I-CLAIM WEBINAR: LEARN HOW SOUTH CAROLINA DEPLOYED THE NATION'S FIRST MOBILE APP FOR FILING WEEKLY UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS

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DATE: JUNE 26TH, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (EST)

AGENDA

The i-claim App was recently deployed by South Carolina's unemployment agency that allows unemployment insurance claimants to file weekly unemployment benefits thru a smartphone. This is the nation's first such app for smartphones which provides claimants with an easier and faster method of filing and collecting their weekly benefits.

In a recent survey, it was found that over 70 percent of claimants use a cell phone to access the internet. That is addition to the fact that almost 55% of all Americans now own a smartphone. The app has received national and state wide press coverage. 

Join us for the live webinar where we will discuss

  • Mobile and State Government

  • Mobile Usage Among UI Claimants

  • I-Claim App Demo

  • South Carolina's Experience

  • Return on Investment Analysis

  • Questions

NEIL ADCOX, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKFORCE

Neil Adcox has held leadership positions in both the private and public sectors, focusing on innovation, technology and business strategy. He is currently the Chief Information Officer with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce where his emphasis is on delivering improved business outcomes from the agency’s IT investments.   

Recently, Neil served as the executive sponsor for the development of the South Carolina i-claim App - the nation’s first app enabling claimants to file a weekly claim over a smartphone. As part of this initiative, Neil worked closely with the vendor, development and engineering teams and business staff to define the overall mobile technology roadmap, vision and customer impact. 

RAJ SRIDAR, PARTNER
RADHA CORP

Raj Sridar is a Senior Technology Manager who has helped state and federal agencies modernize systems and create usable products that benefits both customers and internal staff. In his current role at Radha, he assists organizations in the formulation, planning, and execution of a mobile strategy including assessing the need and identification of business areas suitable for mobile development.

Release of I-Claim app gets national press coverage

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Radha's app for unemployed claimants was deployed by South Carolina's unemployment agency Wednesday that allows jobless residents to seek weekly benefits through their iPhones. This is the nation's first such app for smartphones which provides claimants with an easier and faster method of filing and collecting their weekly benefits. In addition, it also helps state workforce agencies detect fraud and reduce potential call center costs by enabling people with phones to use the app instead of calling a 1800 number. The app has received national and state wide press coverage. 

Radha featured in the Miami Herald

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COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina's unemployment agency launched a free app Wednesday that allows jobless residents to seek weekly benefits through their iPhones.

The Department of Employment and Workforce calls it the nation's first such app for smartphones. The U.S. Department of Labor did not immediately respond to voice and email messages.

State agency spokeswoman Adrienne Fairwell said the mobile application offers a convenience while also helping the agency reduce fraud. According to an agency survey last year, 70 percent of jobless South Carolinians receiving benefits access the Internet via a smartphone at least once daily.

The app is an extension of the agency's move toward automation. People still must fill out initial applications for benefits either online or by phone. In-person help with unemployment claims ended last June.

The app, called SC Weekly iClaim, became available for Apple devices on Wednesday. The agency hopes to have it available for Android devices by late this year, she said.

According to the agency, it helps reduce fraud through a locator function and by the questions it asks as part of the filing process. The app detects where someone is located when the filer touches the final "yes" for a weekly payment. By law, the jobless qualify for the benefit only if they were available to work in South Carolina that week, so if filers are located outside the state, their submissions will be flagged as possibly unable to work here.

A fact-finding review will determine whether the person fraudulently sought benefits or, for example, went on a quick weekend trip but was still available during the week, Fairwell said.

Questions asking whether someone worked that week and, if so, the amount received should reduce overpayments, she said. People can earn up to a quarter of their former paycheck and still receive unemployment assistance, though such work would reduce that week's benefit.

"We found through our research that people aren't necessarily committing fraud knowingly," but they may not think of money received for an odd job as a paycheck, Fairwell said.

Those who install the app will receive reminders about their claims as well as push notifications about local job fairs and other hiring events. The app also features a map function pinpointing offices around the state that provide re-employment services.

Radha Consulting of Portland, Ore., was awarded the contract to develop the app. That was part of $1.8 million the agency received from the federal government toward its automation initiative.

South Carolina overpaid an estimated $16 million in unemployment benefits between July 2012 and June 2013, representing 6 percent of all benefits paid. Most of that due was to people continuing to file for and receive benefits after returning to work, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's website.

That's down from an overpayment rate that spiked to nearly 18 percent in 2010-11, representing about $69 million. Since then, the agency has made a series of changes, including crosschecking employment rolls monthly, aimed at catching more errors and catching them faster

ABOUT RADHA:

Radha is a national consulting firm that assist state agencies with business process analysis, mobile solutions and systems integration efforts. Our consultants range in expertise from strategists and business analysts to mobile software engineers. Radha works with both business and technology teams to develop pragmatic and innovative solutions for our clients. Radha is a privately owned company and is headquartered in Portland Oregon. For additional information, please visit www.radhacorp.com