WAUTOMA - A program that makes a difference in the lives of Waushara County residents has been recognized as a semifinalist for the Innovations in American Government Awards.

As a finalist, Cooperative Care of Waushara County is eligible to receive a $100,000 grant. This is the third time the worker-owned home and personal care co-op has been nominated, said Executive Director Kathy McGwin.

Last year Cooperative Care came very close to winning the grant money. Tips from the agency that gives the grants may make it possible to be successful this time, McGwin said.

Winners will be announced in July.

Innovations in American Government Awards considers four criteria in selecting the winners - creativity, effectiveness, whether the program addresses a significant problem and whether it is transferable to other jurisdictions, said Amy Edwards, a spokeswoman for the award organization.

This time, Cooperative Care has included information that shows that other area organizations are attempting to copy the program. This was the one area Cooperative Care needed to work on, McGwin said.

If Cooperative Care wins the grant, the money will be spent to expand the program and help others develop similar programs, McGwin said.

Nominees represent the nation's very best public sector efforts in the areas of education and training, criminal justice and public safety, economic and community development, health and social service, management, transportation, public works and environment, according to a news release from Harvard University's Innovations in American Government Awards.

Cooperative Care is the answer to two pressing local needs - the need for home care workers and the need for jobs with benefits.

Cooperative Care was established in 1999 with about 50 workers. Today roughly 75 member-owners provide care to more than 100 clients. Member-owners earn between $7.75 and $9.75 per hour in addition to time-and-a-half for overtime, personal days off, vacation, workmen's compensation, insurance benefits, and a share in the profits, McGwin said.

Member-owners received individual checks from $10 to $250 in profits last year, depending on how much they worked. More was set aside in retained assets that member-owners receive when they leave the co-op, McGwin said.

"Without the vision of (retired) Human Services Director Lu Rowley, the acceptance of that vision by Waushara County Government, and the hard work of the initial group of direct care givers, this award would not have happened," McGwin said.

Cooperative Care was one of nearly 1,000 applicants for the 2005 Innovations in American Government, a program now in its 18th year.

Patricia Wolff: (920) 361-0770 or email