THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 2, 1996 TAG: 9602020441
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
The Allen administration froze development of a statewide computer system meant to allow Virginia social service agencies to track hundreds of thousands of clients.
The state spent four years and $17 million developing the system, which administration officials concluded will not work.
The decision followed a report from a private consultant, said Clarence H. Carter, the acting Social Services commissioner.
The move surprised local agencies and lawmakers, who are clamoring for emergency financing to keep a pilot version of the program operating.
Program manager Kathleen A. Henley said the state hesitates to expand the system because it is seeking to turn over some social service functions to private business.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Social Services has ordered an audit to determine why the program has drifted at least two years behind schedule and bloated in total cost from a projected $54 million to $85 million.
Officials said the unwieldy computer program is occupying too much of the mainframe computer system that the state dedicates to social services and other agencies. by CNB