Computer system may get clearance

Friday, Jan. 5, 2001 | 10:44 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- After years of delays and cost overruns, the $125 million computer system of the state Welfare Division may be on the verge of passing federal muster.

A team of four officials from the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement completed a two-day inspection Thursday of the system nicknamed "NOMADS," and told state officials a report would be issued in about 60 days.

State Welfare Administrator Mike Willden said he was "very encouraged" and feels the system will gain federal certification. That could mean a refund of $3.5 million of the $5.6 million in fines assessed by the federal government for failing to meet deadlines.

The inspectors were mum on what their recommendations will be, Willden said. But the four officials did not find any deficiencies in the system.

Last November the inspectors visited Las Vegas to check NOMADS and found 22 areas that should be corrected. These were fixed, Willden said. In this week's inspection, there were 30 test cases run through the computer to see if the system spit out the right amount of child support due. And the state passed every one, the welfare administrator said.

"They gave us a clean bill of health," Willden said, noting that he hopes to have word from the federal government before the Legislature convenes Feb. 5.

However, the decision could be delayed because other states are going through the same testing, the federal officials said.

The federal government in the mid-1980s ordered the states to develop a unified system for handling child support cases. At the time, the computer system in the Welfare Division was antiquated and a decision was made to overhaul the whole thing.

The work started in 1988 as a $22.6 million project and was to be completed within two years. The cost has ballooned to close to $125 million, and it has been criticized as a dinosaur and a boondoggle by its critics.

The system meshes the programs of child support, welfare and food stamp cases. There were 17 different systems in the counties that formerly handled the child support payment. All of the local systems had to be integrated into the state computer.

The state originally hired a subsidiary of IBM to develop the system. After a series of disagreements with the contractor, the state decided to accept full responsibility for the project. Willden said the federal inspectors were impressed with the progress made since the state assumed control more than two years ago.

The federal government at one time was going to withhold $9 million to pay for the cost, but Gov. Kenny Guinn flew to San Francisco and met with federal officials to work out a compromise, and the federal money kept flowing.

About 66 percent of the money for the system came from the federal government.

Because of missed deadlines, the state paid $400,000 in penalties for one year, then $1.2 million the following year and $4 million last year. But Willden said federal certification will mean a return of about $3.5 million.

Willden said there are still some improvements to be made to NOMADS, which standards for Nevada Operations Multi Automated Date Systems. At any one time there are 1,500 people logged on to the system, which causes a slow response. He said he hopes that can be upgraded.

And the system can be changed to make it more user friendly so users don't have to flip from screen to screen to enter data.