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(a) In order to support access to CalFresh and other nutrition programs, to accurately determine eligibility and benefit amounts, to effectively deploy funding to support county welfare departments’ implementation and operation of program requirements, and to complement federal and state performance measures, including, but not limited to, access, timeliness, and accuracy measures, the department shall utilize information related to the measures identified in subdivision (b) that is necessary to assess performance of, monitor the efficacy and impact of administrative funding of, facilitate technical assistance with county welfare departments related to, and inform the public about service delivery in, the CalFresh program.
(b) Information utilized pursuant to this section shall be limited to information related to client, eligibility worker, and administrator experiences, case processing, and the operations of automation systems.
(c) The department shall prioritize the use of existing data and administrative information before requesting or requiring additional information from counties. The information shall support the state and county welfare departments’ efforts to mitigate the impacts of Public Law 119-21 on clients, county welfare departments, and the state, including information that supports eligible people receiving the benefits they are entitled to and minimizes benefit cost sharing by reducing the state’s payment error rate.
(d) In consultation with county welfare departments, the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA), the recognized exclusive representatives of eligibility workers, the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS) Consortium, and other stakeholders, as identified by the department, the department shall define the information and processes necessary to meet the goals identified in subdivisions (a) and (c), including the specification of data elements, system tables, or other information, as well as describe the processes to obtain the information, including defining the form of the data and the methods of delivery, and the circumstances under which an extension may be granted pursuant to subdivision (e).
(e) The county welfare departments and CalSAWS Consortium shall provide the information and access to necessary data identified by the department pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d), to the extent the information is available, and is not legally prohibited from being shared, including the provision of any relevant information or data that may be held by a contractor performing services for the county welfare department, to the extent permitted under existing contracts. Once the department has communicated a data or information need to a county welfare department or to CalSAWS, production of information or data shall begin for recurring instances, and be completed for one-time instances, within no more than 60 days of the department’s request, unless the department grants an extension of time.