State of the $tates

The Maryland Department of Human Resources, Child Care Administration, awarded a contract to J&E Associates Inc. of Silver Spring, Md., to research the state's regulations, training delivery, funding policies and other factors relative to career development in the child care profession.

As part of the $120,000 contract, J&E Associates will research systems and strategies that other states, including Colorado, Delaware and Wisconsin, are using. The company also will convene a statewide task force to develop Maryland's comprehensive child care system.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development has awarded a contract for an electronic benefits transfer provider to support food stamp benefit issuance. The contract was awarded to the sole bidder, Citicorp of New York. The contract is expected not to exceed $30 million.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management awarded a contract to Park.Net Inc. of Ballston Spa, N.Y. The company will provide systems integration services to implement a reservation system for all of the state's campgrounds. The contract is valued at $1.75 million over five years.

The Washington State Department of Licensing awarded a $2.3 million contract for an imaging system to the Impact Innovation Group. Under the contract, IIG will migrate the existing imaging system to one based on the latest technology.

The state of Iowa awarded a contract to multiple vendors to provide IBM computers and accessories to statewide agencies. The one-year contract has two one-year options and will be up for rebid or renewal in December. The contract was awarded to Comark, Compucom, CompUSA, Computerland of DM, GE Capital, Logicom, Macroland and Pomeroy Computer Resources.

These contracts are compiled by Federal Sources Inc.'s state and local division. Federal Sources is a market research firm in McLean, Va.