​​The Four Keys to Kansas’s Award-Winning Unemployment Insurance Transformation​

About this episode

Amber Shultz discusses the Kansas Department of Labor's transformation of its unemployment insurance system and the key factors that led to its success.

​​ Today, technology is a critical part of delivering state services like unemployment insurance , but many states still rely on decades-old systems that struggle to meet demand. Like many agencies, the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) reached a turning point when unemployment claims surged at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The legacy system, created in the 1970s, was unable to support the volume of claims and calls, causing delays in service and overburdening state staff. KDOL needed to not only stabilize its current unemployment insurance system but modernize it so it could become more agile and perpetually adaptive. ​In today’s episode of the Government Technology Insider Podcast, guest host Monica Mayk spoke with Amber Shultz, Secretary of Labor for the State of Kansas, about the state’s unemployment insurance modernization program. The landmark transformation , which now enables the state to better support Kansans during critical and vulnerable times, was honored with a 2025 State IT Recognition Award for Digital Experience: Agency and Program Solutions by the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO). Secretary Shultz shares the story of KDOL’s transformation…

People in this episode

Host: Monica Mayk

Guest: Amber Shultz

Topics covered

• unemployment insurance
• technology transformation
• state services
• agile systems
• COVID-19 response

Keywords

• unemployment insurance
• Kansas Department of Labor
• technology modernization
• COVID-19
• state services
• agile systems
• NASCIO
• digital experience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kansas Department of Labor, National Association of State CIOs

Places: Kansas

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