GovReport

On climate, energy, infrastructure, and technology

Will Keys

KPMG Wins Contract to Redesign EDD Claims Processing

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The State of California intends to award a multi-million dollar IT Services contract to KPMG, LLC, for Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR) at the Employment Development Department, according to state procurement records.

KPMG will be tasked with retooling the way Californians access and track their unemployment benefits, overhauling a system that failed disastrously during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving vulnerable citizens in the lurch.

In August, EDD issued a Request for Proposal that “seeks to assess, analyze, and redesign the business processes that impact the customer experience into a customer-centric business framework that leverages improvements and supporting technologies to deliver world-class customer service.”

EDD wants to improve service delivery, eliminate unnecessary complexity in their service process, and reduce administrative burden, among other needs, according to the RFP.

Since the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, EDD has been criticized for failing to deliver unemployment benefits and losing over $10 billion in unemployment fraud, according to a Jan. 2021 statement.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Gov. Newsom signed more than 40 bills that “will enable the Employment Development Department to bolster fraud prevention, further protect claimants from identity theft and better position the state to respond to future economic downturns.”

California Launches Dedicated Small Business Portal

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Small businesses make up 99.8 percent of businesses in California, and in order to help them thrive, the state wants to make its publicly-funded resources easier to access.

The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) announced that it has launched calosba.ca.gov, a portal for small business owners to seek out critical resources such as permits, financing information, and technical assistance.

“Small business is big business in the state of California and to that end, my department is meeting the needs of the more than 4 million small business owners by making resources easier to find, access, and use. Our new website can be thought of as a gateway to opportunity,” CalOSBA Director Tara Lynn Gray said in a press release.

Additional resources include information on tax and credit, incentives, access to procurement and supply chain programs, as well as a Business Learning Center that “helps business owners navigate the varying stages of the business development process.”

CalOSBA.ca.gov divides its resources into three tabs: start-up, manage and grow. Each tab contains a multitude of guides and resources that help small business owners start with the basics such as making a business plan, manage an existing business with how-tos on training employees, and growing a business with step-by-step on how to establish an online presence.

In addition to those resources, CalOSBA also offers free one-on-one consulting that will help small business owners learn to fund their businesses, enter new markets, and to strengthen their operations.

According to data collected from 2018 to 2020, CalOSBA’s network has helped over 330,000 small businesses and created over 11,000 new jobs.

Prior to the opening of CalOSBA’s new portal, the Office announced three additional rounds for the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program.

Bill to Regulate Algorithm Bias Dies in Senate

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Legislation aiming to eliminate algorithm bias in state IT systems has died in the State Senate. 

AB 13 by Assemblymember Ed Chau passed in the Assembly on June 1, 2021 and has been amended multiple times before it was placed on suspense last week. 

Introduced in December 2020, AB 13, also known as The Systems Accountability Act, sought to eliminate bias within automated decision systems that serve the public.

“If thoughtfully designed and implemented, algorithm-driven decision systems can assist government by improving operations and in the delivery of services,” said Assemblymember Ed Chau. “However, government also has the responsibility to ensure these systems do not harm the legal rights, health and well-being of individuals. It is therefore necessary to establish criteria for the procurement of high-risk algorithms to minimize the risk of discriminatory impacts resulting from their design and application.”

AB 13 would require the Department of Technology to establish public guidelines that identify high-risk automated decision systems as defined by the measure and to submit a report to the Legislature within two years of passage, repeating the process every two years.  The original date for the first report was set for July 31, 2023, with follow-up reports set for 2025 and 2027. 

The report would specify each high-risk automated decision system, how it functions, whether it poses any risks to privacy or security of personal information, and whether it poses any potentially discriminatory impacts on the basis of the Unruh Civil Rights Act. 

Opponents of the bill cited changing definitions of what constituted an ADS and said the reporting requirement for vendors would negatively impact the state’s procurement process.

Senate Confirms California Chief Technology Officer

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Confirmed by the State Senate on August 26, California’s new Chief Technology Officer Liana Bailey-Crimmins last month appeared in front of a friendly Senate Rules Committee, outlining her priorities and perspectives on how the state should approach technology to serve constituents.  With 30 years in state service, she brings a broad range of experience to the role of chief of the Office of Technology Services within the California Department of Technology.

Here are five takeaways from her Senate Rules Committee confirmation hearing in July:

Optimizing, before automating: When asked about the state’s difficulties managing large-scale projects, Bailey-Crimmins noted the importance of relationships between the private and public sectors. Automation requires a sound process, she says.

“I first look at when we’re deploying change in an organization or looking at large projects, making sure that we have the right knowledge in an organization to be able to do that,” Bailey-Crimmins said.  “So a lot of times it’s private and public partnerships, making sure that we have the right business sponsorship, and that we’re willing to look at the future of where our process needs to be on behalf of the residents and making sure that that’s what we’re automating.”

Incremental steps: Also regarding large-scale mismanagement, Bailey-Crimmins believes an iterative approach is an answer to many of the state’s large projects.

“We believe that by putting these things in modules, that we are delivering good functionality to our constituents and to our business partners. It shows. . .that we’re building upon our successes.”

Capability: Innovation can’t take place without the willingness to go the extra mile, says Bailey-Crimmins. Finding the right processes is one thing, but follow-through is another.

“We. . .need to make sure that we have the capability that we’re willing to do the hard work necessary.”

Empathizing with the customers: Innovation serves a purpose, and at the heart of that purpose is the community being served. Bailey-Crimmins noted the importance of spending a day in the life with those being served and discovering how technology is being applied in a real-life setting.

“I believe walking a mile in our customers’ shoes is extremely important. . .not just focusing on the technology, but actually walking out into every single institution.”

Fixing the digital divide: The COVID-19 pandemic and the reliance on remote work and learning highlighted the digital divide in California. The creation of the Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy is a step towards closing that divide, while expanding broadband networks is another.

“We have had a significant gap in our knowledge, digital biases, cyber societal divide, and I think it’s time that we address it, head on.”

Watch her testimony from July 14, 2021 below:

EDD Seeks Firm to Help Improve Business Processes and Modernize Benefits System

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With the hope of improving customer service after an unprecedented surge and backlog of claims, the Employment Development Department is retooling the way Californians gain access to unemployment insurance benefits.   Earlier this month, the California Department of Technology issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to hire a firm that will provide Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) Services as it works to replace EDD’s beleaguered claimant benefit system.

According to the RFP, the department “seeks to assess, analyze, and redesign the business processes that impact the customer experience into a customer-centric business framework that leverages improvements and supporting technologies to deliver world-class customer service.”

As part of its Re-Imagining Benefit Systems Modernization project, EDD wants to improve service delivery, eliminate unnecessary complexity in their service process, and reduce administrative burden, among other needs, says to the 281page document.  

The department has faced ongoing criticism during the most critical juncture of the COVID-19 pandemic, failing to deliver unemployment benefits to claimants as well as falling victim to fraud.

In a Jan. 2021 statement, the department noted that “between March 2020 and January 16, 2021, EDD processed 19.5 million claims and paid out $114 billion in unemployment benefits. EDD confirmed that 9.7 percent of payments have been made to fraudulent claims.”

The recently approved state budget includes $11.8 million from the General Fund to “reengage the planning and modernization of the EDD’s information technology systems” after years of planning and lessons learned from the pandemic.   The department first started modernization efforts in 2015.

In Sep. 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed a strike team, led by Government Operations Secretary Yolanda Richardson and Code for America Founder Jennifer Pahlka, to address and implement necessary reform within the department. 

In a report from the Richardson-led strike team, it’s noted that the backlog of unprocessed claims can be attributed to issues related to workflow and logistics.

In his revised state budget, Gov. Newsom acknowledged that “the pandemic has exposed many of EDD’s antiquated processes and outdated infrastructure, resulting in a delay or inability for many Californians to access (unemployment) benefits.”

The RFP seeks to hire a firm for a nine-month engagement with a firm that will start the project by the end of September.

 

State Broadband Infrastructure to Get $5.25B Expansion

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Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders have agreed to a budget trailer bill on Monday that will increase state broadband infrastructure spending by $5.25 billion, according to a press release from the Governor’s Office.

The bill (AB/SB 156) was announced by Gov. Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego), and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) and will expand the state’s broadband infrastructure, bringing open-access internet connectivity to Californian households and businesses in need. 

“This legislation will yield vital, broadened access for California families by prioritizing the unserved and underserved areas, facilities, households, and businesses that remain disconnected in the digital era,” Gov. Newsom said in the announcement. 

The bill, originally introduced in Jan. 2021, establishes the Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy within the Department of Technology, as well as a “broadband czar” and a nine-person council within the department. 

The bill allocates $3.25 billion to build and maintain high-capacity fiber lines and another $2 billion for “last-mile infrastructure” to connect homes and businesses with local networks.

State Capitol: Major Changes Ahead for California Tech

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California’s future is heavily invested in innovative technology, but numerous legacy IT systems across the state struggle to modernize, exceeding the budget, schedule, or both.  Moreover, the state lacks enterprise collaboration, with countless siloed platforms such as the often-cited example of 79 separate case management systems across 22 departments.

Assembly Bill 1323, introduced by Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco), aims to centralize all IT modernization projects through the California Department of Technology, giving them statutory authority to “identify and prioritize the stabilization and modernization of legacy IT systems across all agencies and departments.”   Now pending in the Senate, the Assembly recently passed the measure with no opposition.

Existing law states that the chief information officer of each state agency is responsible developing their agency’s enterprise architecture as it relates to legacy system modernization and other IT maintenance. If passed, AB 1323 would transfer the responsibility from the agency CIOs to the review and analysis of CDT.

At present, CDT only has the authority to fix problems rather than prevent them.  “Currently, CDT operates reactively to fix problems that have already occurred, and no central agency proactively plans and oversees IT projects,” according to a legislative analysis.

Additionally, CDT would be required to identify legacy IT system modernization efforts across the state actively and submit an annual report to the Legislature containing “an explanation of how CDT is prioritizing legacy IT system modernization efforts across state government; an estimate of the annual and total preliminary costs for each effort and for the entire state modernization portfolio; and the impediments and risks that could, or issues that already have, led to changes in how CDT identifies, assesses, and prioritizes modernization efforts.”

According to the analysis, the legislation:

  • Would require CDT to identify, assess, and prioritize legacy information technology system modernization efforts across state government.
  • Would require CDT to submit an annual report to the Legislature that includes: an explanation of how CDT is prioritizing legacy IT system modernization efforts across state government; an estimate of the annual and total preliminary costs for each effort and for the entire state modernization portfolio; and the impediments and risks that could, or issues that already have, led to changes in how CDT identifies, assesses, and prioritizes modernization efforts.
  • Would require all state agencies and state entities to submit all of their current IT service contracts to CDT before May 1, 2022.
  • Would require CDT to analyze the contracts submitted pursuant to the section above, and use the information obtained from that analysis to assess state IT investment in order to identify types of uses that are candidates for statewide contracts for commonly used or shared services; to create a replicable analytic approach to better understand user demand; and to inform management approaches regarding demand and supply.

AB 1323 is not without potential hazards or concerns. Primarily, the scope of the task to funnel all IT modernization efforts through one department remains daunting and logistically problematic.

The author hopes to prevent future IT failures, citing examples with FI$CAL, DMV, and EDD.

“When government websites and online systems don’t work, they have very real impacts on our residents,” Assemblymember Chiu said in an April press release. “This bill begins the process of reforming and unraveling the complicated web of antiquated and duplicative technology systems across state agencies.”

Meanwhile, in his May Revise Budget, Gov. Newsom has proposed a one-time $50 million increase CDT to identify and approve projects to quickly repair critical infrastructure in need of modernization.  State agencies will submit proposals to CDT and the Department of Finance to fund solutions that “allows for immediate remediation of risks through quick and efficient solution implementations.”   The effort calls for assessments of existing critical systems, and solutions to be considered for the greatest impact, such as risk reduction, return on investment, and quality of service improvement.

The modernization fund is part of CDT’s Vision 2023 initiative that will also fund projects on an iterative and ongoing basis to support teams that show quick progress.   The department is working with the Office of Digital Innovation to improve the customer experience for Californians.

Aspen Institute: Three ways California could improve tech project oversight

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As part of a presentation by Aspen Institute’s Tech Policy Hub and the Tech Talent Project held on May 11, three teams presented concepts on how to improve California’s Project Approval Lifecycle (PAL), the state’s oversight process for large-scale technology projects. The recommendations are part of the California Department of Technology’s Vision 2023 initiative to improve the way state government uses technology to serve Californians.

The teams of technology experts spent a few weeks analyzing the complexities of PAL before proposing a solution that could improve the overall process.

The first speaker, Kleiner Perkins entrepreneur Tejash Unadkat, tackled the issue of adapting PAL to the size and scope of projects. Specifically, larger projects total over $25 million in funding and have a greater chance of sinking.

“We dug further and found that the larger the project, the higher the probability that would increase the budget and potentially fail,” Unadkat said.

Ultimately, Unadkat and his colleague Colin Jenkel proposed that all projects be capped at $25 million with a length of four years, requiring numerous validation and proof of concept checkpoints in the very early stages of project planning.

“This will encourage smaller, more iterative projects to move forward,” Jenkel said.

The second proposal focused on the state’s COVID reporting system as a “success story,” establishing a basis to create the California Technology Fellowship program.

“The California Department of Technology, and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) decided to band together with their two bodies of knowledge to successfully partner and acquire a new COVID-19 reporting software,” innovation ecosystem builder Erika Cheung said. “That really begs the question of how is it the case of this COVID-19 reporting software was acquired in two weeks?”

Cheung and her colleague, software engineer  Rohit Chandra, found that one of the keys to a quick and efficient digital procurement was cross-departmental collaboration, as was exhibited by the two departments.  Executing such collaboration across agencies will require public workers to develop new technology skills, Cheung said.

“What we suggested is creating a 12-month program, where you embed 12 Senior professionals that work across 10 different state departments to come into the CDT office and work on procuring some subset of innovative technology products.”

Such a program would need championing from state higher-ups, such as Gov. Newsom and CDT officials, but could pay off in the way of quicker delivery times and projects running under budget.

The third team presented a tool called the “PALPro Planner” to align project planning with the state budget process.  “The tool allows project owners to easily schedule deliverables around key budget cycle dates, and improve the PAL workflow to keep teams on track. Implementing this tool will ultimately enable faster project approval under the PAL process,” says the proposal.

The PAL process, which includes four stages, (business analysis, alternative analysis, solution development, and project readiness and approval) was introduced during the Brown Administration as an alternative to feasibility study reports (FSR) that were used in the past to take technology projects from concept to production.

Watch the hour-long presentation here: https://youtu.be/kqRKHVGVldE

 

Legislation seeks to address algorithm bias in state IT projects

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This week, legislation that would create the Automated Decision Systems Accountability Act of 2021 passed out of the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, moving a step closer to regulating artificial intelligence in state IT projects. 

Assembly Bill 13 by Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) requires decision-making on the acquisition of information technology to be supplemented with a computational process that includes data analysis, statistical models, and artificial intelligence that minimizes the risk of algorithmic bias, or the “risk of adverse and discriminatory impacts resulting from the design and application of automated decision systems.”

Existing law requires a “value-effective acquisition” of information technology goods—the careful consideration of operational cost, product quality, and other factors when awarding contracts for applications that carry a high level of risk.

According to the bill, high-risk applications are defined as any application that poses risks to personal information or legal rights of individuals, particularly those identified in the Unruh Civil Rights Act. 

AB13 hinges on the idea that legal obligation of seeking a value-effective acquisition cannot be fulfilled without leveraging automated support that eliminates or reduces the risk of discrimination and bias. 

The proposal says the California Department of Technology must “establish and make public guidelines for identifying automated decision systems that are subject to the bill’s requirements” on or before Jan. 1, 2023.  

The bill also requires that, within ten days of awarding a contract, state agencies must submit a high-risk automated decision system accountability report to CDT, which would provide “a description of any potential disparate impacts . . . and a detailed mitigation plan for identifying and minimizing the potential for any disparate impacts throughout the contracted use of the system.”

Assemblymember Ed Chau, who first proposed AB13 in Dec, 2020, fielded questions during the Thursday hearing. 

Some of AB13’s opposition expressed concerns regarding the breadth of the bill, and whether the definition of a “high-risk application” could be applied to nearly any work the state does on a daily basis.

Chau assured opponents that the bill had already been narrowed substantially and that AB13 “will likely be amended to explicitly exclude [calculators and spreadsheets] from the bill.”

Furthermore, Chau assured the opposition that AB13 would not require private companies that develop algorithms and artificial intelligence to reveal any trade secrets or proprietary information. 

 

Board Members Appointed to California’s Privacy Protection Agency

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On Mar. 17, Governor Gavin Newsom, along with other state officials, announced the establishment of the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) board and appointed five inaugural members.

The new agency was created by Proposition 24 approved by California voters on Nov. 4, 2020. to create the first independent regulatory and enforcement authority full administrative and jurisdiction oversight to enforce the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act of 2020.

The five-member board, made up of privacy, technology, and consumer rights experts, including the following:

  • Jennifer M. Urban, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of Policy Initiatives for the Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Urban was designated by Gov. Newsom.
  • John Christopher Thompson, Senior Vice President of Government Relations at LA 2028. Thompson was designated by Gov. Newsom.
  • Angela Sierra, former Chief Assistant Attorney General of the Public Rights Division. Sierra was designated by Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
  • Lydia de la Torre, professor at Santa Clara University Law School specializing in privacy law. De la Torre was designated by Senate President pro tempore Toni G. Atkins.
  • Vinhcent Le, Technology Equity attorney at the Greenlining Institute, Le was designated by Speaker Anthony Rendon.

“Californians deserve to have their data protected and the individuals appointed today will bring their expertise in technology, privacy and consumer rights to advance that goal,” Gov. Newsom said via a press release from his office. “These appointees represent a new day in online consumer protection and business accountability.”

New report confronts shift in workplace amid economic crisis

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With a backdrop of economic crisis and a massive shift toward telework due to the global pandemic, a new report confronts unemployment, unequal wages, and a fast-changing job landscape.

Governor Newsom’s Future of Work Commission published its findings after 18 months of meetings across the state and staff work that identifies challenges faced by businesses and government.   While started before COVID-19, the study says 2020 accelerated conditions and pushed leaders to form a “New Social Compact” for workers.

California Business Roundtable President Rob Lapsley said that it’s too soon to tell if we are beyond an economic tipping point. In a panel discussion hosted online by Capitol Weekly, Lapsley was joined by Newsom’s former economic advisory Lenny Mendonca, labor leader Caitlin Vega, and Evan White, executive director of the California Policy Lab.

“We’re going to see a fundamental shift coming out of the pandemic of what work looks like, for California companies. And that starts with telecommuting,” said Lapsley.  “What does that mean? Are workers going to be connected to California companies, but working out of state? What does that mean for housing? What does that mean for commuting? What does that mean for real estate?”

The 55-page report examines the future of work in California by the year 2030, as well as economic trends related to automation and job displacement across the state.

“The challenges we all faced in 2020 both fast-tracked the trends shaping the future of work and shifted predictions to current reality,” Commission co-chairs Mary Kay-Henry and James Manyika said in a press release announcing the report. 

The report offers five “moonshot” goals to work towards in the next ten years. 

  • Ensure sure there is a job for everyone willing to work, prioritizing job creation and job access. 
  • Eliminate the poverty faced by nearly 45 percent of Californians living with at least one working family member. 
  • Create a worker benefits model and safety net that meets the upcoming work arrangements of the 21st century.
  • Raise the standard of quality jobs to address the pre-COVID dilemma regarding the plateau in wage growth despite low unemployment rates.
  • Ensure jobs are “future-proofed” in anticipation of economic shocks that could be related to technological or climate-related transformations. 

The report also proposes several initiatives, which include:

  • Creating one million jobs that accelerate the deployment of clean energy.
  • Expanding opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs through education and training programs and procurement. 
  • Extending employment social enterprises to groups who face high barriers to work.
  • Calling on the federal government to follow suit and enact a “Job Guarantee” that incentivizes private-sector job creation. 

Meanwhile, California state government has adapted to the pandemic by implementing a telework policy across most agencies.  Gov. Newsom has called for telework to be permanent cost-savings and efficiency measure.  A new statewide comprehensive telework policy has been developed, according to this year’s state budget proposal, and will presumably be announced.

Can California get ahead of IT project failures?

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California government is trying to get ahead of state IT project failures, said Chief Information Officer Amy Tong last week at a budget hearing.

Answering questions from Assemblymember David Chiu, a frequent and vocal critic of failed state IT projects such as recent examples at the EDD and DMV, Tong made her case for more resources and oversight authority.

“Just like you [Chiu] described, we are in many times our operating like an ER doctor is because the fact that on a day to day basis, each of the departments, and there are 130 plus state entities, each one of them has their own IT shop, and each one of them has their IT budget and makes IT project investment decisions, with the exception, the ones that are over a certain threshold, which is what you see in the overall IT project tracking list,” said Tong.

The Newsom Administration is requesting 17 additional positions and $11.4 M in 2021-22, $9,4 M in 2022-23, and $6.4 M ongoing to “invest in proactive measures to stabilize critical services and enhance performance statewide, particularly in light of the challenges faced during COVID-19.”

“If we can actually have more visibility to the database expenditure, the decision-making, and be more embedded with the department, we can be more into what I call preventive care as opposed to emergency responsive care in terms of the health of the IT investment at the particular program department,” Tong continued. 

The budget proposal is part of a plan laid out in CDT’s “Vision 2023,” California’s technology strategic plan released on Jan. 15,  which offers key goals that include delivering easy-to-use and inclusive public services and creating “challenge teams” to begin work early in 2021.

“I absolutely support your budget request,” Chiu said. “I actually think the state would be better served if we did a better job of centralizing the thought process, the strategy, [and] budget oversight within your department.”

Generally supportive of the budget proposal, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) expressed concerns over a lack of key details such as the length and scope of deep-dive service assessments, the transition from short-term crisis management to long-term IT project planning, and reporting mechanism to the Legislature and other stakeholders. 

New CHHS unit seeks to leverage people-related data across the state

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With a mission to deliver health and human services, the state’s largest agency has created a new unit to use its vast amount of data with more efficiency and sophistication.   

The Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) is proposing to fund a new program called the Center for Data Insights and Innovations (CDII), according to a budget change proposal (BCP) submitted to the Legislature on Jan. 10.

In a blog post announcing the establishment of the CDII, Director John Ohanion said that one of the department’s key principles is to “put the person back in person-centered” and to “see the whole person.” 

The purpose of establishing CDII is to leverage data in a way that improves program delivery through four main objectives: institutionalizing and leveraging analytics, using in-house data intelligence to cut outsourcing costs, optimizing department success, and serving as a model for analytical excellence.

CHHS argues in the BCP that data has not yet been fully utilized in an agency that affects the public health and welfare of all Californians, and more robust use of data and analytics within CDII would allow the agency to increase efficiency and optimize the use of resources, reach underserved populations, and address socioeconomic health disparities. 

“Together, we must act as one government, breaking down silos and building a culture that focuses on delivering services that are person-centered and not program-centered,” Ohanion continued.

The role of data is key in shaping policy and the COVID-19 response, according to the post.  Data from the Department of Public Health and the Department of Health Care Services was utilized to identify COVID-19 risk factors along with demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic lines.

According to the BCP, CDII will be cost-neutral, redirecting positions and funding within CHHS, California’s largest agency.

 

Image by Alexander Sinn on Unsplash

 

‘My Turn’ site launched to track vaccine eligibility

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The State of California has launched a new data system that will inform citizens when they are eligible and how to schedule an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.  

The new system, called ‘My Turn,’ helps Californians track vaccination data and sign up for notifications to know when and where they can get their first and second shots,” according to an announcement from the Newsom Administration.

The site was launched in partnership with Salesforce, according to a tweet from CEO Marc Benioff.  “Millions of Californians will turn to Salesforce’s ‘My Turn’ a new site for Covid-19 vaccinations that will allow residents to learn when they are eligible & find a place to make an appointment,” said Benioff.

In addition to Salesforce, technology companies Skedulo and Accenture are part of the site’s development and implementation, according to an announcement from Newsom’s office.  The site is being piloted in Los Angeles and San Diego counties and will be available statewide in early February.

Californians can visit www.myturn.ca.gov to learn more.

Image: by CDC on Unsplash

 

 

 

Little Hoover Commission Pushes for Sharing of Healthcare Records

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The sharing of data and records between California healthcare providers has grown in the last decade, but there’s still plenty of work to be done, says the state’s Little Hoover Commission.

Despite the growth of programs that incentivize and fund the sharing of records among health care providers, the Little Hoover Commission found that just 26 percent of Medi-Cal providers are connected to one of eight qualified Health Information Organizations (HIO), which securely share data and records.

Since 2011, programs like the California Technical Assistance Program and Medi-Cal Promoting Interoperability Program have poured over $1 billion in state and federal funds into helping Medi-Cal professionals purchase, install, and use electronic records.

California has also dedicated $50 million in state funds to the California Health Information Exchange Onboarding Program (Cal-HOP), which aims to increase the number of Medi-Cal providers exchanging data, bolster data-exchanging capabilities for Medi-Cal providers that already participate in HIOs, and provide access to Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) prescription drug monitoring database.

In addition to increasing access to healthcare records, the Little Hoover Commission urged policymakers to follow through on customer service recommendations it made in 2015 to expand and improve delivery platforms. Read

Report: 2.3 Million Californians Lack High-Speed Internet

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Although the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed internet access into a must for workers and students across the state, the Little Hoover Commission has found in their issue brief that 2.3 million Californians lack access to high-speed internet.

The Little Hoover Commission found that while California offers accessible, low-cost broadband coverage, its speed is considered much slower than in other states. Americans on the whole pay more for slower speeds compared to their foreign counterparts, which the Commission attributed to a lack of competition among internet service providers.

Without offering specific policy suggestions to correct what they call the “digital divide,” the Commission concluded that weakened or no internet connectivity is barring Californians from opportunities in education, work, as well as accessing government resources and services.

Solutions could include California municipalities starting more fiber broadband networks in the state to compete with traditional internet service providers, using either a public or public-private model. Such initiatives have proven successful in Santa Monica, but have failed in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

California outlines future of artificial intelligence

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The State of California has taken initial steps to consider how artificial intelligence will play an inevitable role in delivering services to the people of the Golden State.

Legislation passed in 2019 called for California to work with stakeholders and develop guidelines by January 2021.

At a recent vendor forum by the California Department of Technology, Chief of Statewide Technology Policy CDT Pam Haase gave an update on the department’s initiative, which began earlier in the year but was slowed down considerably by constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Image by Michael Dziedzic, Unsplash

Haase laid out three broad objectives regarding the implementation of AI to state departments, each of which has a varying level of understanding and experience with AI technology.

Those objectives include:

Demonstrating how AI can improve delivery and digital services. CDT has partnered with the CITRIS Policy Lab to study industry use of AI and produce a report that outlines basic recommendations for AI adoption within state government.

Providing guidelines for the ethical and responsible use of AI. CDT wants to establish trust from the public in their ability to implement AI in an ethical manner.
Providing a practical approach to implementing AI. This includes creating an AI vendor pool, training for both the business and technical side of procuring and implementing the new technology.

Haase also noted that she expects a concrete policy framework regarding the use of AI to become available by the spring of 2021 following input from the public via a listening session.

In an effort to cater to varying needs statewide, Haase stressed that AI will provide value to any and all departments regardless of their awareness and experience level with the technology.

“The deliverables are going to provide something of value to everyone no matter where you’re at, whether you’re brand new to AI, or whether your department is already currently using it,” Haase said.

Further, according to CDT’s Chief Technology Innovation Officer Manveer Bola, who also spoke at the forum, one of the major priorities regarding the implementation of AI technology is to tailor digital services to meet “specific user needs.”

Part of that includes using AI to promote web diversity by quickly and accurately translating websites as well as providing customer service mimicking a one-on-one chat with an employee.

Another goal Bola mentioned was to use AI to gather COVID response surveys, even reading into them further than one would expect from AI.

“We’re looking at AI to try to help us boil down those responses into much more meaningful output that we can consume easier, maybe even measuring sentiment,” Bola said.

CWS-CARES Project Director Leaving State Service

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Rebecca Stilling, the project director for California’s Child Welfare Services-California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES) will be leaving state service this week, according to an email distributed to project staff.

She will be on the job until Oct. 15, she said.  Office of System Integrations Deputy Director Cynthia Tocher will step into the role as acting project director.

“Together we have dedicated the two and a half years of my tenure as Project Director to prepare for the development of CWS-CARES.   Our accomplishments are too many to list here but I’d like each of you to know that we can be proud of our research, planning, and preparations because our work together was done with excellence, commitment, integrity and teamwork,” said the email.

Earlier this year the CWS-CARES project was downgraded to a “red” rating by an Independent Project Oversight Reporting (IPOR) assessment by the California Department of Technology (CDT), according to project reports posted online.

The project, which was initially approved in July 2013 with a budget of $420 million, was downgraded from yellow to red following an option that approved several adjustments in scope at a contentious project Board of Directors meeting on July 9.

A new Special Project Report 4 was due on July 20, 2020, has not been posted online.

California Universities to Test COVID-19 Exposure Notification App

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The California Department of Public Health (CPDH) and the California Department of Technology (CDT) are partnering with UC San Diego and UC San Francisco to pilot an app that could inform individuals when they may have been exposed to COVID-19.

Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash

The mobile app, called Exposure Notification Express, has been designed by Apple and Google to use bluetooth technology to confidentially alert individuals when they are in close proximity to someone who has tested positive for the virus, provided that the individual has shared their test results with the app.

Faculty, staff, and the student body at both UC San Diego and UC San Francisco will test the app in a month-long trial period beginning at the end of September.

While the app does not collect data or share user information, individuals would need to opt-in to use the app if and when it becomes available to the public, according to CDT Director Amy Tong.

The Exposure Notification Express app will serve as a necessary supplement to California’s COVID-19 testing system, which failed to register roughly 750,000 positive tests back in August.

California to Roll Out New COVID-19 Reporting System in October

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California will roll out a new COVID-19 reporting system in October after it awarded a renewable six-month, $15.3-million contract to healthcare technology OptumInsight, Inc., the state announced this week.  The announcement follows a recent failure of the state’s infectious disease registry CalREDIE to accurately report testing data, which reportedly resulted in the Department of Public Health director’s resignation last month.

“This system will reduce labor-intensive collection processes and minimize delays in reporting data so that public health experts across the state have swift access to the tools and data they need to prevent COVID-19 transmission and respond to new cases and outbreaks,” said State Chief Information Officer Amy Tong in a statement.

California will soon have plenty of test results to report, store, and analyze. Last week, Gov. Newsom announced a $1.4-billion contract with Massachusetts-based diagnostics company PerkinElmer to increase California’s COVID-19 testing from 100,000 to 250,000 per day.

CalREDIE suffered a significant glitch in July that caused COVID-19 cases to be underreported, which in turn led Gov. Gavin Newsom to prematurely announce “early good signs” in an Aug. 3 press conference.

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