The City of Santa Clarita has won the Grand Prize for the League of California Cities’ Helen Putnam Award for Excellence for the Special Needs Registry, in the category of Public Safety.
The Special Needs Registry is a partnership between the City of Santa Clarita, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, and the Community and Law Enforcement Aware Response (CLEAR) initiative. The Special Needs Registry is a secure information database that helps Santa Clarita Deputies recognize and respond to individuals with special needs. A person of any age, with any kind of special needs or disability, can be registered if they live an area served by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
Through the online registry, guardians can upload vital information, including the family member’s name, photograph, address, emergency contact information, medical diagnosis and suggestions on how to best approach the individual. Additionally, each family receives two identification cards with information matched to the registry, which can help law enforcement recognize and assist the individual.
The secure web-based registry provides Sheriff’s deputies with real-time accessible information and allows them to conveniently and quickly create missing person flyers.
“The Special Needs Registry is an innovative public safety tool that bridges the gap between law enforcement and special needs individuals – saving previous time when there are none to spare,” said Mayor Bob Kellar in a statement.
This is the eleventh year the City of Santa Clarita has won Helen Putnam Awards for Excellence. The City has won 13 Helen Putnam Awards total. In 2015, the City won in the category of Economic Development through the Arts for the Old Town Newhall Arts and Entertainment District.
The Helen Putnam Award for Excellence program holds a long standing tradition with all California cities as being a coveted and premier award, recognizing outstanding achievements in a variety of categories that deliver the highest quality service in the most effective manner possible.
