August 08, 2018
Communications and Media
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, VA— Chesterfield County recently received three achievement awards from the Virginia Association of Counties, continuing its streak of winning at least one award each year for the 16 years of the program.
The awards program highlights innovative programs focused on addressing high-priority issues that challenge counties today. Chesterfield has won the most awards total in the program, 30, which includes three new awards this year. Chesterfield is also the first locality to receive the Best Large County Achievement award two years in a row.
This year, Chesterfield won the Best Large County Achievement award for its submission “Operationalizing a System of Care and Breaking Down Silos: The Sharing of a Senior Mental Health Clinician Across Juvenile Agencies in Chesterfield County.”
Recognizing the need to be a more trauma-informed system, the county created the Systems of Care Senior Mental Health Clinician position, who provides a familiar face for court-involved families and children. The person in this role provides mental health screenings, provides supportive counseling to youth while detained and engages families throughout the process.
Chesterfield also won achievement awards for its Northern Jefferson Davis Special Area Plan Outreach efforts, and for its Weight Restricted Bridge Crossing Permit Program.
Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties also earned recognition for the Revive RVA Regional Opioid Summit held in October 2017, which was held in partnership with the city of Richmond.
“I’m pleased that our hard work was recognized, particularly the creation of the new Systems of Care Senior Mental Health Clinician,” said County Administrator Dr. Joe Casey. “Chesterfield is constantly striving to serve our citizens even better, and our awards recognitions this year highlight those efforts. The value of this recognition beyond the citizens that benefit from such innovative practices is that other localities can learn how such programs may also benefit their citizens.”
See more about each submission on the VACo website.