Digital Services

A new state online portal, the Virginia Veterans Network connects veterans, military service members and their families with everything from health care to legal and employment support. The site provides links to hundreds of organizations.

State and local governments are moving toward constituent-centric digital services, using new and old tech to introduce new conveniences that simplify customer interactions.

The Information Technology Department is looking to increase its budget by $2 million, or 11.6 percent, which would include adding one IT staffer each to the Clerk and Prosecutor’s offices. Also included is replacing hundreds of employee laptop computers.

Veo, a shared, electric scooter and bicycle provider in numerous cities around the nation, is using technology from Captur to ensure its devices are parked properly. The process is customized according to local regulations.

Transportation systems around the country will be fare-free on Election Day, removing a potential barrier to voting. One company has also done a vehicle wrap to encourage the more tech-savvy to register.

The City Council is expected to consider a $1.58 million master services agreement for in-car and body-worn cameras for city police, plus other equipment. The newest such cameras are more than three years old.

The Washington, D.C., nonprofit has introduced an Innovation and Incubation Fellowship to drive technology work that enhances accessibility and equity in government services. Its first fellow hails from the U.S. Digital Service.

The departed CIO is a career technologist who has led IT at county and city levels. His replacement has more than 22 years’ experience with Miami, most recently in managing Oracle enterprise resource planning work.

The county’s 911 system can now receive pictures, videos and livestreams from callers. Dispatchers will be able to send people a link to send their location, images or a video — or even a livestream.

In the capital district, the work of its AI Advisory Group and AI Taskforce comes together to help ensure advances in artificial intelligence meet values set by its mayor. Only solutions that properly align get adopted.

The sheriff’s department continues to promote the app, which actually debuted last year, as “an innovative way for us to connect with residents, businesses and visitors.” Through it, people can report crimes, and the sheriff’s office can send alerts.

Drawing from his experience in San Jose, Seattle Chief Technology Officer Rob Lloyd seeks to address pressing issues like homelessness and public safety in a post-pandemic landscape, in the Emerald City.

The 2025 EDUCAUSE Top 10 list, a snapshot of top priorities in higher education, focuses on earning back trust through technology and data. Several indicators show faith in the value of higher ed and the integrity of tech companies is declining.

The Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles is deploying kiosks this fall as part of a pilot program to help residents access services like driver’s license renewals more efficiently. Average transaction times are estimated at roughly two minutes.

The Idaho Department of Correction has significantly improved document management processes by utilizing Laserfiche to enable digitization and the automation of administrative tasks. This, in turn, has enhanced communication and facilitated field work.

The shift is designed to let the city offer more details about its 2025 budget, the subject of a public hearing Nov. 11. This is the first year Eau Claire has used the new budgeting software and, following state statute, it offers a print version as well.

After intermittent problems, elections websites in Florida counties appear to once again be operating as expected. Issues popped up in Broward County and in Palm Beach County too, where an official noted they had nothing to do with systems connected to actual voting and tabulation.

School districts nationwide have widely adopted platforms to track what students search online; roughly half of U.S. K-12 public schools use a system from GoGuardian. Critics, however, raise concerns about privacy, free speech, lack of transparency, and what happens to student data.