Guinn eyes $2.5 million for welfare computer

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn is considering pumping another $2.5 million into a state welfare computer system that has compiled a 10-year history of cost overruns and missed deadlines.

Teams of federal officials are due in Carson City this morning for three days of meetings and examinations on how the system, nicknamed "Nomads," can finally get out of the starting gate.

Pete Ernaut, chief of staff for Guinn, said Friday the administration may allocate $2.5 million to get the system running. But that could avoid $30 million in later penalties that could be imposed by the federal government.

Development of Nomads started in 1989 with a three-year deadline at a cost of $22.6 million. It's now 10 years later and the cost has skyrocketed to more than $95 million.

"The analogy we used is we had a $97 million jet fighter that nobody knew how to fly. That's true. But the good news is we know the jet will fly. There was doubt the thing would even work. We now believe it will work," Ernaut said.

The bad news is that nobody, except the staff of IBM that developed the system, knows how to operate it.

Two central issues remain, according to Ernaut. One is transferring the cases in the computers in the 17 counties into the state system. There are about 80,000 of them. And it takes about 4 1/2 hours to enter each case into Nomads. That would add up to about two years, Ernaut said.

"We have to streamline that and the federal government is working with us to find the bare minimum standards by which we can convert these caseloads down to about 90 minutes," Ernaut said. That could cut the time to one year and would mean far less in federal penalties.

The plan calls for developing a "SWAT team" probably of IBM officials to train both state and county workers on shortening the time.

The second problem is Nomads had propriety software -- "only language known to IBM." The contract between the state and IBM expires June 30. "If IBM leaves June 30, we don't have anybody to run this system," Ernaut said.

He said IBM employees will probably be hired to train state and county workers in the operation.

Guinn has had at least three calls from the highest levels of IBM and from the top echelon in the federal government assuring him, he said, that "they will pitch in and get this solved once and for all."

The federal government initially ordered the states to develop a system for collecting and tracking child-support cases. Nevada decided to design an integrated system with most of its welfare program on it.

Some of the counties, fed up with the state's delays and problems, are talking about joining together to start their own system. The state faces $411,000 in penalties this fiscal year. And the federal government has withheld $7 million in development costs. Of the $95 million, about 70 percent came from the federal government.

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