Broward County has received 17 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for innovative County government programs that strengthen services for residents and are effectively communicated and relevant to the community.
The award-winning programs are all services of the Broward County Commission.
Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
- Inaugural World Diversity Week: Broward County's Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) hosted the inaugural World Diversity Week (WDW) program, May 16-20, 2022, to recognize and celebrate the cultural backgrounds of the airport community. FLL comprises employees and passengers from around the globe, making the airport a genuine international connection and transportation hub. Each year, FLL welcomes passengers from around the world via nonstop service to and from more than 100 domestic and international destinations, including Canada, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America. The WDW event included live music, dance performances, a culinary tasting experience, Arts & Crafts Expo, and multilingual terminal announcements from employees saluting their home countries. The first-time program was so successful that BCAD earmarked it as a new annual signature airport event to return in May 2023. The program successfully highlighted the diverse heritage of the FLL community by recognizing the plethora of nationalities represented and reiterating our airport's positive attributes as a vital cultural mecca. In addition, the event was an opportunity for employees and travelers to learn and share about their native countries. We believe in a small way, WDW played a valuable role in celebrating global differences and fostering harmony among people of different ethnicities. The positive feedback received reinforced this assessment.
Children and Youth
Natural Resources Division
- Youth Participating in Air Quality Science Program: A program focused on fostering citizen science and environmental consciousness within the diverse population of Broward County youth. By working in partnership with the Broward County School District, the Air Quality Science Program is recruiting schools and students to participate in the analysis of air pollution data from outdoor air sensors within traffic-heavy and natural areas to learn about the main causes of air pollution around their schools and neighborhoods. Since children are more affected by subpar air quality compared to most other age groups, involvement in this program is especially valuable as it allows students to become more knowledgeable about environmental factors that may impact their own health. Delivered to complement STEM-based Florida curriculum, this program provides students with additional technology and tools through first-hand engagement in environmental monitoring. The evaluation of real-world data relevant to local surroundings is intended to further long-term understanding and appreciation of the role science plays in advancing the health and well-being of communities.
Civic Education and Public Information
Resilient Environment Department
- Beat the Heat Broward: Broward County's Beat the Heat Broward Storymap was designed to create a public facing landing page containing information on heat in Broward County that could empower both the Broward resident and resilience planner/ government employee to take informed action given the presented disparity of extreme heat distribution and the forecasted increase in temperature. The Storymap is the first County offered resource where users can explore temperature trends, vulnerability hotspots, mitigation and adaptation strategies, and heat emergency prevention tips. Since its debut in July 2022, the Storymap has attracted several hundred users, with benefits that include, increased solution probing with municipal partners and field experts, expansion of the County's enhanced local mitigation strategy on heat, more efficient dissemination of information upon request, an irrefutable display of need for investment and action across vulnerable communities, and bolstered grant applications.
MAP Broward
- Mobility Advancement Program Public Perception Survey and Community Focus Groups: MAP Broward, funded by the transportation surtax, is a voter-supported 30-year program of projects, intended to transform the transportation landscape, lift the local economy, and offer safe, accessible, reliable access to mobility options. Approved in November 2018, the plan responded to public priorities captured via polling and grassroots outreach between 2015-2018. Continuing public engagement – understanding and being responsive to the needs of our diverse community while educating about the program--remains a priority. COVID interrupted planned public outreach; instead staff virtually connected to nationally recognized transportation community coalitions to discuss best practices and lessons learned. In 2021 program stakeholders crafted a Public Perception Survey translated into the 4 most spoken languages based on the 2020 Census data. Over 1000 responses were received and informed Focus Groups led by expert, multilingual facilitators. Survey and Focus Group results showed that in just 4 years, priorities had already shifted—to safety. Significant outcomes include: (1) a Focus Group participant was selected to join the program's Independent Oversight Board in the Resident Consumer of Public Transportation category; and (2) the County co-applied for and received the largest federal grant award in the country to create a safety Action Plan (under the SS4A Grant Program).
Community and Economic Development
Office of Economic and Small Business Development
- A Conversation Series for Women: Launched in 2021, this series increases awareness about the resources available for women, women entrepreneurs, and women-owned businesses and shares helpful personal and professional insights and tips for success. The conversation series format is a virtual chat that features a small group of trailblazing women leaders exploring specific topics and is facilitated by a dynamic moderator. The topics focus on areas of need that have been identified as women return to the workforce following the pandemic and based on some of the recommendations from the 2021 Broward County Status of Women Report. The conversations cover employment resources available for women returning to the workforce, educational opportunities and funding programs, negotiation skills (earnings gaps), entrepreneurship, access to capital, apprenticeship, stories and experiences from successful women-owned businesses and other relevant topics. Each conversation is organic and unrehearsed allowing for the candid and meaningful exchange of experiences, information, and tools with the audience. These live conversations are free, registration is not required, and are available through Facebook Live and You Tube. To date over 1,700 participants have joined the conversations.
Human Services Department's Equity and Community Investment Section
- University Student Practicum Program (USPP): A planned program through Broward County Human Services Department to provide students with meaningful clinical learning experiences within Human Services agencies in Broward County. The program is a distinctive partnership between Broward County HSD, Universities and students that is committed to the objective of increasing clinical internship opportunities for students in health and human services fields. The USPP was designed to develop direct experience for the students in a variety of graduate majors including Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, Mental Health, Nursing and more as the program expands and grows. The placements expose students to direct services for targeted populations, programs, organizational cultures, and management systems. Students are assigned to work with professional staff who act as field practicum supervisors in accordance with state and university credential requirements and satisfy educational conditions required by their university. The USPP is an investment in the training and development of university students to support these future professions and thereby increase health and social services to Broward residents.
County Administration and Management
Resilient Environment Department's Innovation Unit
- Interactive Contracts Management Data Visualization: Accesses multiple data sources for a singular point of visualization, enabling Broward County contract administrators from any agency to explore easy-to-understand data sets -- even if they do not have a background in business intelligence, data-mining or statistical analysis. By providing real-time visualization of contract renewal deadlines, expenditure thresholds, certified local small business use goals, and anticipatory procurement cycle deadlines and milestones, County staff can manage contract resources and make real-time decisions based on current contract data more effectively and efficiently. Broward County has created an invaluable self-service tool allowing staff to meet goals and implement mission essential functions without the costly interruptions caused by expired contracts or exceeded expenditure thresholds. This technology-based Interactive Contracts Management solution has ultimately allowed Broward County agencies to be better managed, more efficient, and more cost-effective.
County Resiliency
Resilient Environment Department
- Document the Floods: A citizen science initiative that began in 2016 to better understand and document current pluvial (rain) and tidal flood patterns in Broward County. This effort involves using a web-based crowdsourcing tool to collect photos and observations from members of the public about the frequency and extent of flooding due to either rainfall or high tides [also known as King Tide events]. This effort, which is the first of its kind in the Southeast Florida region, aims to collect, compile, analyze and view the flood occurrences at a county scale. To date, almost eight hundred flood reports have been collected from the public. The methodology and the web-based interface had been updated over the years reflecting the changes in priorities, best practices, and available technology. Within recent years, as awareness about the initiative grew, so did the number of use cases for the data. The potential for this data to further drive planning and decision-making became apparent. This web-based public interface is an effective tool to raise public awareness of flooding risk distributions across different demographic, topographic, and hydrologic areas in the county. In addition to providing the valuable information to communities, the data collected could also serve as a valuable resource to test hydrologic models and other tools aimed to develop future resilient water management strategies.
Natural Resources Division
- Smoking Vehicle Program: Following a hiatus of the original smoking vehicle program, the Smoking Vehicle Program 2.0 (SVP 2.0) launched in September 2022, to help Broward County reach its new net zero emissions goal. It leverages Broward County Code, Section 27-175(j), which prohibits “smoking vehicles" and thus targets the transportation sector – Broward County's main source of air pollution and emissions. Not only does this help mitigate the effects of climate change, but it also safeguards the health and well-being of Broward County's residents and environment. The program functions on a public reporting system to identify smoking vehicles operating on Broward County roads, with the goal of having the owners of such vehicles fix them to reduce the amount of air pollution being emitted. Once received, complaints can result in a courtesy letter or warning notice being sent to the smoking vehicle's owner, which could eventually escalate to citations in certain cases. In its first four months SVP 2.0 has demonstrated success through the number of smoking vehicle complaints received. As such, this program presents a novel solution that could easily be replicated by other local governments in states which do not have mandatory emissions testing but may still face issues with air pollution from transportation.
Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Animal Care
- Animal Care Dania Beach Case: Broward County Animal Care is engaging the 31 municipalities, the Seminole Tribe, and the Broward Sheriff's Office in a systematic training program focused on unified response to animal-related concerns, utilizing evidence and current best practices. The success of this municipal engagement and training program was recently highlighted in a multi-organizational response to a home containing more than 60 starving dogs in horrific conditions.
Health
Nancy J. Cotterman Center
- Medication Program: To provide optimal support to one of the most vulnerable populations in the community, Broward County's only certified Sexual Assault Program, Child Advocacy Center, and Child Protection Team, located at the Nancy J. Cotterman Center (NJCC), implemented a medication program in which survivors of sexual assault and victims of child sexual abuse have access to prophylaxis medication. This medication is provided on-site to reduce the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases in patients and to provide emergency contraception to decrease the risk of pregnancy related to the sexual assault. Patients are provided access to complimentary medication on site after being evaluated. This increased support to survivors is a vital step in their survival journey to managing the potentially devastating impact of sexual assault and sexual abuse. One of the most important features of the program is that medication is provided at no cost. Previously, patients were provided with a prescription that had to be filled at another facility with the patient bearing the cost of a copay, or out-of-pocket cost. This program was initiated in early 2022, the agency has provided approximately 129 patients with medication onsite, mitigating additional negative outcomes of sexual assault and child sexual abuse.
Information Technology
Enterprise Technology Services
- Broward County Saves Costs and Enhances Network Capabilities with MPLS: Broward County's Enterprise Technology Services Division implemented a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network to improve communication speeds and data privacy for the multiple business lines of local government in a cost-efficient model. The project was initiated as the existing Optical Network Switching (ONS) technology had become obsolete, and costs to upgrade or add new locations had become prohibitive. The MPLS network used existing dark fiber infrastructure, allowing for low-cost, high-speed communication between agencies while ensuring the privacy of their data. Implementing the MPLS network involved a gradual migration from the ONS network, maintaining a hybrid topology during the process. MPLS provides 100 Gbps per link between core devices, with backup links controlled through Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing protocols. This ensures that clients have reliable and fast access to their data. The MPLS network now provides critical links to Broward County Administrative Buildings, Broward County Emergency Operation Center, Broward County Transportation, Traffic & Engineering, Port Everglades, Broward County Libraries, Broward Sheriff Offices, Broward County Court Houses, and Broward County Detention centers. The system is easily upgradable and scalable, providing the flexibility to meet demand per site using the MPLS network deployment.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
- Maximo Asset Management Project: An airport-wide asset and work management mobility solution launched at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) on February 1, 2021. The fully mobile solution allows real-time communication with field technicians on the airfield and airport property using smart handheld devices. The technology enhances airside and landside operations by connecting work management and location services, map layers, and building levels, providing FLL leaders with a consolidated view of airport activities. It also allows airport staff to respond quickly to the needs of airport stakeholders. The technology is now being used 24 hours a day and has allowed the airport to meet its goal of increasing accountability, compliance, and efficiency.
Libraries
Broward County Library
- BCL to Go – Workforce Ready: Assists job seekers in underserved areas of Broward County that were particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. BCL to Go - Workforce Ready launched in March 2021 at select Broward County Library locations. It provides free digital workstations that include tablets, internet hotspots and online resource as well as a series of Workforce Ready employability workshops. This grant-funded initiative targets adults in six zip codes identified as areas in Broward County experiencing chronic unemployment rates. In addition to supplying workshops and workstations, BCL to Go – Workforce Ready also connects job seekers with valuable online and community resources to help improve their employment opportunities. Broward County Library partnered with three other Broward County agencies and local nonprofit organizations to promote the program and refer potential participants. Outcomes for BCL to Go – Workforce Ready include a high check-out and renewal rate for the tablets and hotspots, with waitlists at some libraries, and positive feedback from both library customers and staff.
- Ready for College: Broward County Library's award-winning program series that was designed to assist high school students in navigating the college application process and improve their college-preparation skills. The program is broken into sections for either the SAT and ACT test-prep or College Readiness workshops, which feature topics such as writing college essays to applying for financial aid. The workshops, which are free and open to all Broward high school juniors and seniors (public, private or home-schooled) launched in person at eight library locations in September 2019. Ready for College was popular, registration filled up early and many students were waitlisted. In 2020, it moved entirely online in response to the closing of libraries due to COVID-19. By presenting the program virtually, which helped eliminate barriers to attendance, Ready for College experienced an increase of more than 200% in attendance from FY2019 to FY2020. As libraries reopened in 2021, Ready for College transformed into a hybrid series, with students now able to choose between online and in-person classes. Ready for College received the 2022 Florida Library Association Betty Davis Miller Youth Services Award recognizing outstanding library programs of direct service to youth and was featured in the monthly online magazine SouthFloridaFamilyLife.com.
Risk and Emergency Management
Resilient Environment Department's Innovation Unit
- Dynamic COVID Response Data Visualization: Broward County's Resilient Environment Department Innovation Unit utilized data analytics and visualization best practices to create dashboards and reports to aid Broward County in its response to and recovery from the physical, economic, and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Innovation Unit was able to create self-service business intelligence dashboards as an approach to data analytics that enabled Broward County executive and agency leadership, as well as County resident users, to access and explore data sets independent of a background in business intelligence, data mining, or statistical analysis. The Dynamic COVID Response Data Visualization program included multiple dashboards with information ranging from emergency health data (transmission rates, hospitalizations, and mortality) to emergency response (vaccinations and emergency assistance). These dashboards allowed for the identification of resource shortages within the emergency response and healthcare systems, allowing administrators the real time ability to modify messaging and protocols impacting hospital patients, vaccinations sites and the actions of the public. They also allowed program administrators to gauge the overall success of the rental assistance program, adjusting communication and current practices to disperse funding and reach an underrepresented segment of the population more effectively. Overall, the program used data analytics to greatly enhance resource allocation, and communication (both within organizations and to the public), in addition to allowing a more diverse and inclusive outreach effort that substantially improved Broward County's recovery from the physical, economic, and social impacts of COVID-19.
Transportation
Broward County Transit
- Broward County Transit Late Shift Connect Program: As Broward County's population continues to grow, the need for safe, reliable, and economical transportation services that can accommodate all of its residents and visitors becomes more and more critical. Over the years, Broward County Transit (BCT) has expanded its regular bus and paratransit service to include additional options that cater to specific segments of the community, such as fixed-route for casual riders, limited-stop and Express buses for commuters, and the Rider's Choice taxi option for ADA eligible paratransit customers. BCT recently launched a new transit service, Late Shift Connect, a program that subsidizes rides for late shift commuters who are not able to utilize BCT's bus service during the late night or early morning hours when the fixed route buses are not in service. The program allows each eligible late shift employee to receive a payment card that is preloaded with five subsidized trips per week and redeemable for up to $15 per trip, after an initial $2 co-pay per trip. Riders can only use the fare card during the designated late-night hours between 11:00pm and 6:00am and must live and work in Broward County.
