NCJ Number
215799
Date Published
2006
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This newsletter presents the results of a North Carolina survey to assess the current status of the automation and technology capabilities of domestic violence and sexual assault service providers.
Abstract
The findings suggest that staff training and troubleshooting issues should be of utmost importance in the development of a statewide automated system and that any such system should be low-cost. The findings indicated that 57.6 percent of responding agencies had electronic data collection systems. Results were mixed on how useful the systems were and how well the systems were liked by staff. Of the 42.4 percent of responding agencies that reported having no electronic data collection system, the main reasons for the absence were financial constraints followed by a lack of technological capacity. The number of personal computers and laptops per agency ranged from 2 to 105, with the typical agency having 10 computers. Most agencies (66.1 percent) reported that all of the computers in their agency had Internet access. In-house computer managers were reported in only 13.6 percent of agencies while almost half of the responding agencies reported calling in technical professionals to handle computer problems. On average, agencies spend around $946 annually on software, approximately $1,814 annually for computers and monitors, $196 annually for printers, and approximately $1,912 annually for Internet and network connectivity. The 35-item questionnaire was put on the Internet and a letter explaining about the questionnaire was mailed to every State-funded domestic violence and sexual assault service agency in North Carolina (92 agencies). The questionnaire asked about the agencies’ current computer systems and their attributes, as well as their current data collection processes, Internet connectivity capabilities, staff proficiency with the computer systems, and annual computer-related expenditures. A total of 59 questionnaires were completed on-line by 59 agency representatives. Figures