You're out of a job, or you want a new job. The usual process is to buy enough newspapers to stock the local recycling center; pursue informal contacts; kill a few trees by mailing out resumes; maybe even consult your local Labor Department office, if only to make sure you can collect unemployment or access other public services.

But in Indiana, it all comes together in one place. The state's Department of Workforce Development, led by Commissioner Craig Hartzer, has 31 full-time centers where you can log onto a computer (with help if you need it), list your personal characteristics, needs and skills, and immediately find out (1) which employers in your area might need your services; (2) what public benefits you might qualify for, from unemployment insurance to skills training; and (3) where you can get more help. They call it CS3--the Customer Self-Service System.

This is a classic "one-stop job center," a long-time goal of New Democrats, and one that Congress and the Administration have heartily endorsed. But Indiana has taken one-stops to a new level by making its services and information available electronically in a "self-service" environment linked to genuinely fresh job leads, and enabling the citizen to identify his or her needs by skill-set, not by job-title. CS3 recently received an "Innovation in State Government" award from the National Association of Counties.

To keep the job leads fresh, Indiana already makes it possible for employers to submit information via its web page. By the end of the year, any citizen will be able to access the whole system--the job-matching service, the information on state services, the capability to file applications for assistance--from any computer with Internet access, for free. That means Hoosiers can, if they wish, log onto a home or work computer and enter into an interactive dialogue with potential employers, state or private job placement service providers, and their state government, about their employment futures.

This initiative reflects a whole host of New Democrat policy objectives: empowering citizens with information; using technology to bring public services close to the "customer;" creating public-private partnerships for the public benefit; promoting life-long skills learning; matching skills with opportunities on an ongoing basis; and crafting a seamless "employment system" for everyone, whether they are a former welfare recipient, a displaced worker, or simply someone wanting more opportunity.

CS3 is one of Gov. Frank O'Bannon's top priorities, and will well equip Indiana to succeed in implementing the federal Workforce Investment Act, which gives states the power to design not only one-stop employment centers, but a system to empower workers with full array of public and private job services.

Any state can do this, and every state should. It extends to all citizens the sort of user-friendly, skills-specific, cutting-edge job matching technology that several private-sector companies already offer to a more limited audience. Anything less is second-class service.