Living on the Bleeding Edge of Technology Without Getting Too Badly Cut

December 2002
By Richard Bermack

CalWIN is Coming

On November 14 the Eligibility and Employment Services Committee of the Local 535 executive board held a retreat to discuss the CalWIN eligibility computer system and other technology, such as replacing welfare checks with electronic debit cards. A fitting title for the retreat would have been, “Living on the Cutting Edge of Technology Without Getting Too Badly Cut.” Speakers included Contra Costa County Supervisor, former social worker and SEIU union representative Donna Gerber, who talked about political strategies for the upcoming budget crisis. Local 535 political director Jerry Fillingim added to the political strategy discussion. Ed Barnes, director of Family Advocacy Services, talked about strategies for eligibility workers and welfare advocacy groups working together. The participants heard an overview of CalWORKS and the difficulties anticipated based on the LEADER computer system in Los Angeles. Workers also described problems with a pilot study of the debit card system in Alameda County.

The Bleeding Edge”

Computers and automation offer the possibility of freeing eligibility workers from the mountains of paperwork and tedium of filling out forms. Workers should be able to enter an applicant’s data into a computer once, have the computer determine eligibility, and then calculate the amount of benefits. Counties are experimenting with issuing clients electronic benefit transaction cards. Instead of receiving a check and food stamps, clients receive an electronic debit card they use like an ATM card. In theory the technology could make it possible for the worker to spend quality time with the clients instead of brusquely rushing them through, further adding to the humiliation of having to apply for aid.

California, like many states, is experimenting with this type of technology, but it has not been an easy road to travel. During the Wilson administration, almost every major computer system in California attempted ended up on the scrap heap. One of the few surviving systems, the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System, nicknamed by workers “CWS-see the mess,” is hardly an example of success. The combination of a county bidding system that encouraged companies to low-ball bids and a technology industry with a culture of “promise the world and leave it to the legal department to limit liability,” has been a recipe for disaster. Counties have ended up with bleeding edge technology, and the workers and clients end up bloodied.

In the mid-1990s California began the CalWIN project in an attempt to computerize county welfare in California. The state was divided into four consortiums, the largest was the CalWIN project. Over the next couple of years 18 counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Orange, Placer, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Tulare, Ventura, and Yolo) will be going on line with CalWIN to determine welfare eligibility. The system is being produced by EDS, the same company that created the LEADER system in Los Angeles. The EDS website describes the magnitude and goals of the system: “The new system will support more than 24,000 users across 600 sites and will process 15 million transactions per day. CalWIN features, such as interactive interview tools, will make it possible to more quickly determine benefit levels for families based on need. The system will play a critical role in helping employees devote more of their time and energy to casework with clients and less time on calculations and processing.”

Two years ago the Eligibility and Employment Services Committee, with the help of union field staff, began organizing workers in 535 chapters around the state to prepare for the implementation of the CalWIN system and form strategies to make the transition easier. The CalWIN program and planning committee includes Darlene White, Terri Perez, Pamela Meadows, Sharon Morton-McClimans, Rosa Huerta, Ian Arnold, Bonnie Clark, Laura Somarriba, Carlethia Basely, and Ben Toney. Union staff includes Fred Beal, Elaine Carter, Anes Lewis Partridge, Joyce Baird, Bob Solis, and Greg Cross.

The good news is that management has learned from past computer disasters to involve workers and the union in the planning process. The administrators of many counties are forming labor-management committees, and are welcoming the workers and union participation. Everyone wants to do what they can to avoid the past disasters.