National Association Counties (NACo)
Description
NACo is a membership organization serving more than 2,000 counties and representing over 80 percent of the nation's population. With its headquarters on Capitol Hill, NACo is a full-service organization that provides an extensive line of services including legislative, research, technical, and public affairs assistance, as well as enterprise services to its members. The association acts as a liaison with other levels of government, works to improve public understanding of counties, serves as a national representative for counties and provides them with resources to help them find innovative methods to meet the challenges they face.
Joint Center for Sustainable Communities – NACo and USCM Active Living Initiative
The Joint Center for Sustainable Communities, a partnership between the National Association Counties and the United States Conference of Mayors, has partnered with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to assist mayors and county officials combating declining community health brought on by increased levels of physical inactivity. Obesity, exacerbated by physical inactivity is among the leading preventable cause of health related problems in America, costing localities an estimate $120 billion in unnecessary health costs. As the level of government most directly responsible for absorbing the exorbitant health care costs and increased risks associated with physical inactivity, local officials have a vested interest in addressing this challenge.
Much of the Center's effort will be focused on providing local elected officials with assistance in making their communities more conducive to active living. During 2004, NACo and USCM will develop educational materials designed specifically for local decision makers to assist them in promoting active living, particularly amongst children. NACO and USCM will work to broaden the understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing local leaders on issues related to physical activity and health, conduct a series of informational sessions and distribute reports to significantly bolster the effectiveness and awareness of local government leaders on health and physical activity issues. In the summer of 2004, The Center will also support an Active Living Award competition for communities. In this era of increasingly tight budgets, taking steps to reduce unnecessary health expenditures by providing citizens with opportunities live healthier, more physically active lives is one thing local officials can do to have an immediate positive impact. In cooperation with RWJF, and its Active Living Leadership partners, the Joint Center is working to assure that county officials and mayors possess the education and tools necessary to create healthier, more active, more sustainable communities.
Contacting NACo
National Association of Counties
440 First Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: (202) 393-6226
www.naco.orgMartin Harris
Director
Center for Sustainable Communities
Email: mharris@naco.org
Tel: (202) 661-8805Jared Lang
Program Assistant
Center for Sustainable Communities
Email: jlang@naco.org
Tel: (202) 942-4243
