Florida DSP Training Requirements: APD Core Courses & Zero Tolerance

Florida's Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) spells out DSP training deadlines in rule. In a licensed group home or foster home, a new direct service provider can't work with residents until they've finished Zero Tolerance training, and they have 90 days to complete the agency's Direct Care Core Competencies, first aid and CPR, and an HIV/AIDS course. Waiver providers have their own required training list in the iBudget handbook, and anyone helping with medications needs a separate APD validation.

This guide covers what Florida requires of DSPs, when each piece is due, how Zero Tolerance and the Core Competencies work, and what records providers need to keep.

Who these rules cover

Florida uses the term direct service provider for the person who supports someone with a developmental disability directly. Several sets of rules can apply, depending on the setting:

• Rule 65G-2.008, F.A.C. sets staff qualifications and training for APD-licensed residential facilities, such as group homes and foster homes. The current version took effect March 26, 2026.
• The iBudget Waiver Services Coverage and Limitations Handbook (May 2023), adopted by rule, lists the training that waiver providers and their direct service staff must complete. Appendix B covers required training.
• Chapter 65G-10, F.A.C. covers APD provider training. The handbook says the requirements in Chapter 65G-10 take precedence over it.
• Chapter 65G-7, F.A.C. covers medication administration.

The sections below focus on licensed residential facilities, where the rule spells out the deadlines, and point out where waiver and medication rules add more.

Who can work as a direct service provider

Under Rule 65G-2.008(2), a direct service provider in a licensed residential facility must:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Pass employment screening under section 393.0655, F.S., and chapter 435, F.S. Anyone who doesn't meet screening requirements can't provide direct care or have access to residents, their funds or their living setting.
• Have a high school diploma or the equivalent.
• Have at least one year of experience in a medical, psychiatric, nursing or childcare setting, or working directly with people with developmental disabilities. College, vocational or technical training equal to 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or 720 classroom hours in a related field can substitute.

A facility can waive the experience requirement if the new hire spends their first 90 days working under the direct supervision or oversight of an experienced direct service provider who is physically present. The facility has to notify the APD Regional Office within five days of the start date and complete a performance evaluation within 120 days. Staff hired before July 1, 2014, who have stayed continuously employed with the same licensee are exempt from these qualification requirements.

The training timeline

Rule 65G-2.008(7) sets the training schedule for licensed residential facilities:

Facilities must also follow Chapter 65G-8, F.A.C., which covers reactive strategies.

Zero Tolerance

Zero Tolerance is APD's curriculum on abuse, neglect and exploitation, and it's the one course that has to be done before the first shift. Rule 65G-2.008(7)(c) also requires a refresher every three years and says staff must be able to demonstrate their knowledge of abuse reporting procedures "both in theory and in practice." APD offers Zero Tolerance as a training plan in TRAIN Florida. Learners take the modules in the assigned order and must pass each assessment with a score of at least 85%.

Direct Care Core Competencies

The Direct Care Core Competencies (DCCC) course is APD's foundation training for direct service providers. In TRAIN Florida, it's a training plan of five modules, completed in order:

1. Basic Person-Centered Planning
2. Introduction to Developmental Disabilities
3. Maintaining Health, Safety, and Wellness
4. Individual Choices, Rights, and Responsibilities
5. Roles and Responsibilities for Direct Support Professionals

Each module has an assessment that must be passed with at least 85 points, plus an evaluation. The certificate becomes available after the last module is completed.

First aid, CPR and HIV/AIDS

Florida is specific about how first aid and CPR are taught. Rule 65G-2.008(7)(d) says online or computer-based courses don't meet the requirement. The training must be in a classroom with a certified trainer. Facilities must always have at least one direct service provider with current CPR certification on site when residents are present. The HIV/AIDS course is also due within 90 days.

Waiver providers: the iBudget handbook

For iBudget Waiver services, Appendix B of the handbook lists the required basic training for direct service providers. It also lists two courses that apply only in certain situations:

• Medication Administration and Validation, for staff who administer or assist with medications.
• Behavioral Emergency Procedures, for staff supporting someone whose challenging behavior may require reactive strategies during a behavioral emergency. It uses an APD-approved, competency-based curriculum with a validation component.

The handbook defines successful completion of required courses as attending all sessions, completing assignments and passing any tests with at least 85% (75% for APD iConnect training). Web-based training counts if it's the current curriculum and APD's state office has approved it. Providers must keep documentation of training in each staff file for at least five years after the last date of service. APD's provider training page notes that most required courses, including the Core Competencies, Zero Tolerance, HIPAA and HIV/AIDS 101, are available in TRAIN Florida.

Medication administration is its own validation

Under Rule 65G-7.004, unless state law otherwise allows it, a person can't administer medication or supervise self-administration for APD clients without completing APD's medication administration training and holding a current validation for each route used. People who earn this authorization are called medication assistance providers (MAPs). To become one, a DSP must:

• Complete APD-approved Basic Medication Administration Training.
• Pass a two-part exam within three days of the course, scoring at least 85% on course content and 100% on the medication administration record (MAR) section.
• Get validated before assisting with medications.

To keep the authorization, a MAP must take an annual update course and be revalidated each year within the 60 days before the current validation expires. Separate training and validation apply to enteral formulas and insulin.

What records need to show

Rule 65G-2.008(6) requires licensed facilities to keep:

• Job descriptions for paid staff.
• Records of all staff training, including dates, content, trainers and attendees.
• A personnel record for each employee showing education, qualifications, experience, references, background screening, training and any disciplinary action.
• Weekly staff schedules, with actual coverage kept for six months.

Training documentation must be kept for at least three years and produced for APD on request. Facilities have to provide copies to APD or the Regional Office within three calendar days of a request. For waiver services, the iBudget handbook's five-year retention rule applies.

A few habits that make reviews easier

• Block the first shift until Zero Tolerance is on file. It's the only course Florida requires before any direct services.
• Run a 90-day clock from the first day of service. The Core Competencies, first aid and CPR, and HIV/AIDS all fall inside that window.
• Check CPR coverage on every schedule. Whenever residents are present, at least one staff member with current CPR certification has to be on site.
• Track renewals, not just completions. Zero Tolerance refreshers come due every three years, and medication validations expire each year.
• Keep TRAIN Florida certificates in the staff file. APD courses issue certificates, and both the rule and the handbook expect training proof to be available on request.

How Training & eTracking can help

APD's own courses, including Zero Tolerance, the Core Competencies and medication validation, stay in TRAIN Florida or with APD-approved trainers. Where we can help is the rest of the year. Our direct support professional courses cover topics for ongoing staff development, such as Recognition, Prevention, and Obligation to Report Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation, Person Centered Planning for Direct Support Professionals and Verbal De-escalation and Crisis Prevention for Direct Support Professionals. Check with APD before counting any outside course toward a required or in-service training.

For Florida agencies, we set up compliance pathways just in time: tell us your service type and the training your licensing and waiver rules expect, and we'll build a pathway around those requirements for your organization. Pathways can also track training completed outside TES, like Zero Tolerance, first aid, CPR and medication validation, as external evidence. Contact us to get started. For more on keeping all of this organized, see our guide to tracking employee training in a care agency.

If you also run assisted living in Florida, our catalog includes Florida In-Service Assisted Living Staff Training (9 Hours).

For a quick summary of Florida's DSP rules, see our Florida DSP requirements page. To see how pathways work in other states, browse our compliance pathways library.

This article summarizes Rule 65G-2.008, F.A.C., and Rule 65G-7.004, F.A.C., as amended March 26, 2026, and the May 2023 iBudget Waiver Services Coverage and Limitations Handbook. It is not legal advice. Check the current rule text and APD guidance before making compliance decisions.