In July 2006, the Division of the State Chief Information Officer (CIO) assumed responsibility for the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) Information Technology Help Desk and the management of the DSS wide area network (routers and switches) used for communication with all physical locations.
For the past several months, DSS and CIO have been working together to convert the DSS network to Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS). When the conversion is complete – the target date is Dec. 31, 2006 – CIO will analyze the entire network and right size the bandwidth in all locations.
Currently, DSS and CIO are working together to migrate DSS Lotus Notes e-mail to Microsoft (MS) Exchange with an expected completion date of spring 2007. CIO will host Exchange e-mail for DSS at the State Data Center.
In addition, DSS is working with the CIO Security, Policy and Assessment team to conduct an Information Technology Security Assessment. DSS deputy directors will appoint a team to identify their agency’s critical assets which will be the focus of the assessment. The CIO team will then analyze DSS security policies and procedures, conduct intrusion detection and provide DSS with a written report of the security issues that were identified.
DSS staff members are working with the CIO Print and Mail team to take advantage of their host-to-post service. Currently, DSS uses host-to-post to print and mail notices that go to DSS clients. In the near future, the agency plans to utilize CIO’s technology to print and mail several additional types of DSS documents. Using host-to-post has allowed DSS to realize a significant cost avoidance in vehicle transportation costs, to eliminate the presort bureau per piece cost and to lower the postal rate of their bar-coded mail. Additionally, the agency’s mail is now sorted to a greater depth, which should result in improved and expedited delivery in South Carolina.
Recently, DSS has collaborated with the CIO’s Information Technology Management Office (ITMO) on a number of procurements.
- DSS acts as the seat state for the Electronic Parent Locator Network (EPLN) which is a consortium of 16 states whose common objective is to pool resources to provide cost-effective solutions for interstate and intrastate child support issues. ACS State and Local Solutions provides this service through a State contract that began last fiscal year.
DSS has partnered with CIO, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and the South Carolina Budget and Control Board’s (B&CB) Internal Operations in the preparation, evaluation and awarding of a State contract for a South Carolina eLearning Center (SCELC). The system is a statewide-integrated solution that provides a Learning Management System, Learning Content Management System, Knowledge Management and Collaboration suite of tools. GeoLearning was awarded the State contract to provide the solution using a vendor hosted application service provider (ASP) model. DSS serves on the South Carolina eLearning Governance Board, and plans to use the system in conjunction with Element K to administer and deliver online training to DSS employees.
- DSS and ITMO have collaborated to issue a Request for Procurement (RFP) for a State contract for Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) and debit cards. EBT is currently used by South Carolina and other states to electronically deliver benefits to recipients for the Food Stamp Program. When the RFP is finalized, DSS plans to use it to deliver additional benefits to clients through EBT and debit cards. The new contract will also be available for use by other South Carolina government entities.
- Another collaboration between the two agency staffs resulted in an RFP that will provide enhanced document printing services to DSS and other CIO customers.
More than 25 DSS employees have completed extensive training on MS .Net and ASP, and a number of employees with extensive experience with these technologies have been hired. DSS plans to host the production and quality assurance .Net systems and SQL databases at the State Data Center. The test and user acceptance testing systems will be hosted at DSS.
DSS staff has nearly completed a new Child Care Licensing System using MS .Net and SQL which will be used in production status by Dec. 31, 2006. This system will be accessed by a mobile work force through the Web, using Tablet PCs and Verizon cards, and will enable child care specialists to access the system while they are conducting facility reviews.
- The Child and Adult Productive Services System was recently converted from MS Visual Basic to MS .Net to allow for more flexibility in adding new components to the system in the future. This is a very large, mission critical system with approximately 1,500 end users. The system will be enhanced over the next several years to meet the needs of DSS and to comply with federal government requirements.
During the spring and fall of 2006, the South Carolina EBT Program (SCEBT) conducted a pilot project with Farmers' Markets in various counties in the State for the 2006 growing season. Eight markets participated in the project, a collaborative effort between SCEBT, South Carolina Department of Agriculture, DHEC, USDA – Food and Nutrition Service and J.P. Morgan EFS, using an electronic point-of-sale system to conduct EBT business.
USDA supports similar projects throughout the nation. The goal is to encourage lower income citizens to eat healthier by buying fresh fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers. Due to the success of South Carolina’s pilot project, the SCEBT Office has submitted a formal request to USDA to allow all Farmers' Markets in the State to participate in the EBT Program.
The Automated Eligibility System (AES) is a new project, sponsored jointly by DSS and the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which promises exciting benefits to the residents of South Carolina. Currently in the early Project Planning phase, AES is a Web-enabled, real-time, automated eligibility determination system that will be used by caseworkers, supervisors and managers of both departments to collect, store and provide information to determine eligibility for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Food Stamps and Medicaid.
When operational in 2009, AES will eliminate five aging legacy systems and provide improved technology that will streamline processes, eliminate redundancy, reduce costs and expedite the delivery of aid to South Carolina residents, as well as provide an easier means to meet the constantly changing federal mandates on these programs. The system will provide the ability to collect information in a single, Web-based process that can be shared among many State programs, provide increased and easier access to data and records, and automatically ensure that benefits are calculated correctly and consistently across South Carolina.
About DSS
The mission of DSS is to ensure the safety and health of children and adults who cannot protect themselves, and to assist those in need of food assistance and temporary financial assistance while transitioning into employment. DSS is a Cabinet Agency with approximately 4,000 employees located in nearly 100 offices across the State.
