Blogger's comments in maroon. (Just couldn't help myself)

High Tech Boondoggle

HHS Call Centers / Accenture

Below, see the text of the HHSC announcement from Albert Hawkins


TSEU's and HHSC's announcements

HHSC announces layoff moratorium, 1000 additional eligibility positions, retention bonuses - Friday meeting might have more news

HHSC has responded to calls from TSEU and numerous legislators to freeze layoff notices. The May 4 broadcast announcement was a broad admission that the new IEES system is not working and that basic services are melting down along with HHSC eligibility staff.The announcement says that:

There will be no reductions in eligibility staffing for the next twelve months. This meets the call by TSEU and numerous legislators for current layoff notice to be rescinded.

HHSC will add 1000 additional state eligibility employees to the previously announced total of about 2900 after full implementation of the new system. The announcement says that there are currently 4800 eligibility employees in the system, so a future total of 3900 means a reduction of about 900 by full implementation.

HHSC will begin a program of bonuses to convince current employees to stay. The plan includes:A. An approx. $900 bonus this summer.B. An additional $900 six months after the first bonus.C. All levels of staff, including clerks and supervisors, will be eligible.D. Employees must have 3 or better on last evaluation and no active level 2 or 3 performance counselings. This announcement is a major victory in our campaign to stop a money-wasting boondoggle and restore a human services eligibility system that works, but there is still a lot to do.

We still need to:

In the short term, win a statewide moratorium on office closures. The problems withTAA/IEES are not temporary glitches: this is a system that has very little chance of ever working, and we can look for the contractors to find a way out as soon is their profit margins get squeezed. HHSC has to keep (at least) every current office open so that Texans have access to human services.

Call for a hard, honest evaluation of the whole TIERS/IEES/TAA/Call Center plan. There is almost no evidence that it will work.

Call for full staffing of eligibility (including Medicaid eligibility) and Community Care. 4800 is not enough eligibility employees! Eligibility staffing has already been cut by around 1500 since 2003.
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Major announcement possible at May 5 meeting.

Region 7 program managers have been called to a Friday morning meeting at the Winters Building. Our information is that the meeting is with Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkins and Accenture/TAA officials, and that a major announcement regarding roll-out of IEES might be made at the meeting. TSEU will post further information as it is available.
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[text of the HHSC announcement]

From: HHS Communications
Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 11:39 AM
To: HHS CommunicationsSubject: Message from the Executive Commissioner

On April 5, we announced that we would not proceed with further rollouts of the new eligibility system until technical and operational improvements are made. I wanted to give you an update on our progress on the transition to the new system and let you know that there will be no reduction in eligibility staffing for the next 12 months. (Except for those still going to leave because they can no longer stand the long, hard working hours, including more complaints by staff who can't get any answers from TAA).

First, I want to thank you for your continued service. This is a difficult time in our offices, and I'm grateful for your dedication to the clients we serve. As you know, SAVERR is not without its share of problems and workarounds. But you have always managed to overcome those shortcomings to help clients get the services they need. I know you are doing the same now as we work through issues with the new system. (Notice he made no mentions of TIERS problems. We can still work with SAVERR accurately, which is more than can be said of TIERS. Thank God for workarounds...)

We continue our efforts to improve the new system and reduce the workload on our local offices. We've made significant progress in reducing the abandonment rate and hold times at the call centers, but additional training and technical improvements still must be made before further rollouts occur.

We will increase by 1,000 the number of state positions that will remain in place after the transition to the new system. This means we'll have about 3,900 eligibility employees once the rollout is complete. There are currently about 4,800 regular-status eligibility employees. We soon will be providing you with the details of how these positions will be filled. Like the previous process, the selections will be based largely on tenure. (We have less than 175 regular status trained caseworkers in my region. I wonder if they have included the temporary employees in this count? And he fails to mention the fact that HHSC has now managed to run off the better and more tenured staff).

We also have finalized the details of the retention bonus for OES employees. Eligible employees will receive a bonus of about $900 this summer and an additional $900 six months after the first bonus. Eligible employees include regular and temporary field staff who have been employed at least six months and have acceptable performance. (Acceptable performance means a rating of 3 or above on the most recent evaluation and no active level 2 or 3 performance reminders.) All levels of field staff - including workers, clerks, supervisors and others - will be eligible for the bonus. Workers who recently received a merit or salary increase will be eligible for the retention bonus six months after that pay action. (We currently receive longevity pay for every 2 years of service....do you know of any companies that pay longevity for such a short period of employment? Now we get $900 twice a year to hang in there.....as an employee, I'm more than happy to take the money. As a taxpaying citizen, it proves to me that the "powers that be" at HHSC have no fiscal responsibility to this state!)

We are working on a revised rollout plan that will help us provide you with more information about when changes will occur in your area.

Again, many thanks to each of you for your hard work and commitment to making a difference in the lives of the many fellow Texans who count on us. I remain grateful for your continued service. (Not likely. We are all just numbers.....replaceable by machines.... Oh wait! Failures of TIERS is proving that machines CAN'T REPLACE US! Too bad Hawkins and his cronies can't realize this.)

Sincerely,Albert Hawkins