Welcome to the June 6, 2005, issue of BullsEye, the On Point Technology newsletter. Our goal is to keep you up-to-date on the latest unemployment insurance news and developments at On Point Technology.

In this issue:

• DOL/ETA announces 2005 grants
• Washington, DC selects Barts
• On Point Technology to exhibit at NASWA 2005 UI Technology Connection Conference
• Industry News: Curbing unemployment fraud is essential
• Did You Know? Combating identity theft fraud with Aware's one-click audits

DOL/ETA announces 2005 grants

On May 12, 2005, the US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA) announced two funding opportunities of vital interest to state workforce agencies. In response to the announcements, On Point Technology has prepared a package of information for states interested in pursuing these grants, which is available online at www.onpointtech.com/2005grants.htm.

Field Memorandum 12-05 is a call for states to submit supplemental budget requests (SBRs) for an "Unemployment Insurance Integrity Crossmatch Systems Funding Opportunity." The grant would provide funding to implement or improve systems for matching unemployment insurance data with other state and federal agency data in order to detect fraud and non-fraud overpayments. Up to $100,000 is available for each data source with which a crossmatch will be implemented or improved. Funding can cover software, hardware and one-time personnel costs. ETA regional offices will set due dates for state workforce agencies to submit proposals, while final SBR submissions are due to the national office by July 2, 2005.

Field Memorandum 13-05 is a call for state workforce agencies to submit proposals for an "Unemployment Insurance FY 2005 Supplemental Funding Opportunity." The grant would provide one-time funding for six purposes, including combating identity theft (up to $500,000), accessing the National New Hire Directory (up to $200,000), improving performance (up to $500,000) and reducing postage costs (up to $50,000). ETA regional offices will set due dates for state workforce agencies to submit proposals, while final SBR submissions are due to the national office by June 24, 2005.

These are excellent opportunities for state workforce agencies to obtain funding to procure On Point Technology's Barts and Aware software, which detect overpayments and identity theft and automatically manage the discovered cases. For more information on Barts and Aware, or for more information on applying for the grants, contact Bob Yokavonus at 908-526-0426 or robert.yokavonus@onpointtech.com.

Washington, DC selects Barts

The Washington, DC Department of Employment Services (DOES) recently kicked off their campaign to implement Barts as part of the agency's continual effort to combat unemployment insurance fraud. Since April, On Point Technology has been working with Vera Riley, Unemployment Insurance Operations Special Assistant, and her agency staff to prepare for a successful launch of the software in September. DOES is a long-time On Point Technology customer, and the addition of Barts will provide the agency with yet another powerful tool to detect overpayments and automate much of the adjudication process.

On Point Technology to exhibit at NASWA 2005 UI Technology Connection Conference

Next week, On Point Technology will head to Wilmington, NC, to showcase its suite of software at the 2005 UI Technology Connection Conference, sponsored by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA). This exhibition will be highlighted by the announcement of On Point Technology's upcoming product, GuidePoint—a Web-centric software solution that provides the ultimate starting point for unemployment insurance benefits modernization efforts.

The conference, which runs June 12-16, focuses exclusively on the application of technology in unemployment insurance program administration. Workshops are slated to explore topics like unemployment insurance modernization, SUTA dumping and automated adjudication systems. The conference attracts a national group of program practitioners and information technology specialists from nearly every state workforce agency, as well as the private sector. On Point Technology representatives Ron Burkhart, Michael Lorsbach, Michael Marshman and Bob Yokavonus will conduct software demos at the company's booth, and will also be available for more in-depth demonstrations upon participant request.

Industry News

"Curbing unemployment fraud is essential" — Public awareness and governmental systems are the keys to maintaining the integrity of unemployment insurance programs. In an Orlando Business Journal article, Michael Alter, president of SurePayroll, emphasizes the need to begin a public discourse on the issue of unemployment insurance fraud and initiates a call to action to stop fraud "dead in its tracks." His suggestions include allocating more federal funds to state agencies to fight unemployment insurance fraud; increasing the penalties for unemployment insurance claims fraud; developing a national stolen Social Security numbers database; accelerating the launch of the National New Hire Database Initiative; and investing in fraud detection software that is specifically designed to detect and prevent unemployment insurance fraud.

On Point Technology's Aware and Barts products enhance the fraud detection capabilities of state agencies. If you would like more information on how Aware and/or Barts can improve fraud detection for your organization, contact Bob Yokavonus at 908-526-0426 or robert.yokavonus@onpointtech.com.

Do you have a fraud story you'd like to share?
Let us know.

Did You Know?

Identity theft rears its ugly head in just about every aspect of American business and private life and underlies many unemployment insurance claims fraud schemes. The DOL/ETA has recognized this growing problem and recently announced the availability of supplemental funding for states to identify and control identity theft. On Point Technology's Aware product enables agencies to analyze disparate data sources and discover patterns that indicate possible identity theft.

Aware includes a powerful module called FraudIT, which utilizes 19 one-click audits to analyze all possible sources of identity theft-based unemployment insurance fraud: claimants, employers and agency staff. The list of audits was developed with input from fraud investigators from several states. Some are based on actual data clues discovered by agency staff that led to the exposure of unemployment insurance fraud schemes driven by identity theft. Two of the one-click audits were identified by adjudicators with a sharp eye. They noticed uncommon patterns of data written on the claim forms. These were the repeated use of a single birth date and an unusual number of claims with an unexpected education level. After extracting claims with data matching these indicators, they found a pattern of fraud and initiated a successful investigation.

Whether you attribute these discoveries to luck or diligent effort, two questions become prominent: Are all fraud schemes being found and how will they be found when states convert to automated claim and certification processes? Instead of leaving such important discoveries to chance, or relying on tedious hours of data analysis, Aware’s FraudIT module automates audits that identify inconsistent, unexpected and improbable data patterns. To schedule an Aware demonstration at your office, contact Bob Yokavonus at 908-526-0426 or robert.yokavonus@onpointtech.com.

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