Suffolk County Wins Nine National Association of Counties Awards

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone is proud to announce that Suffolk County was the recipient of nine 2016 National Association of Counties Achievement (NACo) Awards in four separate categories, namely; County Administration and Management; Criminal Justice and Public Safety; Health; and Information Technology. The programs recognized for the nine awards are part of on-going initiatives developed by Suffolk County and collaborating agencies.

“It is an honor for Suffolk County to be recognized again by NACo for the incredible programs and initiatives that have been implemented to improve the lives of our residents,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “To be recognized by a national organization not just for our community programs but also for our innovative approach in better policing and communicating with our residents speaks volume to the continued dedication of every county employee and our partners.”

In New York State, Suffolk County received distinction for nine programs, while Westchester County received recognition for two and Livingston County received one. Additional details on the programs that Suffolk County received honors from the National Association of Counties are:

County Administration and Management:

Communication Strategy

Suffolk County is a diverse County with 1.2 million residents and nearly 9,100 of employees. A chief complaint that has hindered the success of many efforts has been the lack of communication both from the bottom up and the top down within County government. The need for effective communications, having been identified, resulted in four strategic, robust efforts: An idea management system, an educational monthly newsletter, a statistical metrics management system and a repository of improvement tools and training on an internal intranet site.

Creating an Environment of Continuous Improvement

Suffolk County continually seeks to improve the process and product of government decision-making. In 2015, Performance Management partnered with Stony Brook University to design and provide extensive training. The training was directed specifically to designated groupings of executives, project leaders and facilitators. Each played a direct role in fostering a culture of continual improvement whereby employees are equipped with the analytical tools and supportive culture of innovation and meaningful change.

Criminal Justice and Public Safety:

ChANGE Program

While ranked as one of the safest communities in the United States, is not immune to gang activity and youth violence. In an attempt to reach out to youth before they become involved in gang activity, Suffolk County’s Probation Department has developed a pilot program – Children All Need Good Experiences (ChANGE). The Program was developed in collaboration with S.T.R.O.N.G. Youth, Inc., a local not-for-profit gang prevention program, and two local school districts, to reduce the chances of gang involvement for elementary age children at risk of becoming involved in gang activities or who may already be involved in gang activities.

Criminal Justice Medication Assisted Treatment Initiative: Piloting the long-acting opioid antagonist, Vivitrol

In collaboration with the Suffolk County Executive’s Office, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Health Services developed and implemented a Vivitrol® program. The program identifies incarcerated individuals, and defendants who participate in court diversion pro-grams, who are in need of assistance with avoiding re-involvement with opioid use following release, providing them with education regarding treatment alternatives, and for patients expressing an interest, providing a referral for post-release treatment which includes on-going use of Vivitrol® as well as an ini-tial injection of Vivitrol® prior to their release..

Sheriff's Incarcerated Youth Initiative

The Sheriff’s Incarcerated Youth Initiative was launched in September 2011 to promote the successful transition of incarcerated youth, between the ages of 16 to 21, from jail to community life and to reduce recidivism among this group. Participants in the program are housed on a separate tier within the facility dedicated to this program and are monitored by the same group of correction officers. The program encourages effective and open communication among the youth and the officers assigned to the initiative, and the officers act in a mentoring capacity with the young inmates.

Health:

Real-time Arthropod-borne Pathogen Targeted Operational Reporting System (RAPTORS)

Suffolk County’s Arthropod-Borne Disease Laboratory (ABDL) conducts countywide arthropod-borne disease surveillance for West Nile Virus (WNV) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV). The surveillance program generates data that needs to be organized, analyzed and shared with several other Suffolk County offices. This information is necessary to evaluate the degree of human risk and to make decisions about mosquito control measures. The RAPTORS data management system can be utilized for new or emerging arthropod-borne pathogens such as Zika virus.

Information Technology:

PD Portal

The Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) has primary responsibility to provide police service to the five western towns in Suffolk County; this includes more than 571 square miles and a population of more than 1.35 million county residents. The new SCPD Portal is a feature-rich program that enhances the police users’ ability to access timely police-related intelligence. The SCPD Portal is a stand-alone program that accesses more than a dozen SCPD databases in order to produce information that is automatically analyzed for trends and patterns and reported in a table format as well as on Google maps.

Systematically measuring Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

In response to a strong desire to transform County government to a data-driven operation, where decision-making is framed by evidence-based best practice, the Performance Management team and the Department of Information Technology partnered to develop a STAT system that would house, track, organize and manage actual key performance data. The system targets and enables trend analyses, resulting in a better understanding of operations and with easy dashboard displays for management and Executives.

Task Force to Prevent Family Violence Agency Website

The Task Force to Prevent Family Violence, managed through the County Executive’s Office, took a strong stand in 2015 to arm families with resources to combat domestic violence and protect all family members impacted through the development of a state of the art website that provides information and support. The task force is a collaboration of all County agencies and the local nonprofit agencies in Suffolk County that work with victims and offenders.

About NACo:

The National Association of Counties (NACo) unites America’s 3,069 county governments. Founded in 1935, NACo brings county officials together to advocate with a collective voice on national policy, exchange ideas and build new leadership skills, pursue transformational county solutions, enrich the public’s understanding of county government, and exercise exemplary leadership in public service.

For more information on the awards, visit www.suffolkcountyny.gov or www.facebook.com/stevebellone.