) prohibits working under the influence of alcohol, medication or other substances to the extent normal faculties are impaired — and defines normal faculties down to judging distances and acting in emergencies. And if this person was hired under the experience waiver, a documented performance evaluation is due by day 120, assessing their ability to perform "the prescribed duties of his or her position." 65G-2.008(2)(h).

That phrase is the quiet argument for doing this properly. The evaluation measures performance against prescribed duties — so the job description is the thing being measured against. A vague one makes the evaluation vague too.

What to leave out

Any resident's name or details. A job description is a personnel document. It goes in a personnel file, it gets handed to APD on request, and it may be read by people who have no business knowing who lives in the home. Write "residents with behaviour plans", never a name.
Promises about outcomes. "Ensures the home passes inspection" is not a duty anyone can perform. Duties are things a person does.
Requirements you invented. If it is not in the rule and not your policy, leaving it in creates a standard you will be measured against for no reason.

A starting sheet

Below is the skeleton. The duties and deadlines above are the same for every licensed home in Florida; what differs is your home, your names and your dates. Fill those in, copy it out, and put your own heading on it.

Group home job description — starting sheet

The rule-driven parts are already written above. These are the blanks only you can fill. Copy it out when you are done — nothing here is saved.

Position title, and who this person reports to
65G-2.008(6)(a)1., F.A.C. — job descriptions for paid staff
Job title, and the name or role they report to
Which home, and the normal shift pattern
65G-2.008(6)(a)4., F.A.C. — weekly written schedule, one week ahead
Which home, usual shifts, and where the weekly schedule is posted
Confirmations completed before the first shift
65G-2.008(2)(a)-(d), F.A.C.
Who checked age, screening, diploma and experience — and where the proof is filed
If starting without a year of experience: the 90-day supervision arrangement
65G-2.008(2)(f)-(g), F.A.C.
Who supervises, on which shifts, and who sent the 5-day notice to the Regional Office
Training deadlines for THIS person, as dates
65G-2.008(7) and 65G-2.010(4)(c), F.A.C.
Zero Tolerance (before first service), emergency plan (30 days), Core Competency / CPR / HIV-AIDS (90 days) — write the actual dates
Does this job include transporting residents?
65G-2.008(4)(b), F.A.C.
Yes or no; whose vehicle; who pulls the driving history each year and in which month
Emergencies — where the plan lives and who is called first
65G-2.010(1) and (4)(c), F.A.C.
Where the written emergency plan is kept, and the first call in an emergency
Reporting — who takes the call, and who makes the four-hour notice
65G-2.010(6), F.A.C.
Supervisor to notify immediately, and who is authorised to give APD initial notice
The day-to-day duties specific to this home
Your own policy — not dictated by rule
Written as actions. No resident names or details.
Acknowledgement, and the review date
65G-2.008(2)(h), F.A.C. — evaluation by day 120 where the waiver was used
Signature and date lines, and the date the performance evaluation is due

No resident names or details in here. This is a personnel document — it says what the job is, not who lives in the home.

Nothing here is saved or sent anywhere — copy it out before you close the page.

A starting point for your own document, not a determination of compliance and not legal advice. No APD rule requires a document called "staff expectations" — what the rules require are the duties listed above, and this is one way to write down who does each of them.

One closing thought, because it is the reason this is worth an afternoon. Every deadline above already applies to your staff whether or not anybody wrote it down. The job description does not create the obligations — it just decides whether the person who has to meet them finds out on day one, or finds out when something has already gone wrong.

Sources

This article is general information for Florida APD group-home providers, not legal advice or a guarantee of compliance. Rules change and vary by region — always confirm the current requirement with the cited source and your APD regional office.