BILL NUMBER: SB 459INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Liu FEBRUARY 25, 2015 An act relating to state government. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 459, as introduced, Liu. State government: data. Existing law establishes the Department of Technology within the Government Operations Agency, headed by the Director of Technology, who is required to advise the Governor on the strategic management of the state's information technology resources. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require data collected from state and county agencies pursuant to existing mandatory reporting requirements to be shared among state agencies, would authorize state agencies to share data, between and among state agencies, county agencies, local education agencies, researchers, practitioners, and organizations serving youth and families, consistent with state and federal privacy and data protection laws, and would encourage these agencies to cooperate to utilize data and develop protocols for exchanging information safely and securely. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) California children are best served when programs and services that support student achievement, health, and safety are aligned to maximize the effective delivery of services. (2) Data linkage strategies have been recognized at the federal level as an effective approach to align services and to coordinate efforts across multiple agencies. (3) Data sharing must take place with a focus on effective processes and procedures to protect the privacy of all Californians. (4) Data sharing has enabled the state to save countless dollars on inefficient programs, avoid duplication of services, and effectively target programs and services. (5) Effective data sharing across agencies with safeguards to protect privacy and data integrity is also critical to identifying evidence-based interventions with the greatest effectiveness for specific populations to make the best use of scarce resources. (6) California has enacted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) as a key equity strategy to prioritize funding towards low-income students, English learners, and foster youth, and the LCFF requires that these identified populations receive increased services with funds allocated from the LCFF. (7) The ability to determine the actual impacts on these specific populations is crucial as an accountability mechanism to insure that the LCFF dollars are in fact resulting in improved services and outcomes. (8) Targeted populations, including child-welfare-involved children and low-income students, are served by multiple agencies across various levels of government whose effectiveness of coordination directly impacts the outcomes of these children. (9) Coordinated data sharing integrates education, health, and child welfare data across state and local agencies, while ensuring privacy and fostering ongoing collaboration among researchers, policy makers, agency administrators, and community leaders to improve services for children and their families. (10) Federal and state requirements already necessitate the collection of data as a condition for ongoing funding, and California should make effective use of the opportunity to connect families to federal programs that provide needed supports to at-risk populations to better ensure that California families receive their fair share of federal programs supported by California taxpayers. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would do all of the following: (1) Authorize state agencies to share data between and among state agencies, county agencies, local education agencies (LEAs), researchers, practitioners, and organizations serving youth and families, consistent with state and federal privacy and data protection laws. (2) Encourage state agencies to collaborate with county agencies, LEAs, researchers, practitioners, organizations, and others outside of state agencies who are working with youth and vulnerable populations who can safely and securely utilize data in order to make the best use of limited resources, take advantage of opportunities to develop effective cross-agency collaboration, and meet the needs of at-risk populations. (3) Encourage the State Department of Education, the State Department of Social Services, the State Department of Health Care Services, county child welfare agencies, county health agencies, county offices of education, and LEAs to develop protocols to safely and securely facilitate the exchange of information regarding services provided to youth, particularly child-welfare-involved children, and low-income students, English learners, and foster youth as specified in the LCFF. (4) Require data collected from state and county agencies and LEAs pursuant to existing mandatory reporting requirements to be shared among state agencies to the fullest extent possible under existing privacy laws, while ensuring the integrity of the data.