Michigan officials and Deloitte defend UIA modernization plan as lawmakers press for $20 million

David Parent, managing principal for Deloitte in Michigan, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government on May 20 that the state's unemployment insurance modernization project has shown "significant improvement" and is "tracking on schedule" for an employer-system go-live in December and a claimant-system go-live next spring. Parent said testing pass rates are currently about 97% for the December release and about 88% for the release slated for May.

Lawmakers pressed Parent and state officials on why the project has been delayed, who bears responsibility and what the supplemental $20,000,000 request will fund. Parent acknowledged three core drivers of the problems: governance shortfalls, unclear scope in procurement and contracting, and shortcomings in some of the technology initially delivered. He said Deloitte has accepted responsibility for technology-related issues, described steps the firm and the state have taken to address them, and asserted the project is now on a better trajectory.

Laura Clark, chief information officer for the Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB), described a three-tier…