INDIANAPOLIS -- The buyout of one of the companies that administers Indiana's troubled welfare program could complicate the planned overhaul of the system.

Xerox on Monday paid nearly $6 billion for Affiliated Computer Services, or ACS, a partner in Indiana's highly criticized welfare privatization plan, 6News' Norman Cox reported.

ACS currently runs the system's call centers -- the most contentious part of the privatized operation -- where the company has replaced most of the in-person welfare caseworkers with call center employees.

The company currently has 160 call center workers, more than 800 employees in other welfare jobs and has promised to train 100 more.

But advocates for recipients said they fear that Xerox will cut manpower to save money and make things worse.

"What's going on now is not working, and, in fact, is pretty brutal when, you know, a person is qualified for Medicaid, and then is just flat-out denied their services because of incompetence," said John Cardwell with the Home Care Task Force.

Family and Social Services Administration officials said they've been assured by ACS that service won't deteriorate.

"Our contract with them actually outlines what they have to do, staffing levels. Part of our corrective action plan actually also addresses staffing levels," said FSSA spokesman Marcus Barlow.

But University of Indianapolis business professor Matt Will said Xerox has already promised to downsize, and could replace ACS workers with existing Xerox employees.

"It's highly possible that ACS employees may be replaced with Xerox employees who don't really know the process as well, don't know the job as well," he said. "This is really a case of, I hate to say it, but probably a not-so-good company buying a better company. And at the end, that's probably not good for either."

Barlow said the scenario would be legal, but that it would probably have little impact because there's already turnover at the call center anyway.

Federal officials are also watching the FSSA troubles. The regional administrator for the U.S. Food and Nutrition service has told Indiana's human services chief that his staff must be consulted before the state rolls out its troubled welfare automation program to more regions.

IBM and its partner companies have a $1.3 billion contract with the state to manage the welfare intake in 59 of Indiana's 92 counties and handle about one-third of the state's 1.2 million-person caseload.