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Sunday, May 02, 2010

Ind. Gov't. - "IBM bills state $125 million"

Angela Mapes Turner reports today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette in a long story that begins:

IBM Corp. claims Indiana owes it more than $125 million for ending a controversial welfare contract, including $9.3 million for telephones, computer equipment and furniture.

While the state says much-needed equipment improvements were made, it’s disputing the IBM invoices, which The Journal Gazette received through a public records request.

Critics say the unpaid tabs illustrate a lack of oversight they believe marked the 10-year, $1.34 billion privatization contract, which Gov. Mitch Daniels signed in 2006 but ended late last year.

The Journal Gazette requested copies of all invoices and receipts created between IBM and the state since the Oct. 15 announcement that the IBM contract would be canceled.

The documents also show the state fined IBM $115,000 for underperformance during five months last year. That’s about 1 percent of the $11.5 million in fixed fees the company was receiving each month to administer welfare benefits in 59 of the state’s 92 counties.

Maples also has a related story, headed "State still working on hybrid welfare system." It begins:
The state says it hasn’t decided when it will expand its welfare hybrid system beyond a 10-county pilot region, but the Family and Social Services Administration is promising openness and inclusion in evaluating the new system.

In January, the state began testing a system that combines elements of the modernized and old caseworker systems in Vanderburgh and surrounding counties.

The hybrid plan, like the IBM-led system, relies heavily on private, for-profit companies – a reliance the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the federally funded food stamp program, has cautioned states against. But it includes more face-to-face contact for clients, an element that IBM’s modernization lacked, critics said.

FSSA spokesman Marcus Barlow said a public advisory group made up of advocates has been created, and FSSA Secretary Anne Murphy has made three trips to the Evansville area to meet with interested parties there.

Answering critics who have said FSSA has been too tight-lipped about changes, Barlow said the agency is doing a full evaluation of the pilot region and will release the results of the evaluation to the public.

When that might happen remains to be determined, and Barlow would not comment on when the hybrid plan might expand to other counties.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 2, 2010 01:22 PM
Posted to Indiana Government