Debate over unemployment offices continues

by Amanda Iacone
Staff Writer

A preliminary plan to close all state unemployment offices that would save about $10 million in tax dollars is receiving opposition from legislators.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services hopes to operate more effectively by shutting down its 56 offices and replacing them with telephone registration centers.

Seven centers already operating receive 40 percent of all claims, said Dennis Evans, a spokesman for ODJFS. And ODJFS would open 14 additional centers under its plan.

Rep. Nancy Hollister, R-Marietta, said she is concerned the telephone system would not provide the same level of customer service as the existing offices.

"I don't think they've thought it through," she said.

Customers currently can go to offices to be matched with a job or to file for state unemployment benefits. Veterans' Services use the unemployment office to place existing military personnel in civilian jobs. And local businesses go to the offices looking for employees.

Residents in Southeast Ohio would benefit from a new center in Waverly. The Pike County office would address the needs of all 29 Appalachian counties in Ohio, Evans said.

But Hollister disagreed, saying this center would limit service in the region to Ross, Pike and Scioto counties. Residents' transportation problems would limit service to other counties.

"Our folks aren't going to drive three hours to talk to someone," she said. "It certainly would be of no service to Meigs and Athens counties."

Although the Athens office will close, the child custody center will remain open. Hollister said she is unsure whether or not the job center will become a phone center.

The office closings also might mean unemployment for government workers who have jobs in the offices. Early retirement and employment at the phone center would be options for them, Evans said.

The number of state employees who would lose their jobs is undetermined, said minority leader Sen. Leigh Herington, D-Ravenna. For instance, a phone center in Marietta would have only three employees, Hollister said.

ODJFS is considering this plan to help repay a $40 million state penalty to the federal government. The $10 million saved by eliminating the walk-in offices would help pay the penalties, Herington said.

"I just don't think we ought to be cutting back public services when there 's that kind of questionable practice," he said.

But the dollar amount saved might actually be less after early retirement offers and unemployment benefits are given to the current state employees, he said.

Although a specific transition timeline has yet to be determined, office closings would coordinate with phone center openings, Evans said.

"The services are still similar," he said. "Only the method of delivery is different."

Evans said the phone centers would not only save taxpayers money, but also would be more convenient for customers. Customers could avoid long lines and call from the comfort of their homes.

But not all customers have access to a phone, and they might want to speak to someone in person, said Carol Kuhman, the communications director for the Senate Democratic Caucus.

"There are a lot of holes," she said. "There's no back-up."

The telephone system already installed has a lot of problems, Kuhman said.

"Pennsylvania did the same thing, and it's not working at all," she said.

Around the country, 16 other states have switched to statewide telephone systems, including New York and Pennsylvania, Evans said.

But Herington asked last week that ODJFS repeal its plan to close local unemployment offices. ODJFS has yet to respond.

And Hollister said she and other legislators would meet with the department in the next few weeks to discuss the job center closings.

"I think there's a lot of questions," she said. "I’m certainly not happy. It's not people friendly."