The National Association of Counties’ (NACO) annual Legislative Conference, held recently in Washington, D.C., covered topics ranging from cybersecurity to pre-trial reform to procurement practices, said Ed Humphrey, President of the Clermont Board of County Commissioners, who attended the conference.
The conference, held Feb. 21-25, featured an opening address from Vice President Joe Biden and a briefing from federal lawmakers on how to fix the nation’s transportation funding issues. Capitol Hill staffers also provided a briefing on Medicaid and the role of counties in local health systems.
Among the most important workshops, said Humphrey, was one that addressed cybersecurity. “Experts talked about the vulnerability of county systems. Only 25% of attacks are targeted; the rest explore overall weaknesses in a system,” said Humphrey. “Having a good response plan is critical.”
Another workshop addressed reducing the number of people in county jails who suffer from mental illness. “Critical Incident Training, which we do in Clermont County, was talked about as a best practice,” said Humphrey. “This provides law enforcement officers with training in recognizing mental illness and in accessing the mental health system as opposed to taking the person to jail.”
Humphrey also said the workshop of pre-trial reform could have some applications in Clermont County in terms of minimizing public safety risk and the risk of offenders not showing up for a court appearance. Pre-trial reform is an evidence-based initiative that calls for the overhaul of the bail system.