Make FirstGov.gov Your First Stop

By: Gabriel Goldberg | Source: AARP.org | June 9, 2006

FirstGov.gov is a Web site maintained by the Federal government that will help you find government information that you know is out there (somewhere!) but you just don't know where to find it or how to even begin a search for it.

The site's opening page lets you quickly drill for information from specific Federal, state, local, or tribal government agencies. You can access material by topics such as benefits and grants, consumer guides, health and nutrition, and money and taxes. And quick links take you to resources for specific audiences including Kids, Parents, and Seniors.

Clicking the link for Seniors, or going directly to Seniors.gov, brings you to a cross-agency portal, which is simply a means of making senior-related information from multiple government agencies easily available from this one Web page. So you can find what you need without caring where it's stored or how to find it.

Or, you can describe what you're seeking in the text-entry field titled "Search Government Web Sites." Entering terms such as "identity theft" and "social security" returns lists of relevant documents. You can also navigate by topic, finding Consumer Fraud Against the Elderly listed under Consumer Protection and Social Security under Retirement and Money.

Since searching differs between Web sites, it's worth clicking Search Tips for advice on entering search terms. And clicking Advanced Search lets you easily specify search details, including your preferred language and which government sites to search (Federal, Federal and states, Federal only, all states, or specific state). Additionally, every page links to a searchable Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) List with more than 2000 entries. Entering common terms like "fraud," "retirement," and "prescriptions" can zero in on what you need to know without wading through long lists of search results.

Featured Sites highlight important resources and include information on requesting special-event White House greetings, seniors health issues, and Medicare prescription drug coverage. Links to Older American Facts and Profile of Older Americans illustrate that a "senior boom" is ahead of the more-famous Baby Boom. There were 36.3 million people 65 and older in the United States on July 1, 2004, which is 12 percent of the population. Between 2003 and 2004, this age group increased by 351,000 people. This seniors group is projected to be 86.7 million in the year 2050, or 21 percent of the population.

Online Services include an eldercare locator, a retirement calculator for Federal employees, Medicare card replacement, and one-stop guide to vital records (address changes, documents for birth, marriage, death, etc.). Hospital Compare provides an easy-to-use interactive search and query tool for evaluating hospitals individually or grouped by city, county, or state. Hospitals can be compared to state and national averages as well as to top hospital results. You can examine data for several conditions and their related procedures. Best of all, each comparison includes a specific and clear "Why is this important?" explanation, allowing one to quiz their doctor before undergoing a treatment.

Clicking Receive FirstGov for Seniors Updates by e-mail subscribes you to a newsletter about the Web site. You can receive just Seniors updates or add other information areas to your subscription. And you can specify how often you want information sent, ranging from immediately as it's available to monthly collections of everything new.

FirstGov.gov describes itself as "the catalyst for a growing electronic government," making official resources and information available to the growing online community and eliminating geographic obstacles to citizen services. Their work eliminates the traditional boundaries of government, connecting the world to all U.S. government information and services.

AARP does not recommend or endorse any of these products or web sites. Please be advised that there are other similar products and web sites available which were not reviewed and are not listed here.

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