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Conference Highlights
Plenary Presentations
The Texas Transformation:
Delivering Technology That Matters
Information and communications
technology is a key enabler for
transforming Texas state government to
better serve its citizens and customers.
Texas’ enterprise approach to technology
encourages innovative solutions that
serve the state's citizens, promotes
collaborative partnerships within and
among public and private sectors, and
leverages shared services to reduce
costs and gain efficiencies. Today, Texas
state government has begun to build a
shared technology infrastructure through
managed offerings like data center
services, communications technology
services, and our award-winning state
portal—TexasOnline.com. This shared
infrastructure will increase citizen
access to government services, provide
greater security of information, leverage
taxpayers' investment in technology, and
promote innovation.
Speakers
Brian S. Rawson  , Chief Technology Officer, State of Texas, Austin, TX
Lara Coffer, Director, Technology Center Operations Division, Texas Department
of Information Resources, Austin, TX
Brian Kelly, Director, Communication Technology
Services Division, Texas Department of Information Resources, Austin, TX
Information Security: A New Line
Drawn In The Sand
A paradigm shift has occurred that
redefines business relationships between
state agencies and their partners and
employees, requiring new approaches to
securing resources. This includes:
compliance requirements beyond the
traditional relationship between the
agency and its legislative bosses;
new rules protecting data not only
for reasons of confidentiality but for
processes related to eDiscovery; and
new technologies within the protected
network that bring new threats that can
only be addressed by drawing a new line
in the sand, emphasizing concepts of data
loss prevention while continuing support
for traditional security solutions.
This session includes discussions of the
past, present, and future of information
security; solutions for already tight state
IT budgets; and a question and answer
session.
Speakers
Raj Jindal, Director of Information Technology, Louisiana Department of Labor, Baton Rouge, LA
Jon Newman, Chief Information Security Officer, Office of Information Resources Integrity
and Security, Texas Workforce Commission, Austin, TX
Building Healthy Relationships
Between IT and Business Users
Tug-of-war...who wins? As a business
user, have you ever felt that IT staff is
clueless about what you need? As an
IT staff member, have you ever felt that
business users don’t understand what
you can give them? In your state, do
you feel like it is WE versus THEM? The
presentations and panel discussion in this
session provide valuable input on what
prevents good relationships between IT
and business users; how to achieve and
maintain good working relationships;
what works and what doesn't work; and
important lessons learned.
Moderator
Jody McMillan, UI Project Manager, Utah Department of Workforce Services, Salt Lake City, UT
Speakers
Dennis Green , IT Manager, Arizona Employment Administration, Phoenix, AZ
Martha B. Johnson , UC Automation Support Coordinator, Alabama Department of Industrial
Relations, Montgomery, AL
Bryan Kasteler , IT Manager / DWS, Utah Department of Technology Services, Salt Lake City, UT
UI SIDES Update
What is the UI Separation Information
Data Exchange System (SIDES)? How
does it work? How can I find out more
about the programmatic and technical
details? How does my state join the State
SIDES Consortium and improve the
time-lapse and quality of non-monetary
determinations? This session answers
these and other questions regarding
UI SIDES.
Speaker
John C. Sharkey , Executive Director, UI Information Technology Support Center, College Park, MD
UI-ICON Update
What is the current status of state
participation on UI Interstate
Connection (ICON) applications? What
are the options for my state to connect
to the UI-ICON network? What is the
status on the network and infrastructure
upgrades that are already underway?
What is the status of the new UI-ICON
Web applications? This session answers
these and other UI-ICON questions.
Speaker
Amanda Gohl , ICON Account Manager, Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., Orlando, FL
National Update
Dale Ziegler , Deputy Administrator, Office of Workforce Security, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Washington, DC
State Updates
General handout
ITSC State Maps
IT Portfolio
The Information Technology Portfolio is
a searchable database that bridges the
technological specifications for the IT
side of the state workforce system with
the UI business information from the UI
side of the state workforce system. As
a replacement for the Unemployment
Insurance Technology Matrix, the
Information Technology Portfolio is a more
efficient way of keeping states informed
about the progress and innovative
approaches that each of them are taking to
bridge the worlds of UI and IT.
Sean A. Floyd, Professional Staff Assistant & UIT, Subcommittee Liaison, National Association of State Workforce
Agencies, Washington, DC
2-Minute Exhibitor Drill
ACS Government Solutions;
BearingPoint, Inc.; CMA Consulting
Services; Cúram Software, Inc.;
Deloitte; Fairfax Imaging, Inc.; IBM;
JPMorgan Chase Public Sector
Solutions; On Point Technology,
Inc.; Oracle; Revenue Solutions,
Inc.; Saber Government Solutions-
An EDS Company; TALX; Tata
Consultancy Services; Tier
Technologies; and WorkInTexas.com
(Texas Workforce Commission).
Conference Workshops
Building a Tax Audit Program from
the TPS Perspective
The tax audit function mandated by the
federal Tax Performance System (TPS)
has a high number of requirements, and
states often struggle to pass the annual
review. This workshop provides an
overview of the new tax audit program
that Wyoming is building to replace its
15-year-old Lotus-based program. With
only a small, collaborative team of inhouse
staff comprised of key field staff, an
IT developer, and the TPS representative,
Wyoming is keeping a steady eye on
TPS needs throughout the development
phase, with an ultimate goal of creating
a user-friendly program that increases
the likelihood of passing future tax audit
reviews.
Handout 1
Handout 2
Moderator
Mary Peterson, UI Employer Services, Department of Employment, Casper, WY
Speaker
James Beck, Business Analyst, Wyoming Unemployment Tax Division, Casper, WY
Defining Business Requirements
In this workshop, learn from Florida
about the requirements gathering
process, including the difference between
good and bad requirements and the
costs of developing bad requirements.
Participants also learn about Oklahoma's
experience defining business processes,
streamlining processes for automation,
obtaining buy-in from long-time
employees, and forging positive
relationships by taking the business
processes from old to new. In addition,
this workshop includes a discussion of
two different methods of requirements
development, as Iowa adapts its
requirements documents to be able to
operationalize Minnesota's UI tax system.
Moderator
Sandra Taylor, UI Tax Bureau Chief, Iowa Workforce Development, Des Moines, IA
Speakers
Erich Grubert , Business Project Director, Tax Redesign Project – Tax Bureau, Unemployment Insurance Services
Division, Iowa Workforce Development, Des Moines, IA
Chris Thomson , Unemployment Compensation, Information Technology Director, Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, Tallahassee, FL
Maridale Vanek , Assistant UI Director, Benefits, Oklahoma Employment Security
Commission, Oklahoma City, OK
Disaster Recovery and Business
Continuity Planning
Will we ever have a repeat of Katrina?
What if Backhoe Bob slices the fiber optic
cable? This workshop features discussion
on the development of a Disaster
Recovery and Business Continuity
Plan and includes lessons learned and
best practices for plan development.
Additionally, the presentation details one
state agency’s experiences following the
activation of its disaster plan.
Moderator
Martha Johnson, UI Automation Support Coordinator, Alabama Department of Industrial
Relations, Montgomery, AL
Speakers
Bill Beveridge , Director of UI Operations, Colorado Department of Labor
and Employment, Denver, CO
Helen Rambo , Director of Internal Audit, Oklahoma Employment Security
Commission, Oklahoma City, OK
Insights on ICON
You are about to invest millions of
dollars in your UI modernization project.
Do you know the Interstate Connection
(ICON) possibilities—what applications
are available to you? Join us for an update
on new ICON applications, a review of
the Insights on ICON handbook to
assist in answering your questions on
options for data exchange with the
UI-ICON network and hub, and a
discussion with states that have
upgraded their systems on how they
are using ICON applications.
Moderator
Bernadine Warren, Bureau Chief, Program Support Bureau, Unemployment Insurance Division, Department of Labor and Industry, Helena, MT
Speakers
Amanda Gohl , ICON Account Manager, Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., Orlando, FL
Martha Hazelrigg , Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., Orlando, FL
John C. Sharkey, Executive Director, UI Information Technology
Support Center, College Park, MD
State Panelist
Jody McMillan, UI Project Manager , Utah Department of Workforce Services, Salt Lake City, UT
UI Modernization: How to Make
Your System Modernization
Successful!
This workshop features a discussion of
UI system modernization, specifically
what states are doing that has been
successful, the pit stops and potholes
that can impede your progress, and how
to insure the success of your project.
Moderator
Nancy Broaddus, Chief of Tax, Virginia Employment Commission, Richmond, VA
Speaker
Louis J. Ansaldi , Principal Engineer, Noblis, College Park, MD
UI Telecommuting and Outsourcing
Recent events have pushed
telecommuting and outsourcing to the
forefront as useful means to lower the
overall costs of services and continuity of
operations in the UI program. Workshop
participants gain an understanding of
developing a work arrangement in which
staff can work from home facilitated by
such technological tools as virtual private
networks (VPN) with VPN-capable
routers, high-speed Internet connections/
bandwidth, imaging, videoconferencing,
etc. Initial investments in the network
infrastructure and hardware are
balanced by an increase in productivity
and have become negligible when
compared with the operating costs of
UI facilities. Workshop participants learn
about the cost savings and benefits of
outsourcing specific UI functions to a
supplier through a negotiated contract.
Outsourcing is beneficial in lowering staff
costs, as the number of employees can
be adjusted on a regular basis to meet
budget and workload needs. At the heart
of every outsourcing deal is a contractual
agreement that defines how the client
and supplier will work together.
Moderator
Sandy Durrant, Operations Review Specialist, UC Services, Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, Tallahassee, FL
Speakers
Andy Baldwin , UI Director, State of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Nancy Osborne , Manager, UC Customer Service Call Center, Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, Orlando, FL
Using Business Intelligence Query
Systems in UI
Workshop participants gain an
understanding of the current uses of
a Business Intelligence Query system
in the UI environment through a
discussion of how the use of a Business
Intelligence Query system can enhance
the UI mission from a business user
perspective. The workshop focuses on
the lessons learned during the planning,
implementation, and early use of the
technology.
Moderator
Clay Tierney, Acting Director, Internal Benefit Services, Project Manager, Benefit Services, Michigan Unemployment Insurance
Agency, Detroit, MI
Speakers
Kevin H. Seymour , Business Analyst, UI Technology Services, North Carolina Employment Security
Commission, Raleigh, NC
Vicki Smith , Director of UI Integrity, Unemployment Insurance Division, Colorado Department of Labor and
Employment, Denver, CO
Debbie S. Wash , Workforce Development Operations, Administrator, Kentucky Unemployment Insurance, Frankfort, KY
Kentucky's AWARE (Aggregate Workforce Analytics Reporting Engine)
Use the Right Project Managers and
Project Management Methods and
Fundamentals
In this workshop, hear about one
agency's endeavor to promote project
management from within and to build
knowledge management into each
project for the future. This workshop
also features a presentation on the
top 10 characteristics to look for in
a successful project manager, some of
which may surprise you.
Moderator
Joyce Watson, Applications Support Manager, WorkForce West Virginia, State of West Virginia, Charleston, WV
Speakers
Linda T. Belflower , IT Director, Virginia Employment Commission, Richmond, VA
Pete Shipman , UI Technology Manager, Oklahoma Employment Security
Commission, Oklahoma City, OK
Visit the Austin Data Center
Visit the Austin Data Center, one of
two consolidated data centers being
developed by IBM under contract with
the Texas Department of Information
Resources. The tour includes an overview
of the forces that drove the development
of the data center and a tour of the
facility, followed by a presentation by
Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)
staff on TWC's systems that support the
UI business areas.
Speakers
Lara Coffer, Director, Texas Department of Information
Resources, Austin, TX
Dee Meador , Information Technology Director, Texas Workforce Commission, Austin, TX
Clay Cole, Manager, Unemployment Insurance Support Systems Department, Texas Workforce Commission, Austin, TX
Joni Tollett, Manager, Tax Unit, Texas Workforce Commission, Austin, TX
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