9200-5 Accessing EIS, NSTAR & SAM

In most situations, those accessing state systems outside of the State of Alaska fire wall must do so through a VPN Virtual Private Network account using WebConnect.  Both EIS Eligibility Information System and NSTAR Northern Support through Automated Resources are accessed through the mainframe.  SAM Secure Access Manager is accessed through the web. 

A.  WebConnect

Before accessing EIS Eligibility Information System or NSTAR Northern Support through Automated Resources you must connect the WebConnect client using the following steps.

Step 1: Go to DPAweb at http://dpaweb.hss.state.ak.us

Step 2:  Select “SysOps”

Step 3:  Select the OpenConnect Mainframe Connection link

Step 4:  Enter your SOA user name and password

You might see this screen asking permission to run the JAVA application.  If you get any JAVA error messages, you will need to contact your IT section for assistance.

If you see the JAVA login screen, you will need to use your State of Alaska (SOA) username and password.

Afterwards you may have to give permission to allow your system to run Open Connect.

Step 5:  Select the JDC1-jdc1ssl link

Step 6: You made it to the Mainframe!

Finally you will see the mainframe logon screen along with a small pop-up window that is required to stay open to be connected to the WebConnect client. 

B.   Signing on to the Mainframe, EIS, and NSTAR

Signing into the mainframe will allow you to access EIS Eligibility Information System to view information on public assistance cases and NSTAR Northern Support through Automated Resources to view child support information.

NOTE:  The instructions tell you to press the <ENTER> key, however some keyboards require that you use the <CONTROL> key instead of the <ENTER> key for some of these functions.

1)   Creating a New Password

Before signing in for the first time you need to think about creating your own password.  The temporary password you’ll be sent is only good for 24 hours.  It must be changed the first time you sign in or you will need to wait for another temporary password to be sent to you.

Certain requirements must be followed in order for your new password to be accepted:

• Passwords must be 8 characters in length.

• Passwords may contain any alpha-numeric character (A-Z, 0-9).

• Passwords must contain at least one alphabetic and one numeric character.

• Passwords may not contain adjacent repeating characters (aa, bb, etc).

• A password cannot be the same as the previous 6 passwords.

• A password cannot be changed more often than every 15 days.

• A password may not be the same as your Login Id.

• A password may not start with any of the following: ALASKA, APPL, APR, ASDF, AUG, BASIC, CADAM, DEC, DEMO, FEB, FOCUS, GAME, GUEST, IBM, JAN, JUL, JUN, LABOR, LOG, MAR, MAY, NET, NOV, OCT, PASS, QWERTY, ROS, SEP, SIGN, SYS, TEST, TSO, VALID, VTAM, XXX, 1234

• Passwords expire and must be changed after 45 days. However, you may change it prior to 45 days (but no more often than every 15 days).

Password Examples:

2)   Signing onto the Mainframe

The first screen you see after signing on through openconnect, is the mainframe screen. 

• In the “Id:” field, enter the ID number sent to you by the EIS Eligibility Information System help desk.  It normally starts with HPA and is followed by 4 additional letters.
• In the “PASSWORD:” field, enter the temporary password that was sent to you by the EIS Eligibility Information System help desk.  THIS MUST BE DONE WITHIN 24 HOURS OF RECEIVING THE EMAIL!
• Tab down to the “NEW PASSWORD:” field and input the new password you’ve created.
• Your curser should automatically move to the “VERIFY:” field.  If it does not, hit the tab button.  Enter your new password again.
• Hit <ENTER>

3)   Signing onto EIS

1. You should now be at your personalized menu.  It will look similar to the screen shot below.  You may have different options listed depending on your permission levels. 

• Choose H&SS CICS by using the PF key that corresponds with that option or placing an X on the line to the left of the option.

• Hit <ENTER>

2. On the following screen, type HEIS and hit <ENTER>.

c.       You will now see the EIS Eligibility Information System logon screen.

• To access EIS Eligibility Information System, type your Security Key XXXXXX and your temporary password XXXXXXXX.  Note:  the Security Key for EIS Eligibility Information System is the same as the Logon ID for the Mainframe.

• You will need to change the temporary password used on the next screen.

• Press <ENTER>.

C.   Signing on to SAM

SAM Secure Access Manager (Secure Access Manager) is the Department of Labor’s unemployment benefit system.  To access SAM Secure Access Manager, go to https://sam.dol.alaska.gov/Pages/home.aspx.

When you reach the web page, you will see a drop down menu.  Click on the arrow and choose “All Other Users” then click the button to continue to sign in. 

A new window will come up showing the email provided to you by the state of Alaska and asking for your password.

Enter the password for your State of Alaska ID to complete your sign on.  Information about navigating SAM Secure Access Manager can be found in the Learning Management System:  https://learn.dhss.alaska.gov/login/index.php

D.  Signing on to NSTAR

NFAP Native Family Assistance Program agencies can access information about child support orders, collections, and receipts by accessing CSSD's interface called NSTAR.  NSTAR is accessed using the same method used to access EIS.  First sign on to the mainframe as explained in Section B above.  Once you've signed on to the mainframe, you will see a menu similar to this one:

The mainframe menu may be different for each person based on their needs.  The NSTAR option is labeled " Production CICS DB193."  In this example, the user would press PF2 to gain access to NSTAR.  Further information about navigating and understanding information in NSTAR can be found in the NSTAR Userguide.