Colorado State Archives

Executive Orders from the Administration of Governor Bill Owens 1999-2005

(DENVER) – Gov. Bill Owens today announced a tripling of case-processing capacity in the Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS) by Monday morning – to be achieved at no cost to state taxpayers.

Following calls by the Governor to top management at Electronic Data Systems – the vendor for the new computer system – the company, at its own cost, will install 12 state- of-the-art processors this weekend, resulting in a tripling of the case-processing capability.

Owens said that despite the challenges of implementing a new system that is designed to revolutionize the way Colorado delivers social-services benefits, CBMS, as of September 22, had processed nearly 90 percent of the number of Food Stamp claims processed by the pre-existing Legacy system during the entire previous month.

Similarly, as of the same date, CBMS had processed 96 percent of the number of Cash Assistance claims processed the previous month. Cash Assistance provides temporary assistance to needy families.

In addition, to directly address concerns raised by county officials about the transition to the new system, Gov. Owens will meet with a group of leading county commissioners on Monday at the State Capitol.

"No one should minimize the significant challenges – to providers and to clients – resulting from this cultural shift in the way we provide benefits to needy Coloradans," Owens said. "State government is literally working around the clock to address problems and smooth the transition to this new system. The tripling of processing capacity we'll achieve by Monday will give the system an enormous boost, and I look forward to meeting with county officials to discuss CBMS in detail."

The steps the Governor took today are the latest in a series of moves to address the transition to the CBMS system. Prior to the system going live on Sept. 1, the Governor issued an Executive Order directing the use of backup systems and contingency plans to ensure that eligible applicants were not denied benefits and that benefits of existing clients were protected. He also provided $2 million in direct state aid to counties to help with the transition.

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