(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that more than 50 million pages of state government documents have been digitized through a public-private partnership with Scan-Optics, a data management company based in Manchester, as part of an ongoing initiative to modernize services and produce efficiencies within state government.
Governor Lamont said the elimination of paper documents and transferring them for electronic use is an important component of his administration’s efforts to create efficiencies.
“Digitizing documents means that we can have the information we need at our fingertips and can work smarter in state government,” Governor Lamont said. “That’s the type of workplace I envision – one where we can work efficiently, collaboratively even when we’re remote, and in a way that uses the most up-to-date technology available. These public-private partnerships help us get closer to that vision and attract the best and brightest employees. I am excited about what we’ve accomplished together so far and look forward to see what else we can streamline.”
The State of Connecticut began its partnership with Scan-Optics in 2013 through the Department of Social Services and Access Health CT. Additional agencies joined the partnership under Governor Lamont's leadership starting in 2018, including the Department of Administrative Services, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Most notably, the company has supported the state’s human resources centralization efforts by providing full-service solution to include document packing, pickup, and creating a logistics schedule to ensure there is no down-time in production. In conjunction with the human resources project team they reviewed documents and processed 10 million images for a total of 30,000 employee files in just under 12 months.
Department of Administrative Services Commissioner and Connecticut’s Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said, “Partnerships like this are critical to our success and open doors for us to do the best, most collaborative work we can. Keeping paper files takes up space, costs money, wastes time, hinders coordination, and limits the ability for our staff to find what they need to do their job the way they need to in order to serve the people of Connecticut. I want to thank Scan-Optics for their partnership, and I applaud the work of our state agencies and HR team for these innovative achievements.”
Jeff Mitchell, CEO of Scan-Optics said, “We are thrilled to support Governor Lamont’s vision of a more efficient state government. It is an honor for our company to be a partner with the state on these strategic initiatives that benefit the residents of Connecticut. We look forward to our continued partnership driving the modernization of state government.”
Department of Social Services Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford said, “Employing this type of technology allows us to ensure our turnaround time for services like SNAP benefits are quicker—meaning the technology can literally help put food on the table for our residents who need it most. That’s what Governor Lamont’s modernization efforts are prioritizing. The tremendous work Scan-Optics does ensures electronic distribution of workflow to our staff and results in streamlined eligibility determination for vital food, healthcare, financial and other assistance for up to one million Connecticut residents.”
Department of Children and Families Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes said, “A landmark value of the Lamont administration has been to increase the efficiency of our workforce across the state. Our collaboration with Scan-Optics is yet another example of how modernizing our work results in staff having access to critical case information quickly, leading to a direct and positive impact on the children and families we serve.”
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes said, “Governor Lamont has prioritized making sure state agencies are more efficient, and transparent, and that's what our partnership with Scan-Optics helps us achieve as we work to improve the customer service we provide. Increased digitization of records was something DEEP embarked upon back in 2019 with our 20 By 20 initiative, something that became even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic, which greatly impacted public access to records. With the help of Scan-Optics, DEEP completed Hazardous Waste Manifest and Oil & Chemical Spill bulk scanning efforts, and to date, DEEP has well over two million electronic documents accessible to the public through the DEEP Document Online Search Portal, a number that continues to grow.”
James Michel, CEO of Access Health CT said, “Scan-Optics has been a trusted vendor of Access Health CT since our inception, and we're excited to continue our digitization efforts under Governor Lamont's leadership. The ability to eliminate manual scanning for verifying customer data helps make operations and the customer experience more efficient.”