HB 0249

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.; designating the Agency for Health Care
9	Administration as the lead entity for purposes of
10	receiving and distributing federal funds; requiring the
11	Florida 211 Network to provide services in each county and
12	to coordinate services with county emergency management
13	agencies during disasters; providing requirements for
14	distribution of state funds appropriated for such
15	purposes; requiring local matching funds; requiring
16	expenditure reports to the Florida Alliance of Information
17	and Referral Services, the Agency for Health Care
18	Administration, the Governor, and the Legislature;
19	defining the term "Florida 211 Network provider";
20	providing an appropriation; providing an effective date.
21
22	WHEREAS, the 2002 Legislature created the "Florida Health
23	and Human Services Access Act" in sections 408.911-408.918,
24	Florida Statutes, and
25	WHEREAS, the act "authorizes the planning, development,
26	and, subject to appropriations, the implementation of a
27	statewide Florida 211 Network, which shall serve as the single
28	point of coordination for information and referral for health
29	and human services" in section 408.918(1), Florida Statutes, and
30	WHEREAS, in order to participate in the Florida 211
31	Network, a 211 provider must be certified by the Agency for
32	Health Care Administration under section 408.918(2), Florida
33	Statutes, and
34	WHEREAS, 211 is the 911 telephone number for nonemergency
35	health and human services and for crisis response information,
36	is available in 42 counties, and represents 14.7 million people,
37	or 82.5 percent of the state's population, and
38	WHEREAS, the Florida Alliance of Information and Referral
39	Services is the statewide membership organization in which all
40	211 providers participate and which has drafted the Florida 211
41	Network business plan identifying the most efficient processes
42	by which the Florida 211 Network should expand statewide, and
43	WHEREAS, 211 providers have compiled information on
44	thousands of human services programs across the state, and
45	WHEREAS, 211 call centers make it easier for more than 14
46	million Floridians to get the information they need to keep them
47	out of emergency rooms, off government assistance, out of "deep-
48	end" social services programs, safe from abuse, and in stable
49	housing, and
50	WHEREAS, 211 call centers also help people find job
51	training and assistance, elder care and child care, and before-
52	school and after-school care that allow them to stay employed,
53	and
54	WHEREAS, during the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, 211
55	call centers provided critically needed support to many
56	emergency operations centers, provided information to Floridians
57	impacted by hurricanes, were instrumental in identifying unmet
58	and emerging needs, and helped mobilize and manage volunteers,
59	and
60	WHEREAS, 211 call centers will continue to be a critical
61	part of recovery efforts, providing a connection to help for
62	people whose lives have been dramatically affected by the 2005
63	hurricanes, NOW, THEREFORE,
64
65	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
66
67	Section 1.  Section 408.918, Florida Statutes, is amended
68	to read:
69	408.918  Florida 211 Network; uniform certification
70	requirements.--
71	(1)  The Legislature finds that a statewide Florida 211
72	Network would be of great benefit to Floridians, particularly in
73	times of disaster, and authorizes the planning, development,
74	and, subject to appropriations, the implementation of a
75	statewide Florida 211 Network, which shall serve as the single
76	point of coordination for information and referral for health
77	and human services. The objectives for establishing the Florida
78	211 Network shall be to:
79	(a)  Provide comprehensive and cost-effective access to
80	health and human services information.
81	(b)  Improve access to accurate information by simplifying
82	and enhancing state and local health and human services
83	information and referral systems and by fostering collaboration
84	among information and referral systems, including those serving
85	persons with disabilities and special health care needs.
86	(c)  Electronically connect local information and referral
87	systems to each other, to service providers, and to consumers of
88	information and referral services.
89	(d)  Establish and promote standards for data collection
90	and for distributing information among state and local
91	organizations.
92	(e)  Promote the use of a common dialing access code and
93	the visibility and public awareness of the availability of
94	information and referral services.
95	(f)  Provide a management and administrative structure to
96	support the Florida 211 Network and establish technical
97	assistance, training, and support programs for information and
98	referral-service programs.
99	(g)  Test methods for integrating information and referral
100	services with local and state health and human services programs
101	and for consolidating and streamlining eligibility and case
102	management processes.
103	(h)  Provide access to standardized, comprehensive data to
104	assist in identifying gaps and needs in health and human
105	services programs.
106	(i)  Provide a unified systems plan with a developed
107	platform, taxonomy, and standards for data management and
108	access.
109	(2)  In order to participate in the Florida 211 Network, a
110	211 provider must be certified by the Agency for Health Care
111	Administration. The agency shall develop criteria for
112	certification, as recommended by the Florida Alliance of
113	Information and Referral Services, and shall adopt the criteria
114	as administrative rules.
115	(a)  If any provider of information and referral services
116	or other entity leases a 211 number from a local exchange
117	company and is not certified by the agency, the agency shall,
118	after consultation with the local exchange company and the
119	Public Service Commission, request that the Federal
120	Communications Commission direct the local exchange company to
121	revoke the use of the 211 number.
122	(b)  The agency shall seek the assistance and guidance of
123	the Public Service Commission and the Federal Communications
124	Commission in resolving any disputes arising over jurisdiction
125	related to 211 numbers.
126	(c)  The agency is designated the lead entity for purposes
127	of receiving and distributing funds that may become available
128	from the Federal Government to support the Florida 211 Network.
129	(3)(a)  The Florida 211 Network shall be expanded statewide
130	to provide services in each county. Each 211 provider shall
131	coordinate with each county emergency management agency in the
132	211 service area to determine how the Florida 211 Network may be
133	used in the event of a disaster, including how a 211 provider
134	will respond with information that is essential to assisting
135	individuals during a natural disaster.
136	(b)  To implement the Florida 211 Network business plan,
137	the agency shall distribute to the Florida Alliance of
138	Information and Referral Services funds appropriated to the
139	agency to expand the Florida 211 Network statewide and to
140	enhance operations of existing 211 providers. The funds
141	distributed to the Florida Alliance of Information and Referral
142	Services shall be made available to 211 providers on a matching
143	basis, with each 211 provider required to provide $1 for each $1
144	provided to that 211 provider from state funds appropriated for
145	that purpose. At a minimum, the funds shall be used to achieve
146	statewide 211 coverage.
147	(c)1.  No later than December 15, 2006, each 211 provider
148	that receives funding under this subsection shall report to the
149	Florida Alliance of Information and Referral Services the
150	expenditure of the state funds on a form developed by the
151	agency.
152	2.  No later than January 1, 2007, the Florida Alliance of
153	Information and Referral Services shall provide a statewide
154	report to the agency which includes the individual reports and
155	aggregated data provided by the 211 providers.
156	3.  No later than February 15, 2007, the agency shall
157	submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
158	and the Speaker of the House of Representatives detailing
159	expenditure of the funds appropriated to it for the purposes of
160	this subsection.
161	(4)  As used in this section, the term "Florida 211 Network
162	provider" or "211 provider" means an information and referral
163	organization the primary purpose of which is to maintain
164	information about human service resources in the community,
165	supply descriptive information about the agencies or
166	organizations that offer such services, and assist consumers in
167	accessing appropriate providers of such services.
168	Section 2.  The sum of $5 million is appropriated for the
169	2006-2007 fiscal year from nonrecurring general revenue to the
170	Agency for Health Care Administration to fund the statewide
171	expansion of the Florida 211 Network to all counties and to
172	enhance the operations of existing 211 providers under s.
173	408.918, Florida Statutes, as amended by this act. Any funds
174	that are not encumbered for the 2006-2007 fiscal year shall
175	revert on June 30, 2007, and may be reappropriated in the 2007-
176	2008 fiscal year General Appropriations Act for the same
177	purposes.
178	Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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