Saturday, February 27, 2010

Hello!!

So sorry to have not been posting lately- have been very busy in both my personal and business life!

However, I'm here now and have some interesting info...

Evidently, the state has hired Stanley Stewart from Michigan for "consulting" to help get Texas back on track. FNS is likely breathing down the new Commissioner's neck while he tries to clean up the mess made by Albert Hawkins.

Anyway, so TIERS rollout is back ON. Region 1- Lubbock/Abilene area is next to roll out in May. After that, from what I've heard, ElPaso area is after that then SAN ANTONIO! It will be very interesting to see what rollout does to TIERS and it's ability to maintain the caseload.

As it is now, TIERS still has issues where it slows down so much that it's difficult to get a case done quickly. ESPECIALLY at the end of the month, when all recertifications are due.

It's also interesting that the State saw fit to take away local office's "On Site Support" staff who offered technical support to local office staff for TIERS. Now, ART (Assistance Response Team) helps troubleshoot, but that's not really what the state needs. ART has many "bad habits" and to share those with local office staff just makes a case having issues even worse.

So I've heard that it's Mr. Stewart that is advising to do an aggresive rollout and have the whole state in TIERS within a year.

I want to be optimistic about this, and hope it will work and that TIERS does not crash all around us, but I have to be realistic also.

Any gossip out there? Put it in comments.

Letter to the Editor regarding "Bridges"- the computer system in Michigan that's similar to TIERS that Stanley Stewart rolled out in Michigan...

DPHHS contract: In Michigan, Deloitte did all work in-state (Deloitte? As in the same Deloitte that Texas contracts with? Interesting)


Official: Texas Has Worst-Ranked Food Stamp Program
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr. Stewart's contract is paying him $25,000 - PER MONTH! If he was so good in Michigan, why does Michigan rank at or near the bottom on food stamp timeliness? If any of us think this guy can fix it, we should be ashamed of ourselves.

11:06 AM
Whitney said...

What is Deloitte contracted to do in Texas?

4:40 PM
Anonymous said...

have you seen this?


Ex-official blamed for privitization problems is hired to fix them

Gregg Phillips was the state's second-ranking social services official.


A former state official blamed for much of Texas' biggest privatization failures is now a well-paid consultant helping the state work to eliminate the problems the privatization effort caused, according to a published report.

Gregg Phillips, the state's former second-ranking social services official, now heads Austin-based AutoGov Inc., which was hired without the soliciting of bids from other companies, The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday. The company has received $207,500 since November to help the state's food stamp program eliminate errors in the applicant screening process, according to the newspaper.

Phillips didn't return messages for comment from the paper. Telephone and e-mail messages left for him by The Associated Press were not returned Sunday.

Texas Health and Human Services Commission spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said Executive Commissioner Tom Suehs and his predecessor, Albert Hawkins, thought AutoGov software might resolve the problems.

Mike Gross, vice president of the Texas State Employees Union, criticized the commission's decision to use the company, noting that Hawkins had approved a vendor subcontract with Phillips and AutoGov chief executive Rose Hayden, both former Hawkins aides.

"The whole thing smells very bad. We're now hiring the guy who got us in the mess in the first place. It is absolutely stunning," Gross said.

Hawkins said he saw no conflict of interest in hiring a firm led by Phillips and Hayden.

He said AutoGov had performed similar work for the Texas Youth Commis

1:43 PM

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