ConneCT Project Overview
State of Connecticut
Department of Social Services (DSS)
October 2013
Challenges Triggered the Need for Change
The Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) faced a “perfect
storm” of obstacles which impeded the department’s ability to serve its
clients and adversely impacted standard of promptness and error rates.
 Dated technology:
– Eligibility Management System (EMS), deployed in 1989
– Maze of Independent Phone Systems
 Reliance on case-worker interaction (via phone and in-person)
 Use of paper and manual processing – copying, filing, storage/retrieval
etc.
 Unprecedented increase in public demand for services.
– In 2012, DSS eligibility was at 2008 levels with a 33% increase in application
volume.
– DSS offices were receiving nearly 879,000 calls and process 3.7 million
pieces of paper per month.
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DSS History – Recipients by Program Area
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Achieving Incremental “Wins” for DSS and Connecticut
Reach & Impact:
 Enables cross-agency
collaboration and the ability to
serve the “whole client”.
Tier 4
Reach & Impact:
Reach and Impact
 Increased automation to
improve service delivery to all
DSS clients.
Reach & Impact:
Tier 2 and 3
 New population of clients who
purchase medical insurance or
receive MAGI MA and/or CHIP.
Integrated Eligibility
(DSS)
Integrated Eligibility
(Cross-Agency)
 New quasi-public agency.
Reach & Impact:
Tier 1
 New channels for DSS clients
to get information.
 New technology tools for DSS
workers.
Time
These projects build on each successful milestone to
increase reach and impact.
Modernization and ConneCT Initiation
In order to remediate these issues, the Department conceived a
modernization initiative and initiated the ConneCT project which sought to
open new channels for clients to interact with DSS and help workers
maximize efficiency through the use of modern technology tools.
 Seven (7) functional releases across multiple technologies
Web Services
•
•
•
•
•
Pre-Screening
Client Accounts
Online Application
Change Reporting
Redetermination
Telephony Services
•
•
Interactive Voice Response
(IVR) System
Benefit Center / Call Center
System
Document Management
•
•
•
•
•
Scanning/Indexing
Document Repository
Workflow
Verification Request Gen
Reporting
7 Functional Releases Designed, Developed and Implemented in Parallel
 Focused on “quick wins” without additional investments in old
technologies or wholesale replacement.
 Creation of reusable services that could be used across platforms and
as a framework for the future.
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ConneCT – Functional Releases
Functional Overview
Status / Target Date
Client Accounts
Provides secure, anytime access to generic
and case-specific information to clients via the
Internet.
Currently Live (http://connect.ct.gov)
Pre-Screening
Allows clients to independently check for
potential eligibility online without having to visit
or call DSS.
Currently Live (http://connect.ct.gov)
Interactive Voice
Response (IVR)
Provides secure, anytime access to generic
and case-specific information to clients by
phone.
Currently Live
Document
Management and
Workflow
Reduces the need for paper-based processing
and provides centralized access to documents
and visibility into document status.
Currently Live
Provides a centralized, consistent enterprise
system for receiving and servicing incoming
calls.
Currently Live
Online Application
Allows clients to apply online and provides a
dynamic verification checklist to clearly explain
what verification is required.
September 2013
Change Reporting
and Online
Redeterminations
Allows clients to report changes and conduct
redeterminations online.
October 2013
Benefit Center
Building a Technological Framework for the Future
Technical Milestone
Benefit to DSS and Connecticut

Built and deployed new server infrastructure at BEST
Data Center.
Allows to BEST to host a modern web-based system
for DSS.

Installed new telephone system at BEST and at three
DSS offices.
Single, centralized telephony platform enables a statewide workforce and provides redundancy.

Installed new optical fiber network.
Enables high-speed connectivity between the BEST
data center and DSS benefit center offices to support
voice and data.
Installed 700 new telephone lines at the BEST Data
Center.
Allows DSS customers to reach DSS via a central
location and access telephony services.

Deployed new web-based software platform.
Provides modern, web-based systems for DSS clients
and DSS workers to use.

Installed leading COTS products including Rules
Engine and Document Generation Software
Provides modern, web-based systems for DSS clients
and DSS workers to use.

Extensible technical products support DSS now and
in the future.
ConneCT Telephony – Legacy Operational Model
Legacy Office Structure (12 Offices)
Local Phone #
Front Office
Back Office
Case Worker #
Case Worker #
Case Worker #
Case Worker #
Case Worker #
Key Challenges:
• Multiple phone platforms/systems across offices
• 12 different office phone numbers
• Hundreds of Individual Worker Extensions
• Clients Served by Only One Worker
• Inconsistent Service by Phone Across Workers and Offices
• Lack of visibility and reporting of worker status/activity and wait times
ConneCT Telephony – Benefit Center Model
Benefit Center Office 1
Service Group
Benefit
Group
Key Features:
• Web Services Make Legacy
Data Available for Self Service
• Benefit Centers are Redundant
• Licenses Float Between Offices
• Remote Agent Capability.
Processing
Group
Benefit Center Office 2
+ 9 Non-Benefit Center Offices
Service Group
State-Wide IVR
One Phone #:
1-855-6-CONNECT
Service Group
Benefit
Group
Automated
Self-Service
Processing
Group
Benefit Center Office 3
Service Group
EMS
Legacy
System
Benefit
Group
Processing
Group
Processing
Group
ConneCT Telephony – Functional Overview
Worker Portal
Benefit Center
Worker
and Supervisors
EMS Legacy System
Benefit Center
Console (Avaya)
ConneCT Screen Pop
Benefit Center Phone (VoIP)
Office Wall Boards
Display Agent Status and Max Call Wait Time (Configurable)
Benefit Center Screen Pop
Tells the Worker Who is Calling and
Why
ConneCT Document Management and Workflow –
Business Overview
Benefit Center - Bridgeport
Central Mail
Central Fax
Service Group
Office Mail &
Drop-Offs
DSS Offices
Benefit
Group
Central Scanning
Processing
Group
Benefit Center - New Britain
Document Capture
& Indexing
Service Group
Content Repository
Create Workflow
Task
For Processing
Benefit
Group
Processing
Group
Benefit Center - Waterbury
Service Group
Benefit
Group
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Processing
Group
ConneCT Document Management and Workflow –
DSS Worker View
ConneCT Worker Portal
DSS
Processing
Workers
EMS Eligibility System
Client Accounts
ConneCT Document Management and Workflow –
ConneCT Worker Portal – A Closer Look…
ConneCT Document Management and Workflow –
Streamlined “FastLink” Cover Sheets
ConneCT Document Management and Workflow –
Enabling Real-Time Document Tracking
ConneCT – Key Lessons Learned
Technology:
 Requires coordination of multiple technical stakeholders (telephony vendor, network
provider, data center, local offices etc.)
 Dual monitors provide a good user experience in a multi-system environment.
 Network needs to be tested and bandwidth expanded to accommodate both voice and
data needs.
 Ongoing user maintenance must be planned for and executed to be effective post golive.
Business:
 Physical space needs to be evaluated and changed as required.
 HR and labor relations should be engaged early to define role changes (if any).
 Detailed implementation (both business and technical) planning helps achieve a smooth
go-live.
 Maximum benefit achieved through “task-based” operational model.
 Expectations around operational performance (such as average client wait-time) must be
set and managers must manage using the data.
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ConneCT – Results and Impact
While recently implemented, ConneCT has already started to make a
significant impact:
 26,000+ Online Accounts Created
 40,000+ IVR Accounts Created
 75,000 Calls Answered by the Benefit Center
– 14,000 Interviews Conducted via Phone
– Average Wait Time is ~12 Minutes
 ~1M Legacy and New Documents Committed into FileNet (Doc Mgmt)
“This series of technological improvements will gradually change the service
landscape at DSS for the benefit of Connecticut residents, the agency’s
dedicated staff, and taxpayers in general. We are literally taking an agency
from obsolescence in terms of overwhelmed phones and laborious paper
processing into the modern age of business systems.”
-Governor Dannel Malloy
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