Unemployment system's deadline passes

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Another deadline for final completion of a long awaited upgrade to Indiana's unemployment computer system has come and gone, with no firm explanation from the state on when the project might finally be finished.

The Department of Workforce Development announced the project in 2005, and work on it was supposed to be completed in April of 2008. Since then, numerous projection completion dates for the project have been missed.

Following the latest delays, the Department of Workforce Development told I-Team 8 the project would finally be finished in November of 2012. But, documents obtained by I-Team 8 show the state signed another $6 million contract extension with California based Haverstick Consulting on the project in December, bringing the total cost of the project to nearly $52 million as it approaches five years past its original completion date.

The cost overruns have now reached more than twice the original $24 million budgeted for the work.

DWD spokesman Joe Frank said the additional delays have been unavoidable, but could not address what aspects of the project remained incomplete.

“Part of what you have in a long term contract is that things come up in the future of technology changes and technology advancements. And, pretty much every contract you're going to see in technologically advancing projects like this is--there are going to be cost increases. Because, we just can't see in 10 years what technology is going to be,” Frank said.

Still, DWD says all planned upgrades to the claimant filing system are now finished.

“The entire project is not completed. But, everything we were supposed to have up to now is completed, and everything on the claimant side is completed. So, claimants don't see anything different than they will in the future,” Frank said.

The department has not set a new deadline for final completion of the project.