Rhode Island General Laws Title 42. State Affairs and Government § 42-165-2. Findings

(1) The state is committed to maintaining a longitudinal data system that the public, researchers, and policymakers can use to analyze and assess Rhode Islanders' aggregate progress from early learning programs through postsecondary education and into employment;  and

(2) A national collaborative effort among federal and state policymakers, state officials, and national education organizations has defined the essential components of a statewide longitudinal data system;  and

(3) The RI Longitudinal Data System (RILDS) is the state education and workforce longitudinal data system, aligned to the U.S. Department of Education's Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) grant program and the U.S. Department of Labor's Workforce Data Quality Initiative grant program.

(4) The Ecosystem is the state's health and human services integrated data system focused on improving the outcomes of these related programs and starting from the base of the Medicaid program.

(5) The Ecosystem, the RILDS and individual programs can be connected in a federated manner that enables programs to retain control of their data but also allows secure sharing of data when there is an approved data analysis project.

(6) Unified governance across the Ecosystem and RILDS will allow more efficient and secure operation of the state's data infrastructure.