Tax & Benefits in One Data Base



NJDOL UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE MODERNIZATION

UI BEST PRACTICES CROSSWALK

Introduction

This list of best practices was originally pulled together in advance of the business redesign workshops, to provide the team with a tool to use throughout the sessions. The best practices were collated from NASWA sources including ITSC. Towards the end of the workshops, we revisited the list of best practices to assess

• whether or not New Jersey was taking advantage of the best practices in other States

• the rationale for choosing to adopt – or not to adopt – each best practice

Comments shown in the red boxes throughout the paper are the results of this crosswalk.

Broadly, New Jersey is adopting many of the good practices and approaches developed in other States. Going forward, these States may be good sources of implementation advice and even technical solutions.

Tax and Benefits in One Database

Several states are working toward tax and benefits systems in a single data base. Colorado is the most revolutionary of these states, with their Genesis approach combining all tax and benefits functions in one system. Other states are building separate tax and benefits systems on the same data base. This approach simplifies interfaces and means programmers aren’t required to know multiple programs and languages.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Alaska

Colorado

Minnesota

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Conceptual Business Process Design? |

|No – conscious decision to focus on benefits modernization. However, interfaces with Employer Accounts (‘tax’) are highest |

|priority. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Colorado remains the only state to date that is attempting to develop a fully integrated tax and benefit system. Several other |

|states are currently developing or soon to RFP separate tax or benefit systems using the same data base |

Automatic Job Match Interface with ES

Pennsylvania does an automatic job search each time the claimant contacts the department. This is done at both the initial claim and weekly certification points. Claimants are given a “top ten” list of jobs that match their qualifications.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Pennsylvania

Washington

| |

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Conceptual Business Process Design? |

|Outside scope of UI benefits modernization. However, UI has a principle to become ready to facilitate any kind of transfer that its|

|workforce partners need in the future. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Benefits of this approach include shortened duration and additional “self-service” to claimants. The idea was discussed in |

|workshops and Workforce New Jersey managers are aware of the potential opportunity. |

UI Customer Survey

Numerous states survey claimants who are in active claims status to determine their satisfaction with the claims system. Other states survey claimants at the end of the claim. Answers to these surveys are used to make improvements to UI systems.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Alaska

Colorado

Rhode Island

Utah

Wisconsin

| |

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Conceptual Business Process Design? |

|Yes. Customer consultation was discussed as a core element of improving customer service. No specific plans for surveys in place at|

|this time. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Increasingly, progressive states are finding more sophisticated means of measuring customer service “drivers” with varying means of|

|surveys. These can be interposed both during the initial and ongoing claims processes. The easiest and most productive surveys |

|are those that are obtained in telephonic or internet initial and continuing claims. Several states are employing a number of |

|“capture” survey questionnaires or other similar devices for claims taken in UI or one-stop offices. |

Direct Deposit

Ten states offer direct deposit of UI benefits. This service saves check printing and postage costs and assures the claimant that payments will arrive on a regular schedule.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Alaska

California

Florida

Louisiana

Utah

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Conceptual Business Process Design? |

|New Jersey has committed to providing claimants with three options: direct deposit, a UI account with associated ATM card (called |

|electronic funds transfer in the welfare arena) or check. The Budget and Accounting team are already starting to consider a plan of|

|action. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Ancillary benefits include modest to substantial cost savings among implementing states, especially those taking advantage of other|

|“paper- eliminating” initiatives such as internet claims and full or partial imaging. In future, it may be possible to reduce from |

|three payment options to two, as ATM cards and checks actually address the same customer situation (lack of bank account). |

Credit Card Overpayment Recovery

North Carolina allows claimants to repay overpayments using credit cards. This process allows earlier recovery of overpayments and helps the claimant avoid garnishments and other harsh collection methods.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

North Carolina

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Conceptual Business Process Design? |

|The agency will start to explore credit card payment options. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|NC’s system might be one worth watching closely for its cost/benefits and compared closely side-by-side with the volume of |

|garnishments and other collection methods in NJ to understand implementation issues before launch. The obvious ancillary benefit |

|is the immediacy of overpayments in support of the agency’s ongoing cash flow and trust fund integrity. |

Claimant/Employer Data Portal

States are now pursuing on-line data portals that allow claimants and employers to access their accounts on-line and with proper security make changes to basic information such as address and telephone number. Employers will be able to access account information and point out discrepancies and inaccurate information. While several states have fully developed the employer side of this portal, the claimant side is still being developed with Georgia, Utah and a few others allowing “read only” access.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Georgia

North Carolina

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Utah

Wisconsin

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Electronic case files (ECFs) for both claimants and employers are a crucial enabler for UI Modernization in New Jersey. The ECF |

|will contain a full history of that customer – key information, claims, benefit amounts, determinations, overpayments etc. The ECF |

|will be accessible to the agents assisting customers on the phone, web or in person. A large amount of the information will also |

|be available – within strict security measures – to the customers, via the web or the phone. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|NJ could conceivably move to the forefront of states by (a) developing the employer side of this portal access and (b) moving ahead|

|with more innovative claimant interaction, assuming that adequate safeguards are built into the system to assure the continuing |

|integrity of the claimant file. Ancillary benefits to this are greater customer satisfaction in access to and the ability to |

|partially “co-manage” information and decreased UI employee involvement in housekeeping info maintenance. |

Automated Adjudication Scheduling

Connecticut has implemented an automated adjudication scheduling module that is designed to equalize workload and provide for quick resolution of issues. Manual scheduling and workload monitoring are major time-consumers in most UI benefits systems.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Connecticut

Texas

Utah

Wisconsin

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|In-Series Scheduling is already available within New Jersey’s RCC application, but not yet used across all benefit programs or |

|adjudication centers. Scheduling functionality is included in the Business process Conceptual Design, for adjudications as well as |

|appeals. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Full adoption of automated scheduling should be a substantial time saver to all those involved in the claims process (both UI |

|personnel and external customers) and constitute a much more effective workload allocation system. |

Telephone Adjudication

Traditional UI systems require face to face adjudication interviews with claimants. However, the advent of Remote Initial Claims has led many states to telephone fact-finding. Some states such as Colorado and Utah do 100% of their adjudication fact finding by telephone and mail.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Colorado

Georgia

Utah

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Telephone adjudications are already adopted in New Jersey. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|None. |

File Appeal via IVR

Tennessee has programmed their IVR to accept appeals, eliminating the time-consuming appeal by mail requirement.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Tennessee

Additional Comments:

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Telephone filing of appeals is now adopted as a future service, as long as the telephone transcript is documented as text (to meet |

|legal requirements). |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Tennessee’s approach is innovative and is a good example to investigate more fully. |

Telephone Appeal Hearings

Several states have improved efficiency and time-lapse performance by conducting appeal hearings by telephone. Often such states describe telephone hearings as the state’s prescribed method with in-person hearings available only by request.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Connecticut

Missouri

Texas

Utah

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|As part of the ACES project, the Appeals Tribunal has set a target of 95% of hearings to be conducted by phone. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Employers and claimants in other states report this as a substantial improvement in UI agency efficiency and effectiveness. |

|Benefits to UI agencies include greater appeals productivity, increased timeliness, and more orderly determinations. |

Telecommuting of Appeals Staff

Texas shows their commitment to telephone appeal hearings by having all of their Administrative Law Judges telecommute. Telecommuting increases productivity and saves money since space at the central office is not required for these ALJs.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Texas

Additional Comments: Other side of the argument is that ALJ’s may lose some of the synergies in being officed in close proximity or together. Some states report considering a combination approach for rural/urban offices.

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Not specifically, as part of UI Modernization. However, remote working has been discussed more widely and could certainly apply to |

|the Appeals Tribunal as well as the rest of the agency. (The issue may be under discussion in the Tribunal, outside the |

|Modernization project). |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Employers and claimants in other states report this as a substantial improvement in UI agency efficiency and effectiveness. |

|Benefits to UI agencies include greater appeals productivity, increased timeliness, and more orderly determinations. |

Automated Decision and Document Management Systems

Many states generate pre-programmed adjudication decisions through an automated correspondence module. The adjudicator enters a code to generate the automated decision which is then prepared and mailed without human intervention.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Utah

Wisconsin

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Automated determinations: an expert system to guide determinations is part of the planned design. |

|Automated correspondence: automated notifications are also a key piece of functionality. The agency has also requested the ability |

|to shape correspondence – i.e., not just ‘canned’ letters. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Both these solutions improve timeliness and efficiency. The expert system should also improve the overall quality of determinations|

|and reduce the level or expertise needed to become an adjudicator. |

On-Line Employer Non-Charge Request

North Carolina’s employer portal allows employers to request relief of charges via the internet. Other states include this functionality in future IT development.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

North Carolina

Ohio

Wisconsin

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|New Jersey has a business design principle: that customers should be able to access the agency on most matters via the web or |

|telephone (or in-person, if absolutely needed). Employer requests for relief of charges is covered by this principle. |

|Additionally, the UI and Employer Accounts Divisions are planning to provide an employer inquiry support unit together, to make |

|employer access much easier. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Several states report anecdotally that this will be a requirement in upgraded systems buildouts. |

On-Line Appeal Filing

Several states are working on web functionality that will allow claimants and employers to file appeals on-line. Florida or Utah will likely be the first to implement this functionality.

Florida

Ohio

Utah

Wisconsin

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Already possible – but not yet advertised. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Benefits (and objections) to this service were discussed in the workshops. This functionality could substantially streamline the |

|appeals process, especially when combined with telephonic appeals hearings. |

On-Line Fact Finding (Statements)

More than 20 states with on-line initial claims also have on-line fact finding functionality.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Florida

Maryland

Missouri

Utah

Washington

Additional Comments:

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Yes, again as part of the principle that access should be via web or phone in all instances. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|This was discussed in the workshops and inherently should be a part of a modernized on-line initial claims environment. |

On-Line CWC, UCFE, UCX

While many states take intrastate initial claims on-line, fewer have developed the capability to receive interstate, CWC, UCFE and UCX claims. Maryland and Utah have automated to the extent that any type of claim may be filed on-line.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Maryland

Utah

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|UI Modernization in New Jersey covers the following benefit programs and claim types: UI, CWC and Interstate, UCX, UCFE, TRA, DUA |

|(disaster unemployment assistance), DDU (disability during unemployment), SEA (self-employment assistance) and ABT (additional |

|benefits during training). The Modernization design applies to all these areas, and - while needing to take into account their |

|variations – will allow each area to take advantage of the same tools and approaches. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|New Jersey has not yet prioritized the ideas in the Business Process Conceptual Design for delivery. Given volumes, this |

|functionality may be later in the project. |

On-Line Mass Claims

Maryland and South Carolina have developed the capability of allowing the employer to enter mass claims on-line or via e-mail.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Maryland

South Carolina

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Yes. In fact, the plan is to enable mass-layoff employers to submit wages, weeks and reason for separation to the agency in advance|

|of a claim, so that this subset of claimants can be processed automatically. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|This capability makes substantial sense in large employer states such as NJ. Benefits accrue to both filing employers and |

|claimants. |

On-Line 1099 Replacement

One of the more popular features of the claimant portal is on-line 1099 viewing and printing. Claimants who failed to receive or lost 1099’s can get them on-line rather than having to request them from the UI agency.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Maryland

Pennsylvania

Wisconsin

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Yes, as part of customer access to their own electronic case files – although 1099s specifically did not get much emphasis in the |

|workshops. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Ancillary benefits to UI agency are decreased employee involvement in duplicative work. |

On-Line Eligibility Review

Utah has developed an on-line eligibility review that sends notice to the claimant that he/she must participate in an ER by completing the ER form on-line. The form is then reviewed by eligibility review specialists and adjudication decisions made after allowing claimants rebuttal opportunities by telephone. Claimants without personal computers are instructed to use one of a variety of computer resources including Department of Workforce Services local offices.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Utah

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|No eligibility review requirements came out of the workshops. New Jersey is sticking with a bi-weekly certification model and ERIs |

|– when raised for discussion - were not accepted as part of the future design. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|This is another means of expediting the adjudication/eligibility determination process. |

On-Line Employer Fact-Finding

Maryland has automated separation notices and fact finding from employers. Their process assigns a key number to each separation issue and the employer is given the key number. When the employer accesses the application, a pre-populated form is provided. The employer enters a separation reason and supporting facts, thus eliminating the need for mail transmission.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Maryland

Washington

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|This type of solution was not discussed in detail – but online fact-finding overall was accepted. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|This solution is an interesting option for further investigation. However, does it meet the needs of large companies with |

|centralized personnel services, or those of employer agents? |

Imaging

Many states now image documents received by mail and make them part of the electronic record. Through this process, paper files are essentially eliminated.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Florida

Kentucky

Maryland

Montana

Texas

Utah

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Yes. Reducing the need for imaging by reducing paper submission of claims and other information is also an important design |

|concept. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|None. |

Spanish Initial and Continued Claims on IVR and/or Web

Many states have now programmed their IVR initial and continued claims dialogs in English and Spanish. A smaller number of states offer web applications in Spanish.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Kentucky

New York

Rhode Island

Utah

Wisconsin

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|In principle, the workshops proposed that all UI services should be available in customers’ native languages. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|The cost-benefit of providing services in languages beyond Spanish and English has not yet been fully investigated. The workshops |

|agreed that better use of the current language line facility would be a quick win. |

New Hire Reporting Crossmatch

States have crossmatched claim files with new hire reports to identify claimants who work and continue to file for UI. This crossmatch identifies fraudulent claims very early, thus substantially reducing overpayments.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Kentucky

Louisiana

Utah

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Yes. All workshop participants agreed to cross-matches to prevent incorrect payments being made. A cross-match with the inter-state|

|new hire directory is a pillar of that approach. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|New Jersey is aiming to add further cross-matches as they become available, to make the prevention approach as robust as possible. |

Workflow Management System

Among the states that have developed workflow management systems, Pennsylvania has an application that allows them to determine staffing needs in the call centers based upon projected .call volumes

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Montana

Pennsylvania

Texas

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Yes. Workflow and case management are core to NJ UI Modernization. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|Details on workflow and case management will come out in the next phase – technical architecture. |

Video BRI via Public Access TV

Maine uses statewide public access TV to broadcast benefit rights and responsibilities on a continuous basis. Claimants who file new claims are instructed to view the BRI on local television.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Maine

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|No – although the NJ equivalent – a ‘re-employment orientation’ – has just been translated to video for showing at One Stops. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|If desirable, it would be reasonably easy to get the video shown on public access TV? |

Identity Verification via SSA and/or DMV

Since the advent of telephone initial claims, many states have verified identity via links with the social security administration and state DMV records. Most states do this verification via a batch process. Utah and Wisconsin, with “state on-line query” (SOLQ), have the most effective systems as social security numbers are verified in real time and behind the scenes.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Minnesota

Utah

Wisconsin

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|See New Hire Reporting cross-match, above. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|This also came out of the workshop process and constitutes an improvement that will lead to faster, more accurate, and more honest |

|initial claims. |

Adjudication Expert Systems

Pennsylvania and Rhode Island have developed expert systems that will make routine adjudication decisions based on data entered by the claimant or department personnel.

Sample States Using or Pursuing this Technology

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

|Has New Jersey adopted this best practice as part of the Business Process Conceptual Design? |

|Yes – although the scope of such a system will require strong business user input to reassure some parties that it is |

|comprehensive. |

| |

|Additional comments |

|An expert system approach offers New Jersey a way to reduce the level of knowledge needed to make determinations. Currently, this |

|requires a significant consistency of quality, which made the loss of resources in 2002 particularly painful and difficult to |

|back-fill. |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download