Helped more than 68,000 members of New Jersey’s LGBTQ+ community access critical information and services

To help transgender and non-binary New Jerseyans understand their rights and navigate a confusing system to access key services, the Office of Innovation worked with several State agencies and local advocacy organizations to launch the Transgender Information Hub. The hub features critical information from nearly a dozen agencies on the most commonly asked questions.

Challenge

For transgender and non-binary New Jerseyans, basic actions like updating a name or gender marker on official documents can be unexpectedly challenging and potentially traumatizing. Antiquated policies required individuals to get medical documentation and navigate a complex web of local, state, and federal requirements. The Governor and the Legislature passed new laws to remove these barriers and protect the privacy of transgender individuals, however outdated information continues to circulate online. Yet, without a central source of information, transgender and non-binary individuals still needed to sift through multiple state agencies and departments to obtain basic services.

Innovation In Action

To ensure the needs of transgender and non-binary New Jerseyans were met, OOI used a data-driven and user-centered approach by first conducting a user-needs survey to understand the most pressing needs and concerns. OOI partnered with advocacy and service-based organizations throughout the state to both amplify the survey, and gain insights. Additionally, numerous user-testing sessions further informed the site’s content and design. Rather than a static website, the Transgender Information Hub’s design, organization, and content continues to be updated based on user data and feedback to better serve residents.

Impact

• For the first time, transgender New Jerseyans have a government resource dedicated to simplifying critical services and no longer need to spend hours visiting multiple sites.
• As of August 2024, the Transgender Information Hub has been visited more than 68,000 times and connected these visitors to critical information and services.

Partners

• NJ State Attorney General’s Office, Division on Civil Rights
• NJ State Department of Children and Families
• Garden State Equality

What New Jerseyans See

Read More

See the latest at the Transgender Information Hub project page.