Innovative Technology Resources Earn Dutchess County National Recognition

Poughkeepsie … Dutchess County Government has again been nationally recognized for its use of technology to improve how government connects with residents. The County’s Office of Central and Information Services (OCIS) has received a 2023 Government Experience Award from the Center for Digital Government (CDG)—ranking fifth place nationwide among county governments for its overall technology experience.

County Executive William F.X. O’Neil said, “This year’s awards from the Center for Digital Government highlight the dedication of the team at OCIS and our commitment to ensuring Dutchess County’s technology resources are efficient and user-centric, both for employees and residents. Congratulations to the OCIS team on this most recent accolade.”

The Government Experience Awards, now in its seventh year, highlight government agencies that are improving the experience of government services. Dutchess County was among only five other counties across the nation to receive an Overall County Government Experience Award for its commitment to providing technology resources that are secure, accessible and citizen-centric.

The County’s resources that were recognized included:

• The County’s Path to Promise (P2P) website, Pathtopromise.net, which provides accessible, comprehensive information on more than 700 community services and resources, including tutoring and mentoring opportunities, to give families, support agencies, and caregivers the tools they need to ensure every child, from birth to age 19, reaches their fullest potential as they mature into young adults;
• Implementation of the national 9-8-8 suicide and crisis hotline, which has been combined with the County’s existing HELPLINE for individuals experiencing mental health crisis, and co-locating the call takers within the 9-1-1 Call Center.
• Dutchess County’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Planimetrics with more than 300,000 data points, including address points, parking lots, roads, road edges, and structure outlines for the online ParcelAccess and other GIS applications. These data points are used by agencies such as police, fire and EMS for emergency response planning as well as Real Estate agents, engineers, and local Assessors for permitting, planning, and infrastructure development, among others.

Glenn Marchi, PhD, OCIS Commissioner, said, “Our mission is to ensure Dutchess County residents have safe, secure access to the information they need. The team at OCIS remains at the forefront of developing user-friendly, innovative technology resources, building on our legacy of citizen-centric digital experiences.”

“With citizen and employee expectations continually evolving, government agencies are leveraging new technologies and processes to drive innovation through their digital experiences,” said Dustin Haisler, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer for CDG. “The leading government experiences have retained a human-centric approach to service delivery, incorporating digital equity, accessibility and inclusion into all of their experiences.”