SCN: Washington state leading the way in e-government

[Brian High]

X-No-Archive: Yes
=========================================================================

   Washington state leading the way in e-government

   From Time to Time: Nando's in-depth look at the 20th century

   By CHAR SIMONS, The Christian Science Monitor

   OLYMPIA, Wash. (May 2, 2000 12:02 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com)
   - All Michael Fairley wanted was a show-promoter's license for his
   Seattle antique business. But to get one from the state, he spent five
   full hours on the phone one day. Had the form been available online,
   which it will be soon, his need could have been met with the click of
   a mouse.

   Fairley may not think so, but here in the land of Microsoft,
   e-government is taking hold faster than a speeding e-mail - a pace far
   speedier than bureaucracies usually move.

   "If they can do it in Redmond (where Microsoft has its headquarters),
   we can do it in Olympia," says Steve Kolodney, who heads the
   department charged with taking the state of Washington from the
   triplicate age to the electronic age.

   While Washington has accumulated a trophy-case worth of awards for its
   efforts (including best state government Web site), concerns are
   surfacing about how far and how fast to go in pushing electronic
   access to government.

   Some residents and consumer advocates worry that the less-educated and
   the poor, who often don't have access to personal computers, will
   experience falling levels of service - and greater levels of
   frustration.

   The result is a backlash to what some see as an over-reliance on
   technology. Even Gov. Gary Locke, who backs the government's
   transition to online services, this spring ordered all state agencies
   to have real people answering their phones.

   The governor acted after state lawmakers failed to pass an "answer the
   phone" bill - widely considered the most popular piece of legislation
   of the session. While Washington has gone the furthest, Maine recently
   started monitoring its agencies to determine the effectiveness of
   telephone communication, and North Carolina passed a law last year
   requiring state agencies to reduce the number of menus on their phone
   systems. Oklahoma and Kentucky have also considered answer-the-phone
   bills.

   "Ideally, government is supposed to exist to help us all," says Doug
   Schuler, a faculty member at the Evergreen State College and former
   chairman of the National Board of Computer Professionals for Social
   Responsibility. "If it converts all its energy into serving people
   electronically, it's doing more catering to people who have multiple
   phone lines, fast access, and computers at home. So far, computers by
   and large have only exacerbated differences between rich and poor. If
   we just push technology, we're just increasing the already gigantic
   divide."

   Indeed, Erica Quimby of Olympia is no fan of technology-laden
   government. She just wanted someone, anyone, from the Department of
   Social and Health Services to answer her phone call. After repeated
   attempts, Quimby says she finally got to speak - four days later -
   with a real person about why food stamps for her family had not
   arrived.

   Less than two miles from the monstrous DSHS Capitol 5000 building,
   where welfare recipients line up, is the sleek chrome-and-glass
   reception office at the Department of Information Services. In the
   communication director's office, a white board posts the latest
   innovations - online hunting and fishing licenses, and a new security
   system.

   For the past two years, Washington's government has been named the
   national leader in dot-com services. Other top-ranking dot-com states
   include Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Alabama and Montana.

   "Most states are making progress," says Tom Lenard of the Washington,
   D.C.-based Progress and Freedom Foundation, which promotes the
   development of information technology. All states, for example, now
   provide online postings for state jobs, although some are more
   complete than others. And 40 states, he says, no longer send checks
   through the mail, but transfer benefits, such as welfare, into
   peoples' accounts electronically.

   The top tier of tech-savvy states also offer electronic tax filing,
   unclaimed property lists and various licenses. In a harbinger of
   services to come, Washington is working on offering secured electronic
   signatures, electronic check and credit-card payment options and
   online renewal of drivers' licenses and vehicle tabs.

   "Citizens expect (these services), and we're going to deliver," says
   Kolodney, who oversees a $110 million annual budget.

   Public willingness to do business with government over the Internet
   varies. Dot-com government is favored most by the computer generation
   and least by the elderly and poor, who tend to have less access to and
   familiarity with computers. Surveys in Arizona, New Hampshire and Iowa
   show support for online vehicle registration, updating addresses, and
   access to birth certificates. A majority, however, opposes voting
   online, although Lenard and others expect that resistance to fade over
   time.

   Still, government may not be able to deliver on its electronic
   promises. Despite the $20 billion expected to be spent on e-government
   worldwide during the next five years, more than half of the
   initiatives are expected to fail because the systems don't meet
   consumer expectations. Hurdles include recruiting young talent,
   planning what the new systems should accomplish and setting measurable
   goals during the transition.

   Then again, there's that fundamental resistance to change that
   bureaucracies are famous for. Washington's Kolodney has created an
   "academy," where workers from a variety of agencies "learn from each
   other ... away from daily pressures," he says. "Wouldn't it be nice to
   figure out how to do permits once, and then replicate them six times,
   so that, for example, ecology and parks permits have the same look?"

   Meanwhile, a Washington State University study is trying to untangle
   DSHS's 19,000 phone numbers so that customers like Quimby will no
   longer have to spend days trying to get a real person on the phone.
   Every three months for a year, university researchers are calling 400
   DSHS numbers at random to see if they can get through to a person, if
   the voice-mail message has been updated for the week, and if, over
   time, service improves.

   Copyright ) 2000 Nando Media




* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  From the Listowner  * * * * * * * * * * * *
.	To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to:
majordomo at scn.org		In the body of the message, type:
unsubscribe scn
==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ====
* * * * * * *     http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/     * * * * * * *