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There will no doubt be a little head-scratching — and more than a little resentment — that the state is coughing up an additional $3.6 million for the contractor running its centralized child-support collection system.
Considering all the problems the system encountered during last year’s start-up period, including delayed and missing payments, you’d think North Carolina would be due a partial refund, or at least a healthy discount from Georgia-based Systems and Methods Inc. But Health and Human Services Secretary David Bruton says the higher cost of the amended contract is warranted for two reasons: The state was at least partly to blame because it underestimated the difficulty of the conversion to the automated system, and the company actually has done more work than the original contract required.
Still, with the state already scraping around for budget dollars, it’s difficult to swallow giving SMI that big of a boost from its original $4.2 million contract. It also appears that the state is rewarding a company that wasn’t thorough enough in its initial bid plans, and then didn’t exactly deliver stellar results.
What would make the additional payment more palatable would be for the system to work smoothly and efficiently from here on out, ensuring that children get the support payments they’re due, when they’re due. Bruton and company officials say the kinks have been corrected, and they’re confident the system now in place is solid — and worth the cost.
Bruton also says North Carolina is still paying less than many other states that switched to the automated system last year. That may be, but as we’ve seen, contract costs can rise, and the low bidder isn’t necessarily a bargain.
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