|
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, libr /aries, 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.
|
|
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!”
|
|
|
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
br /anson 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 (groundbr /eaking 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 br /ought 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 br /ought 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.
|
|