"More and more Americans than ever are connected to the Internet. It is the fastest-growing method of human communication in all of history by far. But...there is a growing digital divide between those who have access to the digital economy and the Internet and those who don’t, and that divide exists along the lines of education, income, region and race.... The very information technology driving this new economy gives us the tools to ensure that no one gets left behind....
"Now, just imagine if not simply a fraction, but all of our young people entered the work force, had access to the Internet always, and had mastered the skills of the new information economy. So if we want to unlock the potential of our workers, we have to close that gap."
—President Bill Clinton, July 8, 1999
We are living through what is perhaps the greatest revolution in communication technology since the invention of the printing press and movable type over 500 years ago. In just a few years, this revolution has had major impacts on the nation’s economy. A recent U.S. Department of Commerce study found that between 1995 and 1998, while producers of computer and communications hardware, software, and services "accounted for only 8 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), they contributed on average 35 percent of the nation’s real economic growth." (1)
Of course, the role of computer technology and the communications revolution within the economy is hardly confined to the producers of hardware, software, and services: increasing numbers of jobs throughout virtually all sectors of the economy now involve information technology and computers.
"Today...a majority of jobs involve some familiarity with and use of computers," the authors of Running in Place, MASSCAP’s 1997 report on poverty in Massachusetts, pointed out. (2) In fact, the U.S. Commerce Department study cited above suggests that this trend will continue: "By 2006, almost half of the U.S. workforce will be employed by industries that are either major producers or intensive users of information technology products and services."
Yet as President Clinton observed in the above quote, participation in this technological and communications revolution and the economic bounty it has generated has not been universal among Americans. In fact, another recent U.S. Department of Commerce study found that the old familiar dividing lines of income, race, region, and education separate those who have benefited from those who have been left out. (3) (For more information on this report and a link to it, click here.)
"America’s digital divide is now becoming a racial ravine," Larry Irving, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Telecommunications, noted upon release of the study. "It is now one of America’s leading economic and civil rights issues and we have to take concrete steps to redress the gap between the information haves and have-nots."
Given the ongoing technological and communications revolution and its rapid, far-reaching effects on the economy, those who lack the knowledge and skills to perform the jobs that emerge seem destined to be left by the wayside on the so-called "information superhighway." "Poor skills are probably the most important driving force behind low wages at the bottom of the income ladder," the authors of the 1997 MASSCAP study note. In fact, in their recommendations they emphasize that "in particular, workforce retraining programs must find ways to teach sophisticated technical skills that many workers have to date not acquired...."
Yet lack of knowledge and skills is not the only major reason why many Americans now find themselves on the wrong side of the "digital divide." Lack of access to computer technology and to the Internet is another. Without access, it is virtually impossible to acquire IT knowledge and skills.
Historically, the mission of Massachusetts CAAs has focused on providing services, tools, and advocacy for low-income people in their respective areas to rise out of poverty and to attain self-sufficiency. The array of programs that exist at these agencies today all reflect this mission—each of them represents a component part of a larger strategy. Child care and early childhood education programs, for example, address several needs of low-income people in their efforts to attain self-sufficiency. Energy programs that include fuel assistance and home weatherization can serve both short and long-term needs of low-income families. Some agencies offer food and nutrition programs; some offer job training and readiness programs. Many offer housing programs. And some offer health care programs. The list could go on. All these services offer people with low-incomes the means to solve immediate problems in their lives or to address those that can be solved only over a longer time period.
So, how are Massachusetts CAAs now addressing the major issue described above: a communications and technological revolution that is rapidly changing the economy and jobs in America—a revolution in both technology and the economy that is leaving many behind who lack the access, education, and skills to participate?
Unfortunately, current efforts among CAAs in this realm are sparse. From our visits to Massachusetts CAAs, only a few reported that they were actively engaged in projects to widen access to computer technology and the Internet among low-income people in their respective areas. Several other CAAs said that they were thinking about the issue and how they might play a role.
Five agencies that have progressed from thinking to action in this area are ABCD, MOC, CAAS, HCAC, and FCAC.
ABCD now has community technology centers at its Dorchester Neighborhood Service Center and at other key sites in Boston. These centers offer access to computer technology and the Internet for people in nearby neighborhoods. They typically do it through programmatic activities and educational sessions provided by ABCD.
MOC has developed a different model of community access: it is establishing "cyber cafes" designed to attract young people from the communities of northern Worcester County. Very recently, MOC has joined with neighboring CAAs in western Massachusetts—HCAC and FCAC—to collaborate in obtaining funding for community technology centers in the rural areas these agencies serve. CAAS’ Head Start is making efforts to make computers accessible to the parents of children participating in the program. (See the report in the Appendices.)
Several other CAAs, based on our interviews, seem to want to find ways to increase access to IT and the Internet. The executive directors of a few agencies discussed this question, emphasizing that expanding and improving computer technology in the classrooms of their early childhood education programs was a goal for them. They underscored the importance of learning in the early years of life—and that such exposure to the new information technology eventually would prove beneficial to their youngest clients. Another CAA executive director suggested that CAAs need to build stronger connections with the public education systems in their communities to find ways that CAAs and the public schools can better work together to prepare both young people and adults to cross the "Digital Divide."
As CAAs pursue their missions of helping low-income people gain the services and tools that will enable them to escape poverty and attain self-sufficiency, they need to recognize that the technological revolution is rapidly transforming the American economy. These changes mean that increasingly, those who lack IT access, knowledge, and skills will be left out. As the most recent government study points out, this group disproportionately is made up of low-income people, people of color, and those who lack education. In short, their lack of access to the new technology and the skills to use it will likely thwart their efforts to become economically self-sufficient.
The causes of poverty in the U.S. and in Massachusetts are multiple and complex—as the 1997 MASSCAP report has documented—and the lack of access to information technology along with the lack of skills to use it is hardly the only factor. However, the issue now looms increasingly large as the economy undergoes a period of fundamental change. It is an issue that CAAs can ill afford to ignore if they expect to maintain their central role in the struggle to eliminate poverty.
An opening exists for CAAs to play a role in helping to close the "digital divide." While CAAs are not educational institutions per se, most do have educational programs. And while CAAs are not job training/skill development agencies per se, some do have such programs. A few CAAs with such programs are addressing the need for education and skill-building related to IT. Others should examine ways they can strengthen their efforts in these areas. However, as noted above, for those who lack access to computers and the Internet, IT education and skill-building are of dubious value.
Moreover, CAAs are ideally positioned to expand access to IT and the Internet among many who lack it: they serve thousands of low-income people daily at countless sites located within or near neighborhoods where low-income people live. Many of these sites would be ideal for community-based computing centers. Just as public libraries are becoming points of access to computers and the Internet, it also makes sense for CAAs to consider playing a similar role.
Obviously, to take on this role CAAs need resources. However, the "digital divide" now seems to be gaining traction as an issue in the media and with some influential groups. Already, some private and public funding is available, and if the issue continues to gain attention, there may be more of it for projects designed to widen access to technology. However, if CAAs are to play a role, they must take the initiative and become visible advocates identified with the issue.
It seems safe to assume that if the "digital divide" is to be closed, it will take a major effort on the part of such players as government, private industry, and the public education system, working together. However, community-based organizations and the nonprofit sector also will need to play a part. Massachusetts CAAs now work within various coalitions, networks, and other such groups in the communities they serve. The issue of increasing access to computer technology and the Internet lends itself to such collaboration. If CAAs take the initiative on this issue, they may find interested partners among groups with which they already work—and they may discover new allies in the public and private sectors as well.
Since "The War on Poverty" launched CAAs in the mid-1960s, these organizations have overcome many obstacles in pursuit of their missions and have had to adapt to changing times. Often CAAs have met these challenges with imagination, creativity, and resourcefulness. Now another major transformation is at hand: one that already has begun to produce far-reaching impacts on current and future clients of CAAs, and which eventually may have profound effects on CAAs themselves. CAAs need to resurrect the spirit of initiative and innovation that originally brought them into being. The times are changing—and CAAs need all the initiative and innovation they can muster to meet the formidable new challenges of "The Information Age."
1. MASSCAP should explore ways it can assist CAAs in efforts they may undertake in their areas to widen access to information technology and the Internet for low-income people. These could include creating electronic and other forums for exchanging ideas and information. They could also include pursuing public and private funding for these initiatives.
2. MASSCAP should collect information from the Massachusetts CAAs and other non-profit community-based organizations that have developed community computing centers and other such initiatives to widen access on the effectiveness of such efforts. They should them disseminate this information within its membership and/or to other CAAs outside the state.
3. MASSCAP should form stronger ties with other statewide groups working to close the "Digital Divide," and investigate possible joint ventures.
4. MASSCAP should see if any legislation or budget initiatives are planned by others that would move the Commonwealth to take new steps to widen access to IT and the Internet. If none are, then it should consider taking a leading role in developing such initiatives, and approach advocates, legislators, and other officials who might be potential allies in such a campaign.
1. CAAs should consider how they might be able to serve as sites for low-income people to access computers and the Internet. They may want to look at such models as ABCD’s community technology centers or MOC’s "cyber cafes." They should see if funding for such efforts is available locally.
2. CAAs should explore opportunities to work on the issue of widening access with other groups in their communities. These should include not only traditional partners such as other human services agencies, low-income advocacy groups, and neighborhood organizations, but also local governments, schools, libraries, religious groups, private businesses—including technology firms, local Internet service providers, and local chambers of commerce.
3. CAAs should examine their existing programs to determine if opportunities exist for more IT-related education and skills building. Obviously, many programs may not be appropriate, but others may. If CAAs do identify new possibilities, they should explore the feasibility of implementing such new initiatives with the funding agencies for such programs.