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SAN JUAN COUNTY RECEIVES FOUR NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Click image to see larger view. NACo recognizes that County governments across the country, working alone and in cooperation with other governments at the municipal, state and national levels, develop innovative and successful programs in a wide range of service areas, including arts and historic preservation, children and youth, community and economic development, corrections, county administration, emergency management, environmental protection, health, human services, libraries, parks and recreation, transportation, volunteers and much more. Through its Achievement Awards NACo selects county programs which represent innovative and creative solutions to the problems local governments face.

Click image to see larger view. Jacqueline Byers, Director of Research, said, “I continue to be amazed at the innovation and efficiency that counties have developed to address the new issues and problems they are facing. The 2006 programs did an especially good job of doing more with less. From using technology for enhanced management and service delivery to engaging citizens as an untapped resource, our achievement award winners have reaffirmed how county governments address problems with smart, creative solutions!”

Click image to see larger view. Since the program’s inception, NACo has honored hundreds of county government initiatives that have generated professional well trained workforces, maintained cost effective measures, and enhanced services to diverse populations to improve the overall quality of life. In addition, the award winning programs have provided NACo and its members with an extensive database of successful model county programs.

Awards are given in more than 20 categories, ranging from arts and historic preservation to volunteerism. All counties and state associations of counties are eligible to apply. This year’s winners represent 27 states and 95 counties.

This year San Juan County received four Achievement Awards. “Only three awards have been given out to New Mexico counties since 1991,” explained Ervin Chavez, San Juan County Commissioner. “To receive four in one year is definitely a great achievement.”

San Juan County’s award winning programs were: Innovative Jail Design Creates Efficiency While Saving Taxpayer Dollars (SJC Corrections Department), Juvenile Services Center: A One Stop Multi-Disciplinary Facility (SJC Juvenile Services), Strategic Planning : ‘Developing a Cutting Edge County’ (County Executive Office) and Collaborative Consolidation Boasts Efficient 911 Service (SJC Communications Authority).

“We are extremely proud to have received these awards,” said Jim Henderson, SJC Commissioner. “The commission and County staff are dedicated to the citizens of this county, and will continue to develop programs such as these. We will also continue our efforts to promote and raise public awareness about San Juan County, encourage citizen involvement in government and create legacies for the future.”

When asked about the award for the SJC Communications Authority Director Daryl Branson had this to say: “I and the great people I work with know that SJCCA is an exceptional communications center and a valuable addition to the County. It’s nice to have recognition of that from the National Association of Counties.”

“I would like to congratulate the departments involved and to also extend my thanks to all the employees of San Juan County,” said Keith Johns, County Executive Officer. “These awards are not the result of one individual department. The departments of this county all rely on the assistance of others. Without everyone working together, we could not accomplish all that we do.

Overview of San Juan County’s Award Winning Programs:

* Jail Design Creates Efficiency While Saving Taxpayer Dollars (SJC Corrections Department)
San Juan County is proud of its new state-of-the-art Adult Detention Facility. As one of the first counties to incorporate a design/build concept, we used technology based programs that include video arraignment, video visitation, directional management surveillance, inmate barcode scanners, guard tour and key watcher systems. Technology based management improves security and enhances efficiency by reducing inmate movement.

Furthermore, this unique combination affords operational efficiency, increased safety; maximize security and in time we believe the design will systematically reduce environmental fatigue while providing increase operational accountability.
    		• THE COST OF THE PROGRAM
    Cost of completed facility: $24,000,000 - ($22,988 per bed)
    Size: 194,000 square feet
    Bed spaces: 1044
    Construction time: 24 months (groundbreaking to grand opening)
    In summary, the combination of these management efforts to reduce overall project cost while improving operational efficiency is a significant achievement for the taxpayers of San Juan County.
    * Juvenile Services Center: A One Stop Multi-Disciplinary Facility (SJC Juvenile Services)
    The Juvenile Services Center is a multi-faceted facility serving all levels of care for adolescents and their families in San Juan County and in some cases for the Navajo Nation.

    Levels of care range from an assessment center for prevention and intervention, emergency shelter care, intensive outpatient care, residential treatment, probation supervision, functional family therapy, alternative sanction programs, judicial services, and drug court programs, to secure detention.

    The Juvenile Services Center is a “one-stop” complex providing a more effective and efficient method to identify and intervene with juveniles at-risk and prevention for juveniles from becoming tomorrow’s serious and violent offenders.

    The primary function of the Center is to facilitate collaboration and communication among all governmental and non-profit agencies working directly with an adolescent population. By providing this service, we have reduced duplication of services, promoted system efficiency, facilitated access to services for youth and families with the goal of a successful outcome.

    The Juvenile Services Center was a vision of county officials that began in 1996 and became a reality in 2004. The vision was new and innovative to San Juan County residents, as nothing of this magnitude existed. Not only has the Juvenile Services Center filled gaps in the system, we have enhanced our system and provided a multi-disciplinary level of services to protect and guide our community, including responding effectively to juvenile delinquency.

    The Juvenile Services Center provides new ways of organizing and focusing our resources of the juvenile justice system, by responding to the needs of troubled youth and their families, rehabilitating the juvenile offender, and protecting both the juvenile and the public.
    * Strategic Planning : ‘Developing a Cutting Edge County’ (County Executive Office)
    San Juan County’s strategic plan brought about a sense of realization as to what was needed and what was working. As a result it became a motivational tool to be used in re-thinking and reframing for change.

    Because of the implementation of the strategic plan it was evident that there was a need for re-organization, in-depth evaluation for efficiency processes and best practices, fiscal observation, and long range planning. The plan also served as great tool for team building, implementing new processes and ideas, strengthening communication lines and comprehension of the overall operation for all stakeholders.

    The strategic plan created an awareness and comprehension for the need for change. The County Commission and the management team are pleased with the hard work that the employees put forth in moving forward in becoming a “cutting edge” organization. As a result of this process, these employees should be recognized as a group working to “Build a Stronger Community” and bettering the quality of life for the citizens it serves. Furthermore, because of the plan, it has created outside the box thinking that brought vision and creativity to a reality. The plan initiated a series of changes and sustained qualitative fundamentals in operating a 21st century county government.

    * Collaborative Consolidation Boasts Efficient 911 Service (SJC Communications Authority)
    The San Juan County Communications Authority represents the result of innovation and dedication on the part of a number of individuals who saw a need for greater cooperation between the County and its municipalities. From that starting point, SJCCA has grown to include the State Police and local offices of federal agencies to make it the most consolidated center in New Mexico, and possibly in the Southwest.

    SJCCA continues to strive for greater and greater integration of new technology and new standards that make it a premier 911 center that provides its citizens with the most professionally advanced 911 and dispatching services available. SJCCA’s innovative funding source allows the agency to provide this without draining the resources of its member entities, while still allowing the county and other member agencies to maintain oversight and directional control of the agency.

    We believe that SJCCA represents a model that could be utilized to the advantage of many communities and counties across the nation.



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