Virginia Has Hard, Expensive Road Ahead to Avoid Year 2000 Computer Glitch
17:35:34, 17 May 1998
By Holly A. Heyser, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
RICHMOND, Va.--May 14--Vital state agencies that oversee everything from
prisons to pensions to Medicaid have fallen so far behind on fixing "Year
2000" computer problems that state officials have labeled them "high risk."
Compounding the problem, lawmakers haven't budgeted enough for even
conservative cost estimates for the massive repair effort.
Those were the gloomy conclusions of a discussion Wednesday between the
Joint Commission on Technology and Science and Bette H. Dillehay, director of
the state's Century Date Change Initiative Project.
The consequences if state agencies don't fix their Year 2000 problems
in time could range from the annoying to the catastrophic: Elevators could
refuse to budge; security systems could fail; Medicaid, welfare and workers
compensation systems could come to a halt.
The problem is that many computer systems are programmed to recognize
years by two digits. They see "98" as 1998 and "99" as 1999. The trouble is
that they also see "00" as 1900.
Businesses and governments, including Virginia's state government, are
working to correct the problems, but the task is monumental. It's a race to
find all the glitches, repair them and make sure they work by midnight Dec.
31, 1999.
Officials for some of the agencies labeled "high risk" say the tag is
either unfair or untrue.
The Department of Corrections was labeled as such, but officials there
say they expect to finish correcting problems in March 1999.
They're rankled by visions that some have of prisoners being released
prematurely because a computer thinks their sentences ended in 1905 instead
of 2005.
"Computers don't release people from prison. People release people from
prison," said Ed Morris, deputy director of the Department of Corrections.
The Virginia Retirement System also was cited. But officials there
were just as adamant, saying their vital function -- issuing pension checks
-- isn't in danger. "There is no chance people will not get a check after
Jan. 1, 2000," spokesman Bill Sullivan said.
VRS replaced its payroll system with a "Year 2000-compliant" system last
year, and it's ahead of schedule on repairing most other systems. The only
one that's behind schedule -- the one that put them on the high-risk list --
is one that monitors investments, but doesn't directly affect investing,
Deputy Director Bo Harris said.
As disturbed as officials with those agencies are by the "high-risk"
label, the Century Date Change Initiative is doing exactly what a consultant
recommended last year: riding hard on all state agencies to make sure the
job gets done.
The consultant's conclusions include:
The Year 2000 repair effort was not centrally coordinated, and there was
little evidence of budgeting for it.
Agencies weren't planning well enough for the testing of the repairs.
Year 2000 problems associated with security, environmental control and
elevator control systems weren't understood and weren't being addressed.
Half of the state agencies reported staffing shortages that impaired
their ability to repair problems.
Some agencies had a false sense of security because some of its systems
were Year 2000-compliant.
Legislators on the Joint Commission were relieved to hear Wednesday that
the effort had been centralized in Dillehay's office.
But plenty of departments and agencies are having problems, and they go
beyond disagreements about whether they're meeting potentially arbitrary
targets.
According to reports posted on the state's Year 2000 Internet site:
The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission hasn't completed its
assessment of Y2K problems nor developed plans to fix them.
Christopher Newport University has fallen behind schedule because of
staffing problems, and has made little progress since December.
The Dept. of Environmental Quality has made no progress on its most
critical computer system since January.
The vendor repairing the Medicaid Management Information System at the
Department of Medical Assistance Services hasn't reported any progress,
hasn't responded to some of DMAS' requests and hasn't delivered promised
items on time. The vendor got a late start because it had to take over a job
begun by another vendor, a spokesman said.
The Department of Military Affairs hasn't made fixing the problem a high
priority, and has no formal plan or organizational structure for dealing with
it.
Making that task more difficult in state government is a potential
shortage of cash allocated to deal with "Y2K," as it's sometimes called.
While lawmakers allocated $68 million for the next two years, top officials
concede the true cost will likely be between $83 million and $140 million.
"We don't appear to be taking this quite as seriously as some of us
think we should," Sen. Steven D. Newman, R-Lynchburg said.
Newman, who is among those who take it very seriously, repeated that
point over and over Wednesday morning at the Joint Commission on Technology
and Science meeting.
He fears that many lawmakers' eyes glaze over when they hear "Year 2000."
"They think it's a techno problem," he said. "I don't believe the Senate
money committees in particular have recognized the problem."
Legislators have recognized the legal risk: They passed a law this year
giving the state and its contractors immunity from lawsuits over mishaps
arising from the problem.
For example, if someone doesn't get a welfare check for months, falls
behind on rent and is evicted, that individual won't get a day in court.
And no one has suggested that the immunity law will give agencies the
impression there's no need to meet their deadline.
"What's important right now is that people understand Gov. (Jim) Gilmore
and Secretary (of Health and Human Resources Claude A.) Allen recognize the
seriousness of these challenges and are putting the weight of their authority
behind fixing them," Martin Brown, a spokesman for Allen, said.
Still, Sen. Newman cautioned, "Don't expect a silver bullet. It's going
to be hard work. And it's going to get very expensive next year."
AT RISK
Here are the state agencies, departments and commissions that are behind
schedule for fixing their "Year 2000" computer problems on time.
Department of Environmental Quality;Various colleges: Christopher
Newport University, College of William and Mary, James Madison University,
Norfolk State University, Richard Bland College, Virginia Institute of marine
Science, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University, Virginia State University; Compensation Board (State
Network Interface Project); Department of Corrections; Department of Military
Affairs; Governor's Employment and Training Dept.; Department of Medical
Assistance Services (DMAS); Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation
and Substance Abuse Services; Department of Social Services; Virginia Workers
Compensation Commission (VWC); State Corporation Commission (SCC); Virginia
Retirement System (VRS).
For some agencies, risk levels can't be determined because they have
failed to submit Y2K progress reports. They include: Department of Fire
Programs; Department of Health
SOURCES: Virginia Century Date Change Initiative, interviews
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