Subject: TIIAP Letter (fwd)
Maureen Lewis (mlewis@apt.org)
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 10:55:03 -0700
Message-Id: <35AF8FF7.1B6@apt.org> Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 10:55:03 -0700 From: Maureen Lewis <mlewis@apt.org> To: roundtable@cni.org Subject: TIIAP Letter (fwd)
Jason can also answer any questions you may have. Thanks in advance for
your efforts to restore TIIAP funding!
Maureen Lewis
<mlewis@apt.org>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Supporters of TIIAP:
As you know, NTIA's TIIAP program is in danger of losing $9 million from
last year's level, resulting in an appropriation of only $11 million
for FY'99. Attached is a letter that the National Association of
Development Organizations has prepared to individual senators asking
them to vote for an amendment to restore funding for NTIA's TIIAP
program. To demonstrate the widespread support for this important
program, please consider adding your organization's endorsement to the
attached letter. Because time is of the essence, it is imperative that
you register your group's support for the letter by the close of
business on Tuesday, July 21, 1998 with:
Jason Boehlert
Legislative Representative
National Association of Development Organizations
444 North Capitol St., NW, Suite 630
(202) 624-7806
FAX (202) 624-8813
http://www.nado.org/
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 09:30:01 -0400
To: mlewis@apt.org
From: nadojmb@sso.org (Jason Boehlert)
Subject: TIIAP Letter
Message-Id: <98Jul17.093003edt.32262@gateway.sso.org>
Maureen,
Sean said that you had a list-serve you could put our TIIAP letter on.
Here's a copy of the letter, thanks for your help.
Jason
*****************************
Dear Senator:
On behalf of a diverse coalition of economic and community development,
health care, education, cultural, disability, civil liberties, and other
civic organizations, we urge you to vote for an amendment to restore
funding for the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure and
Assistance Program (TIIAP). A bipartisan amendment to the Senate
Commerce, Justice, State, and Judiciary Appropriations Bill (S 2260)
will be offered when it comes to the floor supporting the TIIAP program.
The Administration requested $22 million for TIIAP for FY 1999, and the
current Senate Appropriations Committee mark is $9 million less than
last year's level.
TIIAP which is administered by the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA), matches private contributions with
government funds to promote the widespread availability of advanced
telecommunication technologies. Through TIIAP projects, many
communities would not have the resources or opportunity -- like citizens
in rural an d low income regions and those with disabilities -- to
access advanced telecommunications technologies used for essential
health care, public safety, and educational services. TIIAP provides
funds to purchase equipm ent used to build networks, to link networks
together and to the Internet, an d to provide sophisticated technology
training.
TIIAP is the only federal program which supports information and
telecommunications technology that promotes innovation and collaboration
at the local level. Resources such as the Universal Service Fund do
provide discounts for telecommunications costs. However, these
resources do not emphasize innovation nor do they support evaluation and
sharing of information. And while some federal agencies may fund
computer and telecommunications costs for limited purposes, TIIAP is the
only program that encourages community driven projects that cut across
program boundar ies and that enable, for instance, health care providers
to collaborate with law enforcement organizations, schools, and social
service organizations.
A common misconception is that the need for TIIAP funding could be
reduce d because the Universal Service Fund has been established as
required by th e Telecommunications Act of 1996. The new universal
service fund does not duplicate TIIAP and does not diminish the need for
TIIAP grants. The Universal Service Fund subsidizes merely a fraction
of the telecommunications-related costs associated with connecting to
the Intern et and other telecommunications services; typically a total
of 10-15 percent of the actual costs associated with using such
technology efficiently. In addition, only K-12 schools, libraries, and
non-profit rural health care providers are eligible for discount under
the Universal Service Fund.
In addition, TIIAP supports the use of information and
telecommunications technologies through personal computers, modems, end
user training, software, network design and system maintenance, as well
as costs associa ted with project evaluation and dissemination of
project results. Most, if no t all of these costs, are ineligible under
the Universal Service Fund.
Telecommunications resources such as the Internet play an ever
increasing role in all facets of the lives of all Americans. But to
fully realize th e benefits of telecommunications technologies, every
American must have the opportunity utilize these resources. TIIAP helps
to realize this goal by extending advanced telecommunications
capabilities, in concert with the private sector, to people and regions
that would otherwise left behind.
Recipients of TIIAP grants have included local governments, police
districts, fire stations, community colleges, school districts, museums,
health organizations, and other non-profits. Listed below are just a
few examples of how TIIAP has helped these groups use telecommunications
syst ems for education, economic and community development, job training
and health care:
* In Oregon, the Lane County Council of Governments is developing a
telecommunications system, ChildLink, that will integrate information
dealing with family crises from more than twenty agencies that is housed
in eight different computer systems. In many child abuse fatalities,
case workers could have intervened in time if they had access to all the
relev ant information in the case. For example, at risk families often
have multipl e contacts with various public agencies, such as police,
school administrators, domestic violence shelters, and state services B
but thes e agencies do not share the information with each other.
Therefore, no sin gle agency ever has a complete picture of the at risk
child's life. ChildLi nk is designed to make sure that authorities have
access to critical informatio n about an at risk child so the
appropriate agency can intervene before it' s too late. Again, current
legislative language may prohibit K12 schools f rom participating in
child abuse prevention projects such as this one.
* In Oklahoma, a unique program at the University of Oklahoma has
graduated its first class of local emergency managers trained to detect
and respond to severe weather patterns. The "OK-FIRST" program, funded
in part by TIIAP, promises to pay off in preserving human life and
property by making the detection of threatening weather more
site-specific. OKFIRST relies on t he state's "Mesonet" system of 114
automated weather stations and 14 NEXRAD Doppler radars in and around
the state. The weather information is transmitted by computer to
emergency managers from the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. Satellite
data, the latest computer forecast model of the atmosphere, and other
information from the National Weather Service are also available.
According to the Project Director, "Other states are beginning to look
to us as the model system for response to weather emergencies."
* The City of Philadelphia Community Services Network will link agencies
that deliver services in low income communities. The primary objective
of the network is to give direct service staff the information needed to
provide effective client services, in part through integrated case
management. Numerous non-profit providers and government agencies will
be connected in a pilot test combining technical and case management
training, the operation of an electronic services locator, a universal
eligibility screening system, and a client registry to link and
coordinate services.
* In South Carolina, the MEDED project is using TIIAP funding to create
a distance learning program at six South Carolina technical colleges for
degrees in two health science programs. Rural students enrolled in
pharmacy and medical information technician courses are learning through
a combination of Internet and interactive television based technologies.
The project affords access to advanced training for those who otherwise
would be unable to afford travel to lectures and labs.
* The University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville is developing
an integrated trauma telemedicine system, which will provide initial
patient care by putting technology in ambulances, rural emergency
departments, and a Level 1 Trauma Center. Emergency medical service
(EMS) providers will use the system to take still photos at the accident
scene and then transmit the photos via cellular telephone connections to
emergency room personnel. For many accident victims, time is critical;
this project will give EMS personnel in Tennessee access to onsite
physician guidance. As a result, faster diagnoses and intervention are
possible to save lives.
* In Illinois, the State Museum Society is developing MuseumLink, a net
work providing state specific information on art, cultures, and nature
to its citizens. Citizens, including students and teachers, use the
network to research Illinois history and culture, collaborate
electronically, query regional experts, and examine historical
collections online. MuseumLink is accessible through public terminals
and museum facilities.
* In West Virginia, the West Virginia OnLine Outreach project is
promoting the development of small businesses, while concurrently
increasing the computer skills of rural community members and displaced
workers. The project unites the efforts of small businesses,
institutions of higher education, government agencies, foundations, and
local community organizations in promoting technology to increase
economic development in the state.
* TINCAN, a community network serving both rural and urban areas in
northeast Washington State, is using the network to increase community
efforts to cope with issues of economic need such as welfare reform, and
the need for small business development. The focus of this TIIAP funded
project is on rural areas and inner city neighborhoods, and on
economically disadvantaged or otherwise disenfranchised individuals who
need job skills training and career guidance. TINCAN is using the Web
to link small startup businesses, job skills, and training opportunities
with real, marketable outcomes.
* Several communities in the Salt Lake Valley region of central Utah
are using TIIAP funds to link their public safety agencies through a
wireless, secure communications system. The Valley Emergency
Communications Center (VECC) has created an integrated data network
which links mobile laptop computers in police, fire, and ambulance
vehicles. VECC is improving response time in emergency situations to
the benefit of citizens affected by crime and domestic violence. For
example, since the grant, there has been a 300% increase in the recovery
of stolen vehicles.
* The National Urban League's Technology Access Center project will
bring access to advanced information technology to community residents
and community-based organizations in four targeted communities:
Baltimore, Maryland; Binghamton, New York; Roxbury, Massachusetts; and
Newark, New Jersey. The intent of the project is to plan, implement,
and evaluate pilot technology centers. These centers are to serve as
models for the other 115 Urban League Affiliates and similar community
based organizations nationally. Each center will provide a variety of
programs, including literacy training, workforce development, and
computer literacy. National partners include Bell Atlantic, Microsoft,
and Educational Testing Servic es.
* In Hawaii, where distance and water separate the various islands, a
TIIAP sponsored project has made keeping track of juvenile offenders a
lot easier. A Juvenile Justice Information System (JIIS) connects law
enforcement agencies on the islands in order to share information about
juvenile offenders who cross jurisdictions.
All of these activities, funded by TIIAP, would not have been eligible
for the Universal Service Fund. Furthermore, proposed language would
limit the access of school children to essential social services as well
as prohibiting adult access to government information, job retraining,
and other online services through their public libraries.
In a time of significant budget cutting, TIIAP provides the seeds to
help forge partnerships with the private sector to ensure that
telecommunications technologies live up to their potential to enhance
community services, health care, civic participation, and much more.
The TIIAP is a modestly funded program that contributes significantly to
the development of a national information infrastructure, accessible to
all Americans.
We urge you to support an amendment that will appropriate critical
funding for the TIIAP program for fiscal year 1999.
Sincerely,
Jason Boehlert
Legislative Representative
National Association of Development Organizations
444 North Capitol St., NW, Suite 630
(202) 624-7806
FAX (202) 624-8813
http://www.nado.org/
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