Editorial: Maddening delays finally come to end

Friday, Jan. 26, 2001 | 9:29 a.m.

A federal mandate required that states develop statewide systems to handle child-support payments rather than let each county tackle the chore. Gov. Kenny Guinn announced this week that the state's child-support system now is up and running smoothly -- more than 12 years after Nevada first started to develop this program.

The delay upon delay in implementing the program was maddening for governors, for legislators and, most importantly, for the families who were supposed to be served by a more streamlined child-support payment system. The name of the computer system is Nevada Operations Multi-Automated Data Systems, a mouthful that led to it frequently being referred to by its acronym, NOMADS. This was an appropriate moniker as the state has wandered for years in search of a solution to the glitches that plagued the start of the computer system, which initially was supposed to cost a little more than $22 million. Now the price tag is expected to top $125 million.

Such a centralized system for child support payments -- which evolved to also mesh with welfare assistance, food stamps and Medicaid -- makes sense on paper. And it's a relief to see that at long last it is working after so many inexcusable delays. But it is critical that the Guinn administration keep a close eye on this computer system, ensuring that the progress that has been made in the past few months isn't derailed by unforeseen bugs. For that matter, the state should remember the snafus that saddled NOMADS for more than a decade, so they don't repeat the same mistakes in developing computer systems for other agencies.