(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.

(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 1996.)