Digital Government

CMS awards more Medicaid Transformation Grants

Sixteen states and Puerto Rico get funds to modernize the delivery and administration of Medicaid health services.

People

Confusion over fusion centers

Lawmakers want to clarify the centers’ responsibilities and future funding.

People

NASCIO: States face IT retirement crunch

Although more than a quarter of states' IT employees could retire soon, most states are unprepared, a new report finds.

People

Budget agreement in Michigan averts 35,000 layoffs

State employees, including 1,700 in the IT Department, spent much of the weekend wondering if they should report to work today.

People

DHS signs on to create threat assessment coordination group

Lawmakers hope the group will improve how federal, state and local officials create and share intelligence.

Modernization

Broadband operators reject ding-a-ling answers

Scottsburg, Ind., officials got tired of waiting for broadband service to come, so they created their own

People

Tickets to travel

How border states, with the blessing of the Homeland SecurityDepartment, are setting their own card standards for identifying travelers at border crossings

Modernization

Trust, skills crucial to sharing information in emergencies, report states

Researchers in New York have issued a report that examines the task of coordinating a regional response to events that disrupt telecommunications networks.

Digital Government

News briefs

EDS to run data center for DHSEDS will run the second of two large data centers for the Homeland Security Department under an $800 million, eight-year contract the department awarded the company last week, according to EDS and industry sources. "It's a very important contract to us," EDS spokesman Brad Bass said, adding that neither the company nor the department had yet announced the award. "We would like to talk about it, but we are restricted…

People

Planners describe disaster strategies

Disaster preparedness leaders say they face crises expecting their best-laid plans will go awry

People

Feds offered data-sharing tool for anti-terrorism efforts

Agencies can use the architecture to support their information-sharing missions.

People

N.Y. county joins global tech network

Westchester County has accepted its invitation to join the Global Digital City Network, which provides a forum for information sharing and promoting joint initiatives.

Acquisition

FEMA official: Local businesses must understand federal procurement

Those businesses' ability to understand federal contracting in an emergency such as Hurricane Katrina is crucial, FEMA's acquisitions director said.

Modernization

Alliance: DHS will miss Pass card deadline

The Smart Card Alliance says the department cannot finish testing ID cards with RFID tags in time for them to be an alternative to passports by next summer.

Digital Government

Group calls for modernizing public health IT infrastructure

AHIC gets recommendations on how to strengthen systems that would be needed in a public health emergency.

People

Real ID regulations moving slowly, two governors say

State executives also oppose using DHS grant money for the driver's license program.

People

Voting under a cloud of suspicion

Decertification of touch-screen voting machines in California challenges public confidence in e-voting

People

FEMA tests a new alert system

Internet-based system reaches across different devices and jurisdictions

People

DHS outlines eight keys to national preparedness

The 51-page document outlines the top priorities intended to synchronize pre-disaster planning, prevention and mitigation activities throughout the nation.

Digital Government

E-prescribing PDAs save millions for Mississippi Medicaid

The program provides 225 doctors with handheld devices, reaping $1.2 million per month in medication savings.