Change Makers: Six Georgia Counties Lead Innovation

Training First Responders: Whitfield County Fire Chief Paul Patterson, center, flanked by other fire department personnel. Photo credit: Kevin Garrett.

This year’s winners have demonstrated ingenuity and a commitment to making a meaningful impact on their communities.

WHITFIELD COUNTY

Fast Track to Firefighting

In Whitfield County, high school juniors and seniors who dream of saving people’s lives can get a head start on a career in emergency services before they turn 18, through First Responders Pathway Program, which began in 2023.

Students prepare for careers in public safety through a joint initiative of the Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy, Whitfield County School system and the Whitfield County Fire Department, and can earn professional certifications through the program, such as Firefighter 1 or 2. The Emergency Medical Technician program is a partnership with both the college and career academy and Georgia Northwestern Technical College. Dual enrollment with GNTC enables students to receive certification as a basic or advanced EMT. By the time the students finish high school, they are ready to graduate into their careers.

Paul Patterson, Whitfield County’s fire chief, says that the impetus for the program was the need to fill the job pipeline following a series of retirements. “When I was young on the job, they said, ‘This is a young [person’s] job,’” he says.

Meeting Community Needs: Participants in the First Responders Pathway Program get career training. Photo credit: contributed.

Whitfield County Board of Commissioners Chair Jevin Jensen says other cities and counties are looking to the program, too. “That’s the most sincere form of flattery, having others wanting to adopt our model. We’re happy to help them.”

Bob Sivick, Whitfield County administrator, is proud of the county’s creativity, noting that Whitfield won an ACCG award last year for its Conasauga Community Addiction Recovery Center. “What we’ve done here in Whitfield County is we created and maintained an organizational culture where people can be creative and can try new things.”

GWINNETT COUNTY

Technology Keeps an Eye on Crime

Last year, Gwinnett County Police Department’s North Precinct was able to locate a missing 82-year-old woman in less than two hours by using Flock cameras and information-sharing systems, thanks to the Gwinnett County Police Department’s Situational Awareness Crime Response Center. The center, which was completed in 2023, is part of a nationwide effort by police agencies to make their communities safer. Trained analysts use Flock cameras and license plate readers to track crimes and emergencies in real time.

Improving Safety: Nicole Love Hendrickson, chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, at the Situational Awareness and Crime Response Center, which is part of the county police department. Photo credit: Kevin Garrett.

The crime response concept was developed through a collaborative effort with some community improvement districts (CIDs) in the county. Nicole Love Hendrickson, chair of Gwinnett County’s Board of Commissioners, says the program grew quickly. “Back in 2020 we had one crime intelligence analyst, one sworn sergeant, and just an empty classroom that was sitting next to our emergency operations center,” she says. By 2022, the crime response center was staffed with 12 analysts and two officers. “What initially started as a conversation from our CIDs to want to leverage our resources led to a collaborative partnership and an expansion of a whole unit in our police department,” she says.

In 2024, the center, which supports the Gwinnett Safe Communities program, began incorporating community-based cameras (not owned or operated by the county) to help first responders with crime scenes and missing-person searches.

“Technology like this is making a difference,” says Henderson. “It’s helping our police officers be effective and efficient at their jobs and speeds up the process so there are fewer delays in getting criminals off the [streets].” It is also reassuring for residents who may be missing a loved one. Overall, in 2024, the center made 246 arrests, recovered 76 stolen vehicles and located 12 missing persons.

Hendrickson hopes that Gwinnett’s successes will inspire other jurisdictions to get on board with a similar program. “We would love to see this replicated across the Metro Atlanta area. Just imagine what we could do with a regional approach,” she says.

Real-Time Tracking: An employee at the Situational Awareness Crime Response Center monitors criminal and emergency activity. Photo credit: contributed.

CHATHAM COUNTY

A New Response to Crisis Calls

As recently as five years ago, if someone in Chatham County was struggling with addiction to prescription medication, a concerned neighbor’s 911 call might have landed the person in jail. But the county’s Behavioral Health Unit is changing the way the county responds to 911 calls that concern mental health issues. The program, launched in September 2020, includes Chatham police and fire personnel trained in crisis intervention and focuses on de-escalation, rapport-building and service referrals. The goal is to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and jail time and has significantly reduced the number of behavioral health-related 911 calls that led to incarceration.

Rapport Building: Chatham County Board of Commissioners Chair Chester Ellis and Tara Jennings, director of policy and intergovernmental affairs for Chatham County. Photo credit: Frank Fortune.

Chatham County Board of Commissioners Chair Chester Ellis says that during the pandemic, before the program’s launch, the police department found it was disproportionately housing people who were having mental, not criminal, crises.

“I’m just hoping that in the future we can have the resources and the funding so that we could expand the [Behavioral Health] unit, because it is greatly needed in this community,” he says.

Tara Jennings, director of policy and intergovernmental affairs for Chatham County, says even before COVID-19, the county had been working on a “stepping up together” initiative to prevent people experiencing mental health or substance abuse crises from cycling in and out of detention centers and emergency rooms. The emotional impact of the pandemic only made the situation worse, Jennings says.

When 911 receives a crisis call, trained Crisis Intervention Team officers respond to de-escalate and connect people to services. “These full-time co-responders are trained and dedicated to de-escalating people in crisis,” says Jennings.

The results have been staggering. Prior to the launch of the special unit, nearly 92% of behavioral health-related 911 calls resulted in transport to a detention center or emergency department. Now, that figure has dropped to just 8%. The majority of cases are resolved on-site or redirected to alternative care facilities.

Recently, Chatham County received $15.5 million in state funding to fund a new child and adolescent mental health campus, which will serve multiple counties. “We found that we had to expand our thinking about how we were not only going to deal with those who are in our detention center, but those who are in our juvenile system as well,” says Ellis.

HALL COUNTY

Cost-sharing Campgrounds

Lake Lanier attracts millions of visitors a year, making it one of the most popular lakes managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Sixty percent of the lake is in Hall County, making it an important tourist attraction. But with budget cuts, it has become more difficult for the Corps to maintain its parks, leading to a reduction in services and dates of availability to reserve space at campgrounds along the shorelines of Lake Lanier. Hall County found a solution through a partnership.

In October 2023, the Corps and Hall County reached a first-of-its-kind cost- sharing agreement to split maintenance duties and keep these campgrounds open. This partnership allows some parks to be open year-round, which had been a challenge for the Corps because of budgetary restrictions. In another benefit, the agreement enables Hall County to reinvest park revenue into maintenance and staffing.

Since teaming up with the Corps on the cost-sharing agreement, Hall County has been looking for ways to improve services and amenities at other key parks for both residents and visitors.

As of September 2024, the three parks co-managed with the Corps – Bolding Mill, Duckett Mill and Old Federal Campgrounds – have generated approximately $1.02 million through campsite rentals, RV hookups and camping fees. That is more than the $869,000 in revenue that the county projected it would make. Brent Holloway, director of parks and community services for Hall County, says that one factor contributing to the increase is the county’s improved staffing. Parks that used to be open six months of the year can now be open nine to 12 months. “It’s allowed the county to extend park seasons,” Holloway says, adding that as soon as the reservation system opened, it was flooded with people excited to book their favorite camping spot. “They know the spot that they want. They’re excited to be able to get back into these locations,” he says.

Holloway says everyone benefits from the agreement: Hall County, the Corps and campers. “We’re able to retain that revenue and reinvest at the other locations we lease from the Corps of Engineers, so those dollars stay local. It’s a win for the Corps of Engineers since they’re no longer tasked with the administrative operations we’ve taken over. And it’s a win for the citizens.”

“The best benefit is that the parks remain open for the public to use,” says Billy Powell, Hall County District 2 commissioner. “There’s been tremendous usage in the last year because of this agreement.”

“This agreement is just a great example of different levels of government collaborating [for] the benefit of the citizen,” says Zach Propes, Hall County administrator.

Powell says the county also plans to look at other parks that have been closed to see if it makes financial sense to enter into subsequent agreements with the Corps of Engineers.

TROUP COUNTY

A Better Place to Work

Team Building: Employees for Employees prioritizes worker appreciation, satisfaction and wellness through initiatives like a co-ed softball league. Photo credit: contributed.

In 2022, many Troup County employees were unhappy with their jobs. Turnover was high across various departments and feedback to supervisors was bleak. County Manager Eric Mosley spearheaded an innovative program to boost workplace satisfaction and foster employee engagement. Launched around 18 months ago, the Employees for Employees (E4E) team’s mission is to enhance the quality of workplace life through events focused on teamwork, communication, leadership and wellness.

It appears the program is working. For instance, the employee turnover rate in Troup County showed a significant improvement, decreasing from 21% in 2023 to 17% in 2024.

For 2025, the E4E program has expanded to launch a Volunteer of the Month program, acknowledging the hard work of citizens volunteering in an unpaid capacity, and community service projects like toy and clothing drives.

Patrick Crews, chair of the Troup County Board of Commissioners, is thrilled with the role E4E is playing in shaping workplace culture. “These efforts boost employee morale and enhance job satisfaction, while also driving productivity, which reinforces the idea that a strong, engaged workforce is essential for our continued success in providing optimal customer service to Troup County citizens,” he says.

Mosley would love to see other counties replicate Troup County’s innovative program. “We’d love to sit down and share our ideas of what we’ve learned with other cities and counties. We believe it could make a tremendous impact on their citizens and employees.”

FULTON COUNTY

Tech Support: Fulton County District 3 Commissioner Dana Barrett, second row, second from left, joins people from tech education nonprofit InspiredU to promote the Connect the Dots for Digital Equity initiative. Photo credit: contributed.

Internet Access for Everyone

Computer Savvy: People at a recent Connect the Dots digital literacy workshop at the Sandy Springs
library learned computer skills and received free laptops. Photo credit: contributed.

As a former computer programmer and tech executive, Fulton County District 3 Commissioner Dana Barrett knows that adults who aren’t digitally literate are at a disadvantage when it comes to finding jobs and navigating daily life. So she wanted to create a program to help bridge the digital divide between different socioeconomic groups, using partnerships between public and private entities.

The Connect the Dots for Digital Equity initiative, which provides basic computer education and ongoing tech support to disadvantaged families and helps them get connected to free or low-cost internet, launched in January 2024. It is a collaboration between Fulton County Libraries, Atlanta-based tech education nonprofit Inspiredu and Comcast, the parent company of cable and internet provider Xfinity. Connect the Dots workshops geared towards both adults and children are held at local libraries. Inspiredu gives each registered person a free laptop preloaded with software, three hours of training and a year of tech support. And Comcast helps students sign up for free or low-cost internet service.

Barrett says the initiative serves as an example of how to streamline the good work happening in her county’s government sector, nonprofit sector and altruistic corporations, indicating similar programs could address issues like homelessness and food security. “I had this idea that if we could find more of these public-private partnerships we could [greatly multiply] our results at little or no cost to the county, and really have an impact,” Barrett says. “When federal funding goes away, the problems don’t,” she adds, in reference to recent Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts by the Trump administration. “So whatever the case may be, we’re going to have to start looking for really creative ways to solve these problems.”

Creative Problem Solving: Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett, second from left, and Richard Hicks, president and CEO of InspiredU, with students who received a free laptop after taking a Connect the Dots workshop, which was cosponsored by Comcast. Photo credit: contributed.

Barrett notes that digital equity and digital skills training are actually among the Fulton County Libraries’ top missions. “The library system really loves this program,” she says.

Future goals include launching a digital Connect the Dots targeted for senior citizens needing tech support. “It could be a senior Help Desk at the libraries,” says Barrett.

Putting on her Connect the Dots volunteer shirt, Barrett goes to all the library training sessions. “It’s the best part of what we get to do because the libraries are all about serving the community,” she says.