Curbing Unemployment
The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for countless changes. One example is how state and local agencies support workers, especially in times of need.
Like many state agencies, Iowa Workforce Development is now placing a greater focus on getting people back to work as quickly as possible. Leveraging software developed by Geographic Solutions, a leading provider of online employment systems for state and local workforce agencies, Iowa introduced a new Reemployment Case Management (RCM) program in 2022. With the launch of this program, Iowa Workforce Development hired and trained 18 Career Planners to promote a smooth transition of the new system and to provide one-on-one job search assistance to help match claimants’ skills and abilities with the job postings.
Doubling Down on Job Placement
Following the pandemic and resulting employment crisis of 2020—when Geographic Solutions leaned on Cisco data center technologies to handle a 5000 to 6000 percent increase in traffic hitting its systems and distribute a historic $41.9 billion in unemployment compensation—Toomey says his company redoubled its efforts to facilitate and accelerate job placement.
“The faster people can find employment, the better it is for everyone—individuals, families, employers, and local economies,” he explains. “We’ve been very busy the past three years bringing new systems and capabilities online and scaling the systems already in place.”
Customization, Isolation, and Protection
Today, Geographic Solutions provides workforce systems for more than 40 states and U.S. territories, each with a customized and discrete version of the company’s software, which contains 103 separate modules.
“We’ve created and now manage many versions of our core system,” Toomey says. “All of which have to be fully isolated and secured on a state-by-state, agency-by-agency basis.”
VCC Builds a Data-Driven Bridge Between Workforce and Education
In Miami-Dade County, the Beacon Council Foundation's One Community One Goal initiative illuminates the valuable connection between educational attainment and economic development for the region.
Rick Beasley, Executive Director of CareerSource South Florida, stated that "[CSSF] works hand-in-hand with postsecondary educational institutions because it's a way to address the needs of the business community. Our role is to assist the [institutions] in helping to rescale and train our future leaders."
One System Fulfills
the Need
With this in mind, CSSF turned to Geographic Solutions seeking a data-driven career exploration and pathway solution.
The Virtual Career Center (VCC) fulfills these needs by providing a conduit between FMU students and staff with the region's network of employers and workforce staff housed within the state workforce system, Employ Florida.
How VCC Leads
with Data
Education data connects users to FMU and other programs they need to begin - or continue - their career journey as well as to locate scholarships to alleviate the cost of tuition. The labor market information provides real-time data connecting majors to current opportunities within the area.
Find Out More
The VCC student accounts are designed for lifelong use by providing students with the tools they need to manage every stage of their career path development. Download the FMU CSSF case study to obtain more in-depth information regarding how student users can integrate their educational data with VCC's tools in order to help them navigate this path.
The Road to Improve Statewide Educational Attainment
New Mexico Career Solutions was developed in 2016 by Geographic Solutions in partnership with The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. The purpose was to provide youth and young adults with an online all-in-one planning website to help them explore careers and plan for their future, while providing an external link to the workforce.
The Answer is Virtual Career Center
New Mexico Career Solutions is powered by Virtual Career Center, which concentrates on high-school students and their counselors, as well as includes
access for all job-seeking residents and secondary/post-secondary educational institutions within the state.
School Counselors Provided Feedback
Counselors enjoyed the link between the state's workforce system and Career Solutions. Students could log into the system in ninth grade, start working on career exploration, and have all of their information saved there. Progress made in ninth grade could now be continued throughout their academic career and into employment with seamless transition of each account into the state workforce system.
Find Out More
Download this case study to learn more about New Mexico's statewide campaign to deliver career solutions to students beginning in high school through the end of college and into the workforce.
Distributing $41.9 Billion in Unemployment Compensation
Geographic Solutions uses Cisco UCS to confront pandemic job crisis
As the United States confronted a debilitating health crisis in Spring 2020, a similarly catastrophic unemployment crisis was materializing. Countless companies were forced to furlough workers, eliminate positions, or shut down altogether. As a result, many states and territories struggled to alleviate traffic bottlenecks on unemployment insurance websites, handle the intake of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims, and distribute benefits in a timely manner.
"Our state unemployment systems experienced a 5000 to 6000 percent increase in traffic in March," said Paul Toomey, President and Founder of Geographic Solutions, a leading provider of online employment software for state and local workforce agencies. "There was a tremendous pressure to get money to the people who needed it, so we had to spin up new capabilities and scale our environment very, very, quickly."
The Server Scale
"Setting up a state's unemployment system typically takes at least two years if they're moving fast," Toomey said. "We had to do it in a matter of weeks for multiple states and territories."
To do so, Geographic Solutions purchased 19 Cisco® UCS® servers with a 2nd Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors and Intel Optane™ persistent memory (PMem). Seven of the servers are 112 core, ultra-high performance nodes, one each for the new states and territories Geographic Solutions is now supporting.
Making History
In less than two months, Geographic Solutions was able to scale its infrastructure to support the needs of nine states and U.S. territories. And over the course of 2020, the company processed and distributed a historic $41.9 billion in unemployment compensation and thwarted $10.7 billion in fraudulent claims.
Find Out More
We have the infrastructure and high-quality software to support your region, state, or city's new or existing system. Download Cisco's case study to read more.
Reducing Recidivism with
Workforce Partnerships
In the July/August 2021 edition of American Jails, Geographic Solutions' Business Development Executive for Corrections, Richard Boone, and Director of Sales and Marketing, Deane Toler, discuss how partnerships between workforce agencies and state and local corrections entities can reduce incidents of recidivism. The direct benefits of recidivism reduction includes increasing the safety in our communities, decreasing victimization rates, reducing criminal justice costs, and fostering family preservation.
Reduced Recidivism with Pre-Release Employment Prospects
Studies have shown that unemployment rates are highest for ex-offenders within the first two years of their release, and programs that focus on proactive, pre-release job placement can, in fact, reduce the likelihood of recidivism, especially among non-violent offenders.
A Solution for Reentry
In recent years, partnerships between state workforce and correction agencies have brought web-based career services technology to the justice-involved, with much success, including pre-release inmates in jails. A leading solution is Virtual OneStop® Reentry Employment Opportunities (VOS REO). Through the use of the system's resources and job search functionality, VOS REO helps inmates develop skills and line up work faster.
Find Out More
Are you seeking this solution for your agency or partnership? Download the case study linked below, then reach out using the contact form. We're ready to partner with you so we can develop a solution that's right for your unique initiative.
Request More Information
Tulare County Offers a
RESET and Another
Chance at Stability
Unique Reentry Portal
Helps Reduce Instances
of Recidivism
The Tulare County Readiness for Employment through Sustainable Education and Training (RESET) Program, in conjunction with Geographic Solutions, collaborated to develop the Tulare County Probation RESET portal. This locally-branded workforce website facilitates the process of employing justice-involved individuals after release from jail or prison, and allows program participants to use all the functionality found in the statewide job search site, CalJOBS (caljobs.ca.gov).
Streamlining the Referral Process
Preparation for reentry into the workforce begins when RESET Probation officers register individuals that were referred to the program into the portal, where they learn to create and update their resumes, conduct skills assessments, perform labor market research, and apply to jobs in their area.
RESET Portal Provides Full Reporting and Case Management Capabilities
The RESET Portal collects data from these program-referred individuals who enrolled and completed job readiness training, employment, and job retention to provide an array of reporting that validated the value of the program.
Find Out More
To learn more about the Tulare County Probation RESET Program, as well as read a participant's success story, please click on the link below to download the case study.
