HB 0751

CS

CHAMBER ACTION

1	The Utilities & Telecommunications Committee recommends the
2	following:
3
4	Council/Committee Substitute
5	Remove the entire bill and insert:
6	A bill to be entitled
7	An act relating to the Florida 211 Network; amending s.
8	408.918, F.S.; requiring the Florida 211 Network to
9	provide services in each county and to coordinate services
10	with county emergency operations centers during disasters;
11	providing requirements for distribution of state funds
12	appropriated for such purposes; requiring local matching
13	funds; requiring expenditure reports to the Florida
14	Alliance of Information and Referral Services, the Agency
15	for Health Care Administration, and the Legislature;
16	providing an appropriation; providing an effective date.
17
18	WHEREAS, the 2002 Legislature created the "Florida Health
19	and Human Services Access Act" in sections 408.911-408.918,
20	Florida Statutes, and
21	WHEREAS, the act "authorizes the planning, development,
22	and, subject to appropriations, the implementation of a
23	statewide Florida 211 Network, which shall serve as the single
24	point of coordination for information and referral for health
25	and human services" in section 408.918(1), Florida Statutes, and
26	WHEREAS, in order to participate in the Florida 211
27	Network, a 211 provider must be certified by the Agency for
28	Health Care Administration under section 408.918(2), Florida
29	Statutes, and
30	WHEREAS, 211 is the 911 telephone number for nonemergency
31	health and human services and for crisis response information,
32	is available in 36 counties, and represents 13.1 million people,
33	or 77.5 percent of the state's population, and
34	WHEREAS, the Florida Alliance of Information and Referral
35	Services is the statewide membership organization in which all
36	211 providers participate and which has drafted the Florida 211
37	Network business plan identifying the most efficient processes
38	by which the Florida 211 Network should expand statewide, and
39	WHEREAS, 211 providers, who answer 3 million telephone
40	inquiries about human services annually, have compiled
41	information on thousands of human services programs across the
42	state, and
43	WHEREAS, 211 call centers make it easier for 11 million
44	Floridians to get the information they need to keep them out of
45	emergency rooms, off government assistance, out of "deep-end"
46	social services programs, safe from abuse, and in stable
47	housing, and
48	WHEREAS, 211 call centers also help people find job
49	training and assistance, elder care and child care, and before-
50	school and after-school care that allow them to stay employed,
51	and
52	WHEREAS, during the 2004 hurricanes, 211 call centers
53	provided critically needed support to many emergency operations
54	centers, provided information to more than 100,000 Floridians
55	impacted by hurricanes, were instrumental in identifying unmet
56	and emerging needs, and helped mobilize and manage volunteers,
57	and
58	WHEREAS, 211 will continue to be a critical part of
59	recovery efforts, providing a connection to help for people
60	whose lives have been dramatically affected by the 2004
61	hurricanes, NOW, THEREFORE,
62
63	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
64
65	Section 1.  Section 408.918, Florida Statutes, is amended
66	to read:
67	408.918  Florida 211 Network; uniform certification
68	requirements.--
69	(1)  The Legislature finds that a statewide Florida 211
70	Network would be of great benefit to Floridians, particularly in
71	times of disaster, and authorizes the planning, development,
72	and, subject to appropriations, the implementation of a
73	statewide Florida 211 Network, which shall serve as the single
74	point of coordination for information and referral for health
75	and human services. The objectives for establishing the Florida
76	211 Network shall be to:
77	(a)  Provide comprehensive and cost-effective access to
78	health and human services information.
79	(b)  Improve access to accurate information by simplifying
80	and enhancing state and local health and human services
81	information and referral systems and by fostering collaboration
82	among information and referral systems.
83	(c)  Electronically connect local information and referral
84	systems to each other, to service providers, and to consumers of
85	information and referral services.
86	(d)  Establish and promote standards for data collection
87	and for distributing information among state and local
88	organizations.
89	(e)  Promote the use of a common dialing access code and
90	the visibility and public awareness of the availability of
91	information and referral services.
92	(f)  Provide a management and administrative structure to
93	support the Florida 211 Network and establish technical
94	assistance, training, and support programs for information and
95	referral-service programs.
96	(g)  Test methods for integrating information and referral
97	services with local and state health and human services programs
98	and for consolidating and streamlining eligibility and case
99	management processes.
100	(h)  Provide access to standardized, comprehensive data to
101	assist in identifying gaps and needs in health and human
102	services programs.
103	(i)  Provide a unified systems plan with a developed
104	platform, taxonomy, and standards for data management and
105	access.
106	(2)  In order to participate in the Florida 211 Network, a
107	211 provider must be certified by the Agency for Health Care
108	Administration. The agency shall develop criteria for
109	certification, as recommended by the Florida Alliance of
110	Information and Referral Services, and shall adopt the criteria
111	as administrative rules.
112	(a)  If any provider of information and referral services
113	or other entity leases a 211 number from a local exchange
114	company and is not certified by the agency, the agency shall,
115	after consultation with the local exchange company and the
116	Public Service Commission, request that the Federal
117	Communications Commission direct the local exchange company to
118	revoke the use of the 211 number.
119	(b)  The agency shall seek the assistance and guidance of
120	the Public Service Commission and the Federal Communications
121	Commission in resolving any disputes arising over jurisdiction
122	related to 211 numbers.
123	(3)(a)  The Florida 211 Network shall be expanded statewide
124	to provide services in each county. Each 211 provider and each
125	county emergency operations center in the 211 service area shall
126	execute memoranda of agreement specifying how they will
127	coordinate in the event of a disaster.
128	(b)  To implement the Florida 211 Network business plan,
129	the agency shall distribute to the Florida Alliance of
130	Information and Referral Services funds appropriated to the
131	agency to expand the Florida 211 Network statewide and to
132	enhance operations of existing 211 providers. The funds
133	distributed to the Florida Alliance of Information and Referral
134	Services shall be made available to 211 providers on a matching
135	basis, with each 211 provider required to provide $1 for each $1
136	provided to that 211 provider from state funds appropriated for
137	that purpose. At a minimum, the funds shall be used to achieve
138	statewide coverage.
139	(c)1.  No later than December 15, 2005, each 211 provider
140	that receives funding under this subsection shall report to the
141	Florida Alliance of Information and Referral Services the
142	expenditure of the state funds on a form developed by the
143	agency.
144	2.  No later than January 1, 2006, the Florida Alliance of
145	Information and Referral Services shall provide a statewide
146	report to the agency that includes the individual reports and
147	aggregated data provided by the 211 providers.
148	3.  No later than January 15, 2006, the agency shall submit
149	a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
150	Speaker of the House of Representatives detailing expenditure of
151	the funds appropriated to it for the purposes of this
152	subsection.
153	Section 2.  The sum of $5 million is appropriated from the
154	General Revenue Fund to the Agency for Health Care
155	Administration to fund the statewide expansion of the Florida
156	211 Network to all counties and to enhance the operations of
157	existing 211 providers pursuant to s. 408.918, Florida Statutes,
158	as amended by this act.
159	Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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