AN ACT to direct the department of health and human services to implement various changes regarding the child welfare case management component of the north carolina families accessing services through technology (NC FAST) system, as recommended by the JOINT LEGISLATIVE program evaluation OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  Statewide Practice Model/Standardized Business Processes. – No later than June 30, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (Department) shall contract with a qualified organization to implement a statewide child welfare practice model. The organization shall have experience in assisting states with enhancing child welfare capacity to design and be able to assist the State in piloting a training model for county departments of social services. The training program developed by the organization, in consultation with the Department, shall operationalize the principles of the practice model and promote standardization of business processes such that the program design can be replicated across the State to ensure a more uniform delivery of child welfare services, when practicable.

SECTION 1.(b)  Culture Change Readiness Training. – No later than December 31, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (Department) shall ensure the organization contracted under subsection (a) of this section conducts culture change readiness training that:

(1)        Identifies ways to efficiently use existing county resources in implementing the child welfare case management component of the North Carolina Families Accessing Services through Technology (NC FAST) system.

(2)        Assists counties in determining what, if any, additional resources may be required to successfully implement the child welfare case management component of NC FAST, including, but not limited to, technology needs, such as tablets, and staff needs.

(3)        In assessing resources, takes into consideration creating tailored, county‑specific plans to enhance the provision of child welfare services in those counties.

SECTION 2.(a)  Additional Staff for NC FAST. – If the General Assembly appropriates funds for the North Carolina Families Accessing Services through Technology (NC FAST) system for the 2021‑2022 fiscal year, the Department of Information Technology, in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services, shall assign a staff person to the child welfare case management component of the NC FAST project to provide additional oversight to ensure, at a minimum, the following:

(1)        Adequate progress towards goals.

(2)        Additional reporting to the Department of Information Technology and the General Assembly regarding progress on implementing the child welfare case management component of NC FAST.

(3)        Efficient use of funding.

(4)        Protection of taxpayer investment.

SECTION 2.(b)  The requirements of subsection (a) of this section shall be implemented within one month from the enactment of legislation appropriating funds for NC FAST.

SECTION 3.  Usability of Certain NC FAST Software/Report. – The Department of Health and Human Services (Department) shall prioritize usability with any future vendor contracts regarding software for the child welfare case management component of the North Carolina Families Accessing Services through Technology (NC FAST) system. The Department shall submit a report to the House Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Fiscal Research Division on the requirements of this section by April 30, 2022.

SECTION 4.  Software Proof of Concept. – The Department of Health and Human Services (Department) shall require that any vendor providing additional software due to its pending request for information for the child welfare case management component of the North Carolina Families Accessing Services through Technology (NC FAST) system provide a free proof of concept that demonstrates the ability of that vendor's technology to successfully work with NC FAST. In implementing this section, the Department shall design a proof of concept with a set of use cases and features the Department wants to validate and require the vendor to demonstrate that those use cases and features are, in fact, valid. The Department shall implement the requirements of this section by April 30, 2022. For purposes of this section, use cases means a methodology used in system analysis to identify, clarify, and organize system requirements and consists of a set of possible sequences of interactions between systems and users in a particular environment and related to a particular goal.

SECTION 5.  Effective Date. – This act is effective when it becomes law.