[ale] [OT] AJC Article on State Welfare System

[Irv Mullins]

On Monday 26 August 2002 11:47 pm, Pizza wrote:
> On Mon, Aug 26, 2002 at 09:39:33PM -0400, Jeff Hubbs wrote:
> > So what would make a fifth attempt any different?  If "sorting out the
> > requirements" is intractable, then no progress will be made if you
> > insist that requirements must be sorted out before actually creating
> > anything.
>
> Yup, and that's why the creaky wheels are still squeaking around in
> circles over at the goldwn dome downtown.

Here's just a guess, based on knowing how gov't. generally 'works':

You have competing agencies involved, EACH of which wants to be in charge,
along with the power and extra budget that would entail. 

You have competing political factions, each of which wants the majority of 
the pork for their constitutents (i.e. friends and relatives).

Somewhere in the background you have people who actually want this thing 
to be useful. They are routinely drowned out by the previously mentioned 
groups.

Other people are making noises about privacy and civil rights.

Circling them all hungrily are the usual lawyers just waiting for an 
opportunity to sue somebody, anybody, everybody.

<snip some>

> Simply "computerizing" the entire system won't work, because if a case
> worker is going to lie about seeing a kid, they can do that just as
> easily in front of a web browser as they could a typewriter.

Technology, short of mind control, isn't going to be much help. 
Consider this: the main complaint seems to be that up-to-date info 
is not available or hard to obtain, because it is scattered around various 
counties and agencies. Case workers don't know where to begin looking.

Well, the technology to solve this problem has existed for thousands of 
years - a centralized records storehouse, staffed with conscientious people 
who will file and retrieve data promptly and accurately.  Add to this the 
simple legal requirement that case workers forward an accurate report 
to this repository within 24 hours, or lose their jobs, and the problems they 
complain about would be solved.  Nothing more hi-tech than a fax machine 
needed.

If the state is unable to achieve its stated goal using 2,000 year old 
technology, why does anyone think that laptop computers will help?

Irv

24 hours 

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