Websites

The California Civil Rights Department’s new online interactive guide will help residents understand the Fair Chance Act, which aims to reduce employment barriers for individuals with criminal histories.

Today, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order to establish a chief IT accessibility officer role to improve the accessibility of the state’s digital services for people with disabilities.

The New York county government has converted its website and email addresses to .gov domains. The addresses require stricter security control and are only available to U.S.-based government agencies.

The California Civil Rights Department has launched a statewide hotline and website, CA vs. Hate, which aims to provide a safe and anonymous method for reporting the occurrence of hate incidents and crimes.

The city of Chattanooga, Tenn., has announced the start of a holistic digital transformation initiative to create a “digital city hall,” with the ultimate goal of improving the digital service experience for constituents.

The city’s website hasn’t seen an update since 2012 and officials believe that might be why more than half of visitors to the website leave before clicking another button. Brazil-based CI&T will lead the overhaul.

New York City’s new MyCity portal offers residents a single digital space to check eligibility for and gain access to city services and benefits across city agencies, starting with child care.

The plan to use ChatGPT to assist with search engine queries for a select group of users has run into some problems – the disposition of the AI being one of them. Users are reporting incorrect information and attitude.

The city of Hoboken recently adopted a new platform that allows its residents to get information, make reservations and interact with the city around a variety of recreational offerings.

The city of Olathe, Kan., began its digital transformation journey roughly six years ago by consolidating the information on its website — but modernization involves continuous change and re-evaluation, say those leading the charge.

Clay Connected, a recently launched mobile app and platform, is offering residents in the county new access to service requests across county departments, timely information and a route to report problems.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control recently relaunched a consolidated online resource to improve recycling efforts across the state. The tool offers a one-stop shop for residents and industry.

The city of Danbury, Conn., has contracted the firm CivicPlus to make a more accessible city website for the community. The city hopes the new website will be more transparent with important information.

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.

Two recent department website redesigns — the San Diego Police Department and Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department — were aimed at improving the user experience and access to critical service information.

The firm is the latest gov tech company to take backing from a private equity company in a move it described as recapitalization. SDL leaders said they expect to grow the company in coming years.

Residents of the city are being asked to provide their input on the design and function of a new website. The current website design dates back more than 10 years and has been a source of frustration among residents.

At Digital.gov’s 2022 Government UX Summit, experts shared ways that digital services can be better designed to improve the user experience for users with cognitive impairments and those with low literacy.