Background

The Blueprint for a Safer Economy is a statewide, progression plan for safe opening of businesses and allowing for lessening of activity restrictions. The plan imposes risk-based criteria on tightening and loosening COVID-19 allowable activities and defines a minimum length of time between changes to assess how any movement affects the trajectory of the disease based on a county's disease transmission metrics.  As part of this framework, a county tier adjudication process was established. 

Criteria for consideration

Criteria and parameters for criteria that will be considered for adjudication are listed below.

• Data discrepancy in metrics are significant enough to affect tier status
• Qualitative and contextual elements specifically provided by the county

If a county chooses to enter a tier adjudication process, the Intent to Submit Form and the County Tier Adjudication Form must be completed as an official request. Instructions are included on the form.

1. Intent to Submit Adjudication (PDF)
   
2. County Tier Adjudication Form (PDF)
   

Timing of request

Counties must submit their intent to request tier adjudication no later than Monday at 6 p.m. regarding their tier metrics for that week. The full county tier adjudication form and supporting documentation must be submitted by Wednesday at 5 p.m.  Once a county enters into tier adjudication with CDPH, the county's tier assignment at the time of the request will be held until adjudication is complete. 

An adjudication process cannot delay a tier change by more than one tier reporting period (the process cannot cross beyond the next Tuesday's tier assignment), and the county will be assigned to the tier determined by CDPH no later than Monday of the following week.

Test volume adjudication: CDPH will adjudicate using the test volume that was calculated/utilized at time of tier assignment (to match the tier week being adjudicated) to add any additional tests (negatives and/or positives) that were originally not reported. This would be carried through with any recalculation of case rate, adjustments, and test positivity.

Retrospective tier adjudication: CDPH will allow up to 4 weeks retrospectively to be adjudicated. The county must also justify how tier adjudication would impact current tier assignment and/or tier movement or school reopening.

For example, the county must justify that a retrospective tier adjudication would fulfill the number of required weeks in a current tier (3 weeks) before movement or number of weeks better metrics (2 weeks) to be eligible for tier movement; would allow a county to move sooner to a less restrictive tier; and/or would have allowed a county to open- up schools for in-person instruction earlier if they had moved to the Red tier, thereby starting the 14 days required in the Red tier before school opening.

The State Public Health Officer will review and approve the final decision. CDPH will also post a summary of the final decision below after the county tier adjudication request package (completed form and supporting documents) and discussion between State and local officials are complete.

CDPH will assess the volume of requests for county tier adjudication and will prioritize requests in which tier movement would result in a more restrictive tier assignment. Upon completion the form and determination will be posted on the CDPH website.