Digital Services

Plus, NTIA has announced grantees through the Connecting Minority Communities program, broadband-related legislation has been introduced, Connect Maryland applications are open, and much more.

Cook County, Ill., is using a technology platform created collaboratively through a partnership with GiveDirectly and AidKit to distribute guaranteed incomes to more than 3,200 residents in need.

A group of technology-related bills were recently signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom as the deadline to sign or veto legislation nears. The bills, now law, ranged from cybersecurity and transportation to electronic prescription drug tracking.

Residents in the county coverage area can send texts to 911 in an emergency. The service is valuable in situations where a caller wouldn't want to alert someone that he or she is in contact with police by speaking on the phone.

The Clatsop Community College board voted unanimously on Tuesday during an emergency meeting to authorize the college to obtain $3 million in financing for new enterprise resource planning software.

The new platform will provide access to training mandated by the state as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other required training. It will also allow the department to track its training compliance.

The Dixon and Sterling school districts alerted parents and teachers to communications disruptions caused by a “credential stuffing” cyber attack on the widely used messaging app Seesaw last week.

Butte County, Calif., officials have approved the purchase of a new land management tracking system with money from the $146.7 million Camp Fire settlement with Pacific Gas and Electric.

An earthquake in the California city Tuesday gave residents the first real-life test of the alert system with a loud tone and instructions to seek cover. Residents near the epicenter were too close to get an early notification.

The Ulster County Board of Elections will host a demonstration of the new voting machines that are being considered to replace nearly 200 older models. Officials say the event is part of the selection process.

The audit, commissioned by the state, found that the Department of Labor paid between $441 million and $466 million in fraudulent unemployment claims between March of 2020 and March of 2022.

After struggling through the pandemic with an outdated unemployment system from the 1990s, the Oregon Employment Department has started the first phase of a replacement project. The new system won’t go live until 2024.

City health and emergency workers in Allentown, Pa., are seeing the positive impact of the video remote interpreting technology as part of a pilot program to improve health-care accessibility.

The newly launched, public-facing portal will break down the number of cases of the disease by age group, gender, ethnicity, race and public health district. To date, the state has reported 153 probable or confirmed cases.

Bay Area tech officials shared their insights about the changes and challenges facing government IT shops caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The need to engage with those they serve emerged as a common thread.

A cyber attack took out a server at Baker & Taylor, a major library books, software and service provider working with the likes of the New York Public Library. The company is still working to restore its systems.

A new report explores insights from respondents about the strengths and opportunities for improvement with digital services in the public sector, and finds that better online experiences create more trust in government.

In designing digital products for constituents — like websites and mobile apps — government agencies should consider implementing plain language to increase accessibility and improve the overall user experience.