Beginning in the fall of 2009 with Field Services the Division began taking a critical look at our core business practices in order to develop more efficient and effective ways of doing our work. By this fall every section of the division will have had the opportunity to have representatives participate in the LEAN/Kaizen process that we are using to implement significant and meaningful changes in our business practices. To better support the changes in our work processes and to gain additional efficiency, work is also in progress to find an alternative to the Eligibility Information System (EIS).
EIS has been a reliable platform for delivering benefits and supporting program administration since 1984. It is the vehicle that staff uses to provide monthly benefits to well over 100,000 Alaskans. When EIS was implemented over 25 years ago, it was truly at the leading edge of automated information systems for public assistance agencies. In fact, it became the legacy system for numerous offspring deployed by states across the nation. When it was implemented, it truly changed how we do our business. EIS eliminated a host of other largely manual and time intensive processes. There are few among us now that remember working daily with manual budgets and notices as well as other forms that had to be completed by hand to do routine tasks like request benefit issuances.
While it has done a tremendous job supporting program administration and benefit delivery for more than 25 years, the technology on which it is based is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. Many significant changes in Public Assistance programs and program administration have occurred since the system was placed into production in 1984 which resulted in an array of system modifications, sub-systems and “workarounds” that were needed to keep pace with changing program and process requirements. Welfare reform, new program demands, and the continued growth and complexity in Public Assistance programs are creating further shifts in business needs that will be increasingly difficult for EIS to support.
While our System Operations staff has done an outstanding job maintaining EIS and enhancing it in response to changing business needs, it is currently functioning well beyond the capacity for which it was designed. Greater system flexibility and robust reporting capabilities are needed to accommodate even more changes driven by federal and state laws and to ensure the long-term ability of DPA to provide efficient, economical, and effective administration of its programs. In addition, the Division needs a user-friendly and adaptable system that helps gain additional efficiencies, reduces system maintenance costs, responds to increasing service demands, better supports meeting performance expectations, and improves customer service.
To meet this demand, the Division has contracted with First Data to help identify potential replacement systems. First Data has accepted a very aggressive timeline for accomplishing a feasibility study that will be the basis for selecting a new system.
First Data will:
- Gather and document the desired features and functions of an EIS alternative.
- Research available systems that have recently been implemented by other Public Assistance agencies as well as possible Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) solutions.
- Conduct a gap analysis to identify differences between the capabilities of each system being considered and the required system capabilities of an EIS alternative.
- Evaluate modifications that would be needed to each system to meet DHSS and DPA requirements.
- Complete a cost/benefit analysis for each system being considered.
- Evaluate how well each system meets standards for enhanced Federal Financial Participation (FFP).
- Draw conclusions about how well each potential system meets the requirements for EIS replacement or modernization.
In April, First Data began working with DPA staff to identify and document the desired features or requirements for a new system. By all accounts, the staff helping to define the requirements has been doing a great job. The documentation of these requirements should be completed by the end of June.
By the end of July, First Data will identify potential replacement systems and strategies for enhancing or modifying EIS to meet the desired requirements. They will be seeking systems implemented in the last 5 years that are transferable as well as COTS solutions that can meet DPA’s needs. Our contractor is scheduled to have completed a gap and cost benefit analysis for each of the potential replacement systems by the end of August. This analysis will identify which of the potential EIS replacement systems most closely meets the documented requirements and is also the most cost effective solution. The Steering Committee overseeing the EIS Alternatives Project will use this information to select the most suitable replacement system. The timing of this effort will enable the Division to present proposals for the state fiscal year 2013 (SFY13 starts on 7/1/12) capital appropriation that will pay for a new system.
Three additional deliverables will be provided by First Data in September. They will develop an Implementation Advanced Planning Document (IAPD) and timeline to get federal approval of the replacement system. The IAPD is required in order to access federal funding for the implementation and customization of the new system. First Data will also develop Request for Proposals (RFP) for the technical assistance needed to implement the new system and a RFP for a separate quality assurance contractor that will ensure that the standards and requirements of the technical services contract are met.
The ultimate goal is to have an EIS replacement before 2014, but there is still a great deal of work that needs to be done before we have a new system. Fortunately, the excellent work being done by Monica Coon, the EIS Alternatives Project Manager, First Data, and the host of DPA staff defining the system requirements is setting the stage for achieving that goal.