National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C.           Vol. 32, No. 12 * June 26, 2000

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Hats off to ...
County Public Education Programs

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STOP Fraud Program
Boulder County, Colo.

Each year the Boulder County District Attorney’s Consumer Division fields thousands of complaints from consumers who have given money to dishonest telemarketing firms that claim to have prizes for consumers or claim to be soliciting for a worthy cause. In July 1999, the county began a campaign to discourage people from giving money to fraudulent telemarketing and mail campaigns.

The county designed and gave out stickers that provided the phone number of the Consumer Division and the words, “Stop! Do not give $$ or information to solicitors. Call District Attorney’s Consumer Office first!”

The stickers can be placed on phones and in checkbooks to encourage people to call the office before writing a check or giving out a credit card number. Because senior citizens and homebound residents are the most vulnerable to these types of frauds, the stickers, in addition to brochures and newsletters, were distributed through senior centers, the Retired Senior Volunteer program, Meals on Wheels, the county’s Aging Services Division and other outreach programs throughout the county.

The campaign has been very successful. The month prior to the implementation of the program, the Consumer Division received 11 calls pertaining to telemarketing, the month after the campaign started, staff received 233 calls. The number of calls to date totals more than 900.
The cost of the program was approximately $600. All the information materials, with the exception of the stickers, were printed in-house.

Family Ties and Knots: Children of Divorce
Maricopa County, Ariz.

In 1998, staff of the Maricopa County Family Court developed two educational videos in a series titled Family Ties and Knots, to support judicial officers in their efforts to redirect parents who interfere with court-ordered access or are so entrenched in high conflict behaviors that their children are critically affected. The first video, Children of Divorce, is 16 minutes long and features interviews with children, teenagers and young adults who share examples of their parents’ persistent high conflict and alienating behaviors and how they become caught up in the parents’ conflict. Additionally, a commentary from the Family Court presiding judge, the clerk of superior court, counselors and a local television news anchor complete the presentation.

The second video, Helping Children of Divorce: A View for the Bench, is a 42-minute training resource for judicial officers. It includes the first video, followed by comprehensive interviews with a psychiatrist, a psychologist and the Family Court presiding judge, who identifies mild, moderate and severe forms of alienating or polarizing parental behaviors, so that parents involved in these dynamics can be helped through constructive interventions.

The videos have been well received in the family court community. Judicial officers, county and court administrative staff, attorneys and mental health court advisors from all over the country have been requesting/purchasing the videos for use in similar programs they would like to develop. In addition, there has been an ongoing stream of expressed interest from court-related entities for articles and presentations that outline the purpose and use of the videos.

The program was funded through a Federal Welfare Reform Block grant and took approximately eight months to complete. Family Court staff, community and university representatives, mental health practitioners and Clerk of Court staff were involved in some aspect of consultation, design and development of the project or were directly involved in interviews or video segments.

Citizen’s Guide to Zoning
Baltimore County, Md.

The Baltimore County Zoning Regulations is comprised of 841 zoning maps and hundreds of pages of regulatory text. Even experienced professionals find it difficult to fully understand the requirements contained within this document.

For the general public, the task of understanding zoning regulations can be overwhelming. Citizens often become frustrated as they and their community associations work to protect the quality of life in their neighborhoods.

This dilemma becomes more urgent every four years when the county begins its Comprehensive Zoning Map Process, a process that allows for every parcel of land to be considered for rezoning.

To address this situation, the Baltimore County Office of Planning developed A Citizen’s Guide to Zoning in Baltimore County to encourage citizen understanding and involvement in the comprehensive zoning process.

The guide explains the uses and standards for each zoning classification and also presents tables that compare various components of the different zones. It also includes an explanation of the different processes that are available for use in rezoning property as well as a history of zoning and definitions for selected terminology. The Office of Planning also developed a 30-minute visual presentation to further explain zoning and to introduce the comprehensive zoning process.

The program has been very successful. Both the presentation and guide were presented at various workshops, community meetings and to other groups throughout the county. In addition, the county has seen a 50 percent increase in the number of zoning issues raised as opposed to four years ago. County officials attribute a substantial part of this increase to better-informed citizens.

The cost involved in establishing this program was minimal as it entailed compiling existing information into a user-friendly format and reproducing the publications.

(Programs described in “Hats off” are winners of 2000 NACo Achievement Awards. For more information on these programs, contact the NACo Research Division by calling 202/393-6226. Hats Off was compiled by Peggy Beardslee, research associate.)