Welfare Reform Experience Online
Warning: This is a long (110 pages) document. But, if you are interested in how welfare reform played out for families in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, Calif. then run, don’t walk, to www.sphereinstitute.org/pdf/AspeCCAFinal.pdf for a report from the SPHERE Institute entitled Assessing the Family Circumstances of TANF Applicants and Leavers [sic] in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. The PDF-formatted report deals with how three groups of families fared during welfare reform.

Inside Info … Sort of
You can access some of the same news sources media folks turn to at
www.NewsReleaseWire.com. The online service carries news releases from hundreds of organizations and government agencies. The site also is home to the “Daybook,” which lists events, news conferences, seminars and the like — mostly in Washington, D.C. — in an effort to attract media attention. At the very least, you’ll get an insider’s look at the daily struggle to attract the media’s attention by public relations practitioners across the country.

Learn more about Web security
A company claims that more than 765,000 Web sites worldwide use its Secure Server IDs to authenticate their sites and enable SSL encryption technology. That may very well be true, but what’s in it for you is their FREE guide, Securing Your Web Site for Business, that claims to tell you everything you need to know about encrypting your server transactions for serious online security … and what you will need for e-government transactions. To get a copy go to http://click.email-publisher.com/oaaaewRaaQFkSa9eTrsaaaafub.

And Speaking of E-governance: Dallas County, Texas Launches...

New Online Service
The Dallas County District Clerk’s office now offers citizens the ability to pay criminal court fines and fees online as well as over the counter via credit card.
The Dallas County site already offers Vehicle and Fleet Registration Renewals, online Property Tax payments, and a wealth of information about County Departments. Also coming soon: paying traffic tickets online. Dallas County Online can be found at www.dallascounty.org

(Web Watch is compiled by Beverly Schlotterbeck, executive editor. If you have Web news, please e-mail to cnews@naco.org.)