C.R.S. § 26-1-807: Transition plan.

(1) The implementation work group shall work with the third-party contractor to design a transition plan for the administration of public assistance programs under the public benefits delivery model. The transition plan must be delivered to the joint budget committee by January 1, 2027.

(2) The transition plan must take into account the state departments' and county departments' existing work, structures, agreements, and updates to ensure the new public benefits delivery model builds on existing processes and procedures. The transition plan must also consider public benefits delivery models used by other states that operate a county-administered public benefits system.

(3) At a minimum, the transition plan must address the following:

(a) For the state departments:

(I) Funding, technical assistance, and training for the public assistance programs the individual state departments oversee;

(II) Standards for public assistance program eligibility, service delivery, efficiency, and program administration and how those standards are aligned across public assistance programs;

(III) Public assistance program compliance with federal and state law;

(IV) Policy analysis and guidance for the administration of public assistance programs through shared work and pooled resources in consultation with the cross-departmental policy alignment team;

(V) Technology infrastructure and improvements necessary to enable the recommended public benefits delivery model and support cohorts or individual counties within cohorts in meeting the performance and outcome measures established in the performance-based contracts required in section 26-1-804;

(VI) Continuous quality improvement processes;

(VII) Management evaluation and quality assurance processes;

(VIII) Achievement of metrics established in the performance-based contracts;

(IX) Initiation of corrective action protocols;

(X) Publication of public-facing performance data on a monthly basis required pursuant to section 26-1-144;

(XI) Establishment and monitoring of the centralized member integrity service described in section 25.5-1-210 and any other centralized services and processes; and

(XII) Development of public assistance program recipient experience measurement tools, including surveys that capture experiences across public assistance programs.

(b) For the cohorts:

(I) Standardized and consistent administration of public assistance programs;

(II) Standardized and consistent governance and coordination structure;

(III) Achievement of metrics established in performance-based contracts;

(IV) Data tracking and reporting for continuous quality improvement processes and performance reporting;

(V) Required participation in the centralized member integrity service described in section 25.5-1-210 and any other shared service models;

(VI) Required participation in continuous quality improvement processes established in section 26-1-144;

(VII) Required participation in state-provided training and technical assistance;

(VIII) Required implementation of state-provided technology to meet federal or state requirements;

(IX) Compliance with corrective action protocols;

(X) Standardized and consistent public assistance program recipient eligibility, enrollment, and engagement protocols;

(XI) Consistent use of public assistance program recipient experience measurement tools, including surveys that capture experience across the public assistance programs; and

(XII) Recommendations for the operation of shared services.

(4) The transition plan must:

(a) Establish recommendations, options, and models for a cohort-based public benefits delivery model that includes no more than twelve cohorts and components that align with the requirements of this part 8;

(b) Ensure that the technology systems and infrastructure needed to support the public benefits delivery model are identified and ensure that technology modernization proceeds independently as an essential enabler of public benefits delivery, designed to be flexible to support a range of structures, promote interoperability, data security, and equitable access for recipients and staff. Technology modernization must not be delayed or constrained by other aspects of the transition plan.

(c) Include recommendations for establishing a cohort or statewide shared services model for key administrative functions in the public benefits delivery model, including a call center, quality assurance, and security administration services, and identify additional functions that are suitable for shared delivery and are necessary to improve consistency, reduce duplication, and ensure compliance;

(d) Include recommendations for the role, structure, authority, and responsibilities of the regional managers described in section 26-1-803, including the geographical distribution of the regional managers throughout the state, to support performance, accountability, and communication of county departments and cohorts;

(e) Include recommendations for establishing a phased outcome measurement framework for performance-based contracts that includes baseline data development, administrative performance metrics, and client-centered outcome measures that align metrics across the state departments and support a transition toward holistic, family-centered outcomes related to stability, access, and well-being;

(f) Include recommendations for the design and implementation of a public reporting framework, including timely publication of cohort and statewide performance data, and annual reports of the data to the joint budget committee, the joint technology committee, the house of representatives health and human services committee, the senate health and human services committee, or their successor committees. The transition plan must also include performance data reported pursuant to section 25.5-1-138 and the following metrics:

(I) For the medical assistance program established pursuant to articles 4 to 6 of title 25.5:

(A) The percentage of initial applications and renewal applications determined eligible during the ninety-day reconsideration period, in accordance with 42 CFR 435.916 (b)(2)(III); and

(B) The percentage of personal information change requests for medical assistance enrollment approved within the federally required timelines and the percentage denied within the federally required timelines; and

(II) For each public assistance program, the average call time, including the call time and experience rating for calls that occur at a cohort call center;

(g) Include recommendations based on fiscal modeling, taking into account requirements of federal law, for an integrated allocation committee that includes:

(I) A balanced membership of representatives from state agencies, the governor's office, county departments, the family voice council within the department of human services, front line workers, and other stakeholders with relevant experience;

(II) Alignment and integration of existing allocation committees and current structures for allocating available funding in each public assistance program to a single integrated allocation committee;

(III) A governance and voting structure for decision-making; and

(IV) Duties and responsibilities of the integrated allocation committee, including allocation of available funding based upon:

(A) Data metrics related to community need; and

(B) Spending priorities based on available allocations and the recommendations developed pursuant to subsection (4)(e) of this section; and

(h) Include recommendations for integration of current rule-making structures and processes across state departments, taking into account requirements of federal law.