Lewis County Family Resource Network

“The Alliance” Community Technology Grant Final Report – Feb. 28, 2009

The public has access to service information and opportunities and will use the Resource Guide and Family Resource Network upcoming events website. The number of individuals using the resource guide or the number of print downloads on the website can be built into the site with a counter.

Agencies and Organizations will have easier access to making corrections or addition to the guide. A Response and Suggestion button (link) will be implemented on the resource guide website to offer input from anyone who uses the web document.

Has the grant made a difference in the quality of services or effectiveness? Yes

If so, in what ways? If not, what obstacles limited your work?

Agencies have been given the web address and many local agencies have reported use of the resource guide in particular and a general admiration for the readability of and the functions provided by the website. No identifiable website direct email have been received at the time of this report, but all the agencies have our permanent email addresses which they are using on a regular basis. A few corrections and suggestions have come in from our regular FRN members and those recommendations or corrections have been addressed on the website by the trained staff.

What impact did the grant have on the population served?

Clear and accurate information on services, events and activities in Lewis County is now easy to find. Not only is a frequently updated source available on the Lewis County Family Resource Network website, but another eleven (11) links to Lewis County websites for services, public events, workshops, and community service opportunities.

During the course of the project, did anything happen that was different from what you expected?

We had some problems getting a computer program in a timely fashion which slowed down our progress. Since we had an opportunity to purchase the program from a donation site for a significantly reduced price, we chose to delay completion of the project and wait three months for the program. It did not severely delay the final website since the developer was not affected by this choice.

How will the lessons you learned change your future thinking, performance or services?

The importance of partnerships has been a key lesson for many of out linking agencies. With so many sites working together on information sharing, it will be easier to schedule events without fear of overlapping other Lewis County events or state events of local interest. This is a change of attitude, as well. We are experiencing a shift from “us and them” to “we” from some agencies who have not previously had a partnering attitude.

Limit your total narrative grant report to no more than two pages. Provide a three column financial report that represents the project budget expenses (this should be taken from your grant proposal), the actual expenses, and the difference between the two.

Cash Expenditure Narrative	Projected Amount	Actual Expenditure	Difference
1.Website development and hosting of site for one year by Level 3 Solutions, LLC, POB 1210, Buckhannon, WV 26201	4324.00*	4324.00*	0*
2. Adobe Acrobat 8 Standard for two computers	550.00*	102.00*	448.00*
3. Installation/Configuration of software (Adobe Acrobat 8 and Content Management Software)	300.00*	300.00*	0*
3. Training of staff on software (Acrobat Training 150.00, Content Management Training 600.00 and Web-site “Best Practices” 150.00) for website updating	900.00*	900.00*	0*
Total Expenditure	6074.00*	5626.00*	448.00*

*Savings on software expense was significant by purchasing the programs through the TechSoup Program made available due to non-profit 501(c)3 status of Lewis County Family Resource Network.

Tell us a how this project addressed the problem identified by your organization or group and how the technology was implemented to resolve the problem in a news release format. (This will actually be sent to local, regional, and state media). Limited to two or three paragraphs.

The collection of information is one of the on-going commitments the Lewis County Family Resource Network (FRN) has made to Lewis County residents; however, we have a limited budget for publishing, which limits our ability to share information with the public. After discussions regarding the problem, the FRN identified an internet strategy to address the need for accurate service and event information in Lewis County. The most cost effective format for a living document such as the Lewis County Family Resource Network Resource Guide is an internet accessible data base which can also be printed on demand.

Since the FRN did not have a website, it was necessary to develop one and have it hosted for a year. In addition, the website developer downloaded the website software program and maintenance tools to the FRN office computers and trained the FRN staff to make adjustments and additions as needed. This will reduce the costs of professional computer consultation to only major problems in the future. This project will be supported and maintained by Lewis County Family Resource Network in future years as part of its regular budget. With the successful completion of the project we currently have eleven (11) other Lewis County websites linked to this site. This has already had the added benefit of increasing the amount of collaboration and cooperation between agencies, since information is easily accessible.

This use of internet technology will: 1) save on printing costs; 2) extend the reach of our resource guide to a greater number of people; and 3) help the public to learn and use technology to their benefit. We have committed to extend this knowledge and habit into other areas by collaborating with other community technology grants in Lewis County. We will house several of the community public access computers, which the City of Weston is sponsoring through the help of another CTC grant. For with every click on this website and/or download to print all or part of the information contained within, a person has demonstrated the benefit of technology.

Jacqueline Weeks, Project Manager

Lewis County Family Resource Network

145 High Street, Weston WV 26452