County of Orange receives seven awards for creative and cost-effective programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 23, 2010
Contact: Brooke De Baca, (714) 834-6203, Brooke.DeBaca@ocgov.com

CSAC Presents Challenge and Merit Awards to Orange County

(Santa Ana, CA) – The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) today presented seven awards for creative and cost-effective programs to the County of Orange as part of CSAC’s annual Challenge Award competition. This year the County claimed the competition’s highest distinction with the 2010 Innovation Award presented to the District Attorney’s Office for the Trial Attorney Partnership program.

“I’m pleased that our County departments are being recognized for their outstanding efforts,” said Janet Nguyen, Chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. “Through the commitment and creative spirit of County employees, these innovative and resourceful programs have been developed during difficult budget times to meet the needs of Orange County residents.”

• Innovation and Challenge Award – (District Attorney’s Office) The Trial Attorney Partnership trains and deputizes experienced civil attorneys to prosecute misdemeanor cases while volunteering for the District Attorney’s Office.
• Challenge Award – (Clerk-Recorder’s Office) Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego Counties have successfully collaborated to allow authorized statewide and national submitters to record documents electronically in multiple counties through a single web portal.
• Merit Award – (Registrar of Voters) The Corporate Sponsorship Program promotes the civic involvement of partnering businesses that provide poll workers and polling places in Orange County’s elections.
• Merit Award – (Health Care Agency) The Orange County Health Care Agency set out to create a virtually integrated delivery system that improves quality of care and reduces costs to the healthcare safety net.
• Merit Award – (OC Waste & Recycling) Orange County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Centers and Material Exchange Programs provide an environmentally and economically practical solution to household hazardous waste management.
• Merit Award – (District Attorney’s Office) The Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention program is a community-wide collaboration to prevent gang crimes at targeted schools and surrounding neighborhoods through education, community-building and intervention/suppression efforts.
• Merit Award – (OC Community Resources) Families Literacy Partnerships provides resources and programs to assist adult learners to become learning partners with their children ages five or younger.
• The winning programs were selected out of hundreds of entries throughout the state based on their innovative and resourceful solution to a problem, as well as the ability to be replicated and the use of cost-effective practices.

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