Two of the hot topics at the recent NACA Idea Exchange were criminal justice and the use of social media by local governments. For criminal justice, the focus was on the variety of diversion programs being conducted by several counties. In El Paso County, Colorado, the program aims at very young offenders. High Point County, North Carolina, uses a “focused deterrents program” that targets the most violent offenders in the community. Johnson County, Kansas, has had success through regional partnerships and a full-time criminal justice coordinator.

The social media topic also generated ample feedback from the room of over 65 participants.. Some examples of practical uses of social media by county governments included:

• Oregon counties relayed vital communications to citizens during wildfires.
• Humboldt County, California uses social media with their EMS to effectively deal with earthquakes.
• Arlington County, Virginia, implemented these tools a few years back and has played a strong role in getting community feedback on projects. In addition, Arlington developed a social media policy to guide county staff. 

There was further discussion on general tips for social media that other counties found relevant. A key point made was that it is important to be visible on all frontiers of social media because people select different media outlets to follow. Social media tools are also a great way to combat negative or inaccurate media posts.

Additional topics covered at this Idea Exchange were performance measurement/management, funding for infrastructure, and how to reach out to younger generations of public leaders.