WEB SITE LINKS SOCIAL SERVICE NEEDS, PROGRAMS

TINA TRASTER, Staff Writer
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
10-16-1998
WEB SITE LINKS SOCIAL SERVICE NEEDS, PROGRAMS
By TINA TRASTER, Staff Writer
Date: 10-16-1998, Friday
Section: NEWS
Edition: All Editions -- 2 Star B, 2 Star P, 1 Star Early

Looking for child care or a job in Bergen County just got easier,
thanks to a new service available on the Internet.

Surf the Net to find the Bergen Online Web site
(www.bergenonline.org), which links 45 county social-service programs.

The site's sponsors -- Bergen County United Way, the county, and
Macromedia Inc. -- say this service is a one-stop virtual way to make the
search for help more efficient and faster.

"This service allows us, in a county that's difficult to get around
in -- to know what's out there, and identify resources," said Howard
Shapiro, Bergen County United Way's president and chief executive
officer, at a news conference Thursday called to launch the service.

After taking a test run to find affordable child-care services,
Shamina Womack of Hackensack said:

"It's hard to find services in the county, but just jumping on the
Internet makes it a lot easier."

Womack, a single mother of a 4-year-old son, said she doesn't own a
computer, but friends do.

Although 50 percent of Bergen County homes have Internet access,
people who need health and human services may not have computers, or may
not be on line.

Residents can access the new service by calling 1-888-340-UWAY or
can speak directly to a service representative.

Or, 24-hour Internet service is available at every library in
Bergen County, at each participating service agency, and in 64 school
districts.

Browsers on the Web site find services for business, child care,
crisis intervention, employment, health, legal, safety, senior services,
and more.

"This software doesn't require much talent or technical skill,"
said Shapiro, referring to the Web site created by KOZ, a North
Carolina-based software company.

The 18-month, $200,000 project brought together public agencies,
human services, and Macromedia Inc., The Record's parent company.

The service will be supported by sponsors and advertisers.

Bergen Online also can be accessed through The Record's North
Jersey Community site, www.njcommunity.com.

Referring to the force of technology, Macromedia's senior vice
president, Jon Markey, said, "We think we have found a way to take that
power and put it to good use."

Markey, who is also president of The Record, said bringing the
community together on line is the way "society might work in the 21st
century."

Keywords: INTERNET

Copyright 1998 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.