HB 249

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

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