Author Archive

Kaitlyn Levinson

Kaitlyn Levinson
Kaitlyn Levinson digs into how data and analytics are used by state and local governments to boost efficiency, streamline operations and improve services delivery.
Management

How Philadelphia incentivizes residents to sharpen their digital skills

The city’s Digital Navigators Program can help residents more effectively leverage city resources and improve their employment prospects, one official says.

Digital Government

How better edtech management can help schools navigate new immigration rules

School officials can leverage data and technology to comply with new federal immigration rules while still protecting the civil liberties of immigrant students, according to a new policy brief.

Emerging Tech

How governments can get agencies to stop using foreign drones: Pay up.

A proposed bill in North Dakota offers an effective model for other states looking to cut ties with foreign-made drones.

Emerging Tech

AI could help mitigate lithium battery fires, study finds

Researchers have developed an algorithm that can detect when a lithium battery begins to overheat, which they say can help inform public safety efforts to mitigate fires.

Workforce

California city taps AI to streamline government hiring

High vacancy rates have prompted Long Beach, California, to leverage artificial intelligence to give its hiring process a boost.

Finance

Inside Missouri’s push to help gig workers access benefits more easily

The state saw a reduction in benefits application rejections and churn after implementing an income verification platform for nontraditional workers.

Infrastructure

Feds offer new data, research to refresh states’ water woes

A new report and data tool from the U.S. Geological Survey can help policymakers better understand where water supply risks exist in the U.S. to inform efforts to better manage the critical resource.

Customer Experience

New Jersey helps businesses get online

The state’s Small Business E-commerce Support Program offers funding to help less-resourced companies’ digital transformations.

Artificial Intelligence

Slow approach to law enforcement AI could combat errors and bias, experts say

Several police agencies across the U.S. are tapping AI to help draft police reports, but a new white paper from the American Civil Liberties Union points to the risks of its rapid adoption.

Management

How a new database in New Mexico aims to de-escalate police encounters

The state’s Nontraditional Communication Registry helps inform police officers of conditions or disabilities that may impact someone’s ability to interact with law enforcement.

Digital Government

‘Optionality’ could be the key to better customer experience, experts say

As digital advances have prompted state agencies to innovate their benefits systems, experts say officials should first consider what residents want.

Customer Experience

States’ housing assistance sites get a ‘human-centered’ makeover

Based on feedback from homeless shelter residents, federal officials have worked to improve housing webpages for all 50 states over the past year. The site updates launched late last month.

Workforce

How system modernization is helping Idaho mitigate unemployment

The Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses is leveraging a new web-based portal to make it easier and quicker for people to obtain professional licenses and enter the workforce.

Workforce

How govs can strengthen their cyber staff in the new year

Budgetary and staffing challenges are likely to follow state and local governments into 2025, but experts say agencies’ progress toward addressing those obstacles will prevail too.

Public Safety

What’s in store for public safety tech in 2025

In the coming year, artificial intelligence and other tech solutions will be key for understaffed law enforcement agencies looking to keep their communities safe.

Customer Experience

Why California is revamping its benefits application websites

The GetCalFresh.org site, which helps residents apply for government food assistance, is shutting down. A new system aims to replace and improve it over the next year.

Digital Government

Rhode Island looks to help older adults navigate a digital world

The nation’s smallest state has big plans to help aging individuals have more equitable access in an increasingly digital society.

Infrastructure

Missouri city turns to tech to improve snow removal

Kansas City’s snowplow operators are clearing snow quicker and keeping residents safer with the help of a cloud-hosted platform.

Digital Government

Report: Electronic case reporting helped states during the pandemic — they need to use it more

A new report from The Pew Charitable Trusts highlights an emerging method for improving the sharing and use of public health data.

Emerging Tech

How Maryland is expanding the use of mobile IDs

The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration has developed an app for organizations to verify people’s digital licenses that other jurisdictions can adopt.