For the 25th consecutive year, Macomb County has netted the most National Association of Counties (NACo) "Achievement Awards" in the state of Michigan. The 13 awards for this year are detailed below.

1.    Youth Mentoring Initiative - Macomb County Community Services Agency's "Youth Mentoring Initiative" program trains youth age 11 to 17 from an impoverished community to be engaged in meaningful community service by working with preschoolers from the same neighborhood. The students participate in a six-week training program where they learned how to interact with preschoolers. Once trained, the mentors begin working with preschoolers on an after-school basis.

2.    Juvenile Employment Education Program - Macomb County Juvenile Court's program, "Juvenile Employment Education", focuses on court-referred youth. Participants have their skills in reading, writing, and math tested, and then complete a series of computer-led tests and surveys to uncover career paths that fit their abilities and interests. Participants then complete training in various career vocations and receive certificates of completion.

3.    Shared Parenting - Macomb County Community Mental Health developed the "Shared Parenting" program to offer a very effective and cost efficient alternative to traditional respite care. The program taps people who are willing to offer temporary care in their own homes for developmentally disabled adults.

4.    Office of Recipients Rights - Office of Corporate Compliance - Community Mental Health's offices of Corporate Compliance and Recipient Rights diligently work to ensure supportive services are provided to clients with mental illness, substance abuse issues, or developmental disabilities. These departments joined together to develop a new set of tools that would ensure rules and regulations are properly followed in providing these essential services.

5.    Meeting the Need: Medicare 2006 - When sweeping changes were announced to the Medicare prescription drug program, all Medicare participants needed to decide what prescription coverage program to participate in. The Macomb County Department of Senior Citizen Services set up a number of educational seminars throughout the county to address the issue, as well as made appointments to provide one-on-one counseling to help seniors make the right choice for their situation.

6.    Expansion of Free Tax Preparation Program - The Macomb County Community Services Agency offers free tax preparation services to low-income residents. Last tax season, new software helped to speed up the electronic tax filing process on behalf of clients taking advantage of the program, allowing even more families to be served by the program.

7.    Email Subscription Service - In an effort to increase communication with the citizens of the county, the Information Technology Department instituted a free e-mail subscription service. The service makes it possible for interested individuals to receive an e-mail notice each time a county web page is updated.

8.    Countywide Library Materials Personally Delivered to Jurors Via Internet Request - When residents are summoned to jury duty, they are provided with the opportunity to request library books. Access to the Internet makes it possible for residents to search the entire inventory of books available throughout the library cooperative and request specific materials. The County Clerk and Register of Deeds work together to ensure the requested materials are delivered to the Macomb County’s Jury Room.

9.    County Develops New Funding Source Through Public Outreach - The Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development and Macomb County Parks and Recreation worked together within the county to develop a program that informs the general public how they can get involved in building the Macomb Orchard Trail. A sponsorship program was developed that allowed patrons to help build specific amenities to the trail.

10.   Banding Together for Katrina Relief - The Board of Commissioners, Board Services, Emergency Management, Information Technology, Planning & Economic Development, and Public Affairs departments--along with Macomb County employees--joined together and responded to the call for cash donations to aid South Asia during the tsunami disaster. Macomb County quickly put together a campaign to "Band Together." Likewise, when the call for relief was sounded in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Macomb Together was once again called into action.

11.   Intergovernmental Cooperation Expedites Farmland Preservation - With support from MSU Extension - Macomb and Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development, a group of communities formed the "Macomb County Purchase of Development Rights Committee." This collaboration began working on initiatives to assist local farmers to preserve their businesses and family land through the purchase of development rights.

12.   Onsite Sewage Disposal and Water Supply Maintenance and Evaluation Program - The Macomb County Health Department developed the Onsite Sewage Disposal and Water Supply Maintenance program to help to uncover and correct a previously unseen cause of water pollution. The program has the huge potential to significantly increase the quality of water in Macomb County.

13.   Economic Development Enhanced by Effective Networking - To be successful in attracting new businesses to a community, government agencies must be proactive in communicating the services it can provide and the benefits of locating a business to a specific community. The Macomb County Department of Planning & Economic Development is doing just that through its monthly meeting of "Hot Prospects."