King County’s Priority Hire program has been featured by the White House as one of six examples from across the country to share how evidence can inform practices and policies.

“When we use evidence to inform our practices and policies everyone benefits,” said Sandy Hanks. Manager, Business Development and Contract Compliance in the Department of Executive Services.

The White House’s recent Year of Evidence for Action Summit highlighted leading practices from Federal Agencies to generate and use research-backed knowledge to advance better, more equitable outcomes for all of America. As a lead up to the Summit, the White House Evidence Team solicited examples of evidence in action from invitees.

King County submitted 15 examples of our equity- and evidence-driven work to the White House. These 15 examples are just a few highlights of the equity- and evidence-driven work King County employees do every day.

“King County has a strong commitment to equity- and data-informed decisions, and to using and building evidence about how our actions, processes, and investments contribute to better outcomes for the people and communities we serve,” said Carrie S. Cihak, King County Evidence and Impact Officer.

King County’s Priority Hire Program is a workforce and economic development strategy providing training and family wage employment opportunities in the construction industry on King County public works construction projects of $5 million or more. The Priority Hire program provides access for people interested in pursuing career opportunities in the construction industry who reside in economically distressed areas of the King County region. With the goal of championing greater workforce diversity in the trades, King County’s Priority Hire Program has addressed a widening gap between the demand for construction labor and the supply of skilled trade workers in our regional labor market.

Evidence has been foundational to the development and implementation of the Priority Hire Program.

“The Priority Hire Program is an example of how the county used research-based evidence to identify zip codes and prioritize individuals from vulnerable and underserved populations for paid training and family wage employment opportunities on County construction projects,” Hanks said.

In addition, the Priority Hire Program is an important component of King County’s Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan and supports a more diverse and trained workforce that is necessary for the region to continue to prosper. From the most recent data available, 2018-2021, the Priority Hire Program has exceeded its goals for the proportion of labor hours from workers in targeted zip codes:  nearly one-third of the labor hours were performed by participants who reside in Priority Hire communities. In 2021, the Priority Hire Program saw the following impressive results:

• $4.4 million in wages earned by Priority Hire workers
• 305,583 total Washington State labor hours on projects with Priority Hire requirements
• 93,875 Priority Hire labor hours
• 45% Priority Hire apprentice participation rate, exceeding the required rate of 19%
• 27% Priority Hire journey worker participation rate, exceeding the required rate of 16%
• 577 Priority Hire workers, including 482 journey workers and 95 apprentices.

Additionally, the Priority Hire Program is clearly reaching more people every year and fulfilling its goals of increasing entry and diversity in the building trades: 45% of Priority Hire workers identify as people of color as compared to 24% people of color in the King County construction industry overall. While the proportion of women participating in Priority Hire (13% in 2021) is higher than women represented in the nationwide construction industry (11% in 2021), more work is needed to open additional opportunities for women.

The Priority Hire Program is currently implemented through a Master Community Workforce Agreement (MCWA), which is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement between King County and 18 construction labor unions that sets the basic terms and conditions of employment on covered public works projects. The MCWA strengthens the collaborative relationship with our labor partners and is an efficient contracting business practice that sets clear expectations on all construction projects above specified dollar thresholds. 

Jail Health Services recently wrapped up a successful month of COVID-19 vaccinations, building on a program that used financial incentives to encourage vaccine uptake among people in custody.

As part of the COVID-19 Vaccine Benefit Program, people detained at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle and the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent were provided a $50 credit to their commissary accounts (“books”) for any dose as part of their overall vaccine series. Anyone receiving a first, second, or a booster dose was eligible.

From May 19 to June 21, staff administered 500 vaccine doses totaling $25,000 in donor dollars distributed. This represents a 66% increase in vaccines administered compared to the same period in April 2022. During this period the vaccine refusal rate decreased from 74.3% to 51.9%.

“This strongly suggests that these benefits remain popular among our in-custody populations, and that they represent a significant step in improving the overall health and safety in the facilities,” said Jail Health’s Chris Rampaul, a member of the Vaccine Benefit Program.

COVID-19 vaccination rates inside jails and prisons lag behind the community at large. That’s the case at King County jails, even though everyone in custody is given opportunities to get vaccinated starting at intake.

Among King County residents over the age of 5, an estimated 94% have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, and about 54% have received a booster dose in addition to their primary series.

Vaccinations are required for all King County employees working in secure detention.

Leadership at Jail Health Services (JHS) and the Department of Adult & Juvenile Detention (DAJD) commended staff for their efforts on the Vaccine Benefit Program, which brought an increased administrative workload.

Those who helped make the work possible included: the JHS Vaccine Nursing team, DAJD’s uniformed employees, DAJD finance staff, JHS Health Information Management, and the JHS project team.

Staff continue to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to people in custody without the commissary credit.

Jail Health Services is a division of Public Health – Seattle & King County.

Originally posted in King County Sheriff’s Office News

Recently, Sound Transit Resource Deputies Steve Wright and Marshall Smith were assisting BNSF Railway police with contacting the occupants of the pictured encampment, located on rail property near Skyway. As the photos show, the encampment wasn’t suitable for anyone to be living in or around.

However, Deputies Wright and Smith found a woman and her 21-month-old son living here. The woman said she and her son had been living in the encampment for over a year.

Deputies Wright and Smith knew they needed to step in get this mother and her son some help, so they reached out to the Salvation Army Street Level Group. 

Street Level is an arm of the Salvation Army that does outreach for people living in vehicles and parking lots. The Salvation Army was able to get the mother and her child into a clean, safe place while they worked on a permanent solution.

A couple weeks after the initial contact, Deputies Wright and Smith learned the Salvation Army was able to get the mom and son to Idaho to live with a relative.

To learn more about King County’s efforts to end homelessness visit www.kingcounty.gov/housing. To apply for housing or shelter click here.

Originally posted in King County Sheriff’s Office News

On Thursday June 16, law enforcement throughout the state participated in the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) for the Special Olympics. The mission is to raise awareness and funds for the Special Olympics movement, and several King County contract city partners also participated. Shoreline, Burien, Sound Transit, Sammamish, Maple Valley, and Covington ran or walked alongside community members and King County Deputy Kristi Bridgman, who led the effort. 

There were also two Special Olympic athletes in attendance, both of whom have been participating in the Torch run for five years.

The events didn’t end there, as the Special Olympics hosted their annual Olympic Games on Saturday, June 19. In attendance were law enforcement officers, considered the ‘Guardians of the Flame’, who carried the Torch for the opening ceremonies at Pacific Lutheran University. This was the first in person Special Olympics Games in Washington in over two years! For more information on the history LETR, check out this video: Game Changers | History of the Law Enforcement Torch Run – YouTube