The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has approved Digital Equity Capacity Grants for Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
Kansas will receive more than $8 million to establish a long-term affordability program and collaborate with partners to create an online digital equity map and dashboard. Kentucky will receive more than $12 million to fund digital navigator programs and to establish a pipeline for affordable and refurbished devices. Mississippi will receive more than $10.7 million to support partnerships with public entities to provide skills training through intragovernmental agencies. New Jersey will receive approximately $18 million to offer a tool for measuring skills and progress in learning digital literacy.
North Carolina will receive more than $22 million to support efforts to identify and adopt digital skills standards, including cybersecurity, digital privacy, and digital health literacy, and to increase the supply of new and refurbished free or low-cost connected devices. Pennsylvania will receive approximately $25 million to: (1) perform data analytics; (2) maintain asset inventory; and (3) develop a public-facing dashboard.
Rhode Island will receive more than $4.5 million to explore new family-sustaining career opportunities for residents in need to deliver digital inclusion services. Virginia will receive more than $18 million to establish a state-wide online resource hub of local and regional digital access resources.
