Florida Statute 491.009 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research

The 2024 Florida Statutes

Title XXXII
REGULATION OF PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS

Chapter 491
CLINICAL, COUNSELING, AND PSYCHOTHERAPY SERVICES

View Entire Chapter

F.S. 491.009

491.009 Discipline.—

(1) The following acts constitute grounds for denial of a license or disciplinary action, as specified in s. 456.072(2) or s. 491.017:

(a) Attempting to obtain, obtaining, or renewing a license, registration, or certificate under this chapter by bribery or fraudulent misrepresentation or through an error of the board or the department.

(b) Having a license, registration, or certificate to practice a comparable profession revoked, suspended, or otherwise acted against, including the denial of certification or licensure by another state, territory, or country.

(c) Being convicted or found guilty of, regardless of adjudication, or having entered a plea of nolo contendere to, a crime in any jurisdiction which directly relates to the practice of his or her profession or the ability to practice his or her profession. However, in the case of a plea of nolo contendere, the board shall allow the person who is the subject of the disciplinary proceeding to present evidence in mitigation relevant to the underlying charges and circumstances surrounding the plea.

(d) False, deceptive, or misleading advertising or obtaining a fee or other thing of value on the representation that beneficial results from any treatment will be guaranteed.

(e) Advertising, practicing, or attempting to practice under a name other than one’s own.

(f) Maintaining a professional association with any person who the applicant, licensee, registered intern, or certificateholder knows, or has reason to believe, is in violation of this chapter or of a rule of the department or the board.

(g) Knowingly aiding, assisting, procuring, or advising any nonlicensed, nonregistered, or noncertified person to hold himself or herself out as licensed, registered, or certified under this chapter.

(h) Failing to perform any statutory or legal obligation placed upon a person licensed, registered, or certified under this chapter.

(i) Willfully making or filing a false report or record; failing to file a report or record required by state or federal law; willfully impeding or obstructing the filing of a report or record; or inducing another person to make or file a false report or record or to impede or obstruct the filing of a report or record. Such report or record includes only a report or record which requires the signature of a person licensed, registered, or certified under this chapter.

(j) Paying a kickback, rebate, bonus, or other remuneration for receiving a patient or client, or receiving a kickback, rebate, bonus, or other remuneration for referring a patient or client to another provider of mental health care services or to a provider of health care services or goods; referring a patient or client to oneself for services on a fee-paid basis when those services are already being paid for by some other public or private entity; or entering into a reciprocal referral agreement.

(k) Committing any act upon a patient or client which would constitute sexual battery or which would constitute sexual misconduct as defined pursuant to s. 491.0111.

(l) Making misleading, deceptive, untrue, or fraudulent representations in the practice of any profession licensed, registered, or certified under this chapter.

(m) Soliciting patients or clients personally, or through an agent, through the use of fraud, intimidation, undue influence, or a form of overreaching or vexatious conduct.

(n) Failing to make available to a patient or client, upon written request, copies of tests, reports, or documents in the possession or under the control of the licensee, registered intern, or certificateholder which have been prepared for and paid for by the patient or client.

(o) Failing to respond within 30 days to a written communication from the department or the board concerning any investigation by the department or the board, or failing to make available any relevant records with respect to any investigation about the licensee’s, registered intern’s, or certificateholder’s conduct or background.

(p) Being unable to practice the profession for which he or she is licensed, registered, or certified under this chapter with reasonable skill or competence as a result of any mental or physical condition or by reason of illness; drunkenness; or excessive use of drugs, narcotics, chemicals, or any other substance. In enforcing this paragraph, upon a finding by the State Surgeon General, the State Surgeon General’s designee, or the board that probable cause exists to believe that the licensee, registered intern, or certificateholder is unable to practice the profession because of the reasons stated in this paragraph, the department shall have the authority to compel a licensee, registered intern, or certificateholder to submit to a mental or physical examination by psychologists, physicians, or other licensees under this chapter, designated by the department or board. If the licensee, registered intern, or certificateholder refuses to comply with such order, the department’s order directing the examination may be enforced by filing a petition for enforcement in the circuit court in the circuit in which the licensee, registered intern, or certificateholder resides or does business. The licensee, registered intern, or certificateholder against whom the petition is filed may not be named or identified by initials in any public court records or documents, and the proceedings shall be closed to the public. The department shall be entitled to the summary procedure provided in s. 51.011. A licensee, registered intern, or certificateholder affected under this paragraph shall at reasonable intervals be afforded an opportunity to demonstrate that he or she can resume the competent practice for which he or she is licensed, registered, or certified with reasonable skill and safety to patients.

(q) Performing any treatment or prescribing any therapy which, by the prevailing standards of the mental health professions in the community, would constitute experimentation on human subjects, without first obtaining full, informed, and written consent.

(r) Failing to meet the minimum standards of performance in professional activities when measured against generally prevailing peer performance, including the undertaking of activities for which the licensee, registered intern, or certificateholder is not qualified by training or experience.

(s) Delegating professional responsibilities to a person who the licensee, registered intern, or certificateholder knows or has reason to know is not qualified by training or experience to perform such responsibilities.

(t) Violating a rule relating to the regulation of the profession or a lawful order of the department or the board previously entered in a disciplinary hearing.

(u) Failure of the licensee, registered intern, or certificateholder to maintain in confidence a communication made by a patient or client in the context of such services, except as provided in s. 491.0147.

(v) Making public statements which are derived from test data, client contacts, or behavioral research and which identify or damage research subjects or clients.

(w) Violating any provision of this chapter or chapter 456, or any rules adopted pursuant thereto.

(2)(a) The board or, in the case of certified master social workers, the department may enter an order denying licensure or imposing any of the penalties authorized in s. 456.072(2) against any applicant for licensure or any licensee who violates subsection (1) or s. 456.072(1).

(b) The board may take adverse action against a clinical social worker’s, a marriage and family therapist’s, or a mental health counselor’s privilege to practice under the Professional Counselors Licensure Compact pursuant to s. 491.017 and may impose any of the penalties in s. 456.072(2) if the clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, or mental health counselor commits an act specified in subsection (1) or s. 456.072(1).

History.—ss. 15, 19, ch. 87-252; ss. 9, 19, 20, ch. 90-263; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 229, ch. 96-410; s. 1136, ch. 97-103; s. 16, ch. 97-198; s. 208, ch. 97-264; s. 154, ch. 98-166; s. 214, ch. 2000-160; s. 53, ch. 2001-277; s. 28, ch. 2005-240; s. 103, ch. 2008-6; s. 9, ch. 2019-134; s. 123, ch. 2020-2; s. 47, ch. 2020-133; s. 9, ch. 2022-63; s. 107, ch. 2023-8.

F.S. 491.009 on Google Scholar

F.S. 491.009 on Casetext

Amendments to 491.009

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 491.009

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 491.009.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 491.009

Total Results: 13

Gerard Kruse v. State of Florida, Department of Health, etc.

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2019-04-16T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: view this type of misconduct: 2. Section 491.009(1)(k), Florida Statutes (2016-2017), subjects…sexual battery but also for sexual misconduct. § 491.009(1)(k), Fla. Stat. By rule, the conduct involved

Kasdaglis v. Department of Health

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2002-09-25T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 827 So. 2d 328, 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 13984, 2002 WL 31114914

Snippet: Licensee was also found to have violated section 491.009(l)(n) and (o),3 which authorize discipline when…to furnish the child’s records to DOH, section 491.009(l)(o) requires a licensee to respond to an investigation…charges and offered further cooperation. Section 491.009(l)(o) also requires a licensee to make available…a “competent” child’s treatment file,4 section 491.009(l)(o) does not give DOH the authority to compel…professional activities as required by section 491.009(l)(r).5 The evidence supporting this charge came

MIMI/Medpartners, Inc. v. Boestfleisch

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2002-06-12T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 822 So. 2d 512, 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 8225, 2002 WL 1285469

Snippet: the JCC granted the motion to strike. Section 440.491(9), Florida Statutes (1999) provides that the JCC ….2d 863 (Fla.2000). Similarly, while section 440.491(9) contains no time limitations in seeking a re-employment… the merits hearing. We do not read section 440.491(9) “as allowing a party to disrupt the orderly and

Smith v. Dorsey

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 1998-12-31T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 725 So. 2d 1196, 1998 Fla. App. LEXIS 16461, 1998 WL 906704

Snippet: concerning Pagni’s background in violation of section 491.009(1), (2), Florida Statutes, and, because of such

Harris v. Agency for Health Care Administration

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 1996-04-08T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 671 So. 2d 230, 1996 Fla. App. LEXIS 3470, 1996 WL 159346

Snippet: , and signs, *231naming the licensee.” Section 491.009(2)(q), Florida Statutes (1991), indicates that …, discipline was warranted pursuant to section 491.009(2)(q). The Board adopted the hearing officer’s

Stogniew v. McQueen

Court: Fla. | Date Filed: 1995-05-04T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 656 So. 2d 917

Snippet: which concluded that McQueen had violated section 491.009(2)(s), Florida Statutes (1989),[1] by failing to…WELLS and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] Section 491.009(2) provides in relevant part: The following acts

Chrysler v. DEPT. OF PRO. REGULATION

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 1993-11-12T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 627 So. 2d 31

Snippet: Chrysler was charged with violating sections 491.009(2)(a) and 491.009(2)(q), Florida Statutes (1991).[1] In …section 491.009(2)(a) and to impose an administrative fine based on violation of section 491.009(2)(q).…SMITH and KAHN, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] Section 491.009(2)(a) authorizes disciplinary action where an applicant… error of the board or the department. Section 491.009(2)(q) authorizes disciplinary action for violations

Florida Bar v. Borecky

Court: Fla. | Date Filed: 1984-10-04T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 457 So. 2d 491, 9 Fla. L. Weekly 431, 1984 Fla. LEXIS 3475

Snippet: McDonald, Overton, Shaw 4 October 1984 457 So. 2d 491, 9 Fla. L. Weekly 431, 1984 Fla. LEXIS 3475 John

Delap v. State

Court: Fla. | Date Filed: 1983-09-15T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 440 So. 2d 1242

Snippet: relevant. See Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S., at 491, 9 L.Ed.2d 441, 83 S.Ct. 407. The voluntariness of

Solomon v. SANITARIANS'REGISTRATION BOARD

Court: Fla. | Date Filed: 1963-07-17T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 155 So. 2d 353

Snippet: take such an *355 examination. Sections 491.06, 491.09, Florida Statutes, F.S.A. It will be seen that

Sanitarians' Registration Board v. Solomon

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 1962-06-07T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 142 So. 2d 301, 1962 Fla. App. LEXIS 3327

Snippet: five fields of sanitation enumerated in Section 491.09 as the fields on which examinations are to be given

Andersen v. State Ex Rel. Bauer

Court: Fla. | Date Filed: 1932-10-08T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 143 So. 775, 106 Fla. 951, 1932 Fla. LEXIS 1151

Snippet: Bank Trust Co. 491.09 Deposit in the West Palm Beach Atlantic National…" in different depositories, viz: $23.07, $491.09, $7,341.23. These amounts being in hand exceed

Southern Lead Corp. v. Glass

Court: Fla. | Date Filed: 1931-11-23T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 138 So. 59, 103 Fla. 657

Snippet: 459; Adams vs. Messinger, 147 Mass. 185, 17 N.E. 491, 9 Am. St. Rep. 679; Currier v. Hallowell, 158 Mass