California’s 58 counties are diverse in so many ways: population, geography, demographics, but they do share some commonalities — in that they strive to make a difference for the people they serve, and they do so in some incredibly creative ways. April is National County Government Month – and during this period, CSAC will be spotlighting a dozen innovative programs developed by California counties.

We start Tuesday with a resourceful program out of Tehama County that helps offenders develop job skills while saving the county money. From there, we travel Thursday to Tulare County where we examine a library program that brings together teens and digital media. Throughout the month, we will make 12 stops. You can join us on the journey without even leaving your office.

But we know that the best practices we are featuring in April are just the tip of the iceberg. We want to learn about the innovative work taking place in your county. A great way to do this is through CSAC’s Annual Challenge Awards program, which recognizes the innovation and creativity of California counties as they find new and effective ways of providing programs and services to their citizens.

CSAC will soon be launching our “Call for Entries” for the 2014 Challenge Awards competition. We strongly recommend you take some time to think about what you can enter; it’s a great way to promote the work in your county and giving credit to those who are doing that work.

Our judges are constantly impressed by the level of innovation in the program entries we receive each year. Over time we have seen counties do more with less, develop new forms of collaboration and incorporate new technologies into service delivery. The videos and blogs we are rolling out this month are just one small way to help get the word out about this great work. If you want to review videos of some of the best practices we have spotlighted in the past, click here.

So join us in celebrating National County Government Month by taking a look at some of the best practices we will be featuring. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the month than to highlight and recognize these programs and the individuals behind them.