Building a Community Information Portal

CRI believes that a compelling case can be made as to the need for community information portal web sites in cities across the United States. Our intent is to make the process of finding out about and obtaining community resources much easier and more coherent than is now the case for consumers. By using a community information portal to obtain the information on social service and benefit programs consumers of services will be more able to act for themselves and be less dependent on the limited number of people in the community with expertise on community benefits and programs. Such a community information portal can by no means replace a case manager who helps link people in need to appropriate benefits and programs, but it can facilitate these efforts, help consumers become more empowered, and serve as a central repository of information on community resources relevant to the needs of low-income residents. Service providers and case managers, in turn, may find that their use of the community information portal helps them to be more productive as they can go to one location to obtain regularly updated information on a myriad of services and programs, thereby reducing the amount of time spent tracking down information to help their clients.

In fact CRI expects the first people to begin using our community information portal to be service providers, followed by the consumers of the benefits, programs, and services described on the web site, once issues of Internet accessibility for low income groups have been adequately addressed.

About the Worcester community information portal

Community Resources Information, Inc. (CRI) is currently developing our first community information portal web site (www.WorcesterResources.org) for the Worcester community that provides comprehensive information across a wide variety of areas on programs, resources, and benefits that address the needs of low-income individuals and families. The intent of our community information portal is to make the often complex social service system more transparent and accessible to individuals, providing clear answers to commonly asked questions, and directing residents of Worcester to relevant and available sources of support.

For each benefit or program that is described on the Worcester community information portal, we cover the following: 1) what the benefit/program entails; 2) eligibility criteria; 3) practical information on how and where to apply; 4) benefit levels / availability; and 4) consumer rights and responsibilities. The content is being written in English and will eventually be translated into Spanish as well. Information on the web site is routinely updated to stay current with changes in programs and benefits as well as their availability.

The Worcester community information portal has three important technological features:

• Application forms for benefit programs that can be downloaded and printed.
• Eligibility checks for various benefit programs (e.g., food stamps, TAFDC, Section 8 housing). This feature enables a user to enter information that is relevant to determining eligibility for a particular benefit. The eligibility check evaluates the information provided and makes an unofficial determination, either indicating the individual/family appears to be eligible (and providing the benefit amount) or stating the person does not appear eligible and listing the reason(s) why.
• A "comments/feedback interface" allows users to give us feedback on ways to improve the web site. This feature will also be used to ask individuals to share their knowledge in applying for benefits and their experience with community programs so that other, would-be, consumers might learn from this information. Feedback will be organized and edited as needed and then posted on the web site.