The National Association of State Chief Information Officers recognized two North Carolina agencies with State IT Recognition Awards at its 2019 annual conference this week.
The N.C. Department of Information Technology partnered with the agencies to deliver the technology services.
The N.C. Department of Public Safety’s Emergency Management Division won in the Cross-Boundary Collaboration category for the State Emergency Response Application Implementation (SERA). SERA is a secure, web-based application designed to help first responders, law enforcement and emergency managers efficiently respond to emergencies. SERA presents profile and process information and spatially displays school floor plans as well as key assets and vulnerabilities.
N.C. Emergency Management collaborated with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, NC DIT, the state’s 115 school districts and local law enforcement to create the application.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health received the Government to Citizen Award for the introduction of the Bnft® application with the implementation of eWIC.
In addition to replacing paper vouchers with electronic benefits cards (eWIC), DHHS developed a website and smartphone app that allows eWIC participants to scan product codes while shopping to determine if they are eligible for purchase.
eWIC and the Bnft® app eliminates the need to keep track of paper vouchers and lists of approved items. Checkouts are also faster and more pleasant for eWIC participants and cashiers.
“One of our core commitments at NC DIT is to connect our residents to government services that are efficient, reliable and secure,” said Eric Boyette, state chief information officer and secretary for NC DIT. “Our partnerships with Emergency Management and Health and Human Services can do just that.”
NASCIO received more than 100 nominations across 10 award categories for the 2019 State IT Recognition Awards. North Carolina was a finalist in four categories.
The N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority, a division of NC DIT, was a finalist in the Government to Business category, and the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries was a finalist in the Business Process Innovations category.