Gov. Abigail Spanberger is creating a new state technology team after her administration says it uncovered $52 million that was lost on a failed effort to replace Virginia’s child support enforcement system under the previous administration.
Spanberger on Tuesday announced that Andrea Fletcher, a former federal digital services official, will lead the Virginia Digital Service, which is intended to bring engineers, designers and other technology experts into state government to improve websites, modernize outdated systems and scrutinize technology contracts.
Virginia’s recently approved two-year budget included the new office after Spanberger proposed startup funding. The administration says the goal is not simply to make state websites easier to use, but to prevent the kind of costly technology failures that have plagued government agencies.
Spanberger has criticized her predecessor, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, over the $52 million loss, saying the state paid millions for technology that did not work as intended.
“My predecessor might have thought it was okay to just write off losses like this one, but I don’t,” Spanberger said last month.
The state budget now requires the Department of Social Services to provide quarterly reports on spending and implementation of a new child support technology system.
“State government should work for the people it serves — and that means making sure Virginians can access the services they need quickly, easily, and reliably,” Spanberger said in a statement announcing Fletcher’s appointment.
Fletcher comes to Virginia after working in the federal government, where she served as the first chief digital strategy officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She previously led the CMS Digital Service team and established an open-source program office.
She entered government through the U.S. Digital Service in 2021. Her career has also included work on federal health IT policy, artificial intelligence governance and digital health systems in more than 20 countries.
“Virginians should have an expectation that government services be intuitive and easy to use,” Fletcher said.
The new team is also expected to work on issues created by changes in federal policy. Spanberger’s administration says the Digital Service will help agencies respond to federal cuts affecting programs such as health care coverage and SNAP.
Spanberger’s announcement pointed to digital service teams in other states as examples of what Virginia hopes to accomplish.
Colorado’s team helped the state evaluate a proposed grant management system covering 17 programs and more than $60 million in annual grants before the state committed to the system, according to Spanberger’s office.
In Maryland, a digital services team created a single application for Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, WIC and energy assistance. The state says more than 220,000 applications were completed in less than six months.
Maryland also redesigned its unemployment insurance website, reducing the number of pages by 40% and increasing the completion rate by 15%, according to Spanberger.
The Virginia Digital Service will operate alongside the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, the state’s existing central technology agency, which oversees information technology infrastructure and major technology investments.