By Maribeth Holtz, Chronicle-Tribune
mholtz@chronicle-tribune.com
Employment at the Marion call center of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration could rise, as state officials work to resolve problems with the privately-run automated benefit system.
The FSSA has been under public scrutiny since the computer and telephone-based system for verifying and administering benefits such as Medicaid and food stamps began. Clients in the Grant County area said they were having a hard time with the system when it launched in 2007, and issues have escalated as more counties were rolled out.
Now, as 59 of the state's 92 counties are under the automated system, clients, advocates and legislators have questioned the efficiency of the privately-run system.
State Rep. Joe Pearson, D-Hartford City, said people have had problems with not having the same caseworker answer their questions, and older clients don't know how to use the Internet. He has also heard of complaints of long hold times on the phone.
"The question is, how can we fix the system so people can have access in a timely manner?" Pearson said.
Pearson was among a group of four legislators that met with FSSA Secretary Anne Murphy about a month ago.
"I think she's trying to make things better, but at the same time there needs to be oversight from the General Assembly," Pearson said.
Pearson is not in favor of a third-party firm evaluating the system because of the added cost to the state. He said legislators need to hear directly from the people, and problems can be worked out with IBM Corp.
While Murphy has said terminating the 10-year, $1.34 billion contract with IBM Corp. is a possibility, Pearson said he thinks the problems can be corrected under the existing system.
He said nobody wants the call center in Marion - a central hub of automation - to close, which would lead to unemployment here. But the focus, he said, is getting problems fixed.
Secretary Murphy said shortly after she took her job in January that there were problems with the system. Gov. Mitch Daniels personally called a senior IBM official and demanded improvement.
After an IBM internal review, IBM developed an improvement plan that adds 350 people and new technology.
The plan also calls for more face-to-face help and no longer forcing clients through phone lines and online applications.
IBM has hired 160 additional people for local offices. The plan also proposes fixing a problem with the telephone call distributor so it eliminates or minimizes times that it loses all calls in progress. That's a situation that happens about twice a month, according to the document.
The call center in Marion - called the Grant County Service Center, in the former Jones Middle School on Pennsylvania Street - employs 405 people, which is up from 384 in May, said FSSA spokesman Marcus Barlow. He said employment numbers will continue to rise, but he didn't know to what extent.
Barlow said there have been processing and technology problems.
"We're changing a huge, well-entrenched system so there will be difficulties," he said. "Our goal is to work through those problems."
Barlow said a termination of a contract is always a possibility, but that is not the focus of the FSSA. He said the focus is fixing problems, and he expects the future of the Marion call center to be safe.
The Indiana General Assembly's State Budget Committee and the Medicaid Oversight Commission will review the contract between the state and IBM in the coming months.
Budget committee Chairman Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said meetings will likely begin toward the end of September.
"We need to gather the facts first and find out how the system is working," he said. "It's a big change."
Kenley said he has not personally heard of issues with the system from constituents, but believes there are flaws. Kenley doesn't believe the center in Marion will close, he said, because he hopes problems are resolved.
"I don't think the call center approach is going to go away," he said. "It may mean we'd have to supplement it with more walk-in type offices across the state."
He said older people are likely having a hard time with technology, and perhaps in several years it could evolve back to computer and telephone-only service. Still, Kenley said there is merit in the automated system because it is likely more cost-effective in the long run.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.