EDDNext – Driving Transformation for California’s Workforce

California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) administers essential benefit programs such as unemployment insurance, disability insurance, and paid family leave.

Serving one of the largest and most diverse populations in the country, EDD collects and disburses billions of dollars annually.

This AWS case study session dives deep on EDDNext, a comprehensive modernization effort to revamp benefit systems and transform the customer and employee experience, through adoption of key AWS Cloud services and modernization enhancements.

From improving self-service and language access with Amazon Connect to migrating a tax system to AWS that collects over $100 billion annually, learn how EDD is investing in a brighter future for millions of Californians.

Modernization Strategy

California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) launched the EDDNext program as a comprehensive, multi-year modernization effort aimed at overhauling its benefit systems and fundamentally transforming both the customer and employee experience.

This initiative addresses long-standing challenges within the EDD, such as outdated technology, inefficient processes, and poor service delivery, which were starkly exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic when the department struggled to handle a surge in unemployment claims and widespread fraud.

EDDNext seeks to create a more efficient, accessible, and user-friendly system for delivering unemployment insurance (UI), disability insurance (DI), and paid family leave (PFL) benefits, while also improving the working environment for EDD staff.

Core Objectives and Vision

The vision of EDDNext is to deliver streamlined workforce insurance programs and services that provide exceptional claimant experiences, empower the department to make informed decisions, and ensure compliance with federal and state regulations.

It prioritizes fixing the “biggest pain points” for the public—such as online account access, call center inefficiencies, identity verification delays, and complex benefit applications—while modernizing the technological backbone of the EDD.

The program is guided by strategic objectives that include enhancing customer service, increasing operational agility, reducing fraud, and lowering long-term maintenance costs.

Key Components of EDDNext

Technology Modernization

• Integrated Claims Management System (ICMS): A new cloud-based system is being developed to replace the EDD’s nearly 45-year-old mainframe-based claims management system. This will manage all aspects of claims processing, payments, overpayment recovery, and claimant communications, offering scalability and adaptability that the legacy system lacks.
• Integrated Data Management (IDM) Platform: This enterprise integration platform will connect various EDD systems, enabling real-time identity verification, data sharing across programs, and seamless interactions with external systems like employer tax records. It aims to eliminate redundant data entry and improve efficiency.
• myEDD Portal: Already implemented, this Salesforce-based, cloud-hosted portal provides a secure, user-friendly interface with multifactor authentication and ID proofing. It serves as a single entry point for claimants, employers, and medical providers across all benefit programs, reducing complexity and improving access.
• Document Management System (DMS): A modern DMS is being procured to replace a 25-year-old system, enhancing document scanning, optical character recognition (OCR), and processing capabilities for the millions of paper forms EDD handles annually.
• Contact Center Upgrades: Leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS) Connect, EDD is modernizing its call centers with cloud-based solutions that offer voice, chat, text, and self-service options. This aims to reduce wait times, improve agent access to claimant data, and enhance overall customer interactions.

Customer Experience Improvements

• Simplified Applications: The online unemployment application has been streamlined with fewer questions, less jargon, and clearer instructions, making it faster and easier to complete.
• Multilingual Access: EDDNext has expanded language options, adding translations for myEDD and UI Online into Armenian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, alongside English and Spanish, to better serve California’s diverse population.
• Payment Options: Customers can now choose direct deposit for faster, more secure benefit payments, alongside prepaid debit cards (via Money Network) or mailed checks, replacing the previous reliance on Bank of America debit cards.
• Forms Redesign: A focus on plain language and usability has led to the overhaul of forms and notices, informed by extensive customer feedback and research, to reduce confusion and errors.

Employee Experience Enhancements

EDDNext integrates systems to give staff a unified view of claimant data, enabling faster decision-making and reducing manual work. Features like a single agent console in the contact center and improved claim management tools aim to boost efficiency and resilience among employees. Cross-training and resource sharing are being facilitated to improve staff flexibility and service delivery.

Fraud Prevention and Security

Upgraded identity verification processes, integrated into the myEDD portal and IDM platform, aim to combat fraud—a critical priority after the estimated $20 billion in fraudulent claims during the pandemic—while maintaining speed and accessibility for legitimate claimants.

Implementation and Progress

Launched in late 2022, EDDNext is a phased effort led by a team of about 100 staff under Deputy Director Ron Hughes. Key milestones include the rollout of the myEDD portal, the initial deployment of AWS Connect in Fresno’s disability insurance branch, and ongoing procurement for the ICMS and DMS.

The program has secured significant funding, with $267 million proposed for IT projects in the 2025 budget, alongside additional investments in non-IT initiatives like fraud analytics and contact center enhancements. Despite California’s $27.6 billion budget deficit announced in 2024, leadership remains committed, citing the high cost of delaying modernization.

Challenges and Skepticism

While EDDNext promises sweeping improvements, it faces skepticism from workers still grappling with payment delays and from business groups concerned about the state’s $19 billion unemployment debt. Past modernization efforts, like the Deloitte-led project post-Great Recession, fell short, raising questions about accountability and execution.

EDDNext aims to differentiate itself through transparency—via a dedicated webpage and bi-monthly “Benefiting Californians” newsletter—and by incorporating nearly 5,000 hours of customer and stakeholder research into its design.

Broader Impact

EDDNext is not just a technological upgrade; it’s a cultural shift for one of California’s largest state departments, which serves millions of job seekers, claimants, and employers. By addressing systemic inefficiencies and prioritizing user needs, it seeks to rebuild trust in the EDD, ensuring it can support Californians effectively during times of need—whether bonding with a newborn, recovering from illness, or navigating unemployment—while strengthening the state’s economic safety net.