Article 1. California Nutrition Monitoring Development Act of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 103. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 1.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the "California Nutrition Monitoring Development Act of 1986."

The Legislature declares that the purposes of this article are to determine the availability and types of nutrition monitoring information that are currently available in specified federal, state and local government programs and in selected private sector programs; to determine what additional information is needed to help legislators, state and local agencies and nongovernment users, to operate cost-effective services and to target funds where most needed; and to assess the feasibility of establishing a prototype state-local data system that will provide regular reports on the: nutritional status and nutrition related health problems of California's population, dietary intake and food consumption patterns, nutrition education information, including knowledge and attitude regarding nutrition, quality and healthfulness of the food supply, nutrition programs and service availability, including population served, service statistics, frequency and periodicity of data collection and types of reports, related socioeconomic factors, and on the state's ability to provide for food and nutrition services where needed.

(a) The department shall assess the availability and adequacy of existing state and local food and nutrition data systems. All state departments and agencies that are required to provide data pursuant to this article are encouraged to participate to the fullest extent possible in all aspects of this program and to make their data available to counties upon request.
  (b) The state departments from which existing data shall be provided for project purposes shall include the State Departments of Public Health, Aging, Education, and Social Services. Upon request of the department, these departments shall provide existing nutrition-related data collection forms, documentation, and reports, including, but not limited to, the following programs:
  (1) In the Department of Aging: Congregate Nutrition Services, Home Delivered Nutrition Services, and the Brown Bag Network.
  (2) In the State Department of Education: National School Lunch Program, the National School Breakfast Program, the Child Care Food Program, the Special Milk Program, the Nutrition Education and Training Program, and the various commodities programs.
  (3) In the department: Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Comprehensive Perinatal Care Program, the Genetics Disease Program, the Child Health and Disability Prevention Program, California Children's Services, County Health Services, Primary Health Services Development, Indian Health Program, Medical Care Services (Medi-Cal), Adult Health, and Vital Statistics.
  (4) In the State Department of Social Services: CalFresh.
  (c) The department may require any other state agency, department, board, or commission, with the exception of the University of California, to provide existing nutrition-related data, as described in this article. The department may request the University of California to provide this data in the case of the University of California Cooperative Extension Program, the Home Economics Program, and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. Additionally, other programs in local government and the private sector, such as local public health and social services departments, food banks, pantries, and meal programs, voluntary health organizations, and charitable social service agencies shall be encouraged to provide available nutrition monitoring information.

(a) The department shall conduct a survey of state agencies and of counterpart local and private sector programs which now collect or use nutrition data or both. The department shall determine user needs for and applications of data, the adequacy of existing data systems, the costs compared to benefits of collecting this information, and recommendations about future data needs.
  (b) The department shall assess the degree to which data is available to monitor the California Model Standards for Nutrition Services (guidelines for local health departments), the 1990 Nutrition Objectives for the Nation (national health priorities), the nutrition surveillance programs of the United States Centers for Disease Control (prenatal and pediatric surveillance and behavioral risk factors survey related to chronic diseases) and other similar public health objectives.
  (c) The department shall outline a process for developing a prototype state-local nutrition monitoring system. The prototype system shall be scientifically sound and, insofar as is practicable, compatible with those employed by the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the National Public Health Reporting System, and recommendations by other recognized authorities. The department shall review existing or proposed systems such as the Statewide Environmental and Evaluation Program System (SWEEPS) and the Nutrition Management Information and Surveillance System (Nutri-MISS) respectively for their applicability to this purpose.

The department, using applicable state procedures, may contract for any of the services required by this article, in which case the contractor or contractors shall have demonstrated expertise in the fields of nutrition monitoring and epidemiology, nutrition program operations, and community organization.