CHICAGO, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Indiana terminated its $1.34 billion contract with an IBM group for welfare-related work because not enough progress was made to improve services for recipients, Governor Mitch Daniels said on Thursday.
The state signed a 10-year contract with an IBM-led coalition in December 2006 for intake services and technology support related to Indiana's welfare eligibility program. The move was aimed at improving customer service, while reducing fraud and waste and saving the state $500 million in administrative costs.
'The fraud appears to have been stopped and we're still on track to save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, but the intended service improvements have not been delivered, and that's not acceptable,' Daniels said in a statement.
The state's Family and Social Services Administration will move to a hybrid system that includes more face-to-face contact and more localized team-based case management -- which according to the statement were elements that were lacking under the IBM system. At the same time the state will continue its shift to paperless case files.
The contract with the IBM-led group ends in 60 days. IBM spokesmen did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.
(Reporting by Karen Pierog, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Keywords: INDIANA IBM/ (karen.pierog@thomsonreuters.com; 1 312 408 8647; Reuters Messaging: karen.pierog.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The state signed a 10-year contract with an IBM-led coalition in December 2006 for intake services and technology support related to Indiana's welfare eligibility program. The move was aimed at improving customer service, while reducing fraud and waste and saving the state $500 million in administrative costs.
'The fraud appears to have been stopped and we're still on track to save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, but the intended service improvements have not been delivered, and that's not acceptable,' Daniels said in a statement.
The state's Family and Social Services Administration will move to a hybrid system that includes more face-to-face contact and more localized team-based case management -- which according to the statement were elements that were lacking under the IBM system. At the same time the state will continue its shift to paperless case files.
The contract with the IBM-led group ends in 60 days. IBM spokesmen did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.
(Reporting by Karen Pierog, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Keywords: INDIANA IBM/ (karen.pierog@thomsonreuters.com; 1 312 408 8647; Reuters Messaging: karen.pierog.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.