Get Answers: Workforce Solutions problems addressed?

Anyone who has faced unemployment over the past couple of years has felt the anguish of dealing w...  More »

Anyone who has faced unemployment over the past couple of years has felt the anguish of dealing with the state’s Department of Workforce Solutions. Calls go unanswered or sit on hold for hours. Afterwards, unemployment benefits sometimes don’t even go through. Eyewitness News 4 has received several questions from viewers regarding the department’s lingering problems and took those questions directly to Secretary Ken Ortiz for answers. The Department of Workforce Solutions fully admits the unemployment insurance system has problems. It was never designed to handle the volume of people it has faced in this recession. “Last year at this time we had about 13,000 customers on unemployment. Now we’re nearing 50,000. So if you do the math, it’s at least three times,” said Ortiz. Ortiz says improvements have already been made. Debit cards are now used instead of checks so customers can get benefit funds quicker. The call center’s hours have been extended from five to seven days a week. The department has also added 36 customer service representatives, bringing the total number to 64. Despite this, Eyewitness News 4 has continued to receive emails from viewers complaining of problems with the department, including getting no answer when calling. One viewer claims to have tried for six weeks without getting through to someone. “I understand that [people are frustrated], and we’re very sensitive to their needs,” said Ortiz. Ortiz says his department is essentially overhauling the system. Right now there are 184 phone lines. Soon there will be close to 1,000. A toll-free phone number will also be added so people outside the metro area won’t be charged long distance fees. The system upgrade will also include an automated phone system with self-service features, which should handle about 75 percent of the call load. Plus, customers would receive follow-up voicemail or text messages so they won’t have to wonder whether a claim has been processed. But so far, there isn’t any talk of being able to walk in to the Department of Workforce Solutions to file a claim in person. “If this system works out the way we envision it and the way we are planning, there will be absolutely no need to come into the field office,” said Ortiz. All improvement should be in place by the end of February 2010. The Department of Workforce Solutions says it has to wait for lawmakers to appropriate roughly $33 million of federal stimulus money to the department. That is expected to happen during the January legislative session. Another question posed to Secretary Ortiz by an Eyewitness News 4 viewer was why his predecessor, Betty Sparrow Doris, was rehired at a time when state workers are taking furloughs. Ortiz replaced Doris three months ago as department secretary. Ortiz says Doris is a contract worker in charge of helping unemployed New Mexicans get their hands on federal scholarships so they can go back to school. He says with $194 million from the Federal Pell Grant Program available, contracting Doris is a wise investment in order to help New Mexicans receive that money. She will be paid up to $49,000, depending on her progress.  « Less