January Awards

HCD Receives Nan McKay Pioneer Award

The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) was honored with a Nan McKay Pioneer Award last month for its TourSolver software program. Nan McKay & Associates, Inc. is an industry leader in training and consulting for housing agencies throughout the U.S. HCD was one of only three housing agencies honored. The department will be receiving a trophy and is now featured on the Nan McKay website.   

TourSolver allows the department to optimize inspector travel routes and saves approximately $30,000 in scheduling time annually. TourSolver was an important component in the department’s inspection reengineering project.

December Awards

HCD Designated High Performer Status

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Nov. 22 awarded the County’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) High Performer status, a designation given to housing authorities who have met stringent performance measures. The High Performer status allows HCD to be considered for a higher funding level for 2012, specifically for development, financing and modernization of public housing. HCD owns and operates four public housing sites, all located within the city of Chula Vista.

TOBY Award - James R. Mills Building (Trolley Towers)

The James R. Mills Building was awarded The Building of the Year (TOBY) for 2011 for the government category by the Building Owners and Managers Association. The County and MTS occupy the building, which also serves as a main transit hub. The award recognizes excellence in building operations, property management, energy and water cost saving upgrades. Utility usage is expected to be reduced by 15 percent. The award is the most comprehensive and prominent award in the local real estate industry. 

Local Heroes Test Their Culinary Skills at San Diego County Library

The Viejas, Imperial Beach, and Alpine Fire Stations took part in two culinary battles at San Diego County Library in November. The first battle took place at the Imperial Beach Branch November 16 as the crews competed in a chili cook-off.  Sixty-nine customers tasted the results and voted for their favorite chili, with the blue ribbon going to the Viejas Fire Station crew. On November 22, the crews visited the Alpine Library for an “Iron Chef” type competition. The mystery ingredient was peanut butter and customers watched the crews create their dishes on site. The Viejas Fire Station won first place again making them the Firehouse Cook-Off Champions. While the cooking contests were fun they also allowed the fire crews to tell the community what they do on the job. Plans are in the works for another cook-off next year.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY

Edgemoor Sweeps Honors from State Association

Demonstrating leadership and quality service, Edgemoor staff members received a number of appointments and awards from the California Association of Health Facilities (CAHF). CAHF provides leadership, advocacy and education for health-care professionals, working to ensure patient placement at the most appropriate and cost-effective level, while promoting excellence and integrity.

On November 15, Nancy Beecham, director of nursing, was elected to be the CAHF Not for Profit Conference Chair for the next two years. She is the first registered nurse to be elected to the CAHF Board, outside of the Nurse Council Chair position. Hernandez Johnson, executive housekeeper, was selected as one of CAHF’s facility superstars for 2011. He was one of only twenty individuals selected from 1,200 facilities to receive this award that recognizes employees who have ten or more years of service and have dedicated their lives to long-term care. And Merlyn Trinidad, nurse supervisor, was nominated to be CAHF’s Nurse of the Year for her professional dedication to the field.

Additionally, Edgemoor’s No-Calorie Flavored Water for Hydration and Med Pass project was nominated for CAHF’s Excellence in Programming Award. This award recognizes individual facilities for superior achievement in key areas of long-term care, such as activity programs, community involvement, family involvement, quality assurance, resident councils, special services and staff development.  

HHSA Programs Recognized by The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)

The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) Raising the Locals’ Voice project highlighted three County health initiatives among the top 15 projects nationwide. These three Health and Human Services Agency efforts are the Nutrition Security Plan, the Bridges to Employment in the Healthcare Industry and the North County Video Interviewing Project. 

The Nutrition Security Plan was highlighted as a creative way to advance nutrition and health through CalFresh (Food Stamps program) involving multiple strategies and partners that altogether contributed to more than 50,000 new participants. Recognized as a unique collaboration to train welfare recipients and low-income adults for health-related professions, the Bridges to Employment in the Healthcare Industry project was highlighted because it enhances the prospects for this population to find better and stable employment. Finally, the North County Video Interviewing Project was featured as a unique way to bring local services to isolated, rural populations by determining eligibility and providing referrals through video interviews conducted at community sites.  These HHSA initiatives will be among those shared at APHSA sponsored summits and in policy documents for years to come.   

LAND USE AND ENVIRONMENT GROUP

Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) Accreditation

On November 2 the Department of Parks and Recreation became the first county parks system in California to receive CAPRA accreditation from the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA). The department worked for 18 months to put together a detailed and comprehensive plan to answer the 144 standards set forth in the accreditation guidelines. Parks and Recreation received the NRPA Accreditation Boards approval with a perfect score, meeting all 144 standards.

PUBLIC SAFETY GROUP

District Attorney’s Office Honored for Workplace Excellence

The San Diego Society for Human Resource Management honored the District Attorney’s Office with an excellence award for the fourth year in a row. The office earned the award for innovative planning that allowed the office to reduce its workforce by ten percent while maintaining quality of service to the public. The honors were announced at a ceremony Nov. 9.

PSG and HHSA join Supervisor Cox at CSAC presentation on 211

The County’s success in using 211 San Diego – a free, 24-hour information hotline and database – was highlighted during a presentation at the California State Association of Counties conference in San Francisco Nov. 29. The presentation was given by Supervisor Greg Cox, 211 Chief Executive Officer John Ohanian, Public Safety Group DCAO Ron Lane and Health and Human Services Agency Director Nick Macchione. They gave details about how the County works with 211 to connect residents to much-needed services and assistance, such as the CalFresh program. 211 is also critical during emergencies, providing a resource for the public to get up-to-date disaster and recovery information.

November Awards

Fallbrook Library Wins People Choice Award

The new Fallbrook Library is the proud winner of the People’s Choice Orchid from the San Diego Architectural Foundation. Chairman Bill Horn accepted the award at the annual Orchids and Onions ceremony October 27. The presentation highlighted this year’s good (and bad) building designs.

A judges’ panel picks most of the Orchids and Onions, but online voting determines the “People’s Choice” award. After receiving multiple nominations, Fallbrook Library received the most votes. The 19,000-square-foot-building achieved LEED Silver Certification for sustainable design. A 3,500-square-foot area of the roof is landscaped with succulents. The library also features natural lighting, a “living room” area with fireplace, a Poets Patio, community room, a large and colorful children’s area, a homework center, and a teen room. The construction of the Fallbrook Library involved the design-build team of C.W. Driver – General Contractor; Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects – Architect of Record; and Manuel Oncina – Design Architect.

The People’s Choice Orchid Award is one of five awards that the Fallbrook Library has received to date. The other awards include the 2010 Civic Project from the American Concrete Institute; an Excellence Award in the civic project category from the Design-Build Institute of America; the Unique Project Award from the Association of General Contractors; and the Excellence Award from the Association of Builders and Contractors.  

Hazard Way Buildings Receive LEED Certification

The newly renovated Hazard Way Buildings, which are part of the County Operations Center campus, received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification under the USGBC Green Building Rating System. Several building features contributed to the certification, including high-energy efficiency, low-water usage both inside and for landscaping, superior indoor air quality, environmentally friendly building materials and recycling of demolition materials.

DGS Receives Qualifications-Based Selection Award

The Department of General Services recently received a 2011 Qualifications-Based Selection Merit Award by the American Council of Engineering Companies and National Society of Professional Engineers. This national award recognizes those who use qualifications-based methods to procure the services of consulting engineers at the state and local level.

Housing Authority Earns High Performer Status

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designated the County’s Department of Housing and Community Development, serving as the Housing Authority of the County of San Diego, as a High Performer for Fiscal Year 2010-11. The High Performer designation is the result of the Housing Authority receiving an overall rating of 103 percent out of 100 percent (including bonus points) for the annual Section 8 Management Assessment Program Certification.

The rating is a housing authority’s yearly report card. Housing authorities receive a rating based on 14 key performance indicators, such as the voucher utilization rate and quality control results. High Performer is the highest possible designation. This rating shows that the Housing Authority is administering the Section 8 Rental Assistance program at a level higher than HUD’s standards and provides the Department access to additional funding opportunities.

First 5 San Diego Campaign Wins Top Award

First 5 San Diego’s Oral Health campaign recently received the top Public Service Announcement (PSA) Award from the Public Relations Society of America. The honor recognized its efforts to promote good oral health care for pregnant women and children through the age of 5. Dental disease is the most prevalent childhood disease in the nation yet it is 100 percent preventable. Studies show that one-third (36.4 percent) of children age 5 and under in San Diego County have never visited a dentist. Good dental health is important for pregnant women too because bacteria from the mother’s tooth decay can affect the health of her unborn child. 

First 5 San Diego’s Oral Health PSAs, available in English and Spanish, highlight the importance of practicing good oral hygiene and regular dental check-ups for pregnant mothers, infants, toddlers and preschoolers and provides information on free dental checkups and referrals for young children and pregnant women. The PSAs are a component of First 5 San Diego’s Oral Health Campaign which ran from February to June 2011.

Chief Probation Officer Honored as Law Enforcement Official of the Year

The San Diego Crime Commission named Chief Probation Officer Mack Jenkins as Law Enforcement Official of the Year at a ceremony October 21. The award was presented by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Sheriff Bill Gore. Jenkins was honored for his work as the chairman of the Community Corrections Partnership. The group’s executive committee was tasked with a monumental challenge: creating a local plan for public safety realignment, which shifts thousands of offenders from state to county responsibility. In addition to his work on public safety realignment, Jenkins was honored for his contributions to public safety during his 33-year career, including the design and implementation of special supervision programs for domestic violence, sex and drug offenders. Probation Officer Bobby Burns was also honored as one of the commission’s 16 Blue Knight award recipients. Other County recipients included Sheriff’s Department Detective Anthony Calvert and District Attorney Investigator Gary Helson.

October Award Winners

Fallbrook Library to Receive Excellence in Construction Award

The San Diego Chapter of Associated Builders & Contractors announced October 4 that the Fallbrook Branch Library won an Award of Excellence in this year’s competition, and that the project is a finalist for top project by a general contractor. Those results and the Award of Excellence will be presented at an awards dinner November 17. The $10.3 million, 19,151-square-foot Fallbrook library opened in January and was a design-build project by the team of C.W.Driver, Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects, and Manuel Oncina Architects. The Fallbrook Library is also a finalist for San Diego Architectural Foundation’s People’s Choice Orchid Award.

Video – Fallbrook Library Grand Openingtion Awards Dinner

It’s Up to Us Campaign Wins Inspiration Media Award  

The It’s Up to Us campaign recently received the Inspiration Media Award from the National Association on Mental Illness San Diego   in recognition of the success of the first six months of the campaign. Data indicates that San Diegans are now more likely to socialize and work closely with someone who has a mental illness.

The social stigma that surrounds mental illness can prevent people from getting the help they need. However, Behavioral Health Services’ It’s Up to Us campaign is working to change that. The campaign reinforces the idea that mental health is just as important to quality of life as physical wellbeing, and also educates people about how to recognize symptoms of suicide and mental health challenges, use local resources, and seek help.

The campaign, which is funded by the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), features radio and TV commercials, billboards and other outdoor media as well as print ads and the website www.Up2SD.org. Mental Health Services Director Alfredo Aguirre and MHSA Coordinator Karen Ventimiglia accepted the award at an awards ceremony October 7.

Award for Innovation

On September 1, Brad Long of the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) was awarded the National 2011 Biowatch Award of Excellence in Field Operations and Environmental Sampling. Over the last few years he has been designing a system of “just in time training” that makes it possible to add additional field personnel to a sampling operation on short notice and has worked diligently to incorporate the military bases in the San Diego region into the Biowatch program. Biowatch gives us an early warning of a bioterrorism attack. It is a network of sensors that detects biological agents. Locally Biowatch is a collaborative effort among U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marine Corps, DEH and Health and Human Services Agency. 

Child Support Services Wins Two Statewide Awards

The County’s Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) was honored with two statewide awards last month. The department’s “Educating Non-Custodial Parents” video series was selected by the California State Association of Counties for a 2011 Merit Award. The videos were produced in-house by DCSS and posted on the department website in an effort to engage parents owing child support to participate in the process.

DCSS also earned the 2011 Program Awareness Award presented by the Child Support Directors Association of California at its annual conference. The honor was in recognition of the department’s new Spanish website, which mirrors the information and functionality of its English site. Since its debut last April, the DCSS Spanish website has had more than 1500 visits, ranking as the department’s eighth most accessed page.

September Award Winners

COMMUNITY SERVICES GROUP

Animal Services Volunteer Program Honored

The County’s Department of Animal Services received recognition in June from the University of California, San Diego Volunteer50 program. It also recognized Friends of County Animal Shelters and the Community Recovery Team (www.communityrecoveryteam.org). Each month Volunteer50 features local nonprofit partner agencies that relate to the month’s theme; June’s theme was Animal Welfare. The Volunteer50 committee receives nominations from students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. The committee chooses the final agencies based on their willingness to partner with Volunteer50, their capacity to handle large numbers of volunteers, and geographic diversity.   

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY 

Rural Video Interviewing Program Wins National Award

An innovative County program to help rural residents get Medi-Cal and CalFresh (formerly Food Stamps) has been nationally recognized with a Digital Government Achievement Award. The Video Interviewing program makes it easier for some 450,000 residents living in the rural North County and North Inland Regions to access needed County services. Previously, residents would have to travel up to 90 miles roundtrip to be evaluated for eligibility. The success of video interviewing is due to the Health and Human Services Agency’s partnership with multiple community-based organizations. The program has proven so successful; it has been rolled out to other Health and Human Services Agency regions and programs throughout the county. This program is an important step in implementing the County’s Live Well, San Diego! Initiative to better serve rural residents.