Recently in Social Services Category

By Jonathan Walters, Governing.com December 8, 2009
 

Well it's happened again--another spectacular crash and burn of an information-technology system that was supposed to be the magical answer to a state human services system's performance and cost woes. This time it is Indiana's 10-year $1.16 billion deal with IBM to pre- and re-qualify clients for health and human services ranging from TANF to Medicaid to food stamps. Two and half years into the deal, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels flipped off the switch, cancelling the contract and sending IBM packing.

....... As the story is told in the general media, it's the classic and predictable bad-guys-in-action story line: Governor Mitch Daniels, conservative Republican, looking to do a little union-busting, decides to turn over a significant portion of the work done by the state's Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) to IBM. As part of the deal, hundreds of former public employees are summarily shifted over to IBM, where they serve as at-will employees, outside of the state's public employee collective bargaining system.

Source: By Corrie MacLaggan, AMERICAN-STATESMAN (TX),  Thursday, November 05, 2009

 

When the new head of the agency responsible for the state's backlogged food stamp applications sent an e-mail to employees asking for feedback about the agency, he got it. About 500 state workers replied to Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Tom Suehs, telling him about low morale and low pay, poor management, technology problems, insufficient training, long hours away from their families. They wrote about feeling frazzled, crying on the drive to work and actively looking for other jobs.

 

....... The commission has struggled since experienced state employees started leaving in advance of a major privatization effort in 2005.

Source: AMERICAN-STATESMAN (TX), Monday, November 09, 2009

 

Here's a Monday morning reminder on a lesson we seem to need to periodically relearn: Privatization of traditionally governmental functions can be a good thing, or not.  Two recent examples from that latter category remind us that governments at all levels must move carefully and precisely when farming out functions to profiteers promising to save some tax dollars. .... Texas is blessed with many fine state employees, often willing to go above and beyond the call of duty, who do their jobs and deliver services even when the politicians and higher-ups screw things up.

Source: Indianapolis Star (IN), September 29, 2009 

 

 The Daniels administration has approximately two weeks before telling the world whether a welfare privatization experiment that's been plagued with problems for nearly three years is fixable.

 

It will be remarkable, to say the least, if the IBM-led team that was given a $1.34 billion contract to manage assistance to the needy has cleaned up an act so ragged that the state was compelled to call a timeout on the takeover and give an ultimatum -- compliance by fall or cancellation of the 10-year deal.

Source: KEN KUSMER, By The Associated Press, August 21, 2009

 

A pair of Indiana congressman have asked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to review his agency's approval of the state's privatization and automation of food stamp delivery amid growing legislative and federal scrutiny of the project.  Democratic Reps. Baron Hill and Andre Carson co-signed a letter to Vilsack dated July 30, about a month after the Agriculture Department's food stamp program administrator informed Gov. Mitch Daniels that Indiana's food stamp error rates exceeded U.S. averages last year.

.... FSSA's Barlow did not answer directly when asked what the agency would do if USDA were to revoke its approval for the privatization initiative.

 

Source: Associated Press, 2:36 PM CDT, July 28, 2009

 

Legislative leaders have appointed the powerful State Budget Committee to investigate whether IBM Corp. and its partners are fulfilling their obligations under a more than $1 billion contract to privatize welfare intake in Indiana.  The Legislative Council consisting of the four caucus leaders, including Senate President Pro Tem David Long and House Speaker Patrick Bauer, passed a resolution Monday assigning the review of the IBM contract to the Budget Committee and other topics to various interim study committees.

Source: Associated Press (IN), August 2, 2009 11:24 AM ET

 

Indiana's 10-year contract with IBM Corp. to privatize and automate welfare intake has grown to $1.34 billion - 15% more than the original $1.16 billion deal signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels. 

A review by The Associated Press has found the contract has been amended four times, most recently in April, to add more duties, more staff and more technology for IBM and its partners.

Source: By ROBERT T. GARRETT, The Dallas Morning News (TX), Monday, August 3, 2009

 

Legal services lawyers for the poor have filed a class-action lawsuit demanding immediate repair of Texas' much-criticized eligibility screening system for health and welfare programs.  The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Austin late Friday by two impoverished Irving women who applied for food stamps more than two months ago but still haven't been interviewed by the state Health and Human Services Commission.

..... Although a privatization experiment launched four years ago drove hundreds of experienced state workers to seek other jobs, the commission has gradually added more staff - some 700 in the past year, Goodman said.

Source: Federation Hotline (WA), 7/14/09


    Federation President Carol Dotlich has appointed the members of the steering committee overseeing the union's watchdog role in the state's move to set up two Child Welfare Services privatization pilots over the next six years.

    The Federation panel, formally known as the Transformation Design Committee Steering Committee, will work on communications to affected members, political and legislative actions and strategizing and research for the actual Transformation Design process.

 Source: Washington Business Journal - by Barton Eckert Contributing Writer, Thursday, May 28, 2009, 8:42am EDT

 

Maximus has won a new $49 million contract to provide full-service child support operations for the Tennessee Department of Human Services for the 30th Judicial District in Shelby County.