(a)
Subject to the conditions prescribed by this section, Los Angeles County may pursue the development and evaluation of a pilot Internet-based health and education passport system. The system shall be known as the Passport System. The Passport System shall collect and maintain health and education records for foster children under the supervision of the county social services or probation department, as required by Section 16010. The Passport System shall initially be conducted as a limited pilot project in a subset of Los Angeles County, and upon successful evaluation, may be expanded statewide.
(1)
Los Angeles County shall be responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of the Passport System. Los Angeles County is responsible for the development of the advance planning document (APD) as prescribed by federal regulations, requesting funding consistent with the child welfare services program. The APD shall include, but not be limited to, the design of an interface between the web-based Passport System and the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS) so that information entered into the Passport System shall automatically and permanently reside in the CWS/CMS. In addition, the APD shall include the scope of the pilot project, the evaluation plan pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (d), and the county shall address a plan for compliance with pertinent provisions in state and federal law requiring that privacy of confidential information be maintained.
(2)
The department shall review and, upon approval by the appropriate state agencies, shall transmit the APD to the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The department shall facilitate assistance as appropriate to gain federal approval of the APD. Implementation of the pilot system shall be contingent upon federal approval of the APD and of the request for federal funding consistent with the child welfare services program. It shall also be contingent upon assurance by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services that the federal funding for the CWS/CMS shall not be adversely impacted by the development and implementation of the Passport System. If the department is unable to gain federal approval of the pilot project by January 1, 2004, authorization for the pilot project established by this section shall cease.
(3)
The Passport System shall provide real-time access to health, mental health, and educational information by health and mental health care providers, educators, licensed or approved foster care givers, and local agency staff in order to improve the accuracy and reliability of information necessary to ensure receipt of appropriate services for children in foster care, to improve health and educational outcomes, and to reduce and eliminate the risk of inadequate treatment by service providers, multiple immunizations, other severe health and education problems, and death.
(4)
The Passport System shall meet all the operational and administrative needs of local participating agencies; be scalable and flexible to interface with and integrate data from multiple Los Angeles County and other county departments and state agencies that provide services to children, using data matching algorithms that provide a high level of confidence and reliability; maximize the use and availability of information in a secured and reliable environment; allow relevant county staff, health, mental health, education providers, and licensed or approved foster care givers to update or view appropriate data through a web-enabled application via the Internet; contain fire walls and safeguards to ensure that only authorized persons inquire and update only those cases which they have been authorized to access; and to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the system.
(b)
Prior to commencement of the pilot project, Los Angeles County, in consultation with the department, shall develop a pilot evaluation plan subject to approval by the department and the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. The plan shall include, but is not limited to, identification of measurable objectives, and benefits that the pilot project is expected to achieve, the methodology, and plan criteria for evaluating the pilot project.
(c)
The pilot plan shall include a strategy to incentivize health, mental health, and educational providers servicing foster children to utilize and update the Internet-based system.
(d)
Implementation of the interface between the Internet-based Passport System and the CWS/CMS shall be contingent upon approval of federal reimbursement consistent with the child welfare services program. Funding shall be subject to the sharing ratios that apply to the administration of child welfare services programs. Any funds appropriated for this purpose not expended in the 2001–02 fiscal year shall be available for the purposes of this section as expenditure in subsequent years. After one year of operation of the pilot project, Los Angeles County shall complete a pilot evaluation as described in the pilot evaluation plan. The results of the evaluation shall be provided to the chairpersons of the fiscal and policy committees of each house of the Legislature, the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and the Department of Finance.