Williamson County Cases Transitioning to New Computer System

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HHSC will transition 18,000 Medicaid, food stamp and TANF clients in Williamson County to a new computer system (TIERS) in November. This will allow the agency to continue to implement a modern, upgraded computer system while work continues on a business-process solution that will allow HHSC to resume the rollout of the larger integrated eligibility system. State workers will continue to process all cases, and all current state benefits offices will remain open.

Why Williamson County? More than 6,300 Williamson County clients already are in the new system because they first applied for benefits while living in Travis or Hays counties, where the new system has been used since 2003. In addition, eight of the 28 state workers in Williamson County are already trained to use the new computer system. Workers in HHSC’s specialized Assistance Response Team will be available to fill in at the two Williamson County offices while other staff complete training.

How many cases will this affect? This conversion will add more than 18,000 clients to the new system for a 12 percent increase. Currently almost 150,000 clients, primarily in Travis and Hays counties, receive state benefits through the new system each month.

How will the local offices be supported during this transition?  More than a dozen special Assistance Response Team workers will assist the office while its employees go through training, and the state’s technology team will be available to provide on-site support during the transition. In addition, the Assistance Response Team members will be on site during the transition to help the local office staff.

How will this affect clients? The transition should be seamless for clients, and state workers will continue to process all cases. After the transition, Williamson County clients will have some added service options, such as the ability to check the status of their case by phone or using self-service centers in local offices. Clients will continue to be able to get assistance by visiting their local office and meeting with a state worker.

What is the vendor’s role in this transition? The Texas Access Alliance will provide technology support for the transition and will image client records received by mail or fax into the system to start an electronic case file. The file is then transferred to state staff who will complete the file and determine if the applicant is eligible for services.

When will the transition take place?  Existing cases will be converted to the new system over the weekend after offices close Nov. 17. As part of the conversion process, each case is examined to ensure that the benefits calculation in the new system matches the previous calculation to the penny. A team of 19 state workers will review any cases that do not match exactly and resolve any issues before the cutoff date when the next month’s benefits are issued. New applicants will be processed through the new system beginning Nov. 20.