Hiring Neurodiverse Talent in the Public Sector - Breaking Down the Barriers

More than 3,000 county officials and others will converge on New Orleans this week for NACo’s 91st Annual Conference & Exposition, where the nation’s counties will set their federal policy agenda and elect new leadership.

Orange County, Fla. is working to develop affordable housing on land owned by religious institutions and Fairfax County, Va. is exploring co-locating its libraries with affordable housing. 

Facing challenges that could further shrink its pool of EMS volunteers, McLean County, N.D. eased the process for county staff to participate. 

Read County News’ coverage of the NACo Annual Conference starting Friday, from steering committee meetings and workshops to General Session speakers and tours of the systems that make Orleans Parish, La. a vibrant place to live and visit. 

Wise County, Texas Judge J.D. Clark found a theme throughout all of his experiences as NACo president: "The common thread is the work, not the politics. People who serve at the county level are in it because they’re interested in results and solutions."

On July 13, leaders of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee released the text of its Water Resources Development Act of 2026 (WRDA 2026). In addition to reauthorizing major projects through the U.S. Army of Corps of Engineers (Army Corps), the bipartisan legislation would reauthorize the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs.

Fulton County’s journey to the cloud is reshaping how government delivers services at scale. In this webinar, the county’s CIO will share how Fulton County is leveraging cloud platforms and modern technologies to improve operational efficiency, break down silos, and better connect services across departments. Attendees will gain insight into the strategy, challenges, and lessons learned from driving digital transformation in one of the nation’s largest county governments—and how technology is enabling more responsive, resilient, and resident-centered services.

The most damaging breaches in county government rarely begin with a sophisticated exploit. They begin with a person — someone who is stressed, overloaded, or afraid to raise a hand. For counties defending elections, courts, emergency services, and water systems,  with lean teams and tight budgets, the way leaders build culture and trust is one of the highest-leverage security controls they own.

This panel brings county leaders together to explore how psychological safety, authentic leadership, and a culture of belief — not box-checking — drive real cyber resilience. Panelists will share candid, on-the-ground perspectives on moving from performative compliance to operational commitment, treating people as the strongest control rather than the weakest link, and using AI to sharpen human judgment rather than replace it.

Ready to turn your communications modernization plans into funded reality? This webinar provides a practical roadmap for aligning technology initiatives with available grant funding in justice reform, rural health, mental health, and public safety.

We will share firsthand experience navigating the funding landscape and successfully securing support for technology investments and break down specific funding sources and demonstrates how to position Zoom solutions within grant applications.