LITTLE ROCK — Administrators at the state Department of Workforce Services told lawmakers that they are working to increase the number of overpayments the department detects, after the release of federal estimates last year.
Ronald Caulkins, the department’s assistant director for unemployment insurance, said the federal government wants the state to detect about 50 percent of the overpayments it believes are occurring. Caulkins said the state had been behind but has come closer to hitting that mark in the past quarter.
He made his remarks at a meeting of the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, which met to review a report released by the Legislative Audit Division last week.
Some lawmakers requested that review after the federal Department of Labor reported in September that Arkansas had overpaid unemployment benefits by $161 million over a three-year period. That number was extrapolated from sample data, and the department has identified fewer overpayments.
Auditors found that overall the department’s work to identify and collect overpayments has been appropriate, but there are ways it can take the initiative more proactive in preventing those overpayments from occurring.
Some of those changes, such as a system that would help the department find people who have gotten a new job and stop them from continuing to receive benefits, will require technology updates.
“I do believe they tossed around those ideas. It’s just the system they’re on is probably more antiquated than most,” auditor David Coles said Tuesday.
Caulkins warned lawmakers that they may see an uptick in overpayments in the short term, as the department works to do a better job detecting them.
“Because we were behind on detection for a while, we’re detecting greater amounts now that we’re back on schedule ... for the next year or two we might see those numbers go up,” he said.
According to the audit, $44 million in overpayments had been identified as of the end of fiscal 2011.
Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, said the audit division’s report vindicated department Director Artee Williams, who had been criticized after the federal report was released.
“I think those outside of this chamber need to realize when we read things in the paper it’s unwise to jump to conclusions about the honesty or dishonesty of anybody,” she said.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 02/29/2012