The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has submitted two budget change proposals (BCPs) that, if approved by lawmakers during the current 2023-2024 Fiscal Year budgeting cycle and incorporated in what is now Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed $297 billion state budget, would bring it additional millions in funding to fight COVID-19. Some of that would likely be for IT and innovation-related needs. Among the takeaways:
- In the larger of the two BCPs, CDPH seeks $101.3 million from the General Fund during FY 2023-24 for “COVID-19 Response,” to continue “efforts to protect public health and safety against the spread of COVID-19 and implement the state’s SMARTER Plan,” per the BCP. (SMARTER is an acronym for strategies to combat COVID-19: shots, masks, awareness, readiness, testing, education and Rx, or treatments.) The money will go toward “vaccinations, testing, and operations support,” and of the $101.3 million sought, “$50 million is requested in contingency funding.”
- The BCP seeks $300,000 of that $101.3 million specifically for “IT Pandemic Response,” an ask not fulfilled in the nearly $1.8 billion that’s allocated in the current state budget. The pandemic, CDPH says, required its IT to “rapidly implement new systems, data, and services to respond to the public health threat and to meet CDPH’s COVID-19 IT infrastructure needs.” The size of that response and the “ongoing public health threat has increased as well as the reliance on (statistical analysis systems) SAS for data analytics.” Because of this, the department needs “SAS premium support for a dedicated resource to assist with SAS advanced analytics, business intelligence, predictive analytics, and system-related support.” CDPH offers two alternatives in the BCP — approving the request or not allocating the funds — and indicates it supports the former. This, it said, will enable the department to continue implementing the SMARTER Plan and safeguarding the public against COVID-19 via vaccinations, diagnostic testing and operations support.
- In the second BCP, CDPH seeks $900,000 in expenditure authority from the State Operations General Fund in the 2023-24 fiscal year (FY), the 2024-25 FY and the 2025-26 FY for “COVID-19 Website Transition and Information Technology Resources.” The money, it said, will pay for “security and translation services to optimize maintenance of the COVID-19 website.” Multiple IT systems have been stood up or enhanced as part of CDPH’s COVID-19 strategy, the BCP says; covid19.ca.gov is the “primary starting point for statewide COVID-19 information, cited directly in marketing, social media, and press appearances, with approximately 1 million unique visitors in June 2022.” A total of “14 other major state agency stakeholders” either approve or contribute content to the website, which is the “primary channel for state government to push out policy changes, new policies, guidance, and resources.” The state Office of Digital Innovation used roughly $2.3 million in one-time emergency funding to create it, and maintenance and support became CDPH’s responsibility “at the end of fiscal year 2021-2022.” The site “leverages and consolidates important data from a variety of technology solutions implemented since the start of the pandemic” across the state enterprise and is a “valuable information hub for Californians.”
- This BCP, CDPH said, is consistent with its Strategic Plan priority to strengthen the department as an organization “using IT to improve decision-making, transparency, program processes and outcomes.” It also aligns with state and gubernatorial policies. More specifically, approving the BCP — which CDPH recommends — would “support the state’s public health technology infrastructure and continuing website operations stability and service agreements” for covid19.ca.gov, “the primary source of factual COVID-19 information for Californians and a critical platform” for CDPH and other agencies to alert the public to changes in policy and to resources. The department is looking to standardize tech and information systems to preserve a “common understanding of what is happening statewide during infectious disease outbreak and emergency response.” The existing website’s stability provides a “key step” toward this goal. The ultimate intent is a “well-developed public-facing website that supports preparedness for the COVID-19 disease, informs policy, improves customer service, supports performance accountability, and extends emergency preparedness and response.” CDPH recommends officials approve the BCP, indicating money invested in the website will support the effective use and sharing of data toward improved health outcomes. The website’s support team, it notes, will include three limited-term IT Specialist II positions, one each of a content designer, a web engineer and a product manager.
