HB 0751

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Florida 211 Network; amending s.
3	408.918, F.S.; requiring the Florida 211 Network to
4	provide services in each county and to coordinate services
5	with county emergency operations centers during disasters;
6	providing requirements for distribution of state funds
7	appropriated for such purposes; requiring local matching
8	funds; requiring expenditure reports to the Florida
9	Alliance of Information and Referral Services, the Agency
10	for Health Care Administration, and the Legislature;
11	providing an appropriation; providing an effective date.
12
13	WHEREAS, the 2002 Legislature created the "Florida Health
14	and Human Services Access Act" in sections 408.911-408.918,
15	Florida Statutes, and
16	WHEREAS, the act "authorizes the planning, development,
17	and, subject to appropriations, the implementation of a
18	statewide Florida 211 Network, which shall serve as the single
19	point of coordination for information and referral for health
20	and human services" in section 408.918(1), Florida Statutes, and
21	WHEREAS, in order to participate in the Florida 211
22	Network, a 211 provider must be certified by the Agency for
23	Health Care Administration under section 408.918(2), Florida
24	Statutes, and
25	WHEREAS, 211 is the 911 telephone number for nonemergency
26	health and human services and for crisis response information,
27	is available in 36 counties, and represents 13.1 million people,
28	or 77.5 percent of the state's population, and
29	WHEREAS, the Florida Alliance of Information and Referral
30	Services is the statewide membership organization in which all
31	211 providers participate and which has drafted the Florida 211
32	Network business plan identifying the most efficient processes
33	by which the Florida 211 Network should expand statewide, and
34	WHEREAS, 211 providers, who answer 3 million telephone
35	inquiries about human services annually, have compiled
36	information on thousands of human services programs across the
37	state, and
38	WHEREAS, 211 call centers make it easier for 11 million
39	Floridians to get the information they need to keep them out of
40	emergency rooms, off government assistance, out of "deep-end"
41	social services programs, safe from abuse, and in stable
42	housing, and
43	WHEREAS, 211 call centers also help people find job
44	training and assistance, elder care and child care, and before-
45	school and after-school care that allow them to stay employed,
46	and
47	WHEREAS, during the 2004 hurricanes, 211 call centers
48	provided critically needed support to many emergency operations
49	centers, provided information to more than 100,000 Floridians
50	impacted by hurricanes, were instrumental in identifying unmet
51	and emerging needs, and helped mobilize and manage volunteers,
52	and
53	WHEREAS, 211 will continue to be a critical part of
54	recovery efforts, providing a connection to help for people
55	whose lives have been dramatically affected by the 2004
56	hurricanes, NOW, THEREFORE,
57
58	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
59
60	Section 1.  Section 408.918, Florida Statutes, is amended
61	to read:
62	408.918  Florida 211 Network; uniform certification
63	requirements.--
64	(1)  The Legislature finds that a statewide Florida 211
65	Network would be of great benefit to Floridians, particularly in
66	times of disaster, and authorizes the planning, development,
67	and, subject to appropriations, the implementation of a
68	statewide Florida 211 Network, which shall serve as the single
69	point of coordination for information and referral for health
70	and human services. The objectives for establishing the Florida
71	211 Network shall be to:
72	(a)  Provide comprehensive and cost-effective access to
73	health and human services information.
74	(b)  Improve access to accurate information by simplifying
75	and enhancing state and local health and human services
76	information and referral systems and by fostering collaboration
77	among information and referral systems.
78	(c)  Electronically connect local information and referral
79	systems to each other, to service providers, and to consumers of
80	information and referral services.
81	(d)  Establish and promote standards for data collection
82	and for distributing information among state and local
83	organizations.
84	(e)  Promote the use of a common dialing access code and
85	the visibility and public awareness of the availability of
86	information and referral services.
87	(f)  Provide a management and administrative structure to
88	support the Florida 211 Network and establish technical
89	assistance, training, and support programs for information and
90	referral-service programs.
91	(g)  Test methods for integrating information and referral
92	services with local and state health and human services programs
93	and for consolidating and streamlining eligibility and case
94	management processes.
95	(h)  Provide access to standardized, comprehensive data to
96	assist in identifying gaps and needs in health and human
97	services programs.
98	(i)  Provide a unified systems plan with a developed
99	platform, taxonomy, and standards for data management and
100	access.
101	(2)  In order to participate in the Florida 211 Network, a
102	211 provider must be certified by the Agency for Health Care
103	Administration. The agency shall develop criteria for
104	certification, as recommended by the Florida Alliance of
105	Information and Referral Services, and shall adopt the criteria
106	as administrative rules.
107	(a)  If any provider of information and referral services
108	or other entity leases a 211 number from a local exchange
109	company and is not certified by the agency, the agency shall,
110	after consultation with the local exchange company and the
111	Public Service Commission, request that the Federal
112	Communications Commission direct the local exchange company to
113	revoke the use of the 211 number.
114	(b)  The agency shall seek the assistance and guidance of
115	the Public Service Commission and the Federal Communications
116	Commission in resolving any disputes arising over jurisdiction
117	related to 211 numbers.
118	(3)(a)  The Florida 211 Network shall be expanded statewide
119	to provide services in each county. Each 211 provider and each
120	county emergency operations center in the 211 service area shall
121	execute memoranda of agreement specifying how they will
122	coordinate in the event of a disaster.
123	(b)  To implement the Florida 211 Network business plan,
124	the agency shall distribute to the Florida Alliance of
125	Information and Referral Services funds appropriated to the
126	agency to expand the Florida 211 Network statewide and to
127	enhance operations of existing 211 providers. The funds
128	distributed to the Florida Alliance of Information and Referral
129	Services shall be made available to counties on a matching
130	basis, with each county required to provide $1 for each $1
131	provided to that county from state funds appropriated for that
132	purpose. At a minimum, the funds shall be used to achieve
133	statewide 211 coverage.
134	(c)1.  No later than December 15, 2005, each county that
135	receives funding under this subsection shall report to the
136	Florida Alliance of Information and Referral Services the
137	expenditure of the state funds on a form developed by the
138	agency.
139	2.  No later than January 1, 2006, the Florida Alliance of
140	Information and Referral Services shall provide a statewide
141	report to the agency that includes the individual reports and
142	aggregated data provided by the counties.
143	3.  No later than January 15, 2006, the agency shall submit
144	a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
145	Speaker of the House of Representatives detailing expenditure of
146	the funds appropriated to it for the purposes of this
147	subsection.
148	Section 2.  The sum of $5 million is appropriated from the
149	General Revenue Fund to the Agency for Health Care
150	Administration to fund the statewide expansion of the Florida
151	211 Network to all counties and to enhance the operations of
152	existing 211 providers pursuant to s. 408.918, Florida Statutes,
153	as amended by this act.
154	Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.