Calif. welfare consortium taps EDS for digital learning

Electronic Data Systems Corp. has won a three-year contract to provide California's Welfare Client Data System Consortium with a digital learning program to train its employees, the company said.

The company declined to disclose the terms of the contract, announced Jan. 18.

EDS of Plano, Texas, will help the consortium train more than 25,000 social service agents working in 18 California counties with the skills they need to administer benefits to more than 1 million people receiving aid each year.

The training will be provided via seven courses available through the consortium's intranet, EDS said.

The contract builds on an existing 11-year, $321 million contract under which EDS consolidated the disparate systems of the member counties into one system. The company designed, developed and implemented a solution called CalWORKS Information Network, also known as CalWIN, to replace the consortium's 30 year-old legacy system.

Each county employee will begin training with a required e-learning introduction and overview of CalWIN courses. Additional job-specific e-learning courses will be required, depending on the employee's role within the organization.

The remaining required courses are offered through instructor-led training.