Author Archive
Kaitlyn Levinson

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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson
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.
- By Kaitlyn Levinson