JLARC staff to present interim findings of VEC study, organizational review of VITA

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission will meet Monday to hear staff present findings and recommendations from an interim review of the Virginia Employment Commission and an organizational and staffing review of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency.

Gabriel, Roeder, Smith, and Company will also present the results of an actuarial review of the Virginia state employee health insurance program.

The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. in the Shared Committee room in the Pocahontas Building (Room E007, Ground Floor, 900 E. Main St.) in Richmond and will be livestreamed at the Virginia House of Delegates’ video streaming page.

The report and presentations will be uploaded to JLARC’s website (jlarc.virginia.gov/calendar.asp) following the meeting.

The studies cover the following topics:

Virginia Employment Commission

JLARC directed staff to review VEC after the agency received an unprecedented number of unemployment insurance (UI) claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in claims volumes led to large backlogs in VEC’s UI claims processing and overwhelmed the agency’s call centers. JLARC staff will present their interim findings and recommendations at the September meeting and release their final report in November.

At the September meeting, staff will present their findings related to VEC’s claims processing, call center performance, modernization of its UI IT system, and management of the agency’s response to the pandemic. Staff will also present near-term recommendations to improve agency performance.

In November, JLARC staff will present findings and recommendations related to VEC’s management of the UI trust fund, Virginia’s UI benefits levels, employer taxes, and oversight of VEC.

Review of VITA’s organizational structure, staffing 

VITA provides IT infrastructure services and oversight for more than 60 executive branch agencies. In 2018, VITA transitioned to a multi-supplier infrastructure services model, which fundamentally changed how the agency provided IT services to state agencies.

Following JLARC staff’s reviews of VITA’s implementation of a multi-supplier service model (2019 and 2020), JLARC directed staff to review whether VITA’s organizational structure and staffing are appropriate to carry out its responsibilities, including oversight of agencies’ IT projects and IT security. JLARC staff reviewed VITA’s organizational structure, whether the agency can recruit employees with the skills it needs, and its use of contractors.

Actuarial review of Virginia’s state employee health insurance program

Gabriel, Roeder, Smith, and Company will present results from its actuarial review of the state employee health insurance program. The Appropriation Act directed JLARC to facilitate the view, which will assess the reasonableness and accuracy of the actuarial rate development process; methods, data, and assumptions used for the program; and the appropriate balance of the State Employee Health Insurance Fund.