~ Member Biographies ~

~ Tom Rice Biography ~

... continued from our Advisory Panel Members Home Page.

As an Operations Review Specialist within APD's Bureau of Residential and Clinical Supports, Tom has been assigned lead responsibility for the development and implementation of the Agency's Zero Tolerance Initiative Against Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation. This initiative represents an aggressive and proactive multi-pronged approach to dealing with the national problem of abuse, neglect, and exploitation committed against individuals with developmental disabilities through training and education efforts, monitoring and quality assurance activities, and proposed changes to administrative rules, operating procedures, and Florida Statutes. These continuing activities are intended to prevent occurrences of abuse, neglect, and exploitation involving this vulnerable population and facilitate quicker identification and reporting of potentially harmful situations and environments when they do arise. In addition to his professional commitments related to abuse prevention activities, Tom is also the parent of an adult child with developmental disabilities.