Unemployment Insurance Data Validation (UI DV) News Archive
DV TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES - JANUARY 2014
Wanda Burth of the Information Technology Service Center will offer two one-week courses in DV at the Frances Perkins Building from March 31 to April 4 and from July 28 to August 2. There is no tuition or registration fee, but attendees are responsible for transportation and lodging. Space is limited for these courses. For complete course descriptions and to register, visit ITSC and select the UI Training Center and registration page (account login and password required). Please contact Stephen Hanle to set up a member account or reset a password.
DV RESULTS FOR VY 2013 AND NEW GUIDANCE - JULY 2013
DV results for VY 2013, and items due for VY 2014, have been added to "Results Due and Submitted" in "In this Section." New guidance for validators has also been posted to "Supplementary Guidance:" A Brief Guide to DV gives an overview of the DV process, and a DV Action Checklist helps plan activities for the validation year by giving a template for DV items that need to be addressed.
DV SOFTWARE VERSION 4.2.7 RELEASED - FEBRUARY 2013
The Data Validation (DV) State Web Software Version 4.2.7 has been installed on state servers. This release corrects errors found in the calculation of high dollar overpayments in Population 12. States can now resume working on this population.
SOFTWARE BUG AFFECTING BENEFITS POPULATION 12 - DECEMBER 2012
We found two problems in Population 12. There are instances where the dollar amount of high dollar overpayment records is not being added to the high dollar overpayment amount total. Also, the software does not provide a way to add the fraud (or nonfraud) accumulated overpayment amount from a previous quarter when there is no overpayment of the same type established in the reporting quarter. These bugs will be fixed in the next release. In the meantime, states should stop working on Population 12 until further notice.
DV SOFTWARE VERSION 4.2.5 RELEASED - AUGUST, 2012
The Data Validation (DV) State Web Software Version 4.2.5 has been installed on state servers. This release corrects several errors in the software and incorporates changes due to the revision of the ETA 227 report. Because of these changes, states are required to validate Populations 12, 13 and 14 and the new Population 15 during VY2013. For more information see the software release notes under "In This Section".
BENEFITS MODULE 3 FEDERAL TEMPLATE PUBLISHED - AUGUST, 2012
The federal template for the Benefits Module 3 has been published. This template reflects changes due to the revision of the ETA 227 report. States are required to update the affected steps and publish their modules during VY2013.
ETA 227 Documentation - April, 2012
Drafts of the new record layouts and subpopulation specifications for Populations 12 through 15 have been published. These documents highlight the changes to the DV program due to the change in structure of the ETA 227 report. States can use these draft documents to start constructing their extract files for Populations 12 through 14 and the new Population 15, with the precaution that these could be changed prior to their final publication. These documents can be found under In This Section/ETA 227 Changes.
Also, we have updated and restructured the In This Section.
SOFTWARE BUG AFFECTING BENEFITS POPULATIONS 13 and 14 - March, 2012
A bug affecting Populations 13 and 14 was recently called to our attention. Although the Reports Validation screen shows that all groups Pass, the View Population Scores screen shows Report Validation and the population as having failed validation, and a failing score is transmitted to the UI Database. This bug will be fixed as part of the changes needed to accommodate the revisions to the ETA 227 report; the new software will be released sometime after the June 11 reporting deadline. In the meanwhile, states should submit Population 13 and 14 results as usual, noting any incidence of the problem in the Report Validation comments and by an alert e-mail to dvrpts@uis.doleta.gov so that the National Office can change Fails to Passes manually and no passing scores are lost.
DV SOFTWARE VERSION 4.2.4 RELEASED - FEBRUARY, 2012
The Data Validation (DV) State Web Software Version 4.2.4 has been installed on state servers. This release corrects several errors in the software. For more information see the software release notes under "In This Section".
MODULE 3 SOFTWARE VERSION 2.2.2 RELEASED - FEBRUARY, 2012
The Module 3 Software Version 2.2.2 has been installed on the National Office system. This release corrects several errors in the software. The federal template was not changed. For more information see the software release notes under "In This Section".
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA VALIDATION MONITORING GUIDE (HANDBOOK 412) PUBLISHED - FEBRUARY 2012
As announced on February 22, 2012, through Field Memorandum (FM) No.1-12, the new UI DV Monitoring Guide (Handbook 412) has been published. It provides Regional Office (RO) staff with step-by-step instructions for assessing the accuracy of state's DV results through periodic monitoring. RO staff are tasked with verifying that states are in compliance with UI DV program requirements and procedures.
Handbook 412, FM No. 1-12 can be accessed through the DV web page. See In This Section/DV Advisories/ FM 1-12: 2012 Issuance of the Employment and Training (ET) Handbook No. 412, Unemployment Insurance (UI) Data Validation (DV) Monitoring Guide; and In This Section/Handbooks & Reporting Instructions/Handbook 412, UI DV Monitoring Guide.
DVWS SOFTWARE BUG AFFECTING POPULATIONS 13, 14 AND TAX 4 - OCTOBER 2011
A problem has been detected in the Data Validation State application that affects Benefits Populations 13 and 14 and Tax Population 4. Even though the DV Software Report Validation screen displays the validation counts for these three populations, the counts for these three populations submitted after August 2, 2011 are not being sent to the National Office. As a result, the DV Reports software is displaying zeros instead of the correct validation counts. A software upgrade is required to correct this problem which is scheduled to be released by the end of this year. Until the DV Software upgrade is installed at the States, users may do all preliminary work but should not submit results for these populations.
BENEFITS POPULATION 1 WBA WORKAROUND - SEPTEMBER 2011
At present Field 10 of Population 1, Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA), is mandatory (NOT NULL) for all subpopulations, including 1.7, 1.8, and 1.9 for Agent State weeks claimed. The DV software rejects any record for which Field 10 is left blank. However, because WBA is not mandatory in the Liable-Agent Data Transfer (LADT) system from which Agent State weeks records are built, Field 10 should not be mandatory for Agent State records. The next DV software release, scheduled for early 2012, will make Field 10 optional for Agent State records. Until this release is issued, programmers building Population 1 extract files should fill Field 10 with zero for Agent State records if WBA is not available on LADT. This will allow the records to be accepted by the software.
NEW PAPERWORK APROVAL FOR DV - SEPTEMBER 2011
On July 24, 2011, the Office of Management and Budget extended its approval to collect DV data under the Paperwork Reduction Act (OMB No.1205-0431) for three years. The OMB Approval statement at the front of future versions of the DV Benefits and Tax Handbooks and the DV software application will contain an expiration date of July 31, 2014. The estimated response burden remains unchanged at 550 hours per year.
SOFTWARE BUG AFFECTING POPULATIONS 6, 7, 8, 9 - SEPTEMBER 2011
Several users have called our attention to a software problem affecting RV counts for populations 6, 7, 8, and 9. This bug causes validation failures by showing zero validation counts for multiclaimant appeals filed or decided as well as for any groups containing multiclaimant appeals. The bug will be fixed as part of the next DVWS release, scheduled for the end of this year. Until that release is installed on the states' Sun computers, users should not submit results for these populations.
DV SOFTWARE VERSION 4.2.2 RELEASED, AUGUST, 2011
The Data Validation (DV) State Web Software Release 4.2.2 has been installed in state servers. This release corrects several errors in the software and updates the Wage Item Validation screen. For more information see the software release notes under "In This Section".
BENEFITS PORTION OF DV HANDBOOK HAS BEEN REVISED - JULY 2011
The Benefits portion of the DV Handbook has been revised to change the procedure to be used when building the Population 5 extract file and to make some technical corrections to the handbook. Effective immediately, when building the Pop 5 extract file, the state must build a record for each denial determination instead of a record for each denied claimant. This will allow the counts of determinations on both the ETA 207 and on the ETA 9052 reports to be properly validated. See the link to UIPL 17-10 Change 1 under DV Advisories in "In this Section;" the revised handbook is available in Handbooks and Reporting Instructions.
TAX PORTION OF DV HANDBOOK HAS BEEN REVISED - JULY 2011
The Tax portion of the UI DV Handbook, ET Handbook No 361, has been revised and issued via UIPL 18-11. The handbook can be accessed in the In This Section portion of this Web page under Handbooks & Reporting Instructions/Complete Handbooks/Handbook 361, Tax. In This Section/DV Advisories/UIPL 18-11 contains a link to UIPL 18-11. The UIPL contains a list of changes from the 2009 version of the handbook. The handbook references record layouts and duplicate detection criteria that were moved to the DV Operations Guide 411, also available in the DV Advisories portion of In This Section; click on UIPL 01-11.
NEW AND REVISED GUIDANCE ON WEB PAGE - JULY 2011
The guide on 227 Aging on the DV web page under the Supplementary Guidance portion of "In this Section" has been revised to include supplementary information on the concept and logic of Active Collection Status. A small change has been made to the editable template for the Benefits Module 4 validation in Module 4 Guidance and Templates.
VY 2011 RESULTS AND WHAT'S DUE FOR VY 2012 - JULY 2011
To the Results Due and Submitted section of "In this Section" have been added Validations Due VY 2012 and VY 2011 Status.
NEXT DV SOFTWARE RELEASE, JUNE, 2011
The next DV software update will be released by the end of June, 2011. This release will update the Wage Item Validation screen to reflect the latest methodology published in Handbook 361. Because this update includes a major structural change in the software, the wage item data resident in the software will need to be erased in order to accommodate the new structure. Hence, states should save any ongoing wage item work outside the software and reenter their work after the release, using the new validation screen. This release will not affect any previously submitted data.
DV SOFTWARE VERSION 4.2.0 RELEASED, MARCH, 2011
The Data Validation (DV) State Web Software Release 4.2.0 has been installed in state servers. This release corrects a bug that generated duplicate records in random samples when the sample link was double clicked. For more information see the software release notes under "In This Section."
DUE DATE FOR SUBMITTING DV RESULTS FOR VY 2011
DV results for Validation Year (VY) 2011 will be due June 10, 2011. In 2009 the due date for all DV submissions was changed from May 10 to June 10 to give validators more time to complete validations after reporting due dates and to enable validators to validate tax results for the first calendar quarter if they so choose. The June 10 due date increases the number of quarterly Tax reports that can be validated for Populations 1, 3, 4 and 5 from three to four, and the number of quarters that can be validated for Population 2 (Report Delinquency) from two to three.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA VALIDATION OPERATIONS GUIDE (ET OPERATIONS GUIDE 411) PUBLISHED – AUGUST 2010
As announced on October 22, 2010, through Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 01-11, the new UI DV Operations Guide (ET Operations Guide 411) has been published. It provides users with step-by-step instructions to navigate the Benefits and Tax applications of the DV State Web Software. As previously announced, the guide includes record layouts and which are no longer contained in the DV Handbooks but which are also still available on the DV web page.
ET Operations Guide 411, UIPL No. 01-11, record layouts and duplicate detection criteria can be accessed through the DV web page. See In This Section/ DV WS Software/DV Operation Guide/ET Operations Guide 411; In This Section/ DV Advisories; In This Section/Handbooks & Reporting Instructions.
SUBMISSION OF SAMPLES WITH PARTIALLY-COMPLETED CASES, JUNE 2010
When validating a sample, users should make sure that they score every data element in each sample case, before submitting the sample. The state DV application considers samples complete as soon as the number of cases with errors is large enough to fail the sample, even if not every element in the case has been scored; and allows the results to be transmitted. However, users attempting to retrieve results for the corresponding population using the DV Reports software, get an error message if the number of completed cases is zero. For the next release, we will change the DV software so that it doesn't allow the submission of samples with partially completed cases, regardless of the number of errors. Until then, validators should make sure they complete every sample case by scoring every data element in it before submitting results to the National Office. During the validation of a sample, if the minimum number of failed cases that makes the sample fail have been reached, as indicated by the software, the validator has the option to stop investigating the rest of the cases and use the Check ALL feature to complete the rest of the cases and submit, as long as it is documented in the sample Comments field that only failed cases were investigated.
DV REPORTS SOFTWARE HAS BEEN RELEASED - APRIL, 2010
The Data Validation Reports Software has been released to state and federal systems. This software allows state users to view summary and detailed reports of results they have submitted for validation years 2009 and later. Federal users can view results for all states.
Users can access the application through the Application Menu, under Data Validation/Data Validation Reports. The Results by Validation Year application generates a summary report of the latest results submitted for a chosen validation year. The Results by Population application generates a detailed report of the latest results submitted for a chosen population and validation year.
Release Notes have been posted under In This Section/DV Reports Software/Release Notes.
MODULE 3 SOFTWARE FEDERAL TEMPLATES AND STATE TUTORIAL PUBLISHED - MARCH, 2010
The Module 3 Federal templates for Benefits and Tax have been updated and published, and the Module 3 Software State Tutorial is now available on the DV Website under In This Section/Module 3 Software:/Software Tutorial. This tutorial will guide state users through the web-based Module 3 software.
These were the last steps that need to be completed in order for states to be able to use the Module 3 software. States should review and publish their Module 3s for Benefits and Tax, and certify them during the open certification period that runs from April 10 to June 10.
The next release of the software will include updates to the help pages and will reflect the new office name (OUI). Software tutorials for national and regional users will be published subsequently.
UPDATES TO DV APPLICATION AND DV REPORTS SOFTWARE (JULY 2010)
Updated versions of the DV processing software and the DV reports software have been installed on state Sun computers. DVWS release 4.1.0 corrects an error in the way certain average age values in Populations 10 and 11 were calculated, displays average and median age values to one decimal place, and disables the Transmit button as soon as it is pressed once so that partial submissions of DV data cannot occur. Reports software version 1.2.0 properly displays average age scores for populations 10 and 11 and only displays results for VY 2010 forward. (VY 2009 results have been removed because the software could only retrieve partial data for that year.) See "In this Section" for release notes.
AVOIDING SAMPLE SELECTION PROBLEMS, MAY 2010
Some states have reported problems with sampling operations in the DV Software. These problems include selection of extra cases (often each case is displayed twice); erroneous summary results; inability to save results; and inability to complete samples and thus to submit DV population results. These problems typically occur because validators double-click instead of single-click on a DV sample link. Until this issue is addressed in the software, please be sure to create each sample by clicking only once on a sample ID link.
If you experience any sample selection problems, please contact the Help Desk or the DV team immediately. We can sometimes rectify double-click problems without loss of investigative work.
BENEFITS PORTION OF DV HANDBOOK HAS BEEN REVISED - MARCH 2010
The benefits portion of the UI DV Handbook, ET Handbook No 361, has been revised. The handbook can be accessed through In This Section/Handbooks Reporting Instructions/Complete Handbooks/Handbook 361, Benefits. The handbook references record layouts and duplicate detection criteria that are still available on the DV web page (see In This Section/Handbooks & Reporting Instructions). These will eventually be published as part of a DV users guide.
For a list of changes to the handbook, please refer to UIPL 17-10 - Revisions to the State Unemployment Insurance (UI) Data Validation (DV) Handbook, Benefits that has been added to the DV web page under In This Section/DV Advisories.
NEW AND REVISED GUIDANCE ON WEB PAGE - MARCH 2010
Two new guides have been added to the DV web page under "Supplementary Guidance" portion of "In this Section." The new guides address the reporting and validation of successorship transactions and the preparation of Data Validation corrective action plans or narratives. The existing Module 4 instruction for Tax, under "Module 4 Guidance and Templates," has been updated to reflect the changes to the TPS Handbook announced in UIPL 13-10.
WEB-BASED MODULE 3 SOFTWARE RELEASED - NOVEMBER 2009
New Web-based software enabling state staff to update their own Benefits and Tax Module 3 has been released and will soon be available for use. The new software resides on a DOL server that state users can access to update their state's information directly and generate a revised copy in PDF format that they can print or use electronically. Up to the release of this software, Module 3 was maintained on PC-based Access software by the National Office DV team, who updated states' Module 3's after receiving changes from state staff. The software also provides the means by which each state fulfills the DV requirement that it has reviewed and updated its Benefits and Tax Module 3 of each year. The certification form will be available only between April 10 and June 10 of each validation year, providing the states with a three-month window to certify their handbooks for the validation year DV requirement.
Federal National and Regional Office staff can access the software through the UI Applications Menu. National Office staff is responsible for making any necessary changes to the information that is not state-specific but will also have the ability to change state-specific data if requested by a state. See Release Notes under Module 3 Software in "In This Section."
The following steps are needed before the new software can be used: (1) All users must first establish user accounts with the ETA National Office. See instructions and forms under Module 3 in "In This Section." (2) National Office staff must (a) update and publish the Module 3 Federal template; and (b) release the Module 3 software tutorial. State users will be able to access the software as soon as they create their accounts, but will not be able to access their handbooks until the Federal template has been modified. An announcement will be made when this stage is completed. In the meanwhile, state staff should establish user accounts and send any Module 3 update requests to the National Office.
UPGRADED HARDWARE AND DV SOFTWARE VERSION 3.0 RELEASED, NOVEMBER 2009
By the middle of November, the next generation Sun computers were installed in all states. The new computers are loaded with DV software Version 3.0. This release corrects bugs that: (a) occasionally let additional sample cases to be drawn; (b) mishandled some duplicate records in Benefits Populations 3, 3a, and 13; (c) incorrectly rejected certain records in Benefits Population 14; (d) incorrectly rounded values in Populations 10 and 11 and truncated instead of rounded dollar values ending in cents; and (e) caused a malfunction in one of the Tax Population 1 data element sorts. It also corrects some table references and Help screen messages. These and other changes associated with the upgrade are outlined in the Version 3.0 Release Notes. See "In This Section."
REVISED WAGE ITEMS VALIDATION (MODULE 5) INSTRUCTIONS, NOVEMBER 2009
Revised guidance on Module 5 validation has been added to "In This section". The new procedures reflect current state procedures for processing wage records and specify a two-stage sampling process for selecting the wage records to be recounted. These samples require the review of fewer wage records while yielding more statistically definitive results. The existing DV Tax software accommodates most, but not all, results obtained using the new instructions. The next DV software release will contain revised Module 5 software.
DUE DATE FOR SUBMITTING DV RESULTS CHANGED, APRIL 2009
Effective immediately, the due date for all DV submissions is changed from May 10 to June 10. Results for VY 2009 will be due June 10, 2009. Not only will this new date give validators more time to complete validations but because it is three weeks after the May 20 reporting date for the 1st quarter ETA 581 report, validators will now be able to validate tax results for the first calendar quarter if they so choose. The change increases the number of quarterly Tax reports that can be validated for Populations 1, 3, 4 and 5 from three to four, and the number of quarters that can be validated for Population 2 (Report Delinquency) from two to three.
EIGHT STATES RECEIVE SBR AWARDS FOR IV & V - OCTOBER 2009
As part of a Supplement Benefit Request (SBR) process for FY 2009, eight states received awards to have an outside organization conduct an Independent Validation and Verification of their DV extract files: Alabama; Arkansas; Maine; Mississippi; Nebraska; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; Puerto Rico. In addition, New York and South Dakota received SBR funds to correct reporting software that DV showed were producing erroneous counts. These funds must be obligated by September 30, 2011; funds must be expended by December 30, 2011 unless an extension has been granted.
NEW POSTINGS - AUGUST 2009
Posted for your information are DV results for VY 2009 and Validation Items Due for VY 2010. Also, we are in the process of revising and updating materials from the Benefits and Tax Handbooks. "In this section" now includes updated Appendix A (Subpopulation Specifications) tables for Benefits, and a revised guidance for building LADT records for Benefits Populations 1 and 3 and building CWC records for Benefits Populations 3 and 4.
TEMPORARY PROCEDURE TO AVOID LOSS OF SAMPLE INVESTIGATION WORK, July 2009
Users have occasionally contacted the DV Team or Hotline to report that the DV software had drawn a random sample with more than the allotted number of sample cases. Two different causes have been identified: (1) a malfunctioning sampling module, which displays each case twice; (2) an improperly built extract file that contains duplicate observation numbers (OBS). Problem (1), and often problem (2), can be corrected by reloading the population; however, if the problem is discovered after cases have been investigated, reloading causes all investigative work to be lost.
VERSION 2.1.0 BUGS AND DESIGN ISSUES – MARCH, 2009
Users have called some minor software bugs and design limitations to our attention. See the link, Version 2.1.0 bugs under the "Bugs and Workarounds" header in "In this Section" for an explanation and workarounds. A release containing the bug fixes is expected in late spring or summer 2009, following the installation of an upgrade to the Sun's system operating system. The upgrade will require retesting of all Sun software, including DV WS Version 2.1.0.
DV SOFTWARE Bugs and Workarounds
DV SOFTWARE STATUS - NOVEMBER 2007
The software testing for DV Version 1.1 is complete and the release has been implemented on the State SUN systems the week ending November 30, 2007.
NEW SPECS AVAILABLE NOW – JULY, 2007
The specs in section Independent Validation and Verification (IV & V) have been updated. These changes are being incorporated in Version 1.1 of the DV Software. Notes for Benefits and Tax have also been added to this section. These notes explain which of the changes in the specs may have implications for your extract files.
DV SOFTWARE STATUS – JULY, 2007
The DV Software is still being tested at the National Office. Beta testing at states has not been conducted yet.
DV SOFTWARE STATUS – FEBRUARY, 2007
In July 2006, after encountering major problems with Version 1.0 of the DV software, the Department decided to suspend all software-related data validation submissions for VY 2007. Since then, Version 1.1 has been in development. This version intends to correct all encountered problems in Version 1.0 and include valuable enhancements to improve performance and usability.
Although originally the Department expected to have Version 1.1 ready by the end of year 2006, unexpected events have delayed the project, including the departure of the project’s senior programmer in November. The National Office DV team is now testing the software, and the testing will continue into February. After the software is thoroughly tested at the National Office, nine states will participate in a Beta test phase at the state level to ensure that all functions work properly in a production environment. The National Office will inform the states of a release date as soon as possible.
UIPL 22-05, Change 1 was signed on July 21, 2006.
See our link for a copy.
INDEPENDENT VALIDATION AND VERIFICATION (IV & V)
In August 2005, 25 states received funds via Supplemental Budget Request (SBR) to conduct an Independent Validation
and Verification (IV & V) of their extract files. If you are conducting any IV & V activities check the
IV & V section for up-to-date extract file layouts, clarified Appendix A tables and notes, and duplicate detection
criteria that the next version of the DV software will use.
ADVISORIES
Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 22-05, Unemployment Insurance Data Validation (UI DV) Program Software
and Policy Guidance, was issued on April 28, 2005. You can view it on the ETA Web site at
http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2074
UIPL No. 23-05, Reauthorization of the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Data Validation (DV) Program, was issued on June 17, 2005. You can view it on the ETA Web site at http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2084
SOFTWARE
The new UI DV web-based software (version DV WS 1.0) was released on June 6, 2005 to all states. This web-based software
replaces the MPR PC-based software. Starting July 1st, 2005, all DV submissions must be done using the web-based software.
See UIPL No. 22-05 for more detailed information.
TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
The Benefits and Tax Tutorials are now available online. These tutorials will guide users through the web-based software.
The Minnesota Training Center is offering training courses on the DV WS software. Check their training calendar for more information.
Technical assistance for the DV WS software is available by calling the OWS Hotline at 1-800-473-0188.