<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2eObdj_1H0g7nOz00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2eObdj_1H0g7nOz00" width="1280" height="854" ><figcaption>Ilya Pavlov / Unsplash / OqtafYT5kTw</figcaption></figure>Virginia’s watchdog agency is investigating a failed overhaul of the state’s child support enforcement system that cost taxpayers over $50 million. At the end of 2025, Virginia’s Department of Social Services shut down an IT project to modernize its outdated mainframe system used for the state’s child support enforcement. In August, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said during a speech to the General Assembly’s joint money committees that the unfinished project amounted to a $52 million loss. “Virginia paid serious money, and all we got were tools that barely worked,” Spanberger said at the time. VPM News submitted a Freedom of Information Act request with the Office of the State Inspector General on Oct. 21 for any investigative records into DSS’ contract with CGI Technologies and Solutions Inc., the vendor for the project. OSIG, which looks into claims of fraud, waste and abuse at state agencies, confirmed on Monday that it has more than 1,400 pages of investigative records into the contract that it was withholding. But the watchdog agency cited a FOIA exemption that allows it to shield records into its investigations or cases that come from allegations Virginians share through the state’s Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline. Maggie Sotos, an OSIG spokesperson, said in a Nov. 9 email that the watchdog agency doesn’t “comment on pending or potentially pending investigations.”In response to VPM News’ FOIA request, an Oct. 28 email sent on behalf of State Inspector General Daniel Young said: “To protect the confidentiality and integrity of its investigative processes, OSIG does not comment on or produce information about pending or potentially pending investigations.”OSIG said in this scenario it would either have no records “or, if there were an active but not-yet-completed investigation, any requested materials would be excluded from mandatory production under the statutory exemption for administrative investigations (Code § 2.2-3705.3(7)).”“This fulfills your FOIA request,” Young’s Oct. 28 email concluded. VPM News replied that its FOIA request asked OSIG to identify any withheld records and the reasons for keeping them — noting that state law requires the watchdog agency to provide these details. Less than an hour later, OSIG said it would take seven additional working days to produce documents, invoking an extension in state law when it’s “not practically possible to provide the requested records or to determine whether they are available within the five-work-day period.”On Monday, seven working days later, OSIG shared that it had — and was withholding — “approximately 1,440 pages” of investigative records into the contract. The press offices for DSS and Spanberger did not respond to a request for comment. CGI, a company with other state contracts, declined to comment. Spanberger’s remarks about the child support system project in August came as she criticized actions taken by her predecessor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, who was governor when the effort was launched and collapsed. “My predecessor might have thought it was OK to just write off losses like this one, but I don’t,” Spanberger said about the project. “It’s not a corporate balance sheet that we’re dealing with. It is taxpayer dollars.” <h2>Already “antiquated” as of 1998</h2>By 2023, Virginia had the second-oldest federally certified child support computer system in the US, which was set to reach the end of its useful life on June 30, 2024, per a statement of work between DSS and CGI. DSS’ child support enforcement division uses the system — the Automated Program to Enforce Child Support (APECS) — to manage its cases. APECS helps locate parents, establish parentage and enforce child support orders. It interfaces with SNAP, Medicaid and child welfare IT systems for case management, to accept referrals, data sharing and more.In 1998, Virginia’s nonpartisan legislative watchdog described APECS as “antiquated” and unable to perform vital functions. In an Aug. 21 email, DSS’ press office said having a 32-year-old system means the agency relies on a mainframe that uses “outdated and inefficient” technologies.But DSS said the agency has taken steps to modernize the child support system, including in 2013, when it scanned customers’ paper files so that they were accessible to caseworkers in APECS.The agency also created an online portal where child support payments can be made and where customers can review documents and communicate with caseworkers, the office told VPM News. <h2>Contract termination could be linked to spiking project costs</h2>The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement requires DSS to submit a streamlined feasibility study to start a full system modernization. After having the study approved, DSS sent out requests for proposals to potential vendors, ultimately choosing CGI. The design, development and implementation phase with CGI began in January 2024. According to DSS documents, the system was expected to transition off the old mainframe by April 2026.As part of the overhaul, DSS aimed to re-fit the online customer portal that parents use to access their cases, make payments, review documents and complete other tasks. A 2021 state report said that at the time, DSS’s child support enforcement division was collecting $650 million a year and serving nearly 350,000 children across more than 276,000 total cases.DSS and CGI agreed to stop work by the end of 2025, according to an Oct. 22, 2025, project document signed by then-DSS Commissioner Kevin Erskine, which VPM News obtained through a FOIA request.“The system was scheduled to be completed in 13 sprints; however, it was not operational at the conclusion of those sprints,” DSS’ press office said in the Aug. 21 email. DSS officials have not shared specifics on why the contract was terminated.Internal records show DSS ultimately made the decision after it wouldn’t agree to updated project costs from CGI, which the agency said far exceeded what both sides agreed on. CGI asked DSS to pay an extra $49.9 million on top of the $38 million contract for the project, according to a redacted letter to CGI signed by Erskine in 2025. “That amount is more than twice the amount VDSS budgeted for such activities under the current Contract,” Erskine wrote. “VDSS and the Commonwealth cannot agree to a payment modification of that order of magnitude. Based on our recent discussions, it is apparent that the Parties simply cannot bridge the pricing gap.”According to procurement records, DSS had spent over $50 million before shuttering the project. In an Oct. 30, 2026, email, DSS said OCSE received its new feasibility study on Sept. 11, but had not yet given the agency federal approval to find a new vendor to replace APECS.</div></body>

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Virginia’s watchdog agency is investigating a failed overhaul of the state’s child support enforcement system that cost taxpayers over $50 million. At the end of 2025, Virginia’s Department of Social Services shut down an IT project to modernize its outdated mainframe system used for the state’s child support enforcement.

State inspector general is investigating $52M failed child support IT project

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Virginia’s watchdog agency is investigating a failed overhaul of the state’s child support enforcement system that cost taxpayers over $50 million. At the 

State inspector general is investigating $52M failed child support IT project

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