Howard County earned national recognition for programs designed to connect residents with health, safety, and human services where they already live, gather, and seek support.

Among the County’s 2026 NACo Achievement Award winners, one theme recurs: reducing barriers by bringing services into familiar community spaces and building stronger connections among agencies, providers, and residents.

The Howard County Health Department Library-Based Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Support program places peer recovery specialists in library branches, offering drop-in behavioral health support, overdose prevention education, naloxone distribution, treatment navigation, and referrals in trusted, stigma-free public spaces. The approach is designed to reach residents who may not otherwise connect with traditional clinical systems.

Maternal health is another area where the County is expanding access. Howard County’s Doula Partnership Program works to increase the number of certified, Medicaid-credentialed doulas available to pregnant and postpartum residents while supporting participating doulas with credentialing, billing training, referrals, continuing education, and care coordination.

The County also earned recognition for Firearm Safe Storage Initiatives launched through its Suicide Prevention Program. In seven months, the Health Department distributed 774 cable locks through six library branches, followed by a specialized event that distributed another 88 biometric lock boxes and 300 cable locks.

Howard County’s Menstrual Equity Program brings another essential resource directly into public spaces, providing free menstrual products at 33 locations including libraries, community centers, and government buildings.

Other award-winning programs focus on improving systems around residents with more complex needs. The Sequential Intercept Mapping initiative convened more than 50 stakeholders from behavioral health, hospitals, community organizations, and the criminal justice system to identify gaps and improve coordination between treatment and justice systems.

Howard County’s emergency management programs also received significant recognition. Those efforts include annual continuity-of-government exercises, flood-response procedures in Historic Ellicott City, dam emergency action planning, warming and cooling kit distribution, and a tabletop exercise with Merriweather Post Pavilion simulating a large event complicated by extreme heat, drug use, overcrowding, and evacuation.

The County’s health and human services awards extend from homelessness and aging to family support, emergency medicine, physical activity, and digital equity. Together, they show how local governments can improve outcomes by making services easier to access, strengthening coordination, and meeting residents where they are. To learn more and see the full list of awards visit the awards page on the NACo website.

These honors are part of 165 NACo Achievement Awards earned by Maryland counties this year, recognizing programs and services across nearly every area of local government.