Study Released: Justice Reinvestment in Indiana

On Wednesday December 15 the governor endorsed recommendations on changes to Indiana’s criminal code and sentencing policies based on a recently concluded study. With the governor’s endorsement, the recommendations will now go before the Criminal Code Evaluation Commission and are expected to be included in a legislation to be filed in January.

According to the governor’s press release,

…the state will improve public safety and security for Hoosiers by concentrating Department of Correction resources on the state’s most violent criminals and by taking a new and smarter approach to those who commit lesser offenses.

Announced in June 2010 by Gov. Daniels, the review was conducted through a partnership with the Pew Center on the States and the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center (CSG).

For a quick summary of the study, visit the CSG website >>

Download the complete report Justice Reinvestment in Indiana (PDF)>>

IBM claims state owes $125M for failed privatization contract

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported on Sunday that IBM Corp. is seeking $125 M from Indiana in the ongoing “disengagement” process after the failed FSSA privatization contact was cancelled. Gov. Daniels ended the contract last fall after more than two years of poor performance and complaints from Hoosiers.

IBM claims Indiana owes it more than $125 million for ending a controversial welfare contract, including $9.3 million for telephones, computer equipment and furniture.

The invoices reflect “disengagement services” – nearly half a million dollars in December and more than $680,000 in January, the most recent invoice available. The largest invoice, dated Oct. 23, bills Indiana more than $43 million for an annual “deferred fee,” part of the original cost of the contract, which was spread out over 10 years.

The documents also show the state fined IBM $115,000 for underperformance during five months last year. That’s about 1 percent of the $11.5 million in fixed fees the company was receiving each month to administer welfare benefits in 59 of the state’s 92 counties.

In less than three years, IBM had been paid about a quarter of the contract’s original $1.16 billion. The Daniels administration has said the state still saved money on the IBM system and will save money with a new, revised plan, based on projections of what each would cost. But the administration has said it can’t provide a cost-per-client comparison between the old system and the IBM-led system because there are too many variables.

So the question remains — when will Hoosiers see a full accounting of the IBM contract and how much it cost the state?

More details on FSSA contract costs and “hybrid” plan

Download the Dec. 15, 2009, FSSA presentation to the Budget Committee here (PDF)

In the News: Skepticism remains over FSSA privatized “hybrid” plan

The Family and Social Services Administration released a few more details on their plan to pilot a new version of the state’s system for public assistance eligibility determination. Under what is being called a ”hybrid” process by the administration, private contractors will continue to work with clients, but without IBM’s overhead management. The big difference, many hope, will be the return of face-to-face assistance as case workers move back into local offices.

The pilot region will include 10 counties in southwestern Indiana. According to the 12/14/09 FSSA press release:

After considering many different regions, the Vanderburgh Region will be the first to roll-out sometime in January (the exact date will be released in a subsequent announcement). The Vanderburgh region contains Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties.
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All other counties will remain under the system they currently have. Clients should operate as usual until FSSA announces any changes coming to their county.

A lot of skepticism remains for lawmakers and social services advocates. At a Monday House Ways & Means Committee hearing on HB 1003, the committee heard about the human impact of the modernization’s poor performance. From the AP coverage:

In the News: Weatherization leaves us cold

According to a report by the Indy Star published today, the administration’s plan to use private organizations for administering federal weatherization dollars has shown little progress in the first quarter.

Statistics from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, which administers the state’s program, show it’s off to a slow start.

The goal to weatherize 2,202 homes by Nov. 30 did not come close to hitting the mark, with only 403 completed. The result? Hundreds of Hoosiers’ homes remain unweatherized as wintry weather settles in, wasting energy and driving up power bills. Nearly 9,000 more homes are expected to be weatherized by May 31.

Local Community Action Programs (CAPs) traditionally manage the program available to low-income Hoosiers, but this year additional administrators were chosen. The changes in how the state traditionally manage the funds prompted review by the federal government, and ultimately caused a delay in the state receiving the stimulus funds.

More from the Indy Star story:

And, critics say, Hoosiers are paying for that now.

“It’s more than disappointing,” Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, said. “It’s harmful. It does great harm to Hoosiers all over the state of Indiana. We urged this administration to give the federal money to those local agencies who have been successful in the past, who have lots of experience getting the money distributed and getting homes weatherized. The governor insisted on bringing in new contractors and spending the money differently. And it’s failed.”
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When the state handed the Indiana Builders Association the biggest share of the $132 million in federal stimulus contracts to weatherize homes, it expected work to be finished on 834 homes by the end of November.

It completed work on three.
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In addition to the Indiana builders, the Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative, which was awarded a contract for more than $5 million, was supposed to have completed 205 homes. It completed 15.
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Some groups — all community action agencies with experience in weatherization and federal programs — have exceeded their goals. The Community Action Program of Western Indiana completed work on 57 homes, three more than its goal of 54 at the end of November. The South Central Community Action Program had completed work on 37 homes at the end of November, one more than its goal of 36. And the North Central Community Action Agency, with a goal of 11 homes, completed work on 12.

View a list [PDF] of weatherization administrators, how much they’ve received and how they’ve met their goals. (File obtained from the IndyStar website.)

Read the administration’s press release announcing the selection of weatherization administrators and the criteria by which they were chosen.

Early start to session?

The Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee and House Ways and Means Committee have already been assigned big issues on the first official day of the 2010 session. We’re hearing that these committees may begin hearings in December on some of the following bills – before the General Assembly reconvenes on Jan 5. Is this a trend for Indiana’s part-time legislature?

Two bills filed in the Senate on Tuesday:

SJR 1: Constitutional amendment for already enacted 1-2-3% property tax caps
SB 23: Delay of unemployment insurance employer contributions changes by one year

Five bills filed in the House on Tuesday:

HJR 1: Constitutional amendment for already enacted 1-2-3% property tax caps
HB 1001: Ethics reform on lobby gifts, legislator to lobbyist transitions, and political contributions by state contractors
HB 1002: Worker Preference on public works projects
HB 1003: Halts the contracting and privatization of services for FSSA’s Medicaid and Food Stamp program
HB 1004: Limit the annual increase of homestead and farmland assessments

To track legislation visit http://www.in.gov/legislative/