reengineering government, online services
Imagine this: A government that allows citizens to access a wide range of government benefits and services electronically -- eliminating redundant paper-based systems, improving cost efficiencies and convenience, and empowering citizens through secure electronic access and delivery of government services.
Let's consider one day in the life of Jane Smith. Jane took the morning off from work in order to meet the mailman as he delivers her federal income tax refund check. Her rent and utility payments were already overdue and last year her check was stolen from her mailbox. The mailman did not arrive until after noon and Jane rushed to take the bus to a check-cashing outlet where she was charged $10 to cash her check and another $5 for money orders to pay her bills. She stopped at the drug store to renew her prescription only to realize that she had forgotten her Medicaid eligibility card. She took another bus to the post office and waited in line for stamps and envelopes to mail her bill payments. Already too late to get to work for the day, Jane did not have exact change for the bus and ended up walking home.
Now imagine Jane's day a few years from now. On the way to the bus in the morning, Jane stops at the local ATM, inserts her new Access Card, and pays her rent and utility bills electronically and securely. She is confident after checking her balance that her income tax refund has been transferred to her EBT account. She stops at the drug store, using her Access Card to verify her eligibility for Medicaid and to pay for additional items. Still with time before getting to work, Jane stops at the post office and inserts her card at a kiosk to purchase stamps, and remembers to update information at the same kiosk for the Department of Motor Vehicles on the car she is registering. Then she's off to work.
Chapter A02, Access America, Reengineering Through Information Technology