Government Technology - March 2008 - (Page 46)

e-government Now Skalicky knows where to go for company payment status updates, and it’s easy to update information when the time comes. “If I submit a payment online, I can go back and double-check right away,” she said. “It’s one of those things like, ‘Why wouldn’t everybody do this?’” The system is available to online applicants during daytime hours on weekdays, but system maintenance requires downtime when it can’t handle applications, Nelson said. “To have a system that was both batch ready and online ready, it added so much complexity and cost that we didn’t think it was worth it,” she said. Nelson hopes to make the online UI program available on Sundays soon. The employers’ side of the site, which is in less demand, runs 24/7. Fraud detection is built into both the employers’ and applicants’ sides of the system, Nelson said. What is UI? Unemployment insurance is a joint federal-state program to help workers laid off for reasons beyond their control, such as a company downsizing or an ofﬁce closing. The program is funded and administered by individual states, but is overseen and sometimes supplemented by the federal government. The payout amount applicants receive is based on a percentage of their previous pay — a maximum of $538 per week in Minnesota. To stay on the program, individuals must be seeking a new job. Doing More With Less In November 2007, the UI added an online application process that makes the program more efficient and user-friendly. Those without computer access can apply via a new phone system instituted with the program overhaul. The new application system is more responsive to unemployment surges and slowdowns — a crucial feature for the state. “Minnesota probably has one of the highest seasonality rates in the nation,” Nelson said. The state’s unemployment rate peaks in midJanuary, during the state’s harsh winters when construction and other outdoor work slows. “When we have the seasonality rates that we have, it’s hard enough. In a recession, that pretty much doubles and it hits fast. There’s no way we could ramp up for that kind of volume,” she said. “If people use the online application, it’s not as staff-intensive. That’s one of our goals because our funding was flat and now it’s falling.” With the online application system, an out-of-work Minnesotan can learn about UI entitlements and complete an entire application online. Applicants receive payments weekly through direct deposit; unemployed workers used to be paid every two weeks. Kathleen Murray was an unemployment counselor in St. Paul for more than three years. When funding for her job was cut, she suddenly found herself in the same position as the people she once helped. Murray turned to UI while she explored new career options. The new online system made applying to UI simpler, she said, than it had been for those she previously counseled. The detailed online help section has been just that for Murray — extremely helpful. Without the online system, she said, it would take longer to get a phone response. “Everything is there. I go on once a week, and it takes less than five minutes,” she said. The biggest time-saver for her has been the online weekly update, where she confirms she is still out of work and looking for a job. Increased Usage Since the new system went online, the number of Minnesotans taking advantage of the UI program has increased. “Never underestimate how difficult it is for people to change,” Nelson said. “A lot of old applicants and employers said, ‘What was wrong with the old system?’ When you explain to them that it costs three times as much to process that piece of paper, and that you can get your work done in one place rather than needing to handle all these pieces of paper, they’re a little more appreciative.” What has made Minnesota UI’s technology integration so successful, Nelson said, is that it specifically targets the unique needs of Minnesota’s UI Program. “Even though we changed all of our technology, we wanted to make sure business was driving the technology and that our business practices were going to change,” she said. “We wanted to ensure we weren’t just going to apply new technology to the old cow path.” With the new tech-heavy system in place, the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Program reached its goal of doing more with less — but that wasn’t the case during the system’s early planning days. In the late 1990s, Weidenbach, with DEED Legal Director Lee Nelson, began selling state legislators on a budget to make an electronic overhaul of the UI program happen. Nelson was hired in 2001 to lead the new project, and to develop a strategic plan and solicit bids for developing the new UI system. Her early tasks included sketching out a rough timeline and articulating expectations for the new system: “For the next four to six years, what will be the goals?” Nelson said. “How will we measure success?” In 2003, the UI Program selected BearingPoint Inc. to handle the entire integrated system, which included Web-based interfaces for employers to report tax data and individuals to submit applications online, as well as a new phone bank for taking applications offline without creating more paperwork. BearingPoint tapped a handful of subcontractors for specific pieces of the new system, like FileNet Corp., whose Business Process Manager program handles the electronic workflow, according to a FileNet white paper. According to a UI Program press release, the project was completed in 2007 “on time and on budget” for $42.6 million. Special taxes on Minnesota employers contributed $25 million to that cost. The rest came from supplemental federal grants and the U.S. Department of Labor’s allotment for the state’s UI program, according to Minnesota UI spokeswoman Kirsten Morell. BearingPoint also worked closely with UI staff to ensure the new system would meet Minnesota’s needs, and keep the UI staff’s learning curve to a minimum, Nelson said. “We took 20 staff within the [UI] program who understood what we were trying to get at, and they worked side-by-side with the developer to learn the new system.” The staff participation was one key to the system’s success when it was time to bring the system online, said Ed Valencia, CIO of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. What were other important success factors? “Constantly evaluating risk, moving the project along and making adjustments to expectations,” he said. PATRICK MICHELS IS A WRITER IN AUSTIN, TEXAS. MAR_08 46 http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - March 2008

Government Technology - March 2008 Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile On the Scene Four Questions for... Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers Let's [Not] Get Physical No Data Left Behind Conservation King Community Drug Test Reinventing the System Better Late Than Never Closing the Deal Spectrum Products Personal Computing signal:noise Digital Communities The Expanding Focus of Digital Communities The Digital Imperative Hot Fusion Redefining Municipal Wireless Made in the USA Bridge Detectives The 2008 Agenda

Government Technology - March 2008

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