Sonoma County Wins National Honors For Five Local Programs

This is amazing — the County of Sonoma has received 2011 Achievement Awards for five local programs, according to county spokesman Jim Leddy.

The awards were announced July 17 at the National Association of Counties Conference, Leddy said in a news release Monday.

"These programs were honored for being effective and innovative programs which deliver services to the community," Leddy said.

The awardees include: 

1. The Summer Youth Ecology Corps ( on this fabulous program aimed at getting local at-risk youths off the streets and in to a job).

2. The Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility Water Efficiency Project.

3. The Community Assessment, Prevention and Education Team.

4. Benefits California Welfare Information Network.

5. The Volunteer Driver Transportation Program.

“Sonoma County continually shows its innovation in delivering services," said Efren Carrillo, chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. "These awards are a true recognition at the national level that what we do here works, is cost effective and serves our community through innovation."

"I want to congratulate the staffs in these five programs for their creativity, devotion and hard work!," Carillo added. " Clearly, it paid off!”

Shirlee Zane, NACo Health Steering Committee co-chair and vice chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, also praised county programs.

“Sonoma County is a leader," Zane said. "These awards demonstrate that." 

"These were given to programs that competed with hundreds across the entire country," she added. "The fact that we won five Achievement Awards shows that our county family knows how to find the best ways to deliver services.”

The table below provides a snapshot of each program, the departments that developed them and the services they provide.

Award recipient

Departments and Community Partners

Services provided

1. The Summer Youth Ecology Corps

The Sonoma County Water Agency, Sonoma County Human Services Department, News Ways to Work

∙Teaches youth and young adults the skills needed to find and keep permanent employment;

∙Maintains and improves local habitats and streams;

∙Provides valuable services to local nonprofits and government agencies;

∙Places youth and young adults in individual internships;

∙Provides employment for program staff - primarily young adults, college students, teachers, and nonprofit agency staff;

∙Includes various educational enhancements, including environmental education, Work-Ready Certification, lifetime memberships to an online career assessment tool, comprehensive Work-Based Learning Plans, and tours of the Sonoma County Water Agency’s facilities;

∙Brings together numerous county agencies, non-profits, and community groups; and

∙Gives youth and young adults a paycheck.

2. The Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility Water Efficiency Project

General Services

∙Reduced water and sewer use in the Jail by 46% compared to the same period last year or reduction of 5,555,858 gallons (or 1.1 million gallons per month).

∙Total water and sewer costs are down $70,742; a savings of 39% compared to last year.

∙The MADF retrofit saved 19,796 kWh since 1/1/11.

3. The Community Assessment, prevention and Education Team

Department of Health Services - Mental Health/Alcohol and Other Drug Services Division

The CAPE Team is an early intervention prevention strategy specifically designed to intervene with transitional age youth (youth ages 16 to 25) who are at risk of or are experiencing first onset of mental illness and its multiple issues and risk factors (substance use, trauma, depression, anxiety, self harm, and suicide risk).

4. Benefits California Welfare Information Network (CalWin)

County of Sonoma in consortium with 17 other California counties

∙Provide quality customer service to an increasing number of clients leveraging fewer county resources;

∙Contain administrative costs;

∙Increase outreach and expand access to services;

∙Provide no wrong-door access to request services and report information

5. The Volunteer Driver Transportation Program

Human Services, Sonoma County Area Agency on Aging, Sebastopol Area Senior Center, in collaboration with the Russian River Senior Resource Center.

∙A private non-profit agency provides an average of 4,000 rides to more than 250 seniors annually.  ∙Program recruits, screens and trains volunteer drivers from the community.

∙Increases the mobility of non-ADA eligible residents.

∙Two additional nonprofits have begun volunteer driver programs in other rural areas.