Authority: Title 63.1, Chapter 1, Code of Virginia; P.L. 104-193, Federal Code.

A. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Department establish a Statewide Electronic Benefits Transfer System, contingent upon favorable action by the Federal Reserve Board federal government regarding Regulation E.

B.1. Except as specifically provided for in Items 14. F. and 383. C., of this act, no funds appropriated by this act shall be used to: (i) plan, or implement any plan, to privatize, out-source, contract for, or in any other way alter the practices of providing computer services which were provided to the Department of Social Services on January 1, 1996, by the state data center which is maintained by the Department of Information Technology, or (ii) transfer to any other data center or data computer services provider, except in a disaster, computer systems operating at the state data center which is maintained by the Department of Information Technology on January 1, 1996.

2. Neither the Director of the Department Commissioner of Social Services, nor any employee of the Commonwealth acting on his behalf, shall incur any obligation with, or make any payments to, a provider of the computer services set out in paragraph B.1. of this Item, other than the Department of Information Technology.

3. In implementing the provisions of this paragraph: (i) the Comptroller shall process no vouchers for payments prohibited by paragraph B.1., (ii) the Treasurer shall issue no warrants for payments prohibited by paragraph B.1., and (iii) in the event such payments are made, the Attorney General shall take immediate action to recover the full amount of such payment from the individuals who authorized the payment and the recipient.

C. The Commissioner of the Department of Social Services and the Secretaries of Administration and Health and Human Resources shall develop an automated system for eligibility and service programs that include Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Food Stamps, and Medicaid. The maximum use of federal funds for this purpose shall be explored. The Department shall continue the four ten pilot sites and bring on-line the next six sites that are due to come on-line under the Application Benefit Delivery Automation Project (ADAPT) in fiscal years 1997 and 1998.

D.1. The Application Benefit Delivery Automation Project (ADAPT) Task Force shall report its recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the following committees: House Appropriations, House Health, Welfare and Institutions, Senate Finance, and Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services no later than July 15, 1996. Before implementing any of the Task Force's recommendations or other actions pertaining to an automated eligibility system, the Commissioner shall advise these Committee Chairmen of the feasibility and cost of implementing the recommendations. If any of the Committee Chairmen determines that a public hearing is desirable, they shall so advise the Commissioner within 15 days. Implementation of the recommendations shall thereafter be delayed for up to 30 days. The results of any recommendations implemented shall be reported to the Committee Chairmen by December 1, 1996.

2. The Department shall retain the services of a qualified independent contractor with appropriate experience in information technology project management and systems integration to perform periodic audits of the performance of the ADAPT project. Such audits shall include, but not be limited to, the progress of the project in terms of: (a) planned versus actual work plan activities; (b) milestones and deliverables, (c) critical path activities, (d) execution of risk reduction activities, and (e) application of any contingency plans. The audit contractor shall report audit exceptions in a timely manner, note any areas of concern, and recommend remedial actions. At least semi-annually, beginning July 1, 1997, the audit contractor shall issue a written report including audit findings, recommendations, and the results to date of any follow-up actions by the Department. The contractor shall distribute such reports to the Commissioner of Social Services, the DSS Local Information Technology Planning Committee, the Governor, the Department of Planning and Budget, the Council on Information Management, and the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees.

3. Out of this appropriation $1,225,000 from the general fund and $1,225,000 from the federal trust fund shall be provided in the first year for the Department of Social Services to purchase hardware and database management software for the ADAPT project. The Department of Social Services (DSS) shall own such equipment and products. The Department of Information Technology may charge the Department of Social Services for operations and maintenance of such equipment and products but may not include any portion of the purchase price in the calculation of such charges. The Department of Information Technology may sell the excess capacity resulting from these purchases only if it includes in the charges a recovery for the initial cost of these purchases and remits to DSS the prorated share of the revenue attributable to such recovery.

E. Out of this appropriation shall be provided $25,000 in the first year and $25,000 in the second year from the general fund for the Richmond One to One Partnership.

F. Out of this appropriation, $1,952,684 from the general fund and $6,429,871 from nongeneral funds the first year and $638,339 from the general fund and $2,061,533 from nongeneral funds the second year shall be made available for "Network 2000." From appropriate sources, the Department of Social Services shall obtain cost estimates which include both capital and operating costs. The Department shall solicit such estimates from at least the Department of Information Technology and the Virginia Department of Health for alternative approaches to the development, installation, and operation of the system. The Department of Social Services shall submit to the Department of Planning and Budget and the Council on Information Management a brief cost-effectiveness comparison of the proposals received. The funds herein specified for Network 2000 shall remain unallotted until the Department of Planning and Budget approves allotment based on consultation with the Council on Information Management.