If you run a Florida iBudget agency, Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) can feel like one more system to stand up. It isn't. EVV is a federal requirement that Florida's Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) satisfies through its state-mandated system, APD iConnect. There's no separate product to purchase and nothing for your agency to “replace” it with. What matters is knowing which of your services require EVV, what each visit has to capture, and who qualifies for an exemption.
Here's a plain-language explainer for APD providers — grounded in the federal rule and APD's own iConnect guidance.
What EVV is, and why Florida requires it
EVV stands for Electronic Visit Verification — an electronic record that a home-based service visit actually happened: the right person, in the right place, at the right time. It exists because of the 21st Century Cures Act (Public Law 114-255), signed into federal law in December 2016. Section 12006 of that law requires every state Medicaid program to implement EVV for personal care services and for home health services that involve an in-home visit.
The federal deadlines were January 1, 2020 for personal care services and January 1, 2023 for home health services; states that missed them risked losing a slice of their federal Medicaid match. Florida's iBudget program delivers home and community-based services through a Medicaid waiver, so APD is on the hook to meet the Cures Act mandate — and it does so by building EVV into APD iConnect, its client data management and visit-verification system. The point is fraud and billing-error reduction: verifying that authorized in-home services were genuinely delivered.
The six things every EVV visit records
The Cures Act specifies six data elements that any compliant EVV system must capture for each visit: the type of service performed, the individual receiving the service, the date of service, the location where the service was delivered, the individual who provided the service, and the time the service begins and ends.
In practice that means a direct-care worker clocks in when the visit starts and clocks out when it ends, and the system records the time and the location for each visit — rather than relying on a paper log written after the fact.
Which APD services require EVV
APD has designated specific in-home services as EVV-required. Use of the iConnect EVV mobile site is required for Personal Supports, Respite, and Nursing delivered in a non-licensed (in-home) setting — services provided in the person's own home, which is exactly the scope the Cures Act targets.
This list is set by APD and can change through provider advisories, so confirm the current designations in APD's iConnect EVV resources before relying on them. Services that iBudget providers document in iConnect but that are not EVV-designated are still recorded on the Provider Documentation tab of the consumer's record — they just don't run through the EVV clock-in/clock-out flow.
How EVV is captured in iConnect
Because iConnect is APD's mandated system, EVV happens there — not in a tool you run separately. Direct-care staff use the iConnect EVV mobile site to clock in and out at the point of care, and it captures the visit time and location. APD delivers the required training through TRAIN Florida, including an “iConnect Electronic Visit Verification” course and a separate “EVV Manager Role” course for the staff who oversee it.
When a visit can't be captured live on the mobile site, or a record needs correcting, an assigned EVV Manager can review and manually enter EVV activities in iConnect following APD's job aids. Manual entry is a controlled exception within the state system — not a way around EVV.
Who is exempt from EVV
APD recognizes a live-in caregiver exemption for Personal Supports and Respite. Per APD's iConnect FAQ, a caregiver (or an agency's employee) may be EVV-exempt if they reside on the same premises as the individual seven days a week with no other home of their own; or live, work, and sleep on the same premises for five consecutive days a week totaling 120 hours or more; or spend five consecutive nights residing on the premises when working fewer than 120 hours a week.
Critically, the exemption removes only the electronic clock-in/clock-out capture — not the paperwork. Providers who meet an EVV exemption must still ensure their service delivery documentation is submitted in iConnect. Exemption criteria can change, so verify them against APD's current guidance for each caregiver you believe qualifies.
Where APDHQ fits
EVV lives entirely inside the state's iConnect system. APDHQ does not perform EVV and never replaces iConnect — your visits are verified through APD's EVV mobile site, full stop. What APDHQ does is keep everything on your side of the line organized alongside iConnect's EVV: your staff training records (including the TRAIN Florida EVV and EVV Manager course completions your workers need), personnel files, consumer record documents, expiration tracking, and the compliance checklists a Provider Discovery Review examines. iConnect verifies the visit; APDHQ keeps the agency records that prove you're qualified to deliver the service survey-ready beside it.
Frequently asked questions
Does APD have its own EVV system?
Yes. APD meets the federal EVV mandate through APD iConnect, its client data management and electronic visit verification system. Workers verify in-home visits using the iConnect EVV mobile site — there is no separate EVV vendor for iBudget providers to sign up with.
Which APD services require EVV?
APD requires EVV for specific in-home services — Personal Supports, Respite, and Nursing delivered in a non-licensed (in-home) setting. These match the Cures Act's focus on personal care and home health services delivered in the person's home. Because APD can update this list through provider advisories, confirm the current designations in APD's iConnect EVV resources.
What information does EVV capture at each visit?
Federal law requires six data elements: the type of service, the individual receiving it, the date of service, the location of service delivery, the individual providing the service, and the time the service begins and ends. In iConnect this is captured when the worker clocks in and out on the EVV mobile site, which records the visit time and location.
Are there exemptions from EVV?
Yes. APD recognizes a live-in caregiver exemption for Personal Supports and Respite — generally where the caregiver resides on the same premises as the individual under specific day, hour, and overnight thresholds. Even when exempt, the provider must still submit service delivery documentation in iConnect; the exemption removes the electronic clock-in/clock-out, not the recordkeeping.
Does APDHQ do EVV?
No. EVV is captured in the state's iConnect system, and APDHQ does not perform or replace it. APDHQ keeps your agency's other records — staff training (including EVV course completions), personnel files, consumer documents, and compliance checklists — organized and survey-ready alongside iConnect's EVV.