Johnson County earns Welcoming America one-star designation, first county in Iowa

Johnson County staff and members of a core committee told the joint entities meeting on Jan. 12 that the county has earned Welcoming America's one-star Certified Welcoming designation, the first county in Iowa to do so.

A county staff member introduced the certification and the core committee's work; committee members from partner organizations (including Ellen Alexander, Abby Cobb, Evan Doyle and Shayen Harrington) described the 16-month process, a one-day virtual audit with about 13 organizations, and the county's plan to use the audit's recommendations to guide future work.

The presenters said the designation recognizes local policies, programs and partnerships that help residents participate in economic, civic and social life. The county submitted evidence across the program's categories, organized a virtual audit in May, and received a final report and designation in the fall. Staff said the formal audit report had not yet been publicly released but that elected officials were being given the first briefing ahead of external communications.

Next steps include celebrating participating organizations in late February, a communitywide event during Welcoming Week in September, continuing quarterly core-committee meetings to set priorities, and preparing for re-certification at the one-star level or pursuing a higher designation at a later date. Committee members emphasized language-access improvements, partnership strengthening and continued evaluation as priorities.

Speakers and sourcing: the community engagement and policy office and the named core-committee representatives presented the certification background and next steps.