States Using Federal Dollars to Expand Access to Digital Skills and Devices

Analysis of Digital Equity Act plans highlights efforts to equip and inform residents

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States Using Federal Dollars to Expand Access to Digital Skills and Devices
Brooks Kraft LLC Corbis via Getty Images

States are leveraging funds from the federal Digital Equity Act (DEA) to ensure every household has access to digital skills resources and affordable devices, which are essential for residents to fully experience the benefits of internet access. And people trained as digital navigators are helping to connect others to available resources. Statewide programs, boosted by federal dollars, can ensure these initiatives have the capacity to reach as many households as possible.

Congress enacted the DEA as part of the massive Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The legislation included $2.75 billion for digital equity initiatives, primarily through two programs: Digital Equity Planning Grants and Digital Equity Capacity Grants. All 50 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico created digital equity plans under the planning grant program. These plans will inform their applications for funding through the capacity grant program with these common goals: to promote “the achievement of digital equity, support digital inclusion activities, and build capacity for efforts by states relating to the adoption of broadband by residents of those states.”

The Pew Charitable Trusts reviewed all 52 digital equity plans to assess the range of goals and planned activities for the federal funding. This analysis looks at how states are addressing digital skills and device access in those goals.

Advancing digital skills

Increased broadband connectivity can bring many benefits, including access to employment, health care, and education. But consumers only experience those benefits if they know how to use the software and technology that provides it. Consider the process for accessing a homework portal or telehealth service. For individuals that are not digital natives, those systems can be intimidating and have the unintended consequence of discouraging use.

States are planning to address this problem by increasing the digital skills resources and training available to residents. Working with community organizations that either already offer digital skills programs or that have programs for covered populations can ensure that these resources reach the residents who need them most. Covered populations, such as low-income householders, people over 65, those in rural areas, and those with disabilities, are all identified in the DEA as most affected by the digital divide.

For example, Alaska plans to create statewide digital literacy programs; the state will partner with senior centers, libraries, and municipalities to raise awareness of free online training opportunities with a curriculum designed specifically for people over age 65. Arizona, meanwhile, plans to incorporate efforts to boost internet skills and knowledge into K-12 educational standards by creating a statewide Seal of Digital Literacy to recognize students who achieve high proficiency in these skills.

Some states are targeting specific skill areas. For example, Kansas plans to train people to provide “basic device support, guidance for online public services, information on navigating the internet, training for commonly used software, and more.” And most states intend to include cybersecurity and safety in digital skills resources and trainings.

Including training and device support in digital inclusion programs is important to ensure people have the digital skills to be able to participate. Technical support will be a key component of many states’ digital skills programs. At least 12 states and territories (Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, and Tennessee) plan to work with community anchor institutions, such as libraries, schools, and community centers, to offer on-site technical support and training. The District of Columbia, Georgia, and Minnesota are exploring plans to establish their own helplines for residents to get technical support or speak to digital navigators.

The role of digital navigators

Almost all states plan to use funds to increase the number of digital navigators who can reach residents through libraries, schools, senior centers, and other community organizations. This will include both full-time digital navigators and trainings to incorporate digital navigation assistance into other roles. In addition to assisting residents in learning digital skills and using new devices, they can help connect people to affordable broadband offers and subsidies, and support them in assessing the reliability of their internet connections. Notably, many states are employing a “train the trainer” model, whereby community members get digital skills training that they can use to equip their communities. These state plans reflect decades of research illustrating the importance of providing digital training that is culturally relevant, multilingual, and representative of the populations states are trying to reach.

Pennsylvania plans to implement a statewide digital navigator program and will “create a blueprint for digital navigation to serve as a standard for subgrantees seeking digital navigation program funding.” Programs meeting these requirements that are not applying for funding can apply to be designated as Digital Navigation Blueprint Compliant.

Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, North Carolina, and West Virginia plan to work with local high schools or universities to train students to offer digital skills trainings and technical assistance in their communities. States also plan to leverage people trained in other types of service delivery and community support to help connect residents to digital skills resources. For example, Colorado hopes to train community health workers or career navigators, and Iowa may offer a digital equity certification for community health workers. Michigan, meanwhile, plans to address mobility-related barriers by providing bus passes or gas cards as well as devices with assistive technology for individuals with disabilities.

For incarcerated populations, Vermont’s initiative calls for collaboration with the state’s Department of Corrections to launch a digital navigator program to help people improve their digital skills and increase their social connection and readiness to reintegrate into their communities upon release. New York will provide access to digital skills training and modern technology to individuals incarcerated in state prisons. And South Dakota is considering purchasing an offline curriculum for digital skills training to support digital literacy needs for people who are incarcerated.

Boosting access to devices

Almost all states are planning device donation and refurbishment programs to address the need for low- and no-cost internet-enabled devices. Among households with annual incomes below $30,000, 41% do not own a desktop or laptop computer. Some states are tying free or low-cost devices to completion of digital skills training or connecting recipients with ongoing technical support resources. These programs will require partnerships with the private sector, philanthropy, government agencies, and nonprofits for device donations. Among the examples:

  • Pennsylvania will implement a bulk purchasing model to get residents appropriate devices. The state will designate $20 million for device purchases through the Capital Projects Fund and will partner with industry for device refurbishing.
  • Utah will increase the availability of dependable devices by streamlining refurbishment and redistribution of state-owned devices for a second life with state residents.
  • West Virginia will create a sustainable program for device distribution, lending, and recycling, prioritizing outreach to covered populations and ensuring technical assistance is offered for each device.

Thirteen states are specifically prioritizing the availability of assistive technology and devices for individuals with disabilities, including Alaska, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Indiana plans to engage with schools for people who are deaf or blind to help people in those communities get access to nonstandard devices.

Continuing progress

States are building on existing resources and best practices to expand digital equity. These programs will be important to ensure that people have the skills and devices they need to use the internet. They also can serve as foundations for broader digital equity ecosystems nationwide.

Kelly Wert works on internet access in vulnerable communities for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ broadband access initiative.

 

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