As many Americans are limiting contact and spending more time at home, state and local governments must go contactless and deliver essential, critical services digitally, and the pandemic has made it clear that governments need a “digital-first” mindset moving forward.
Of particular, pressing interest? Unemployment benefits and services. While the current unemployment rate may not be as high as April spikes, hundreds of thousands still remain jobless, prompting high levels of traffic to government unemployment portals daily. But it’s not just unemployment services that governments must tackle digitally: telemedicine, essential meetings, permits, retirement, taxes, disability—the list continues.
What are state and local leaders doing to secure these services? How are they combating fraud and improper payments? And, now months into the pandemic, how are processes improving to serve citizens faster and more effectively?