New Mexico's Department of Workforce Solutions Common Unique Identifier (CUID) Project

New Mexico Baumgardner Innovation in Information Technology Award Nomination: o Department of Workforce Solutions Common Unique Identifier (CUID) Project

Contact Information of Individual Submitting Nomination

Nominator: Sue Anne Athens

Email Address: sueanne.athens@state.nm.us

Agency Name: New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions

New Mexico's Department of Workforce Solutions Common Unique Identifier (CUID) Project

The NMDWS "Common Unique Identifier" or CUID applies to external WIOA citizen-customers across agencies and software applications. NMDWS sought to create a identifier clearinghouse by collecting and analyzing the availability, structure, accuracy, and completeness of partner agency data, which are qualified as the personal identifying information (PII) of individuals, who interact with Unemployment Insurance, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Employment Services, NM's Higher Education Department (HED), NM's Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and NM's Commission for the Blind (CFB) in accordance with WIOA. DWS built automated processes using ODI – Oracle Data Integrator and OEDQ – Oracle Enterprise Data Quality to perform record extraction, comparison, matching, and "CUID" creation in an efficient manner. The DWS automated system compares WIOA Core Program partner data and, then, creates and maintains a Common Unique Identifier or CUID. Once created, the CUID captures and stores data needed to report and communicate the CUID information back to the source systems for incorporation into their reporting datasets. In short, New Mexico has been able to utilize the CUID to facilitate the exchange of information about an individual among the source systems. Finally, NMDWS generates a data validation report to maintain and validate the data quality and communicate to the partner agencies when requested. As the CUID continues to add data, it will mature into a Master Identifier Management system and ensure further integration among all participating New Mexico State agencies' systems.

The significance of the Common Unique Identifier cannot be overstated because it has opened up new avenues for exchanging data about individuals between systems and programs, which provide case managers in all partner agencies with a more complete view of individual customer needs, activities, strengths, and pain points. This also ensures that partner agency staff e.g., case managers, career coaches, and customer service representatives, are not unnecessarily duplicating efforts in terms of documentation, resources, training, wrap-around services and the like. Ultimately, CUID allows limited state resources to provide customers with comprehensive case management, employment services, and wrap-around benefits in a more responsive, accurate, efficient, and cost-effective manner.

Statement of results, accomplishments, impacts and any other appropriate information that demonstrates why the nominee's efforts were an exceptional contribution.

New Mexico has been leading state workforce agencies in its IT modernization efforts by not just replacing antiquated systems, but by focusing on improving performance through cutting edge solutions that significantly improve customer service and save workforce funds. Over the past few years we have been at the forefront in implementing predictive analytics and real time cross matches to reduce fraud, we have implemented responsive web design to ensure mobility of our applications for our citizens, we have upgraded our call center operations to cloud telephony utilizing case management tools to be more responsive to our citizens calls and trace the range of interactions they have with this agency. We have designed and develop a range of career tools directed at our youth which utilize labor market information for career exploration.

We have received several recognitions: 2018 U.S. Dept. of Labor Performance Excellence Award in Benefit Payments; 2016 Center for Digital Government Award in Driving Digital Government State Government Category to NMDWS for Improper Payment Prevention Initiative; 2014 Center for Digital Government Award in Digital Government to Citizen Category to NMDWS for its UI Tax and Claims System; and 2014 NASCIO Digital Government for UI Tax and Claims System.