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State IT projects: DCF CSS delays, KDADS EHR overruns, KDHE ARPA project in caution
Summary
OITS and agency CIOs told JCIT that several major IT modernization projects remain behind schedule or over budget, citing subcontractor problems, missing modules in initial contracts and infrastructure gaps that added time and cost.
State technology leaders updated the Joint Committee on Information Technology on a roster of major projects, several of which are behind schedule or over budget.
Tom Pagano, chief information officer for the Department for Children and Families and KDADS, told the committee the child support services (CSS) replatforming project has been delayed for multiple reasons: an intervening federal rule added roughly 12 months, the prime contract (Conduent) subcontracted a large portion of the work to Modern Systems, Modern Systems had performance problems leading to withheld payments, and IBM's acquisition of Modern Systems created a renewed path forward. Pagano said payments to the vendor were being withheld while IBM re‑staffed and recast portions of the migration; a recast schedule targets June 2026 for completion. He said roughly 45% of CSS project funding is federal.
Pagano also reported KDADS's modernization of electronic health records (EHR) for state hospitals had achieved EHR go‑live (late 2024) but the project came in over budget because the initial contract did not include key modules such as a pharmacy module and did not include necessary infrastructure upgrades (Wi‑Fi and network work for older facilities). A separate substance use disorder (SUD) reporting interface ultimately required reengagement with the vendor to prepare required SAMHSA exports; Pagano said KDADS expected full exports and uploads by December and cited an approximate $3 million variance tied to missing scope and fixes.
Rob Doan, CIO at KDHE, briefed the committee on a $5 million ARPA‑funded replacement for a roughly 20‑year‑old childcare and foster‑care licensing system. KDHE contracted for a SaaS solution (GL Suite) to replace the legacy Clarus system; the contract is flat‑rate with milestone payments and additional change requests may be time‑and‑materials. Doan said the project had moved into user acceptance testing (UAT) but several milestones were behind schedule and the project remained in the committee's "alert/caution" grouping; staff reported being in active, sustained discussions with the vendor to drive remaining work to completion with a target completion date tied to the ARPA spending window (summer 2026 with ARPA spending deadline noted in Sept. 2026).
Why it matters: The projects together illustrate recurring risks on major IT work: incomplete or insufficient specifications, subcontractor performance, underestimated infrastructure needs, and downstream reporting interfaces. Committee members repeatedly asked how the state can better specify vendor performance obligations and ensure stronger contract terms up front to reduce change orders later.
What remains open: OITS is collecting more monitoring data, continuing negotiations with vendors, withholding payments when warranted, and planning additional oversight steps; committee members suggested greater standardization of agency requirements, earlier involvement of subject matter experts in RFPs, and a statewide vendor performance tracking system.
