10 city scan report

8/2/2019 10 City Scan Report

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"TEN CITY SCAN"TM Copyright 2007 Integer Research & Consulting, LLC

Delivering Human Service Information:

A Scan of Practices in America's Ten Largest Cities

The "Ten-City Scan"TM

- A Report in ProgressAccessibility Analysis

January, 2008


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TABLE OF

CONTENTS

1. Introduction...................... .....32. Methodology........................103. City Websites.................... ...164. Online Directories............ ...595. General Summary..............1026. Appendices.........................108

TABLE OF CONTENTS


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SECTION 1

INTRODUCTION

CITIES AND INFORMATION

SCANNED

BACKGROUND AND

PURPOSE

WEBSITES

SCANNED

SECTION 1

INTRODUCTION


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Professional Background Financial Services and Computer Industries:

Participated in bringing business computing out of the data

center and providing it to end users

Management Consulting in Corporate Sector:Consulted with financial services, publishing, and

manufacturing clients to improve business process productivity,

cost-effectiveness, and quality

Nonprofit Consulting:Helped nonprofit and government clients plan and implement

strategic business and information systems

Key Strengths:Business systems analysis and reengineering, strategic

planning, and information systems planning

Section 1:

Introduction "Ten-City Scan"TMBackground

and Purpose


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Human Service Focus Graduate of School of Social Service Administration at the

University of Chicago

Research at the University of Chicago to construct a socialservice industry model

MacArthur Foundation grants to scan community resources andcreate directory of human services on Chicago's South Side

Recent work with a major foundation and several leadingnonprofit organizations to explore directions in human service

information in Chicago

Section 1:


and Purpose


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Human Service Information Findings Human service information is organized and maintained within

service silos

Many different caches of information exist on the Internetand elsewhere, generally not in integrated form

Some essential community resources are not included in theseinformation bases

It is difficult to find good information that is current,comprehensive, accurate, and detailed

This information is costly to assemble and maintain Often human service information is not designed for end-users

who have only modest knowledge of human services and

limited computer proficiency

Section 1:


and Purpose


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Background

and Purpose

Purposes of the "Ten-City Scan"TM Research human service information delivery practices and

directions among some of the largest practitioners in the United

States Share findings with audiences involved in delivering, referring,

funding, and accessing human services

Highlight good practices and techniques deserving attention,development, and wider adoption

Provide forum for brainstorming opportunities for incrementaland also revolutionaryimprovement

Section 1:

Introduction "Ten-City Scan"TM


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Section 1:

Introduction "Ten-City Scan"TMCities, Sources, and

Subjects Scanned

Human Services

All services related to the physical, medical, social, psychological, and economic

well-being of the American populace, including emergency services.

Cities Scanned Information SourcesRepresentative Human Service

Subjects

1. New York2. Los Angeles3. Chicago4. Houston5. Philadelphia6. Phoenix7. San Antonio8. San Diego9. Dallas10.San Jose

1. City websites2. Online human service directories

Aging, Elderly, and Seniors Children and Family Community Resources Disabilities Emergency Management Employment and Training Health, Hospitals, and Medical HIV/AIDS Homelessness Justice-Related Mental Health Social Services Violence, Victims, and Abuse Youth


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Websites Scanned

City Population

Government Web SitesOnline Directory and

Related SitesCity County State

New York 7,956,113 New York City (Same as City) New York United Way of New York CityLos Angeles 3,731,437 Los Angeles Los Angeles County California Healthy CityChicago 2,701,926 Chicago Cook County Illinois Community Resource NetworkHouston 1,941,430 Houston Harris County Texas

United Way Texas Gulf Coast 2-1-1 Texas

Philadelphia 1,406,415 Philadelphia (Same as City) Pennsylvania Philly SOSPhoenix 1,377,980 Phoenix Maricopa County Arizona

Valley of the Sun United Way Arizona 2-1-1

San Antonio 1,202,223 San Antonio Bexar County Texas United Way San Antonio 2-1-1 Texas

San Diego 1,208,331 San Diego San Diego County California United Way of San Diego County 2-1-1 San Diego

Dallas 1,144,946 Dallas Dallas County Texas United Way of Metro. Dallas 2-1-1 Texas

San Jose 887,330 San Jose Santa Clara County California United Way Silicon Valley 2-1-1 Santa Clara County

Total 23,558,131 Source: US Census Bureau, 2005 American Community Survey

Section 1:

Introduction "Ten-City Scan"TM Websites Scanned


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SECTION 2

"TEN-CITY SCAN"TM METHODOLOGY

ACCESSIBILITY SCAN:

THREE ACCESSIBILITYFACTORS

PHASE 100

WEBSITE SCANNING

ACCESSIBILITY SCAN:

RATING CRITERIA

USES OF THE

"TEN-CITY SCAN"TM

SECTION 2

METHODOLOGY


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Section 2:

Methodology "Ten-City Scan"TMPhase 100

Website Scanning

Multi-phase project methodology Six key scanning tasks Task 140: Accessibility Scan

- Analyze: Ease of Finding Information Organization Information Linkage

-Document: Techniques used Strengths and weaknesses Good practices


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Section 2:

Methodology "Ten-City Scan"TMAccessibility Scan

Three Accessibility Factors


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Section 2:


Rating Criteria

Assess in a "value-free" manner High-level measures of efficiency and effectiveness

Time required for task Effort required (number and difficulty of tasks) Whether desired result obtained

High-level measures of user prerequisites Computer proficiency Specialized knowledge and language


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Section 2:


Rating Criteria


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Section 2:

Methodology "Ten-City Scan"TMUses of the

"Ten-City Scan"TM

"Ten-City Scan" TM Provides high-level survey of

current human service

information delivery practices

in ten largest US cities Methodology identifies six

key elements in human

service information delivery

Provides a foundation forfurther detailed studies in the

ten cities in this report Provides basis for scanning

human service information

delivery in other cities

Accessibility Scan (Task 140) Identifies three key elements of

human service information

accessibility

Provides high-level indicatorsof human service information

accessibility in the ten cities

Provides a foundation fordeveloping more detailed

accessibility measures and

metrics Provides a basis for detailed

usability testing with formal test

protocols and suitable test user

panels


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SECTION 3

CITY WEBSITES

ACCESSIBILITY FACTOR

1:

EASE OF FINDING

INTRODUCTION TO

CITY WEBSITES


3:

INFORMATION LINKAGE


2:

INFORMATIONORGANIZATION

CITY WEBSITES:

SECTION SUMMARY

SECTION 3

CITY WEBSITES


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Introduction to

the City Websites

Section 3:

City Websites Accessibility Analysis

City Websites Scanned

City Population Link

New York 7,956,113 http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/

Los Angeles 3,731,437 http://www.ci.la.ca.us/

Chicago 2,701,926 http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/home.do

Houston 1,941,430 http://www.houstontx.gov/

Philadelphia 1,406,415 http://www.phila.gov/

Phoenix 1,377,980 http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/

San Antonio 1,202,223 http://www.sanantonio.gov/?res=1024&ver=true

San Diego 1,208,331 http://www.sandiego.gov/

Dallas 1,144,946 http://www.dallascityhall.com/

San Jose 887,330 http://www.sanjoseca.gov/

Total 23,558,131 Source: US Census Bureau, 2005 American Community Survey

The websites of America's ten largest cities were scanned for human

service information accessibility and content.


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Introduction to

the City Websites

Initial High-Level ScanSurveyed 153 root URLs and hundreds of web pages. The high-

level scan identified the web pages for detailed review.

Detailed Accessibility ScanIncluded 70 root URLs (7 per city) and several hundred related

pages. For each city, detailed information was gathered about:

The city's home page; Six human service subject areas (e.g., homeless services) on

the city website, with all linked pages and topics; and

Linkages to county, state, federal, and nonprofit websites.

Section 3:



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Introduction to

the City Websites

In keeping with the "Ten-City Scan"TM Methodology, citywebsite information was analyzed and evaluated for three

Accessibility Factors:

1. Ease of finding human service information;2. Effectiveness of information organization; and3. Linkage of information to provide a complete picture of

human service resources.

Techniques that support these three Accessibility Factors, and thestrengths, weaknesses, and good practices associated with each,

are reviewed in this section.

This interactive PowerPoint presentation includes hyperlinks togood practice examples. The thumbnail images of these

examples are hyperlinked to specific web pages on the Internet

for detailed review by the viewer.

Section 3:



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Ease of Finding:

Overview

The scan identified five techniques employed to enhance the ease of

finding human service information.

Section 3:

City Websites

Accessibility Factor 1:

Ease of Finding


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TECHNIQUE 1: HUMAN SERVICE DIRECTORY

Definition Strengths Weaknesses

Applications that allow users tosearch for human services by

several search criteria such as:

Provider organization Service category Service population Location

Only one of the ten cities scanned,Philadelphia, had a human service

directory application built and

maintained by the city.

As seen later in this report,nonprofit organizations and

public-private partnershipsmaintain online human service

directories that serve the ten

cities.

Dedicated human servicedirectories are the "gold standard"

for finding human services in a

locality.

Ideally, they take an inclusive viewof "human services,"

encompassing public and private

sector providers, and spanning

silos of health care, social service,

rehabilitative, and other services.

Human service databases andwebsites are still evolving in terms

of design, usability, and

information quality. Overall

quality and standards vary widely.

Section 3:

City Websites


Ease of FindingTechnique 1:

Human Service Directory


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TECHNIQUE 1: HUMAN SERVICE DIRECTORY

Good Practice Description Link

Philadelphia

"Philly SOS" ("Search Online for Services") is

maintained by the city. The application islocated on the Department of Human Services

page of the city's website.

The directory offers several ways to search for

information, and includes both public- and

private-sector service providers. It employs

the Association of Referral and Information

Services (AIRS) Taxonomy of Human

Services* as a vehicle for organizing the

information.

2007 The City of Philadelphia

* AIRS, the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems, is a professional membership organization which, in collaboration with the United Way of America, had led the2-1-1 movement. AIRS has endorsed the INFO LINE Taxonomy of Human Services for defining and indexing human services.

Section 3:

City Websites



Human Service Directory


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TECHNIQUE 2: WEBSITE SEARCH ENGINE


Applications designed to find textor subject matter housed within

the web site.

All ten cities had search engines:

Google

TM

engines were usedon four web sites.

Proprietary municipal engineswere used on six web sites.

Search engine design varied interms of functionality and the user

interface.

Search engines are fast. The engines provide a robust list of

results, including web pages and

documents.

Features may include: Full or partial string searching,

"and/or" (Boolean) searches,

word exclusion, etc.

Alternate languages such asSpanish.

Result sorting capability (e.g.,by date or relevance).

Search for a particular type ofsubject matter (e.g., city event

calendars).

A key strength of search engines--producing a robust result list--can

also be a weakness.

In some cases, hundreds ofentries are returned by thesearch--comprehensiveness is

not efficient.

Some search engines cansearch within result sets to

narrow the entries, but others

cannot.

Spelling variations may lead tofailed searches ("centre" vs.

"center").

There is no guarantee that thedesired item will exist in a

voluminous result list, but no

way to determine this except by

examining the list.

Section 3:

City Websites



Website Search Engine


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TECHNIQUE 2: WEBSITE SEARCH ENGINE


New York Google Search Engine has both "basic" and"advanced" functionality.

2007 The City of New York

Phoenix

Proprietary municipal search engine can

search for city services, text, calendars, maps,

and links.

Copyright 2007 City of Phoenix, AZ

Section 3:

City Websites



Website Search Engine


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TECHNIQUE 3: CITY-LEVEL SERVICE FINDER


Nine of the ten cities provide acity service finding aid on their

websites.

The focus tends to be for basicinfrastructure services likerepairing potholes or traffic

signals.

Five cities use a 311 scheme foraccepting telephone calls and

organizing services on their

websites. The other schemes are

proprietary.

Several cities incorporate humanservices in their applications:

Two cities have extensivehuman service information.

Four cities include a fewessential human services.

Integrating human services into thelarger framework of all municipal

services makes good common

sense, and increases the ease of

finding human service information.

Integrating human services with allother city services may create an

"apples and oranges" problem.

Many city services--such asrepairing a pothole--involve asimple process and use well-

defined materials.

By contrast, needs associatedwith human services are much

less readily defined; the call to

action is often to acquire more

information or help.

Section 3:

City Websites



City-Level Service Finder


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TECHNIQUE 3: CITY-LEVEL SERVICE FINDER


Los Angeles

Residents may search for city services by

keyword, by a listing of provider

departments, by service category, or a by fulllist of all services. The system uses a 311

organizational scheme, and incorporates a

robust selection of human services.

2001 City of Los Angeles

Dallas

City services are organized categorically in a

graphical display. Some essential human

services are catalogued under "Health &

Environment," additional and more detailed

information appears elsewhere in the website.

2001-2006 City of Dallas, Texas.

Section 3:

City Websites



City-Level Service Finder


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TECHNIQUE 4: DEPARTMENT-LEVEL SERVICE FINDER


A number of departments withinthe ten cities have developed their

own interactive service finding

aids.

These aids cover only thedepartment's service offerings, or

those of agencies funded by the

department--they do not

encompass service offerings by

other departments.

Interactive departmental findingaids increase the efficiency and

effectiveness of information

access to the department's service

offerings or those of funded

agencies.

A number of the aids are highlyinnovative and worthy of further

investigation.

Other innovative features are oftenpackaged together with the finding

aids.

Practices may differ widelybetween departments; good

practices appear not be shared.

Different application designsresult in redundant investments insoftware and hardware and may

preclude inter-departmental data

sharing.

Section 3:

City Websites



Dept. Level Service Finder


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TECHNIQUE 4: DEPARTMENT-LEVEL SERVICE FINDER


New York

Bureau of Day Care finding aid supports

searches based on borough, zip code,

neighborhood, and facility name. Results

show agency location, target population age,

capacity, permit status, and history of

inspections, violations, and remediation

status.


Chicago

Chicago Park District finding aid enables

searches based on park, zip code, programtypes, and target population age groups.

Available slots are displayed for a selected

program, which may then be placed on a

wish list or in a shopping cart. Users may

register for the program and pay by credit

card.

2007 City of Chicago

Section 3:

City Websites



Dept. Level Service Finder


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TECHNIQUE 5: PLACE-BASED FINDING AID


A number of cities providelocation-based interactive finding

aids.

After the user supplies a streetaddress or zip code, a list ofmunicipal resources in that area

is provided.

Links to web pages or sites withfurther information may be

provided.

Maps may be provided.

Location is an essential dimensionof finding appropriate services,

whether in terms of the user's

location, the service site, or the

area served by the provider. Searches driven by zip code or

street address are simple, fast and

powerful.

Existing applications focus on abroad, general range of municipal

resources, which may include a

nominal number of human service

resources such as health clinics. Finding aids search for facilities

(such as health centers) rather than

for specific services.

Section 3:

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Place-Based Finding Aid


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TECHNIQUE 5: PLACE-BASED FINDING AID


Houston

Municipal finding aid may be used to find

services based on zip code or keyword. Zip

code-based search results include municipalresources such as health centers, police and

fire stations, parks, and libraries, with web

links and maps.

2005 copyright, City of Houston. All Rights Reserved

New York

Municipal finding aid may be used to findservices based on street address. The

resulting detailed map shows a selection of

city services, including several types of

human services (day care, hospitals, senior

services).


Section 3:

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Place-Based Finding Aid


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Section 3:

City Websites


Ease of FindingEase of Finding:

Summary

Ease of Finding: Summary


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1. Finding human service information is, on balance, onlysomewhat easy. Nearly half of the search efforts recorded would

be difficult and time-consuming for skilled users. Only 10 percent

would be easy for unskilled users.

2. Some problems are "show-stoppers." In problematic searchefforts, finding information often required multiple attempts along

complex pathways. In such cases, searching is very laborious and

time-consuming. In some instances, users will likely abandon their

search efforts.3. Ease of finding varies widely within and between cities. A

detailed study would have to embrace careful examination ofallof

a city's departments, agencies, and offices to reach reliable

conclusions.

Section 3:

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Summary


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4. Good practices are in evidence and bear closer examination.Some robustly-developed good practices could serve in their

present form as models for replication. Other innovations offer

strong potential for further development.

5. Major advances are still needed. Despite the importantinnovations noted by the Scan, many users will have difficulty

finding human service information confidently, easily, and quickly.

Section 3:

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Summary


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Information Organization:

Overview

The scan identified two strategies employed to enhance the

organization of human service information.

Section 3:

City Websites


Information Organization


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TECHNIQUE 1: CONSUMER-FOCUSED CONTENT


Web pages with consumer-focused topics such as "Human

Services," "Neighborhood,"

"Community," and "Residents."

Web pages with topicaldesignations and content focus are

often given very high visibility on

the web site--generally on the

Home Page. Consumer-focused content is

generally easy to find.

Such content often containsnumerous links to related subject

matter.

The web site's topicalorganization may not be

intuitively obvious for some

viewers.

Topical organization mayfragment subject matter (e.g.,

splitting human service

information between "City

Services" page and "Residents"

page.

Posting subject matter and/orlinks on multiple topical pages

improves ease of finding but

increases redundancy.

Static information requires regularand systematic updating.

Section 3:

City Websites


Information OrganizationTechnique 1:

Consumer Content


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TECHNIQUE 1: CONSUMER-FOCUSED CONTENT


Chicago

Consumer content is organized into topical

areas such as residents, neighborhoods, healthand human services, and popular needs ("I

want to").

2007 The City of Chicago

San Diego

Consumer content is organized into topical

areas such as community, departments,

services A-Z, and popular needs ("I want to").

Copyrighted 2002-2007 City of San Diego. All rights reserved.

Section 3:

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Consumer Content


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TECHNIQUE 2: HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATION OF SUBJECT MATTER


Websites "drill down" throughcomplex subject matter arranged

in a logical, hierarchical manner.

An example of an informationhierarchy, based on New YorkCity's website, is as follows:

Health and Human Services

Health- Hospitals

Public HospitalsPrivate Hospitals

- Insurance

- Support Programs

- Victim Services

- Children

- Public Assistance

- Disabilities

Hierarchies can be good formanaging access to complex and

voluminous subject matter.

Simple, well-designed, and logicalhierarchies are easy to traverse andremember on subsequent visits to

the site.

Hierarchies may not reflect aconsumer point of view,

potentially making the subject

matter harder to find.

Complex hierarchies are harder totraverse and remember.

Hierarchies with many levels mayfragment subject matter and make

it harder to find.

Section 3:

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Hierarchical Organization


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TECHNIQUE 2: HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATION OF SUBJECT MATTER


New York

Hierarchy of material is logical, and easy to

understand and remember. While both

complex and deep, the hierarchical structureis always displayed, allowing the user to

know the location, how it was accessed, and

what other subjects might be investigated.


Section 3:

City Websites



Hierarchical Organization


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Section 3:

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Information OrganizationInformation Organization:

Summary

Information Organization: Summary


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1. Material is somewhat well-organized but forknowledgeable users. About 38 percent of the observed

material is somewhat well-organized for a person familiar with

human service organizations, programs, and services. The

average user, lacking specialized knowledge and terminology,

would benefit less from the way information is organized.

2. Multiple organizational schemes may be best. Theobservations suggest that probably no single approach is a "silver

bullet" for organizing human service information, given the

breadth of content and the diversity of the audience. Sites that

organize content from multiple perspectives seem to offer

significant promise.

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Summary


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3. Incorporating a consumer point of view in organizing contentis powerful. One of the several organizational schemes for

presenting content should focus on the information needs of

service consumers. Observations revealed a variety of good

practices worthy of consideration and development.

4. Good organization by itself is not sufficient. Observationssuggested that strong organization is an essential element in

effective content presentation. However, good organization

needs to be supplemented with other strategies and techniques,

such as those reviewed in this report, for making information

maximally accessible.

Section 3:

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Summary


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Information Linkage:

Overview

The scan identified these techniques for linking human service

information together in a more holistic manner.

Section 3:

City Websites


Information Linkage


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TECHNIQUE 1: INTERNAL LINKAGE (WITHIN THE MUNICIPALITY)


Links with Sister Agencies:provides navigation to desired

services across departments or

agencies.

Good implementations provideeasy consumer navigation; great

implementations provide a

seamless view of human services.

Weak implementations entangleusers in a complex maze of

linkages, fostering confusion and

frustration.

Links for Target Populations:links to information within the

website of particular interest to

target populations such as senior

citizens.

Offers a single place for targetpopulations to "shop" for relevant

information from multiple sources

within the website. (Note: often

links to external resources appear

in the same website location.)

Potentially very high overhead formaintenance of population-specific

content and links.

Consumer Action Links: linkswhich make it possible for

consumers to take direct action

(e.g., submit an electronic form)

or contact a government agency

via e-mail.

Provides an immediate connectionwith a government agency.

May foster high expectations forfast response time.

Section 3:

City Websites


Information LinkageTechnique 1:

Internal Linkage


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Links for Target Populations: a wealth ofprogram and service information for youth

and seniors is provided through links to

resources on the city website.

Phoenix


Links with Sister Agencies: the city portal

links the human service offerings of multiple

agencies and websites seamlessly from a

service consumer perspective.

New York City

LinkDescriptionGood Practice

Section 3:

City Websites



Internal Linkage


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Dallas

Consumer Action Links: Consumers may

e-mail the Mayor and City Council

members individually or as a group with the

links supplied on this page. These action

links are directly adjacent to related links to

information about the city government,

districts, committees, and councils.


Section 3:

City Websites



Internal Linkage


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TECHNIQUE 2: EXTERNAL LINKAGE (OUTSIDE THE MUNICIPALITY)


Integrated Government Links:provide a single location on

which relevant links for local,

state, and federal services are

displayed.

Supplies the consumer with acoherent and unified selection of

government services, regardless of

the provider agency.

Potentially very high overhead formaintenance of links to external

sites.

Extensive External Links:connections to human service

information on government and

nonprofit websites.

Supplies the consumer with acoherent and unified selection of

services across government and

nonprofit sectors and providers.

Potentially very high overhead formaintenance of links to external

sites.

Links to Specialized SearchEngines: connections to search

engines specializing in locating

government services.

Links to specialized search enginesprovide broader search capability

than links to specific sites.

Many constituents may want moredirection and focus in finding

relevant information.

Section 3:

City Websites



External Linkage


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San Diego

Integrated Government Links: The

integrated service listing shows municipal

services in blue, and services provided by

the county, port, and transit agencies in

green. Covers many major services,

including some human services.

2007 The City of San Diego

New York City

Extensive External Links: the site offers

numerous links to state and federal agencies

and departments. A short description by

every link describes the resource to which

the user will be directed.


Section 3:

City Websites



External Linkage


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Houston

Links to Specialized Search Engines: An

extensive array of search engines is offered

to find government organizations and

services, legislative information, and legal

and scientific documents.

2007 The City of San Diego

Section 3:

City Websites



External Linkage


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Section 3:

City Websites


Information LinkageInformation Linkage:

Summary

Information Linkage: Summary


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1. Links are widely used and vary widely in effectiveness.Much of the information observed is heavily linked to sites within

and beyond city websites. Link quality varies quite widely, even

within cities.

2. Overall, links are only moderately useful. Nearly 66 percent ofobserved internal links and 75 percent of external links reflect

limited planning and provide only moderate utility.

3. Effective links are well organized by topic, accompanied by abrief description of their target and purpose, and are directly

connected to related target content (rather than to the home page of

the target website).

Section 3:

City Websites



Summary


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4. Ineffective links are sparse, poorly documented or undocumented,do not connect directly to related content on the target site, or

connect to targets that are no longer in existence. Ineffective links

disadvantage the user by creating more, rather than less, work.

5. More than links are needed to integrate information. Linksalone cannot provide a coherent and unified picture of services

available from the complex service systems within and beyond

cities. More innovations are needed to provide an integrated "big

picture" to users before they navigate to more detailed informationsupplied on another page or site.

Section 3:

City Websites



Summary


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Section 3:

City Websites Section Summary Accessibility Ratings

Section Summary

1. Accessibility RatingsThis synthesis of Accessibility ratings in the figure below shows

that overall delivery of human service information is only

somewhat efficient and effective. Improvement in ease of finding,and information organization and linkage, is clearly desirable.


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Section 3:

City Websites Section Summary Accessibility Ratings

Section Summary

1. Accessibility Ratings (cont'd)The figure shows that there is a wide range of performance, with

outliers below and above the average. All are worthy of study. A

number of the good practices constitute potential best practicesworthy of adaptation to a broader array of applications. Their

adoption could improve human service information delivery

significantly.

The Accessibility Ratings are suggestive rather than definitive.

They are broad and approximate indicators intended to sharpen

focus on the ingredients of Accessibility and on the practices that

enhance it. They are intended to invite deeper study and more

extensive analysis that would have significant and near-term

benefit in municipalities, large and small, across the United States.


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Section 3:

City Websites Section Summary Observations

Section Summary

2. ObservationsEvolving Information Delivery Landscape

Many of the websites reflected ongoing improvement of the user

interfaces and the underlying human service information. The

environment is dynamic, and demonstrates significant investment

in enhancing information delivery to the public.

Growing Consumer Focus

The focus on service consumers appears to be growing. An

increasing segment of website design and content deliversinformation for neighborhoods, for specific populations like senior

citizens, and for special needs such as benefit eligibility screening.


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Section 3:

City Websites Section Summary Observations

Section Summary

2. Observations (cont'd)Growing Service Focus

Descriptive information about city agencies is increasingly

supplemented with detail for securing a variety of governmentservices. Most service process models are telephone-based:

constituents are directed to call a specific department, contact, or

help line (including 311 and 211).

An emerging service process model is Internet-based: constituents

may use e-mail or electronic forms to request services, report

problems, track the status of specific issues, and provide feedback.

The most advanced applications allow users to review available

program slots, select a program, and make payment all in a

manner widely used on Internet retail websites.


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Copyright 2007 Integer Research & Consulting, LLC

Section 3:

City Websites Section Summary Challenges

Section Summary

3. ChallengesUser Community Size and Diversity

The ten websites scanned serve cities with more than 23 million

constituents. These citizens have a broad and diffuse array ofconcerns and information needs, speak many languages, and span

the entire spectrum of computer experience and skills. Serving

their information requirements is an immense challenge, and

human service information is only one of many essential subjects

that must be covered effectively.

Service Provider Scope and Diversity

Human services are provided by a variety of government

departments citywide; by county, state, and federal agencies; and

by contracted nonprofit organizations.


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Section 3:


Section Summary

3. ChallengesService Provider Scope and Diversity (cont'd)

In a large city, their combined numbers may run into the hundreds.

Securing and maintaining accurate information is very challenging.Variable Provider Visibility

Many of the larger, more established, and more traditional service

organizations have historically possessed high visibility in the

community, at city hall, and on the Internet. Information about

other smaller, newer, and more localized organizations may be less

fully articulated and require more effort to communicate their

missions, programs, and services.


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Section 3:


Section Summary

3. Challenges (cont'd)Lack of Human Service Information Integration

City agencies and departments describe their own programs on city

websites. They also provide information about, and links to,contracted local nonprofit organizations and agencies in other

government branches.

The Scan found no organization chartered to integrate human

service information across city departments and to deliver it to

service consumers. Information technology has been only

minimally deployed to meet this integrative challenge. Generally,

information about human services remains within the discrete

"caches" of departmental or agency web pages.


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SECTION 4

ONLINE HUMAN SERVICE DIRECTORIES


1:EASE OF FINDING

INTRODUCTION TO

ONLINE SERVICEDIRECTORIES


3:INFORMATION LINKAGE


2:INFORMATION

ORGANIZATION

ONLINE SERVICE

DIRECTORIES:SECTION SUMMARY

SECTION 4

ONLINE DIRECTORIES


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"TEN CITY SCAN"TM


Section 4:

Online Human Service Directories "Ten-City Scan"TMIntroduction to

the Service Directories

Online human service directories that list services in America's ten

largest cities were scanned for information accessibility and content.

Online Directories Scanned

City DirectoryArea

Served

Area

PopulationLink

New York United Way CARES Database County 7,956,113 http://www.unitedwaynyc.org/?id=66

Los Angeles Healthy City County 9,758,886 http://www.healthycity.org/

Chicago Directory of Health & Human Services Region 8,217,201 http://www.communityresourcenetwork.org

Houston 2-1-1 Texas State 22,270,165 https://www.211texas.org/211/

Philadelphia Philly SOS City 1,406,415 http://www.phillysos.org/

Phoenix Arizona 2-1-1 State 5,829,839 http://az211.gov/

San Antonio 2-1-1 Texas State (above) https://www.211texas.org/211/

San Diego Inform San Diego County 2,824,259 http://www.infoline-sd.org/

Dallas 2-1-1 Texas State (above) https://www.211texas.org/211/

San Jose 2-1-1 Santa Clara County County 1,669,890 http://www.211scc.org/

Total 59,932,768Source: US Census Bureau, 2005 American

Community Survey


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Section 4:



Initial High-Level ScanNine nonprofit, one municipal, and two state directories were

targeted for initial scanning. Information about the directories,

organizations involved in managing and funding them, and

implementation strategies was reviewed. Detailed Accessibility Scan

Eight online directories and several hundred related pages of

information were examined in detail:

To develop an understanding of query logic, a total of 36query variations was mapped in detail and documented.

To evaluate the three Accessibility Factors (Ease of Finding,Information Organization, and Information Linkage) a total of

40 queries was run, timed, analyzed in detail, and documented.


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Section 4:



Techniques that support the three Accessibility Factors, and thestrengths, weaknesses, and good practices associated with each,

are reviewed in this section.

This interactive PowerPoint presentation includes hyperlinks forgood practice examples. The thumbnail images and Integer globegraphics that represent these examples are hyperlinked to specific

Internet web pages for detailed review by the audience.


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Online Human Service Directories

City Directory

Area

Served

Sector

Scope

Lead

Organization

Organization

Type

New YorkUnited Way of New York

City CARES DatabaseCounty

Public &

PrivateUnited Way of New York City Nonprofit

Los Angeles Healthy City CountyPublic &

PrivateHealthy City Project Nonprofit

Chicago

Directory of Health &

Human Services in

Metropolitan Chicago

Region Public &Private

Community Resource Network Nonprofit

Houston 2-1-1 Texas StatePublic &

Private

State of Texas Health and Human

Services Commission (HHSC)

Public-Private

Partnership

Philadelphia Philly SOS CityPublic &

Private

City of Philadelphia

Department of Human Services

Government

(City)

Phoenix Arizona 2-1-1 Online StatePublic &

PrivateState of Arizona

Government

(State)

San Antonio 2-1-1 Texas StatePublic &

Private



Public-Private

Partnership

San Diego Inform San Diego CountyPublic &

Private2-1-1 San Diego Nonprofit

Dallas 2-1-1 Texas StatePublic &

Private



Public-Private

Partnership

San Jose 2-1-1 Santa Clara County CountyPublic &

PrivateUnited Way of Silicon Valley Nonprofit

Section 4:




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Ease of Finding:

Overview

The scan identified three techniques that enhance the ease of finding

online human service directory information.

Section 4:



Ease of Finding


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TECHNIQUE 1: CATEGORICAL SEARCH FUNCTIONALITY


An interface which provides theuser with a set of categories or a

list of choices to define the search.

Categorical functionality: Commonly-used AIRS/INFO

LINE*Human ServiceTaxonomy terms (and

variations thereof) for services

and/or target populations.

Locally-defined categoriesspecific to the directory.

List-based choice functionality: Custom lists of search values

for services, target populations,

languages, and geographies toconfine user choice to specific

search terms.

Potentially fast and efficient way toguide user choice of search

categories and/or terms.

"Educates" the user about the waysinformation is organized and

characterized in the directory.

May adhere to a commonly-usedframework, such as AIRS, for

defining human service

information.

Help screen may be supplied toexplain categorical choices.

Information & Referral specialistsare familiar with AIRS categories,

but other users (such as the general

public) are generally not.

All categorical organizationschemes reflect decisions abouthow information is defined and

organized. Without explanatory

information, a categorical

framework may be confusing and

of limited use.

Poorly-designed categoricalsearches may lead users into a

time-consuming multi-screen

search that may produce zeroresults.

* AIRS, the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems, is a professional membership organization which, in collaboration with the United Way of America, had led the

2-1-1 movement. AIRS has endorsed the INFO LINE Taxonomy of Human Services for defining and indexing human services.

Section 4:




Categorical Search


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Good Practice Description and Links

Healthy City

(Los Angeles

County)

Provides the main AIRS categories to guide the search,supported with descriptive information under each category

and pop-up detail.

Provides a categorical browse facility, organizedalphabetically like a dictionary.

Supplies extensive online documentation pertinent tocategorical searches. Copyright 2007 Health City

Arizona 2-1-1

Online

(State of

Arizona)

Customized categorical search is built around two broadfunctional categories, Health and Human Services, and

Emergency Response. When a subcategory within these is

selected, the system provides related keywords to initiate the

search.

Provides a hierarchical AIRS-based service category list withrecord counts to ensure positive search results. Copyright 2007 State of Arizona

Philly SOS

(City of

Philadelphia)

Provides a hierarchical AIRS-based service category list withrecord counts to ensure positive search results.

Provides an AIRS-based target population category list withrecord counts to ensure positive search results.

Supplies a list of most-frequently searched categories as apossible time-savings device.

Copyright 2007 City of Philadelphia

Section 4:




Categorical Search


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2-1-1 Texas

(State of Texas)

Provides categorical search for Child Care and EducationServices.

Supplies online help to inform users about program contentand eligibility.

Search process is linked to electronic service referral action. Provides diagram to depict the search/referral process.

Copyright 2007 State of Texas

Directory of

Health & HumanServices Online

(Community

ResourceNetwork,

Chicago)

List-based searches: Services. Geographic Area (county, community area, township). Type of business (government, nonprofit, etc.).

Note: a logon and password are required to access this directory.

Copyright 2004 Community Resource Network

Section 4:




Categorical Search


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TECHNIQUE 2: KEYWORD SEARCH FUNCTIONALITY


An interface which provides theuser with a blank field to enter

search terms of his or her own

choosing.

Database may be indexed byselected descriptive fields or fulldatabase text (words in text).

Keyword Search Functionality: Search by text string variations

(full or partial word, multiple

words)

Hybrid Keyword + Categoricalsearches enable rapid

narrowing of the search.

Affords maximum flexibility andbreadth of search.

Relies less on knowledge of humanservices than categorical search

functionality.

Use of text string variationssignificantly increases the

likelihood of a successful search.

Full words-in-text indexing of dataenables search of any significant

word, regardless of category.

Users may be intimidated by asearch box if they are not sure what

they are looking for.

Users that are unfamiliar withhuman services may supply

ineffective or inaccurate keywords.

Ineffective searches may lead to avast number of search results, (or

no results).

Users entering multiple searchparameters on one screen may not

realize that they are joining them

with a Boolean AND operator.

This increases the risk of anunintended search argument and of

a search failure.

Search functionality may notcompensate for misspellings.

Section 4:




Keyword Search


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TECHNIQUE 2: KEYWORD SEARCH FUNCTIONALITY


Arizona 2-1-1

Online

(State of

Arizona)

Multiple configurations of keyword searches are supported Basic keyword search. Hybrid simple search (keyword + list box). Hybrid advanced search (keyword + list box + AIRS

taxonomy terms or codes).

Copyright 2007 State of Arizona

2-1-1 Texas

(State of Texas)

Basic search Service keyword OR agency keyword AND Location (zip,

county, or city), with county and city list.

Interim results provide categories to narrow search. Popup help to define categories. Popup agency list preview reduces unneeded navigation.

Copyright 2007 State of Texas

Healthy City

(Los Angeles

County)

Basic (simple) search produces provider list that can be sortedalphabetically and narrowed by location.

Quick search supplies hybrid search (service keyword ORagency keyword, both supported by underlying lists) plus an

alphabetical browse facility for services and agencies.

Copyright 2007 Health City

Section 4:




Keyword Search


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TECHNIQUE 3: PLACE-BASED SEARCH FUNCTIONALITY


An interface which allows the userto enter a location (such as an

address) in free form or choose

from a specified unit of geography

(e.g., city, county) to begin the

search.

All eight online directoriesprovide at least one place-

based search parameter.

Many provide lists of validvalues of city or county names

from which to choose.

Search outputs may include: Lists of agencies. Maps of agencies.

Location is an essential factor infinding resources:

Service consumer home, work,or school location.

Provider service site. Area served by the provider.

Most users are familiar with searchparameters such as city, zip, or

address.

Location information provides abasis for planning routes via public

or private transportation.

Location information provides abasis for proximity searches

(resources can be listed by distance

from the search location).

Weak implementations: Lack lists of location values

like zip codes, creating an extra

search step to find the

appropriate value. Do not supply enough different

location parameters to narrow

the search (e.g., city and zip).

Do not supply enoughinformation to make proximity

searches possible.

Do not distinguish between thearea in which a provider is

located and the area which the

provider serves.

Section 4:




Place-Based Search


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TECHNIQUE 3: PLACE-BASED SEARCH FUNCTIONALITY


Healthy City

(Los Angeles

County)

"Search My Neighborhood" Begins with wide variety of location parameters (e.g.,

address, zip, city, census tract, planning/service unit).

Produces map with community organizations marked byprimary AIRS categories, plus a marker for Los Angeles

city resources. "Your Community Map"

Enables users to view selected community and cityresources within the location parameters (address, zip,

etc.).

Lists organizations selected for the map, with a link foreach organization to the underlying resource directory.

"Create Community Profile" Enables users to select community characteristics for their

map such as demographics, health conditions, housing,and other factors.

Community resource types can be selected and added tothe map.

Copyright 2007 Health City

Section 4:




Place-Based Search


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Ease of Finding:

Summary

Section 4:



Ease of Finding



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1. Substantial Investment has been devoted to making informationeasy to find in the online directories. Each directory uses its own

custom search applications.

2. Categorical/List Based Search: All the directories use some formof categorical or list-based search vehicle, or a combination of

both.

3. Keyword Search: Six websites offer keyword searchfunctionality. Four of these employ a hybrid approach that uses

categories or lists to refine a keyword search that has beeninitiated. Two directories provide "pure" keyword searches that

do not employ a categorical framework as part of the search.

Ease of Finding:

Summary

Section 4:



Ease of Finding


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4. Keyword Searches Outperformed Categorical Searches: TheScan's observations showed thatinformation was easier to find

using keyword searches than categorical searches. Also, keyword

searches produced results, on average, in less than half the timerequired by categorical searches.

5. More Place-Based Search Functionality Needed: Only onedirectory makes extensive use of place-based finding aids.

Because geography is a crucial dimension of service access, this

functionality should be more widely implemented.6. "100% Easy to Find" Should Be The Goal: It seems fair to

assume that online service directories should strive for this goal.

While strong progress has been made toward it, more is needed.

Ease of Finding:

Summary

Section 4:



Ease of Finding


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Information Organization:

Overview

The "Ten-City Scan"TM identified two techniques to enhance the

organization of human service information.

Section 4:





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TECHNIQUE 1: LIST FORMAT ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONALITY


Organizes search results in an arraythat can be sorted, selected,

searched, and/or refined. Desirable

functionality:

View or search information thatsummarizes detailed record.

Sort by agency name, service,or geography.

Contract search by narrowingthe geographic area (e.g., from

city to zip).

Expand search by wideninggeographic area.

Sort entries in list by distancefrom a specific geographic

point (proximity search/sort).

Easier and faster identification ofinformation that warrants a

detailed review.

Reduces navigational effort. Identification of resources in a

defined geographic area.

Quantification of distance tospecific human services.

Limited (or no) summaryinformation in a result list makes it

necessary to review all detailed

records produced by the search.

Search effectiveness within aresults list is sharply curtailed if

results cannot be arrayed on a

single screen with searchable text.

(Frequently, long result lists are

divided into multiple screens.)

Sorting by a single variable (suchas agency name) provides limited

advantage.

Section 4:




List Format


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TECHNIQUE 1: LIST FORMAT ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONALITY

Functionality Good Practice Description and Links

View/Search Summary

Information in List Format

Arizona 2-1-1Meaningful service summary makes services easier to find and

reduces unnecessary navigation.

2-1-1 TexasMeaningful service summary makes services easier to find and

reduces unnecessary navigation.

Healthy City

Popup agency detail reduces unnecessary navigation; "Show All"

records list format allows search of entire list.

Modify List Scope2-1-1 Texas

"Expand Search" geographic scope from city to county

and/or to state (at bottom of list).

Expand functional scope of service search results

("See Also Terms" at right of list).

Healthy City Expand or reduce scope by geographic units.

Sort List Results

Arizona 2-1-1 Sort results by distance (in miles) from zip code.

2-1-1 Santa Clara Sort results by agency name or city.

Directory of Health

& Human Services

(CRN, Chicago)

Sort results by any of the columns displayed in results list

(organization, address, city, state, zip, phone, geographic area)

[requires login and password].

Select List Results Philly SOS List entries can be selected for viewing and printing.

Section 4:




List Format


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TECHNIQUE 2: DETAILED RECORD ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONALITY


Information is logically groupedand ordered to describe the service,

who it serves, its location, how it is

acquired, and who provides it.

Representative groupings:

Service description. Population and/or area served. Service site information,

including address and driving

and transit directions.

Contact information, includingtelephone, fax, and e-mail.

Service acquisition process,including eligibility, intake

process, fees, and payment.

Agency information (to theextent it is useful/relevant).

Content grouping draws attention toessential clusters of information

about service content, location,

target population, and eligibility

and access.

Well organized detailed informationalso supplies information about the

service provider and its portfolio of

services.

Schemes for organizing anddelivering content can be weak if

supporting definitions are not

supplied. (For example, the

difference between a "program" and

a "service" is generally not given.) Information on provider

organizations is frequently given a

higher priority than the information

about programs and services.

Service consumers are likely more

interested in service detail than

provider detail.

Field labels are suppressed when nodata has been supplied for a recordfield. The user may be unaware

that the directory does collect this

type of information despite its

absence in this particular record.

Section 4:




Detailed Record Format


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TECHNIQUE 2: DETAILED RECORD ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONALITY

Functionality Good Practice Description and Links

Content Grouping

2-1-1 Texas

Information groups focus on agency location and contact, service

content, and service eligibility and access

(drill down to detail from list).

2-1-1 Santa Clara

Information group focuses on details of service eligibility and

access (bottom of screen).

2-1-1 Texas

Information group focuses on contacting the provider of

information and/or correcting information content

(drill down to detail from list).

Clearly Structured and

Identified ContentArizona 2-1-1 Content is grouped and each grouping is clearly identified.

Linkages between Service and

Provider Detail

Inform San Diego Information linkages are provided between site, service, and agency.

Arizona 2-1-1Information linkages are provided between agency, programs, and

services (bottom of screen).

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Detailed Record Format


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1. Effective List Format Functionality Is Essential because itsupplies crucial leverage in information searches. List format

should display a snapshot of essential information ofallrecords in

a search result set, enabling the user to scan the list swiftly andreach a decision about whether to examine the selected records in

detail or execute another search. The user should be able to narrow

or broaden a search after scanning the list, and also be able to sort

search results based on multiple parameters.

Three directories met several or most of these criteria with greatdistinction, enabling the user to scan, organize, and/or refine search

results effectively and efficiently.

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2. Weak Implementations Deter Effective Searching: Some of theonline directory list formats supply only an agency name and/or a

service name in the list. Unless a user has a specific agency or

program in mind, it is necessary to review the result list on a

record-by-record basis an indefensible misuse of the user's time

and energy. Poor implementations of this sort pose the risk of

users abandoning an online directory in favor of other vehicles that

either work more effectively or present that appearance.

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1. Detailed content is organized fairly well in the online directories.Typically, it is grouped into material describing service providers

and material detailing programs and services.

2. Web design doesn't contribute to good organization as much as itcould. Many web pages do not use layout, white space, labeling,

typography, or color to accentuate the information groups effectively.

3. None of the directories provided definitions for their contentgroups. Key terms likesite, service organization, program, and

service would benefit from being defined, and from that essentialinformation being positioned on the web page where the detailed

information is provided.

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4. Content sequencing should spotlight services instead ofproviders. In many instances, the top of the web page is devoted to

service provider or site detail. Service content and access

information appears farther down the page, often "below the fold."

In a service directory, it can be argued, this sequence should be

inverted, with primary focus placed on services, not on the

organizations that provide them.

The organization of service content itself should highlight the service

process. Consumers an

10 city scan report

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