E-government access to social service information: State web resources for domestic violence survivors

This study provides the first nationwide analysis of states'e-government support for domestic violence (DV) survivors, identifying characteristics and patterns of domestic violence content and access to this content on all state government Web sites (50 states plus the District of Columbia). Using a systematic examination of click paths and site search results, DV content was located, examined, and codified in terms of information type (e.g., shelter access), accessibility (e.g., language), and type of authoring agency (e.g., law enforcement). General DV resources such as hotline/referral services were more prevalent than content related to specific needs such as child custody. States provide substantially more information on immediate emergency needs, which are actually met at the local level, than on intermediate or long-term support. Accessibility was hampered by both cognitive concerns (e.g., English-only sites) and affective concerns (e.g., a tone which focused on data transmission rather than on information use). Legal/law enforcement agencies rather than social service or medical agencies consistently provided the most information as well as the largest numbers of connections to other sites, both within and beyond the state government site.