Accenture, Texas officials soon to settle call-center contract that soured
November 18, 2008
Texas and the one-time contractor that operated state call centers are close to a financial pact that will settle their ugly breakup 20 months ago, state social services czar Albert Hawkins said Monday.
Written by Robert T. Garrett, The Dallas Morning News
lukewalsh.co.uk
AUSTIN – Texas and the one-time contractor that operated state call centers are close to a financial pact that will settle their ugly breakup 20 months ago, state social services czar Albert Hawkins said Monday.
Mr. Hawkins told lawmakers that the state and Accenture LLP should agree by Dec. 31 on how to put to rest what began as a five-year, $899 million contract but soon went sour and was suspended – by mutual consent – in March 2007, before the end of its second year.
"There's a mutual interest among all parties to resolve it, and I think we're close," said Mr. Hawkins, who runs the Health and Human Services Commission, testifying before a legislative panel created to oversee public assistance eligibility screening.
In an interview, he declined to elaborate. Accenture spokesman Joe Dickie also declined to discuss the talks.
In December 2006, Accenture and the state scaled back the contract – to $543 million over five years. The reduction came with the return of some call-center duties to state workers.
The partial privatization of the state's call centers was plagued by complaints of slow service and the wrongful denial of help to Texans who were eligible for benefits because their information had been misplaced. Accenture blamed some of the problems on tighter eligibility rules imposed by the state.
Commission spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said Monday that the state has paid the Texas Access Alliance – a group led by Accenture – $242.6 million for services. The state also paid Accenture $25.8 million for computers, software, furniture and phones purchased by the vendor.
The state is rebidding all of the outsourced duties. Maximus Inc., a former Accenture subcontractor based in Reston, Va., continues to run the call centers.
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