UI Integrity / Improper Payments Joint Federal/State Task Force

1. UI Integrity / Improper PaymentsJoint Federal/State Task Force State Presentation: INDIANA October 14, 2011

2. Areas of National Focus: • Benefit Year Earnings (BYE): Root Causes Identified: • Agency Causes • Auto cancel of some types of ES issues • Agency currently cross matches only against the state directory of new hires and does not cross reference all claims against NDNH • Claimant Causes • Claimant fails to update return-to-work status • Employer Causes • Employers fail to report new hires though New Hire Database

3. Areas of National Focus: • Benefit Year Earnings (BYE): Planned action(s) to address: • Discontinue auto cancel of any ES issues • Create script/procedures for ES adjudication • Instantly run claims through NDNH Principal milestones: • On or before 1st Quarter 2012 • On or before 1st Quarter 2012 • Launch or new CORE computer system in 4th Quarter of 2011 3

4. Areas of National Focus: • Separations (SEPs): Root Causes Identified: • Agency Causes • High turnover has left the agency with inexperienced adjudication staff • Need for increased number of subject matter experts • Claimant Causes • Incorrect entries of separating base period employer • Confusion as to fact finding questions on agency requests for information • Employer Causes • Employer fails to provide sufficient information 4

5. Areas of National Focus: • Separations: • Planned action(s) to address: • Create positions for quality experts at management level • Create web-based training for new hires and current staff who do not meet acceptable quality standards • Review claims filing questions and edit as necessary for better clarity and ease of understanding • Transfer New Hire information to drop down boxes • Continue to improve ease of communications from employers with the agency 5

6. Areas of National Focus: • Separations (cont.): • Principal milestones: • Training and personnel enhancements to be addressed in the 4th Quarter of 2011 • Question revisions and NDNH transfer to take place in 1st Quarter of 2012 • Improve and enhance communication of separation information between the agency and employers 6

7. Areas of National Focus: • Work Search Issues: Root Causes Identified: • Claimant Causes • Lack of knowledge of work search Requirements • Agency Causes • Voucher submission allowed with less than 3 WS entries, as required by rule 7

8. Areas of National Focus: • Work Search Issues : • Planned action(s) to address: • Policy to provide warning in the first week to non-compliant claimants • Manual adjudication of each WS each week following a warning • System defaults that would not allow voucher completion with less than 3 WS • Principal milestones: • 1st Quarter of 2012 • 1st Quarter of 2012 • Mid 2012 8

9. State-Specific Issues • ES Registration • Root cause(s) identified: • Complicated/Cumbersome process for completing and posting resume as required by current agency policy • Planned action(s) to address issue • Revise policy to allow less cumbersome registration • Reduce and reorganize steps to streamline resume building process • Principle milestones • Policy change could happen as early as 1st Quarter of 2012 • System changes would happen no earlier than the 2nd Quarter of 2012

10. Everybody Owns Integrity • Strategies to Support Owning UI Integrity: • Encourage every staff member who works on or near UI claims: • To be provide exceptional customer service to claimants • Take an interest in meeting agency goals • To take ownership of integrity • Maintain management oversight with a focus on quality • So often the focus on timeliness results in pressure to take shortcuts that impact quality and integrity

11. Communications • Communications Strategies: • To claimants • Improve customer awareness • Promote benefits of using Indiana Career Connect (ICC) • Target communications on requirements where integrity is a problem, especially BYE and Work Search issues • To employers • Mail letter to all registered employers with information on how they can participate in reducing improper payments including: • Encourage participation in the adjudication process • Inform employers of requirements for reporting new hires • Encourage use of Employer Self Service (ESS)

12. Communications • Communications Strategies, Continued: • To state UI staff • Take ownership of issue determinations • Share BAM and BTQ data across all UI units • To the public • Provide feedback to help us improve services • Discourage fraudulent behavior

13. Oh, and…You Gotta See This! • Killer App: • Description of Issue: • Claimants selecting incorrect separating employer at claims filing. Our system allows claimants to select any employer who reported base period wages as a separating employer with a drop down menu including only base period employers. • If the employer is not included in the drop down menu, the claimant must search for the employer with a different feature. • Claimants will sometimes select the incorrect employer, either by honest mistake (selecting franchise rather than franchisee, selecting a similarly named employer “Jones Auto,” or selecting a client company instead of a PEO), or fraud. • Description of Solution: • Indiana will develop the capability to include any employers who have reported the claimant as a new hire though the SDNH or NDNH to the drop down menu.

14. Oh, and…You Gotta See This! • Killer App (cont).: • Anticipated results: • The result could help both in timeliness and accuracy, including a reduction in SEP improper payments. Accuracy will be improved because clearly receiving information from the correct separating employer is essential to a determination. Timeliness will be improved in situations where claimants now select the correct employer. • Also, when an individual does not select either a base period employer, or an employer who has reported though a new hire system, we will have information to contact the separating employer, and encourage new hire reporting. This could lead to a drop in BYE errors. • Cost / Benefit explanation: • The cost is difficult to estimate as it will require programming that will bridge information between the new hire databases and our benefits software.

15. Summary and Q&A “Integrity: Own It!” • Questions? • State Contact for follow-up: Joshua Richardson: jrichardson@dwd.in.gov Phone: 317/232-4259