AG 1995 01 17 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Each program is so complex that separate staff must often be used for work in each. Automation support is minimal and uses 1970's technology. During the past two years, staff of the Cabarrus County Department of Social Services have undertaken a special intensive effort to do everything possible to improve this system. The Department's Simplification/ Automation Initiative has involved all agency staff in identifying, implementing, and modeling measures which save costs and improve the system's performance. Emphasis has been placed upon encouraging other counties and state officials to implement improvements which have been developed by the Cabarrus staff. Accomplishments have included: D Implementation of 68 separate measures which save a total of $342,000 in annual administrative costs for the Department. These include elimination of 41 forms, use of group applications and mail-in eligibility review documents for many recipients, better coordinated verification processes, and development ora single application document for use with all programs; 2) Development of a list of six policy and procedure improvements which could save some $24 million if implemented state,vide (as several have been); and, 3) Implementation of a new local area network (PC-based) computer system at the Department projected to save the County over $700,000 by 1999. The development of the public assistance single application begirming in January 1994 has been the Department's most significant contribution. Though such a process had been suggested many times by organizations and groups across the State, the single application developed by the Cabarrus staff represents the first such application developed in North Carolina. The Cabarrus single application eliminates some 35 pages of redundant data gathering from the five separate program application processes. Now, only 14 pages of data gathering materials are included. It permits one caseworker to take one application from the family rather than requiring two or three caseworkers to interview the family two or three times and complete two or three separate applications. In its "paper" form, it is generating $48,828 in annual savings in staffcosts at the Department. It has been the Department's plan to automate the single application process within the Local Area Network system it is now installing. Automated in its most rudimentary form and implemented statewide, it would save an estimated $6 to $8 million annually. (A single document for use in conducting eligibility reviews which will generate substantial additional savings has now also been developed by Department staff as well). The single application has been field tested and refined by staff of the Department for over six months. Programming now needs to be done so that the single application process can begin to be used ~vithm our local area network. We do not have the resources to do the programming internally. The programmer on staff at the Department must devote her attention predominantly to the installation of the LAN and its communication with other systems. It is also felt not to be feasible to (temporarily) employ additional progranuners for this job as availability of persons With expertise in using the program we have selected, Visual C++, is thought at this point to be limited. Estimated costs for programming of the application using a contracted provider are $100,000. It is most important we move ahead quickly. In July 1994, the State Department of Human Resources implemented an automated single application process project called "ASAP". It is our belief that the single application developed by Cabarrus staff demonstrated this could be done and motivated the State process. Cabarrus staff has had involvement in the State work group. The State began field testing a 38 page single application process in paper form in December. Even though the State's project is now under way, there are very compelling reasons to continue with the Cabarrus project. These are: 1) The Cabarrus project has motivated and encouraged the State project. It has helped in guiding the State project. It is important to continue this encouragement and guidance. 2) The State project is being developed in the existing State mainframe computer system. ( This is necessary as many counties will not be able to install LAN's on an immediate basis).