HB 0751

CS

CHAMBER ACTION

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

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