HB 0249

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 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, the Governor, and
16	the Legislature; defining the term "211 provider";
17	providing an appropriation; providing an 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 42 counties, and represents 14.7 million people,
34	or 82.5 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 have compiled information on
41	thousands of human services programs across the state, and
42	WHEREAS, 211 call centers make it easier for more than 14
43	million Floridians to get the information they need to keep them
44	out of emergency rooms, off government assistance, out of "deep-
45	end" social services programs, safe from abuse, and in stable
46	housing, and
47	WHEREAS, 211 call centers also help people find job
48	training and assistance, elder care and child care, and before-
49	school and after-school care that allow them to stay employed,
50	and
51	WHEREAS, during the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, 211
52	call centers provided critically needed support to many
53	emergency operations centers, provided information to Floridians
54	impacted by hurricanes, were instrumental in identifying unmet
55	and emerging needs, and helped mobilize and manage volunteers,
56	and
57	WHEREAS, 211 call centers will continue to be a critical
58	part of recovery efforts, providing a connection to help for
59	people whose lives have been dramatically affected by the 2005
60	hurricanes, NOW, THEREFORE,
61
62	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
63
64	Section 1.  Section 408.918, Florida Statutes, is amended
65	to read:
66	408.918  Florida 211 Network; uniform certification
67	requirements.--
68	(1)  The Legislature finds that a statewide Florida 211
69	Network would be of great benefit to Floridians, particularly in
70	times of disaster, and authorizes the planning, development,
71	and, subject to appropriations, the implementation of a
72	statewide Florida 211 Network, which shall serve as the single
73	point of coordination for information and referral for health
74	and human services. The objectives for establishing the Florida
75	211 Network shall be to:
76	(a)  Provide comprehensive and cost-effective access to
77	health and human services information.
78	(b)  Improve access to accurate information by simplifying
79	and enhancing state and local health and human services
80	information and referral systems and by fostering collaboration
81	among information and referral systems, including those serving
82	persons with disabilities and special health care needs.
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 shall
125	coordinate with each county emergency management agency in the
126	211 service area to determine how the Florida 211 Network may be
127	used in the event of a disaster, including how a 211 provider
128	will respond with information that is essential to assisting
129	individuals during a natural disaster.
130	(b)  To implement the Florida 211 Network business plan,
131	the agency shall distribute to the Florida Alliance of
132	Information and Referral Services funds appropriated to the
133	agency to expand the Florida 211 Network statewide and to
134	enhance operations of existing 211 providers. The funds
135	distributed to the Florida Alliance of Information and Referral
136	Services shall be made available to 211 providers on a matching
137	basis, with each 211 provider required to provide $1 for each $1
138	provided to that 211 provider from state funds appropriated for
139	that purpose. At a minimum, the funds shall be used to achieve
140	statewide 211 coverage.
141	(c)1.  No later than December 15, 2006, each 211 provider
142	that receives funding under this subsection shall report to the
143	Florida Alliance of Information and Referral Services the
144	expenditure of the state funds on a form developed by the
145	agency.
146	2.  No later than January 1, 2007, the Florida Alliance of
147	Information and Referral Services shall provide a statewide
148	report to the agency which includes the individual reports and
149	aggregated data provided by the 211 providers.
150	3.  No later than January 15, 2007, the agency shall submit
151	a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
152	Speaker of the House of Representatives detailing expenditure of
153	the funds appropriated to it for the purposes of this
154	subsection.
155	(4)  As used in this section, the term "211 provider" means
156	an information and referral organization the primary purpose of
157	which is to maintain information about human service resources
158	in the community, supply descriptive information about the
159	agencies or organizations that offer such services, and assist
160	consumers in accessing appropriate providers of such services.
161	Section 2.  The sum of $5 million is appropriated for the
162	2006-2007 fiscal year from nonrecurring general revenue to the
163	Agency for Health Care Administration to fund the statewide
164	expansion of the Florida 211 Network to all counties and to
165	enhance the operations of existing 211 providers under s.
166	408.918, Florida Statutes, as amended by this act. Any funds
167	that are not encumbered for the 2006-2007 fiscal year shall
168	revert on June 30, 2007, and are reappropriated for the 2007-
169	2008 fiscal year for the same purposes.
170	Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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