Florida Unemployment Compensation Services for Customers with Disabilities and Non-English-Speaking Customers

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1 Exhibit 4-C Florida Unemployment Compensation Services for Customers with Disabilities and Non-English-Speaking Customers Historically, Florida s unemployment-compensation customers were served primarily through in-person methods. That is, unemployed customers reported to local One-Stop Career Centers to file their unemployment claims. Claims agents typically met with customers and ensured that the appropriate forms were properly completed. After filing the claim, customers were given oral and written instructions for claiming benefits by mail or telephone. Filing claims in person posed obvious disadvantages for customers, particularly those with disabilities. Some of the difficulties and inconveniences encountered were: Customers were required to file claims during office business hours. Office accommodations were often less than ideal, both in terms of space and amenities. This created uncomfortable and sometimes crowded conditions, which added to stress that customers were already experiencing due to job loss. Due to the limitations of local resources, customers with special needs, including those with language barriers along with the visually and hearing impaired, were sometimes required to make appointments to return to offices at a later date in order to receive the necessary assistance in filing their claims. The Agency for Workforce Innovation has reengineered the delivery of unemployment compensation services to customers. One of the challenges in this evolution was to develop and provide more efficient and timely service to our customers. Florida s claims-taking activities have evolved from a traditional in-person process to more convenient and customerfriendly remote methods including mail, Internet and telephone applications. The migration from in-person to alternative methods of claims taking represents a new level of service to our customers. The variety of claims taking options offered to customers represents a significant improvement in terms of convenience and accessibility.

2 Florida Unemployment Compensation Services for Customers with Disabilities 2 Mail, Internet and Telephone Claims Florida s efforts to improve customer access and make the initial claims process more convenient have resulted in the elimination of in-person claims taking in favor of remote services. In July of 2001, all of Florida s claimstaking and adjudication functions were consolidated into two claim centers located in Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee. Initially, claims-taking activities consisted primarily of Internet and mail claims; telephone claims became available statewide in May Customers with physical disabilities and those who are hearing impaired benefit from the improved service that mail, Internet and telephone claims provide. With unemployment-compensation responsibilities being transitioned to the claims centers, One-Stop Career Centers are able to refocus efforts toward job-placement services while linking customers to unemploymentcompensation services in several ways. Customers wishing to file claims are given comprehensive claims booklets containing information on all aspects of Florida s unemployment compensation program. Customers are not required to wait in local centers to file their claims in person: they have the option of fling claims by Internet, telephone or mail. Our customers with disabilities have the flexibility of deciding when and how to file claims based on their individual circumstances. Customers opting to file claims by mail will find all of the necessary forms and information in the claims booklet. Step-by-step instructions guide customers through the mail-claims process. The booklet contains selfaddressed envelopes for customers to use when mailing completed forms to the appropriate claims center. Detailed information is provided on every aspect of unemployment-compensation claims service, including information about finding work and web site addresses for various reemployment services. In addition the booklet provides Agency telephone numbers and addresses for customers having additional questions. The booklets are available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. The Internet initial claims application is the most efficient technology-based claims-taking method currently available and accounts for approximately 55% of all claims filed. In terms of convenience, the Internet application is available twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week at: The claims-taking process contains various screens in

3 Florida Unemployment Compensation Services for Customers with Disabilities 3 a logical sequence and provides pop-up help screens as customers need assistance. The application also provides benefit rights information on line. Customers may submit specific inquiries on their claims and receive specific answers to their questions. There is also a general question/answer screen available with the application. Unemployed customers visiting Career Centers who wish to file claims by Internet are encouraged to either utilize One-Stop Resource Center computers to access the Internet and file claims or to access the Agency s website from their home computers. Customers can file claims from any location that has access to the Internet; these locations may include libraries, colleges and neighborhood centers. To assist customers filing via the Internet, tutorials on how to complete the initial claims application as well as how to use the computer are available at The Internet initial-claims interface is designed for access by the blind and is Bobby compliant, so that the systems providing audio for the blind will not encounter security problems. Bobby is a webbased tool that analyzes web pages for their accessibility to people with disabilities. Telephone Interactive Voice Response (IVR) claims (TeleClaims) are the second most efficient method of filing initial claims. Approximately 35% of all claims filed are via TeleClaims. The TeleClaims system is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, and requires a touch-tone telephone. TTY (teletype) service is available by dialing 711. Customers call the TeleClaims system, answer basic questions using the telephone keypad and are then connected to a customer-service representative to complete the claim-filing process. English-, Spanish- and Creole-speaking customer-service representatives are on staff. Information Services When the centralized claims centers were established in July 2001, a tollfree call center was established in Orlando to provide immediate access for Florida customers having questions or needing information.

4 Florida Unemployment Compensation Services for Customers with Disabilities 4 Once the initial claim is established, telephone numbers are provided for customers to claim weeks of unemployment by telephone. TTY (teletype) service is available by dialing 711. The continued-claims system is an interactive voice-response application designed to allow customers to fall out to an agent depending upon answers to certain questions, or when a customer has questions. In the past, agents were not always accessible, depending on local-office staffing availability. In addition, customers with language barriers were not always able to obtain or provide information due to communication difficulties. The Customer Service Center in Orlando eliminates those customer frustrations. The Center, whose sole mission is to assist unemploymentcompensation customers, is staffed with English-, Spanish- and Creolespeaking agents. Customers who need information or have questions are immediately linked with knowledgeable claims agents in the Customer Service Center for assistance. Access is available to customers on a toll-free basis from anywhere in Florida. In addition, the Agency spends more than $35, annually on UI program-related services in languages other than English primarily for language-line claims-related services. In any month, our UI program receives, on average, calls in 12 to 15 languages other than English. The Internet application for claiming weeks of benefits also provides customers with specific information about their claim as well as a toll-free number for contacting the Customer Service Center in Orlando for additional assistance. Florida serves a very diverse customer population. Claims agents and adjudicators provide services in English, Spanish and Creole, however, there is a need for additional language-translation services. Recognizing that need, the Agency has contracted with a vendor to provide translation in virtually any language for our customers. Customers requiring this service are conferenced with an Agency agent and the vendor who will translate conversations between the Agency staff and the customer. This service improves the Agency s ability to efficiently obtain necessary claims information and dramatically improves the Agency s service to our customers with language barriers.

5 Florida Unemployment Compensation Services for Customers with Disabilities 5 Appeals In the past, customers wishing to file appeals to adverse decisions were required to either report to local offices and complete an appeals form or write a letter of appeal to the local office. In an effort to streamline the process and provide a more convenient method of appeal, the Agency has modified its process so that customers no longer have to report to offices to file appeals. Since May 1, 2001, determinations mailed to customers have included instructions for filing appeals. Specifically, customers are instructed to mail or fax requests directly to the Office of Appeals in Tallahassee. In addition, the claims-information booklet provided to customers at the beginning of their claim contains appeal information and an appeals form that customers have the option of completing and mailing if desired. This process improvement saves customers time and effort by eliminating the requirement to report to local One-Stops for the purpose of filing appeals. Since April 2003 customers have also had the option of filing an appeal via the Internet at The Internet address is included in the directions contained on the customer s claim determination. August 2007