Policy on the #NNK

The data sources series continues with 2-1-1 VIRGINIA .   2-1-1 VIRGINIA is the Commonwealth's resource and referral system for "human" services.   Users, who may call or use the online database, have access to "one of the largest databases of health and human services in Virginia."   The database contains information about a wide range of services and supports, from behavioral health prevention and intervention programs to housing to affordable pet care to services for people with disabilities. Online 2-1-1 VIRGINIA users can search by place (county, town, ZIP code) and by topic.   The results can be narrowed by your location, mapped, and several services compared. Users can save the results by printing or emailing.   Sorting is also possible on the phone. For policy wonks, 2-1-1 VIRGINIA is a wealth of information: It provides information about the services and supports available in a particular community. Related to this use of ...

As I wrote in part one, Data sources: yesvirginia.org , "Data is crucial to making public policy and budget decisions. But getting good, solid, up-to-date data is not always easy and is often time consuming." Today's data share is data.virginia.gov/ , the Commonwealth's open data portal operated under the auspices of the Secretary of Technology. According to the website, Open data is all non-sensitive, public information that is made freely available for public use in an easily readable format. Open data empowers the public to unlock the value of the data. Citizens can develop mobile applications and other tools to use the information in ways which can translate into economic opportunity. The Commonwealth is committed to continue to grow the number of open datasets on the website. Some examples of what you will find: State workforce and health insurance data Certified pesticide applicators Higher education facility locations December 1 Special Education Child ...

Interested in data about cancer? The American Cancer Society has it in their recently launched new data dashboard Cancer Statistics Center . While only available at the state level, the data is good and useful and there are various ways to parse it. Starting at the top of the page and moving down, you can sort data by state or cancer type or use the Analysis Tool. Since sorting by state and cancer type is a straightforward exercise, let's look at what the tool has to offer. Data is available in seven categories: Estimates, incidence, mortality, survival, probability of occurrence or dying, cancer screening, and cancer risk factors. Users can sort the data in various ways depending on the data set. In the Estimated deaths, 2017 data set, for example, you can sort by cancer type, state, sex, and age range. With the data set Trends in 5-year relative childhood and adolescent cancer survival, 1975-2012, you can only sort by cancer type and age range. The Analysis Tool also lets u...

Data is crucial to making public policy and budget decisions. But getting good, solid, up-to-date data is not always easy and is often time consuming. Over the next couple weeks, I'll be sharing data sources which can be used to inform public policy, budget, and practice (programming) decisions. yesvirginia.org is the home of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership created in 1995 by the General Assembly. It was established to help expand the Commonwealth's economy. More important to this topic, though, is the wealth of data points on the site. You can search community profiles by city or county, region, MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area), or by the entire state. In addition, you can choose how you get the data. Users are able to download reports in PDF, quick reports shown on the website with the data and no explanatory narrative, and the data in Excel. The website version allows you to sort by data type. Even more important than the data, however, is a document pro...

[ View the story "Summit: Broadband in the Northern Neck" on Storify ]