DIRECTIVE	:	UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 29-99
TO	:	ALL STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCIES
FROM	:	GRACE A. KILBANE Director Unemployment Insurance Service
SUBJECT	:	UI PERFORMS: Benefits Timeliness and Quality (BTQ) Reports Data Now Available on the Internet

1. Purpose. To advise State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) that BTQ data are now accessible through the Internet at the Information Technology Support Center (ITSC) website.

2. References. Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Handbook 401, Change 7, 4/96; ETA Handbook 301, 1/98; Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 41-95, UI PERFORMS; UIPL 10-96, Implementation of New Measures.

3. Background. As part of the UI PERFORMS management system inaugurated with UIPL 41-95, ETA has put in place a series of timeliness and quality measures to allow a more accurate assessment of the functioning of Unemployment Insurance programs across the country. The BTQ measures were first described in UIPL 10-96. The first reports required of States were quality evaluations of nonmonetary determinations and of lower authority appeals, for the quarter ending September 30, 1996. Reporting for timeliness measures, including nonmonetary determinations timeliness and lower and higher authority appeals case aging, began with the month of January 1997. Unlike Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM), BTQ has not been able to provide a menu-driven series of performance reports accessible to State program coordinators and administrators. To allow States access to their data for analysis and for monitoring programs for continuous improvement, ETA is making the reported data available via the Internet.

4. Definitions. The BTQ measures are described and the data elements used in the measures are defined in HB 401 and HB 301.

5. Reports. 

   1. What's available: All monthly timeliness reports include the most recent 12 months of performance data. Monthly timeliness reports available include:

      1. First payment timeliness, intra- and interstate, for both total and partial weeks of unemployment, and for workshare programs.

      2. Continued weeks payment timeliness, intra- and interstate, for both total and partial weeks of unemployment, and for workshare programs.

      3. Nonmonetary determinations timeliness, from the date of detection of the issue to the determination date, intra- and interstate, for separation and nonseparation issues.

      4. Nonmonetary issue detection timeliness, from the first week affected by the determination to the date the issue was detected, intra- and interstate, for separation and nonseparation issues.

      5. Lower authority appeals timeliness, intra- and interstate.

      6. Higher authority appeals timeliness, intra- and interstate.

      7. Lower authority appeals case aging.

      8. Higher authority appeals case aging.

      Quarterly reports include performance on interstate and combined wage claims, scored quality of sampled nonmonetary determinations, and scored quality of lower authority appeals, including due process.

      Monthly reports are updated in the second week of each month. Quarterly reports are updated in the second week of the third month of each quarter.

   2. Report Format. All of the reports are in spreadsheet format. They were originated in Quattro Pro but have proven to be generally compatible with other popular spreadsheet software. Each report contains the data shown as percentages of workload completed in timelapse intervals, followed by one or more graphics for ease of analysis. Raw data are on the second page of the spreadsheet.

   3. Access.

      Step 1:  To access BTQ data through the Internet, use your Internet browser (Netscape or other) to go to the OWS site at ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/performance.asp and click on "UI Data & Statistics." On the Data & Statistics page, under "UI Performs," click on "BTQ Reports of SESA Performance."

      Step 2:  Select a region from the list of administrative regions.

      Step 3:  Choose and double-click on a report from the list of reports available.

      Step 4:  A "save as" screen will open, showing the name of the selected file. Select the drive and directory to save the file to, and save the file with an appropriate file extension. Quattro Pro uses ".wb2" or ".wb3" as the spreadsheet extension. Our preliminary tests have shown successful translation of the spreadsheet reports into other spreadsheet software by saving them with the appropriate extension used by that software.

      Step 5:  Using your system's spreadsheet software, open the saved file. Some adjustments may be necessary, depending on results. For instructions on how to print or otherwise use the saved report, consult the manual for your spreadsheet software.

      Note:  Attempts to save the spreadsheets into software such as word processors usually result in saving the data in table format. The graphics often do not survive the transition, since they are generated based on spreadsheet cell addresses.

6. Action Required. STATE authority lower and nonmonetary are are requested to share this information with UI directors and administrators, research and analysis sections, BTQ program coordinators, nonmonetary determinations reviewers and program experts, and lower and higher authority appeals program administrators.

7. Inquires. Contact Geri Oberloh at the National Office, on 202-219-5211, extension 138, or by email: goberloh@doleta.gov.