Vol. 35, Number 7—July 2003

Expanded Service Wins Court National Recognition

Giving newly naturalized citizens immediate access to voter registration and passport applications has made the Central District of California a winner in the 16th annual Innovations in American Government Awards competition.

The court ranked among the top 100 programs, one of only 17 federal government semifinalists in a field of nearly 1,000 applicants from all levels of government — federal, state, local, tribal and territorial.

The Innovations in American Government Award, one of the nation's most prestigious public-service prizes, recognizes "quality and responsiveness at all levels of government" and fosters the replication of innovative approaches to the challenges facing government. The Central District of California was recognized for expanding its traditional naturalization ceremony so that new citizens could register to vote and apply for a U.S. passport in a single location.

Over the past four years, a collaboration of four independent agencies — the District Court for the Central District of California, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice), the U.S. Passport Agency of the Department of State, and the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters Office — has resulted in 584,000 new citizens, 62,000 completed passport applications, and approximately 195,000 new registered voters in the seven counties that comprise this district of approximately 18 million residents.

The cooperative program resolved a number of problems. For example, new citizens with a need to travel immediately can complete passport applications at the ceremony site as soon as they have taken their citizenship oath. Additionally, new citizens may register to vote. Personnel from the Passport Agency and the Registrar of Voters Office are present to answer questions and assist in completing the applications. Since the district's ceremonies often involve up to 7,000 new citizens at each monthly event, the convenience to citizens and the savings in staff time for the agencies results in a definite win-win situation.

The Innovation Awards, a program of the Institute for Government Innovation at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, is administered in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government, a national, nonprofit, non-partisan organization, whose mission is to improve government performance. The program was founded by the Ford Foundation to identify and promote excellence and creativity in the public sector.

Additional information concerning specific details of the program is available from the District Court for the Central District of California, Jury and Naturalization Manager, Frank Galvan, at (218) 894-3699.