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The Situation
For years, the state-owned, countyadministered Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS) has been plagued with technology issues that have, in the best case, prevented county caseworkers from easily entering benefit information for Coloradans and, in the worst case, actually prevent Coloradans from receiving timely benefits. The CBMS system is responsible for eligibility determination for many of Colorado's benefits including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Medicaid. Past efforts to resolve the technology issues were not as successful as the state would have hoped and the CBMS system has continued to be unreliable since it was first deployed in 2004. In an attempt to resolve these issues from a holistic perspective, Secretary Kristin Russell asked the chief technology officer (CTO) to perform an independent assessment of the system and make technical recommendations to the CBMS Executive Steering Committee late last year.
The Assessment
Walking into the county offices offers a glimpse of the importance of the CBMS system. Packed with people in need of government services, there is little doubt that preventing these Coloradans from receiving aid would be devastating to their families. While there, an extremely helpful county caseworker provided us with a demonstration of CBMS in action. Or, rather, no action. As she moved her mouse, nothing moved on the...