DHCS Review Process

1. The requestor submits a completed application packet which consists of a signed and dated Application form, a completed Data Description Table, a signed and dated Data Use Agreement, and a copy of the researcher’s curriculum vitae.  A curriculum vitae is not required for public health requests.
2. Upon receiving a complete application packet, the DRC initiates an internal review process involving program staff, the privacy officer, and the DHCS entity that will release the data files. This internal simultaneous review will take approximately 2-4 weeks.  The requestor may be contacted by any of the DHCS’ internal reviewers, if necessary.
3. The DRC meets every 2 months to review applications and the feedback received from the DHCS’ privacy officer, program staff and data holder. Requestors may be contacted by the  DRC if further information is needed. 
4. The DRC forwards its recommendation for approval or denial of the data research request to the Director’s Office.
5. The DRC staff communicates the Director’s Office decision to the requestor.  It is anticipated that the requestor will receive this decision no more than 2 months after receipt of a completed application packet. Please note that if the request for research data is approved by DHCS, a separate application must be submitted to the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS)(Not DHCS).  CPHS approval is not required for public health requests.
6. If the request for the research data is approved, the DRC administrator will notify the DHCS entity holding the data file, who will arrange for the data release to the requestor.  The time needed for the data release will vary according to the workload level within DHCS.  The requestor will be charged for applicable costs incurred as a result of the time needed to prepare and release the appropriate data files. 
7. Data users will be required to submit yearly reports to the DRC regarding the progress of projects.  At the time of the annual progress reporting, data users must also apply for renewal of the Data Use Agreement (DUA) and are expected to provide copies of any publications resulting from the project.  At the conclusion of the project, the data user is required to destroy or return to DHCS any data files containing personally identifiable information.