The US Department of Labor (USDOL) announced last week that the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) received nearly $1.5 million in federal grant dollars for significant unemployment insurance technology initiatives. The grant from USDOL will help Indiana bolster program integrity and system improvement activities, including those aimed at combating fraud. Indiana’s share was among the more lucrative of the total disbursement.
To qualify for the funding, states had to have implemented or committed to implement a set of required integrity activities. Indiana currently leads the nation in implementing such programs. This grant is a key piece to continuing DWD’s efforts to have the most technologically advanced, efficient and effective unemployment insurance system in the U.S.
“This grant allows us to fully implement upgrades that will enhance our unemployment insurance program,” said Scott B. Sanders, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. “These dollars are crucial to our goal of making Indiana’s unemployment insurance system the most efficient and effective in the nation.”
The total amount awarded by the USDOL to the Program Integrity Project fund was nearly $66.2 million, which was dispersed amongst 47 states and Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Along with having to either have implemented or committed to implementing a set of required integrity activities, states also received funding for the implementation and expansion of the State Information Data Exchange System, an enhanced National Directory of New Hire cross-match strategy, Unemployment Compensation for Ex-service members automation, SIDES Monetary and Potential Employer Charges Data Exchanges, as well as other optional strategies identified by the department.