County Programs Win National Recognition

Featured are some of the County's award-winning programs.

The County of San Diego received 41 awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for innovative government programs.

“As a County, we are always striving to improve our services and address unmet needs, so it is heartening to have 41 programs recognized for those efforts with an Achievement Award,” said Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors. 

The winning programs are from various departments including County human resources, public safety, health and human services, parks and libraries. San Diego County programs received the second most awards in the state, trailing San Bernardino County by one award.

NACo selected 615 programs from among 116 counties and state associations in 29 states for its Achievement Award. The Best in Category was given to one award in each of the 18 categories.

A San Diego County program, Person-Centered Service Coaching, garnered a Best in Category award in the Personnel Management, Employment and Training category.

The program came from HHSA and helps staff understand how to approach customers with complex set of needs and circumstances. As part of that, intake workers can share information provided by customers with other departments or agencies, so, for example, victims of crimes such as domestic violence no longer need to repeat their stories every time they are referred to another department of agency.

This approach is being taught to supervising line staff who then train other employees with the goal to give people better outcomes for the services they receive from the County.

The complete list of winners are below:

  1. Defense Transition Unit (Office of the Public Defender)

  2. Know Your Hazards – A Public Map to Discover Regional Hazards by Location (Office of Emergency Services)

  3. Portable Charging Station Program (Office of Emergency Services)

  4. In Their Shoes (Child Support)

  5. Military and Veteran Liaison and Outreach (Child Support Services)

  6. Early Intervention Team (Child Support Services)

  7. San Diego County Regional Leadership Institute (District Attorney)

  8. Storytime Salon: An Afternoon of Music and Words (Library)

  9. Back to School Jam (Library)

  10. Kindergarten Gear Up (Library)

  11. Energy Leaders of the Future (General Services)

  12. How to Pay by E-check Video (Treasurer Tax Collector)

  13. Online Electronic Tax Sale Notification Program (Treasurer Tax Collector)

  14. Next Level Supervising (Human Resources)

  15. Diversity & Inclusion Training Series (Human Resources)

  16. Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors eLearning Course (Human Resources)

  17. Healthy Balance Program - Weight Management (Human Resources)

  18. Living Well with Diabetes Program (Human Resources)

  19. Streamlining the Administrative Analyst Recruitment Process (Human Resources)

  20. Employee Appreciation Day (Human Resources)

  21. Online Submittal of Gasoline Station Performance Test Reports (Air Pollution and Control District)

  22. iTrapp: A Mobile App for Protecting Agriculture (Agriculture, Weights and Measures)

  23. Online Structural Notice of Intent Program (Agriculture, Weights and Measures)

  24. California Environmental Reporting System Help Desk (Department of Environmental Health)

  25. Making Camps Safer Through Communication, Education and Preparedness (Department of Environmental Health)

  26. Gramping (Parks and Recreation)

  27. Using Technology So Everyone Can Find a Park (Parks and Recreation)

  28. Parcel Analysis Initial Research Tool (Planning & Development Services)

  29. Customer Experience Initiative (Land Use and Environment Group)

  30. Hepatitis A Field Assessment App (Land Use and Environment Group)

  31. Hepatitis A Housing Program: Preventing the Spread (Public Health Services)

  32. Utilizing Foot Teams: Reaching the Unreachable During a Hepatitis A Outbreak (Public Health Services)

  33. Vaccination Strategies: Engaging Hospital Emergency Departments as Vaccinators During a Hepatitis A Outbreak (Public Health Services)

  34. Summary Career Discovery Program for the Health and Human Services Agency (Health and Human Services Agency Human Resources)

  35. Onboarding for New Employees at the Health and Human Services Agency (Health and Human Services Agency Human Resources)

  36. Universal Workers (Eligibility Operations Administration)

  37. Cultural Responsiveness Academy (Child Welfare)

  38. Person-Centered Service Coaching Program (Health and Human Services Agency)

  39. ConnectWellSD (Health and Human Services Agency)

  40. Access & Access2Health Customer Service Call Center Launches a Job Share Pilot To Enhance Customer Service (Central Region)

  41. Access & Access2Health Customer Service Call Center Expands Use of Technology to Include a Telephonic Signature Process (Central Region)