By Eric Coleman

When I first ran for office back in the mid 1990s, I never imagined stepping onto the national stage leading the nation’s 3,068 counties. I simply wanted to give something back to a community of which I am so proud. But that’s exactly what happened this past year as I recently completed my one-year term as president of the National Association of Counties (NACo).

Leading this outstanding organization the past 12 months afforded me the opportunity to talk about Oakland County with other county officials from across the country, work to restore the long lost federal-local government partnership and raise awareness about two issues close to my heart: helping to end the exploitation of children in communities and helping young adults transition from the foster care system to adulthood.

These efforts were front and center before more than 3,000 county officials during NACo’s Annual Conference and Exposition in Jackson County, Mo. July 11-15 under the theme: Restore the Partnership.

Many years ago, county and federal governments had a closer working relationship to resolve common problems. But in recent years that partnership has diminished. Both political parties share the blame. Unfortunately, we have felt the impact of this in Michigan.

County services and infrastructure are under great financial and operational duress across the country as a result of shrinking revenues, increased costs and increased populations. In addition, emergency disaster preparedness and response challenges are overwhelming many understaffed and budget-crunched counties.

How can counties alone possibly meet these growing challenges as demands for services continue to increase? They cannot and that’s why the White House and Congress need to Restore the Partnership with the nation’s counties so we can continue to deliver essential services, maintain aging infrastructure and protect communities at a level Americans expect.

I am most proud of our efforts to advance my two presidential initiatives: The Campaign Against Sexual Exploitation (CASE) and Youth Aging Out of Foster Care. As a result, many counties have passed local policies, held public meetings, and established community-wide task forces to fight child sexual exploitation much like the one we have here in Oakland County. Many more counties are now actively using the resources of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to promote public awareness in their communities.

We also raised national awareness among county officials about the plight of young adults aging out of foster care. We promoted promising county practices that support them as they transition to independent adulthood, identified policy solutions, and enlisted county officials in a call to action to take a leadership role in communities to improve the outcomes for former foster youth. This effort led to the passage of U.S. Rep. Jim McDermontt (D-Wash.) and Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) joint sponsored H.R. 6307, the “Fostering Connections to Success Act,” which include several provisions that are a significant part of my Youth Aging Out of Foster Care Initiative. I was honored to serve on a distinguished panel at the 2008 Aspen Ideas Festival, in Aspen, Colorado to address the question of our federal government’s role in improving child well being, health, education and support of needy families.

Finally, I want to thank my own District 23 constituents for their patience and understanding over the past 12 months as my NACo obligations required my participation in meetings and conferences across the country. Sure, I was away more often than I liked, but I was always at county meetings when important decisions were made and the opportunity to reach out to so many dedicated county officials and discuss our common problems and solutions was extremely rewarding. I am a better public servant for the experience.

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Eric Coleman, a member of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners since 1996, served as NACo President through the conclusion of the 2008 Annual Conference in Kansas City and will continue to serve on NACo’s Executive Committee as Immediate Past President and as a member of the Board of Directors.