What are the minimum requirements to work in a Florida APD group home?

Rule 65G-2.008(2), F.A.C. requires a direct service provider to be at least 18, to pass employment screening under section 393.0655, Florida Statutes and chapter 435, and to have at least a high school diploma or the equivalent, plus one year of relevant experience before beginning employment.

Can you hire group home staff without a year of experience in Florida?

Yes, under Rule 65G-2.008(2)(f), F.A.C., if the new direct service provider spends their first 90 days working under the direct supervision of one who meets the requirement. The licensee must also notify the Regional Office in writing within five days of the start date.

What counts instead of a year of experience for APD group home staff?

Rule 65G-2.008(2)(d)2., F.A.C. accepts college, vocational or technical training equal to 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or 720 classroom hours in special education, mental health, counseling, guidance, social work, or health and rehabilitative services.

What is the 100 foot rule for Florida group home staff?

Rule 65G-2.008(2)(f)2., F.A.C.: a direct service provider who does not meet the one-year experience requirement may take residents out of the facility only if accompanied by one who does, and the experienced provider must remain within 100 feet at all times.

When is a performance evaluation required for new group home staff?

Rule 65G-2.008(2)(h), F.A.C. requires a performance evaluation no later than 120 days after employment began, for any direct service provider hired under the experience waiver. It must assess the ability to perform the duties of the position and be kept in the personnel file.

Are long-serving group home staff exempt from the diploma and experience rules?

Rule 65G-2.008(2)(c) and (2)(e), F.A.C. exempt a direct service provider hired before 1 July 2014 who has remained continuously employed by the same licensee. Continuous employment with that licensee is the condition; a break in it ends the exemption.

How often must a Florida group home check staff driving records?

Annually. Rule 65G-2.008(4)(b)2., F.A.C. states that licensees must update their staff driving history on an annual basis, and 65G-2.008(4)(b)1. bars anyone transporting residents from having a DUI or a licence-suspending moving violation in the past three years.

Staffing09/04/2026·8 min read

What Florida Requires of Every Group Home Staff Member — and the Three Clocks That Start When You Hire One

Rule 65G-2.008 sets the floor for a direct service provider in an APD group home: 18, screened, a high school diploma, and a year of experience. The part almost nobody knows is what happens when you hire someone without that year — a 90-day supervision arrangement, five days to notify APD in writing, and a documented performance evaluation by day 120.

What does Florida require of a group home staff member?

Rule 65G-2.008(2), F.A.C. sets four things before someone starts: 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 or 720 classroom hours of qualifying training instead. The experience requirement can be waived, but the waiver is not a formality: it starts a 90-day supervision arrangement, a five-day written notice to the APD Regional Office, and a documented performance evaluation by day 120.

Chapter 65G-2 was re-issued on 26 March 2026, so this is current text, not the version most checklists were written from. Rule 65G-2.008 is titled "Staffing Requirements for Residential Facilities", and it is the closest thing Florida has to a job description for working in an APD group home.

The floor, before anyone starts

Age 18. 65G-2.008(2)(a).
Employment screening under s. 393.0655, F.S. and ch. 435, F.S. The rule puts the burden on you: the licensee is responsible for ensuring every direct service provider has complied. Anyone not eligible "must not provide direct care services or have access to any resident, resident funds, or resident living setting." 65G-2.008(2)(b).
High school diploma or the equivalent. The rule is unusually practical about proof — you may accept official transcripts, affidavits from educational institutions, and other formal or legal documents reasonably used to determine educational background. 65G-2.008(2)(c).
One year of experience in a medical, psychiatric, nursing or childcare setting, or another environment working directly with people with a developmental disability — or college, vocational or technical training equal to 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or 720 classroom hours in special education, mental health, counseling, guidance, social work or health and rehabilitative services. 65G-2.008(2)(d).

The grandfathering clause is narrower than people think. A direct service provider hired before 1 July 2014 who has remained continuously employed by the licensee is exempt from the diploma and experience requirements. Continuous employment with that licensee is the condition. Somebody who left for a year and came back is a new hire against today's rule, however long they worked for you before.

The waiver, and the three clocks it starts

Most operators hire people without the year of experience at some point. The rule allows it — 65G-2.008(2)(f) — and the conditions are specific enough that they are easy to fail by accident.

1. Ninety days of direct supervision. The new provider must spend their first 90 days working under the supervision or oversight of one who meets the requirement — defined as "physically present and immediately available", and physically present is defined again as "under the same contiguous roof line."

2. One hundred feet, when transporting. They may take residents out of the facility only if accompanied by a provider who meets the one-year requirement, who must remain "at all times, within 100 feet."

3. Five days to tell APD, in writing. The licensee "shall provide written notification to the Regional Office no later than five days after the direct service provider starts employment", naming the provider and the facility.

And then a fourth date, 65G-2.008(2)(h): a performance evaluation no later than 120 days after employment began, assessing at minimum the ability to perform the duties of the position, kept in the personnel file and produced to APD on request.

Read those together and the shape of the trap is obvious. The hire is the easy part. What follows is a five-day administrative deadline that nothing prompts you about, a 90-day arrangement that has to actually hold on every shift, and a document due four months later that is very easy to remember in September and forget by January.

The standing duties, for everyone

Subsection (4) is where the ongoing obligations live, and two of them are annual:

Driving history, updated annually. 65G-2.008(4)(b)2. states plainly that licensees must update their staff driving history on an annual basis. Anyone transporting residents must hold a valid licence and must not have, within the past three years, a DUI or any moving violation that suspended or revoked their licence.
The FDLE search, annually, around each home. 65G-2.008(4)(c): at least annually the licensee must search the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sex Offender/Predator Database for registrants living within a one-mile radius of the facility, notify staff where those people live, and document that notification. There is no certificate and no renewal notice for this one, which is exactly why it gets missed.
Fit for duty. 65G-2.008(4)(a) prohibits a direct service provider being under the influence of alcohol, medication or other substances to the extent normal faculties are impaired — and the rule spells out what it means by normal faculties, down to judging distances and acting in emergencies.

What happens if there is an investigation

Subsection (5) is worth knowing before you need it. If someone working in the facility is named as an alleged perpetrator in an active protective investigation under ch. 415 or Part II of ch. 39, F.S., they are prohibited from being alone with residents or having access to resident funds unless under the constant visual supervision of another person working in the facility who has not been named.

If the investigation ends in a verified finding and the person stays employed, the licensee must submit a Corrective Action Plan to the Regional Office within 15 days of being notified — explaining why the employment was not terminated, what disciplinary action was taken, and what training was given, with dates.

Write it down once, per role

None of the above is a document APD asks for by name. What it is, is a set of duties that land on you as the licensee, several of which have to happen on a date, and all of which are easier to keep if somebody has written down who does them. That is what this is for.

Group home staff expectations — starting sheet

Each line is something Rule 65G-2.008 puts on the licensee. The blank is the part that differs between businesses: who does it, and where the record lives. Fill it in, copy it out, and make it yours.

Confirm age, screening eligibility and diploma before the first shift
65G-2.008(2)(a)-(c), F.A.C.
Who verifies this, and where do the documents get filed?
Confirm one year of experience, or the 30/45/720 hours of training instead
65G-2.008(2)(d), F.A.C.
Who decides which route this hire qualifies under, and what proof is kept?
If hiring without the year: name the experienced provider supervising the first 90 days
65G-2.008(2)(f)1., F.A.C.
Who supervises, on which shifts, and how is it shown on the schedule?
If hiring without the year: notify the APD Regional Office in writing within 5 days of the start date
65G-2.008(2)(g), F.A.C.
Who sends it, to which address, and where is the sent copy kept?
Performance evaluation by day 120, kept in the personnel file
65G-2.008(2)(h), F.A.C.
Who writes it, and what triggers the reminder?
Update every driver's driving history once a year
65G-2.008(4)(b)2., F.A.C.
Who pulls it, in which month, and where is it stored?
Search the FDLE database annually for registrants within a mile, tell staff, record that you told them
65G-2.008(4)(c), F.A.C.
Who runs the search, how are staff told, and what is the written record?
Know the rule if a protective investigation names someone working here
65G-2.008(5)(b)-(c), F.A.C.
Who is told first, and who arranges the constant-visual-supervision cover?

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.

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.