With CGI, the Commonwealth of Kentucky receives award-winning Web site that provides citizens with improved access to services

"The KyCARES On-line Guide to Services site won the Civic 50 Award for outstanding e-Government in 2001 and continues to receive acclaim as a leading implementation of customer-facing e-Government."

The Client
In 1996, the Commonwealth of Kentucky launched the Empower Kentucky initiative, the most ambitious reengineering effort ever undertaken by a state government designed to completely revamp and revitalize the way the Commonwealth conducted business and interacted with its citizens. This included a comprehensive program of reengineering business processes across all state agencies and programs featuring innovative sub-projects such as the Simplified Access Project, a primary technology initiative aimed at improving and integrating services to citizens. Under Simplified Access, customers can more easily obtain critical information about Commonwealth services and programs, and identify and access needed services and providers.

The Challenge
In 1999, after issuing a Request for Proposal to several IT providers, the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children selected CGI as its partner to design, develop and implement Kentucky Commonwealth Access to Resources System (KyCARES), which would include an On-line Guide to Services that would interface with the Web-enabled Kentucky Resource Directory of service providers.

The Strategy
With only three months to get the site up and running, the development team divided the project into two phases with a primary goal of ensuring core functionality to be followed by system extensions and enhancements. The initial version of KyCARES involved designing a Web-enabled needs assessment survey-the On-line Guide to Services--which would lead to a structured query of information on providers and services in the Resource Directory. The Guide allows Kentucky citizens to complete a series of simple, easy-to-understand questions on the Web and receive a list of services and providers to contact.

Working in partnership, the CGI team and the Commonwealth deployed the On-line Guide to Services within the prescribed deadline. Not only was the team able to develop the Web-enabled needs assessment, but working cooperatively, the team and the Commonwealth also provided valuable service additions within those three months. For example, CGI added the ability to browse service categories, installed a "My Folder" icon to save and later access search results, created an interface to access and print street maps to locate service providers and developed a comprehensive needs assessment tool to assess customers' needs and then direct them to appropriate service providers, based on their location and other characteristics. The team also ensured the appropriate knowledge transfer to state personnel responsible for the site.

As a result of the overwhelming success of the On-line Guide to Services, the Commonwealth chose to extend its partnership with CGI for the provision of a number of extensions to KyCARES including the creation of a more flexible and scalable architecture for the Kentucky Resource Directory and the development of new screening tools that allow citizens to identify programs and services that, based on their responses to questions, are appropriate to their needs. Other enhancements included a Facilitated Guide designed for caseworkers and community providers to help them access service information through the site.

The Technology

• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database
• Windows NT/Windows 2000 running Microsoft Internet Information Server
• Visual Studio 6 (Visual Basic and Visual Interdev) languages
• Visual Source Safe for configuration management
• Active Data Object (ADO)
• Active Server Page (ASP) server side-scripting environment to create and run Web pages
• Business logic components use COM+Component Object Model for business processing and data access
• HTML/DHTML internet development tools

The Results
Winner of the Civic 50 Award for outstanding e-Government in 2001, the KyCARES On-line Guide to Services (www.kycares.ky.gov) continues to receive acclaim as a leading implementation of customer-facing e-Government. This unique site can be used by caseworkers, service providers or by private individuals online. Service information can also be accessed through Web terminals available at community sites such as local schools, libraries and government offices. The site provides faster, more efficient access to information for people throughout the Commonwealth, while generating improved customer services and cost savings for Commonwealth agencies and service providers. In recognition of its services, the site also received a technology award from the Governor's Office.