|
 Printer-Friendly Version
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-6871
Grants totaling $9 million are being awarded to 11 states
to help make it easier for dislocated workers to file for unemployment
insurance benefits, Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman announced today. The
states will use these funds to implement systems by which initial claims for
unemployment insurance can be filed by telephone rather than in person.
"Telephone claim systems bring us another step closer to
fulfilling our promise to transform the unemployment system into a
re-employment system for the American worker," said Herman. "Although job loss
is still a difficult fact of life for many individuals, these systems will help
make their transition to the next job a little smoother and easier."
Colorado and Wisconsin developed the first systems to
accept all initial claims by telephone, and implementation grants similar to
the ones announced today were given to 10 other states in 1996 (Florida,
Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah
and Washington). The systems for taking unemployment insurance claims by
telephone provide savings to employers by reducing the costs of program
administration. They benefit claimants by eliminating the need for them to
travel to unemployment insurance offices to file claims.
Although initial unemployment insurance claims will be
filed by telephone, individuals may still visit local offices for many types of
assistance, including job search activities, assessment of training needs and
opportunities and referral to training or job opportunities.
States receiving implementation grants have attended one
or more training sessions conducted by the Unemployment Insurance Service
Information Technology Support Center (ITSC). Training tools include software
programs designed to help states evaluate their telecommunications, hardware
and software needs. The ITSC has also developed a voice simulator, which states
can use to evaluate potential scripts for interactive voice response systems.
This allows states to measure the effectiveness and costs of potential sets of
instructions that claimants might hear when they file for benefits by
telephone.
At the invitation of the Labor Department, 16 states
submitted proposals requesting financial assistance of up to $1 million to
implement a system for filing initial claims for unemployment insurance by
telephone. The Unemployment Insurance Service selected 11 grantees on the basis
of measurable improvements in quality, convenience and reduced costs to
claimants, strategic design and technical merit.
These grants are funded through the unemployment insurance
state administration telephone claims-taking account as a funding source for
needs that are not financed through basic unemployment insurance grants.
The 11 states receiving grants, along with the amounts of
the grants, are listed below.
State Amount
CONNECTICUT $ 995,180
HAWAII 1,000,000
KANSAS 365,897
MAINE 604,183
MARYLAND 1,000,000
MINNESOTA 1,000,000
NEW HAMPSHIRE 620,898
NEW YORK 1,000,000
OKLAHOMA 1,000,000
RHODE ISLAND 892,292
VERMONT 521,550
This information will be made available to sensory-impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 219-7831.
TDD Message Phone: 1-800-326-2577.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
| |
|
