Record-breaking NACo Awards
For the nineteenth consecutive year, Henrico County has won the most awards in one year by any county in Virginia! With 52 awards out of 62 entries, it is also the most won by Henrico in at least the last 25 years.
“Year after year, the outstanding and innovative work of employees of Henrico County and Henrico County Public Schools shines under the spotlight of the NACo Achievement Awards,” County Manager John A. Vithoulkas said. “Our 52 awards in 2024 are, quite possibly, our highest total ever. I applaud our employees for their energy, dedication, and creativity and for putting their hearts into doing all they can to make Henrico the best place it can be to live, work, play, and visit.”
Henrico Area Mental Health & Developmental Services was recognized with nine awards, nearly a fifth of Henrico’s total, and the most awards for a single general government department this year. Here are some of their standout projects!
Substance Use Overdose Response Program
This effort is a joint one developed by the Addiction Task Force Treatment Subcommittee to provide easy access to services. A bracelet with a pro-recovery message, the phone number of a peer, and the link to the bouncebackhc.com website was developed. The bracelet is widely distributed by police, fire, mental health, etc. The phone number is to a peer embedded in the Department of Fire. The peer assists the individual with linking to services and recovery support when the individual reaches out in an effort to reduce overdoses and increase the likelihood of recovery.
Forensic Discharge Program
Henrico Area Mental Health & Developmental Services has three forensic discharge planners to develop release plans for the seriously mentally ill in Henrico Jails. These providers ensure that the individual is linked to treatment, entitlements, medical care, housing when available, and other resources needed to ensure success upon release. This program has extremely successful outcomes, as only 3% of those who have participated in it have reoffended.
Suicide Prevention Series
The Henrico Area Mental Health & Developmental Services Prevention team partnered with New Kent County Schools and the Virginia Chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill to provide suicide prevention training to all New Kent County high school students, teachers, and administrators. Parents were also invited to attend the training. The training was well-received by both students and adults. It linked several youths to care and assisted multiple people with recognizing warning signs in friends and family and learning how to respond.
The 2024 awards recognize submissions from nine government departments and Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS). HCPS collected 22 awards; Henrico Area Mental Health & Developmental Services, nine; Division of Fire, four; Economic Development Authority (EDA), Emergency Communications, Henrico County Public Library (HCPL) and Division of Recreation & Parks, three apiece; County Manager’s Office and Department of Finance, two apiece; Department of Public Utilities/Keep Henrico Beautiful, one. Many of the recognized programs reflect collaboration with other departments.
A complete list of the programs and their respective nominating agencies is below.
- Teen Summit RVA, County Manager’s Office
- Taking it to HEART, County Manager’s Office
- Small Business Boost, EDA
- Pop Up Mentoring Program (PUMP) for Small Business, EDA
- Live Your Best 2023 Campaign, EDA
- DEC Internship Program, Emergency Communications
- 911 Wellness Initiative, Emergency Communications
- Tactical Dispatch Program, Emergency Communications
- Enhanced Engagement Process for Remote Business Taxpayers, Finance
- Henrico County Virginia Transparency and Efficiency 21st Century Contract Management, Finance
- Interview Preparation Program, Fire
- Regional Water Response, Fire
- Hazardous Incident Team Awareness Program, Fire
- Expansion of “Whole Health” to include Cancer and Cardiovascular Screenings, Fire
- BH Equity Working with the LGBTQIA2S+ Community, HAMHDS
- Comfort Boxes, HAMHDS
- Substance Use Overdose Response Program, HAMHDS
- Strengthening Supervisory Intercultural Competence 2024, HAMHDS
- Forensic Discharge Program, HAMHDS
- Suicide Prevention Series, HAMHDS
- Conflict Resolution Groups for Youth in Juvenile Detention, HAMHDS
- CARE (Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement) Training, HAMHDS
- Mobile Response Team, HAMHDS
- Cook & Book, HCPL
- Connecting Communities with Quilts, HCPL
- Hamilton Glass Mural Workshop, HCPL
- Birds, Butterflies and Biodiversity, Public Utilities/Keep Henrico Beautiful
- Studio at the Springs, Recreation & Parks
- Canoeing with the Community, Recreation & Parks
- Henrico United, Recreation & Parks
- Glen Lea Telehealth Clinic, Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS)
- Becoming Kings, HCPS
- Próximos Pasos (Next Steps), HCPS
- Black History Month Poetry Slam, HCPS
- Educational Excursion: Aviation Day, HCPS
- Building Tomorrow’s Teacher Pipeline, HCPS
- Generative AI Initiative: Preparing for a New Digital Age, HCPS
- Microcredential Program, HCPS
- Student Government Day Program, HCPS
- Teacher Licensure Cohort Program, HCPS
- Expanded ESL Summer Academy, HCPS
- Combating Absenteeism before It Starts: McKinney-Vento Team Summer Cookouts, HCPS
- Language Instruction Education Program Microcredential Courses, HCPS
- Teacher Fellow, HCPS
- Preparing Life-Ready Students in Elementary School, HCPS
- Students Build Race Car at Richmond Raceway, HCPS
- Winter Wonderland, HCPS
- Trade Skills Applied to Memorialize Veterans and First Responders, HCPS
- Re-envisioning Hallways, HCPS
- Behavioral Health Interpreter Training Program, HCPS
- Sparking Interest into Fire Prevention Careers, HCPS
- PreSchool Sign, HCPS
