By Larry Turner, Kisber, Bird

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-29-102, is amended by adding the following as a new subdivision:

(c)(1) The General Assembly declares that the delivery of human and community services to the state's citizens, including, but not limited to, the poor and aged, is a matter of public interest. The General Assembly declares that the provision of human and community services should include, but not be limited to, the following goals: reduce and eliminate poverty; help every Tennessean become self-sufficient to improve their quality of life and standard of living; and coordinate, use, and distribute the state's financial, human, program, and other resources in the most effective and efficient manner possible.

(2) The General Assembly realizes that in many areas of the state, there are duplicate human and community service and action organizations that receive state appropriations and/or state-administered funds and/or contract with various state departments, which could result in an unnecessary duplication of services and administration, thereby resulting in an unnecessary duplication of costs. Such unnecessary duplication could decrease the overall effectiveness of human and community service programs and agencies. The General Assembly further realizes that if such unnecessary duplication exists, it is not efficient, effective, or in the public's best interest.

(A) Where there are two or more agencies that receive state appropriations and/or state-administered funds and/or contract with various state departments in the same county or service area, upon sunset review the reviewing authority shall make an evaluation of a duplication of services, administration or costs, and report this finding and make recommendations to the General Assembly to correct this situation upon reauthorization of such agency or agencies, or reauthorization of state funding. Upon receiving such recommendation, the review committee created in Section 4-29-104 may recommend to terminate state funds to the entities.

(3) The General Assembly concludes that the evaluation of human and community service delivery agencies, their services, and programs is necessary to determine whether they are achieving their goals, using resources as effectively and efficiently as possible, and minimizing any duplication of services, administration, and costs. The General Assembly further concludes that there is no systematic on-going effort, using objective outcome measures, to evaluate human and community service and action organizations. The General Assembly further concludes that a statewide strategy for such delivery would enable, promote, and require the effective and efficient coordination of programs, services, and resources among the state's human and community service delivery organizations.

(4) The General Assembly finds that the state's human and community service and action organizations, including, but not limited to, community action agencies and human resource agencies, were authorized by state law and receive state appropriations and/or state-administered funds and/or contract with various state departments to provide services to Tennessee residents. Therefore, these agencies should be independently evaluated, using objective outcome measures. Such outcome measures will be defined by the reviewing entity and will include, but not be limited to:

(A) the extent to which the low-income clients served by the entities have become more self-sufficient;

(B) the extent to which the low-income clients have improved their lives through increased employment;

(C) the extent to which agency clients have been able to move to permanent, standard housing from substandard temporary housing;

(D) the extent to which clients participate in community groups; and

(E) the extent to which administrative resources are used efficiently in relation to programmatic resources.

SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-29-222(a), is amended by adding the following as new subdivisions:

( ) Northwest Tennessee Human Resource Agency, created by § 13-26-102;

( ) Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Agency, created by § 13-26-102;

( ) Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency, created by § 13-26-102;

( ) First Tennessee Human Resource Agency, created by § 13-26-102;

( ) Delta Human Resource Agency, created by § 13-26-102;

( ) Southwest Tennessee Human Resource Agency, created by § 13-26-102;

( ) South Central Tennessee Human Resource Agency, created by § 13-26-102;

( ) Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency, created by § 13-26-102;

( ) East Tennessee Human Resource Agency, created by § 13-26-102;

( ) Anderson County Community Action Commission, authorized by § 71-5-1101;

( ) Blount County Community Action Agency, authorized by § 71-5-1101;

( ) Bradley-Cleveland Community Service Agency, authorized by § 71-5-1101;

( ) Caney Fork Development Corporation, authorized by § 71-5-1101;

( ) Clarksville-Montgomery County Community Action Agency, authorized by § 71-5-1101;

( ) Cordell Hull Economic Opportunity Corporation, authorized by § 71-5-1101;

( ) Douglas-Cherokee Economic Authority, authorized by § 71-5-1101;

( ) Highland Rim Economic Corporation, authorized by § 71-5-1101;

( ) Mid-Cumberland Community Action Agency, authorized by § 71-5-1101;

( ) Mid-East Community Action Agency, authorized by § 71-5-1101;

( ) Mountain Valley Economic Opportunity Authority, authorized by § 71-5-1101;

( ) Northwest Tennessee Economic Development Council, authorized by § 71-5-1101; and

( ) Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency, authorized by § 71-5-1101.

SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 13-26-111(b), is amended by adding the following language as a new (2) and renumbering the subsequent sections accordingly:

(2) The Commissioner of Human Services shall provide planning assistance and oversight to these agencies to assure coordination and avoidance of duplication of activities among human service providers in each jurisdiction.

SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 71-5-1102, is amended by adding the following language as subsection (c):

(c) The Commissioner of Human Services shall provide planning assistance and oversight to these agencies to assure coordination and avoidance of duplication of activities among human service providers in each jurisdiction.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming law, the public welfare requiring it.