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 White Plains, NY - Westchester County has won six 2009 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo), for programs benefiting seniors, helping probation officers with fast, accurate information on orders of protection and protecting the environment by using vegetable oil to fuel county vehicles.
The awards are given annually to recognize outstanding, innovative county programs across the country.
This year, NACo will host the 13th Annual Awards ceremony on July 26 at its Annual Conference in Nashville, TN. For more information on winners of the NACo awards, visit its website, http://naco.org/.
The following Westchester County programs received awards:
- Vegetable Oil to BioDiesel Program picks up used vegetable oil from local restaurants and converts it into a clean-burning alternative fuel that can be used alone or blended with conventional diesel to run vehicles. Biodiesel emits 80 percent less carbon dioxide than petroleum-based diesel so the use of it in county vehicles reduces greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. The county has been using the fuel in county trucks, vans, a snow plow, pick-up truck, a farm tractor, a full-size garbage truck and the Veggie Van, which travels around the county providing education about global warming. In the future, the fuel may even be used to heat county buildings.
- The Livable Community Village Approach program’s aim is to help local governments develop cities and towns where older residents can live independently. By pulling together the resources of government, houses of worship, nonprofit groups and ordinary citizens, the program provides a range of support that can help seniors stay in their homes. Among the needs for livable communities are health and wellness programs, education and cultural events, accessible and adequate transportation, personal safety and consumer protection programs, affordable housing, safe sidewalks and roads.
The Department of Senior Programs and Services’ award winning initiative is in the vanguard of such efforts across the country and has been identified by AARP as one of the three model projects in the nation.
- The Formal Asset Mapping for Livable Communities Project is a part of Department of Senior Programs and Services’ Livable community’s initiative. This particular project identifies on a map the resources in a community that help seniors stay in their homes as they age. The maps are distributed to the Livable Community sites as planning tools to make them aware of community assets and then identify community needs.
- The Law Enforcement and Older Drivers program provides training for Westchester County police on dealing with older drivers. An information packet was prepared for police officers, which includes laminated “cue cards” they can keep in their patrol cars. The cards list tips on how to do successful traffic stops for at-risk older drivers. In addition, they list questions to ask older drivers that they suspect may have Alzheimer’s or other conditions that might put their driving at risk.
- Senior Crime Busters is a proactive elder fraud and crime prevention program that provides tips to seniors on how to stay safe and avoid financial exploitation. Senior Crime Busters is offered to seniors through senior clubs, nutrition centers, houses of worship and, libraries, among other locations. Fifty-eight programs were presented to 2,135 seniors from June 2008 to date.
- The Police District Locator (PD Locator) uses innovative mapping technology to help victims of Domestic Violence learn which local police jurisdictions are responsible for serving “Orders of Protection” to perpetrators. The Department of Probation staff, who help to protect victims of domestic violence, can simply type in a victim’s address and the application will retrieve the appropriate police district contact information and visually display the boundaries of the district on a map. The Police District Locator is now being used daily by Probation Officers responsible for processing Orders of Protection. Currently, there are 14 active users of the application, which was launched in July of 2008.
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