County Wins 24 NACo Awards for Outstanding Programs

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San Diego County senior citizen Alice Hill puts away fruits and vegetables delivered to her as part of HHSA's More on the Menu (MOM) program.What sort of programs win awards? How about these:

A responsible parent initiative to get non-custodial parents to pay child support, fresh produce delivery for homebound senior citizens, an English and Spanish new homeowners taxpayers guide, a design-build project development modification which reduces time, effort and cost for developers, and educational outreach on interactive science are among some of our 2013 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award winning programs.

The NACo Awards recognize innovative county government programs from throughout the country. In all, the County won 24 NACo Awards for our programs in various categories that aim to modernize county government and increase services to county residents. Winners were notified late last week. San Diego came in second place behind Los Angeles County, which won 25 awards.

The awards are given in 21 categories which include children and youth, civic education and public information, county administration and management, community economic development, emergency management and response, environmental protection and energy, financial management, risk management, health, libraries, and parks and recreation.

Award winning programs needed to demonstrate excellent results.

Child Support’s Responsible Parent Initiative was able to collect $140,000 from 107 non-custodial parents by working with community-based organizations and fatherhood networks.

HHSA’s More on the Menu program provides more than 250 low-income and homebound seniors with a weekly delivery of 7-10 fruits and vegetables to help them meet nutritional needs.

DEH’s educational outreach program engages more than 3,000 elementary, middle and high school students and shows them how science concepts relate to the job of an Environmental Health Specialist. The goal is to attract students with fun scientific demonstrations such as cryogenically freezing flowers and rubber toys. Awards also needed to demonstrate a public need.

The Tax-Treasurer’s New Homeowners Taxpayers Guide available in English and Spanish is distributed through realtors and explains how property tax bills are calculated and how it funds maintenance and improvements in our communities.

General Service’s Design-Build Project Development program was refined to lessen preparation time from 13 weeks to six weeks and reduce cost to developers. As a result, well-qualified firms will see the Design-Build projects as their first choice.

Other award winning programs are:

Public Safety Group

  • Establishing Local Assistance Centers (Office of Emergency Services)
  • San Diego Emergency Smart Phone Application (Office of Emergency Services)
  • Forensic Pathology Residency Training and Autopsy Orientation Program (Medical Examiner)
  • Graffiti Tracker (Board Offices/Sheriff)
  • Sheriff’s Analysis-Driven Law Enforcement (Sheriff)
  • JFAST: Juvenile Forensic Assistance for Stabilization and Treatment Program (Public Defender)
  • San Diego Clean Slate Expungement Clinic (Public Defender)
  • Child Support Customer E-Message (Child Support Services)
  • Responsible Parenting Initiative (Child Support Services)

Health & Human Services Agency

  • Neighborhoods for Kids – Bella Vista Community Engagement Project (East Region Child Welfare Services)
  • A Look at Poverty - Making a Difference Training (HHSA Human Resources)
  • HHSA Long-Term Leaves Program - Process and Tracking (HHSA Human Resources)
  • Lean Six Sigma Capacity Building Initiative (HHSA Human Resources)
  • ICARE: Integrated Physical Health Care Resources for Mental Health Clients (Behavioral Health Services)
  • School-Based Mental Health Worker Career Pathway Program (Behavioral Health Services)
  • Low Income Health Program Pay- For-Performance (Health Care Policy Administration)
  • More on the Menu (MOM) - Fresh Produce for Homebound Seniors (Aging & Independence Services)

Finance & General Government Group

  • New Homeowners Property Tax Guide - English/Spanish (Treasurer-Tax Collector)
  • San Diego Investment Pool Temporary Transfer Fund Program (Treasurer-Tax Collector)
  • Treasurer-Tax Collector Property Tax Checks Only Process (Treasurer-Tax Collector)
  • Mentor Partnership Program (Human Resources)

Community Services Group

  •  Design-Build Project Development (General Services)
  • 1st Grade @ the Library (Library)

Land Use & Environment Group

  • Putting the “WOW” factor into Educational Outreach (Department of Environmental Health)