Meaningful program creates workplace efficiencies and opportunities for employees
King County’s Supported Employment Program matches job seekers with developmental disabilities to available jobs by identifying efficiencies and unmet needs throughout King County departments. The program allows each department to review its standard work practices utilizing Lean principles. A job coach is also available to help supported employees thrive in the workplace.
Christina Davidson, Supported Employment Program Manager shares how meaningful this can be in several ways.
“When creating opportunities to be more inclusive with our hiring we are also creating efficiencies and cost savings in departments,” she said. “It’s pretty cool to get to hire more inclusively and have it also help your bottom line.”
One of these new hires is Mariam Laine, who recently started working in the Department of Public Defense (DPD) in the Client Clothing Room. DPD maintains a clothing room to support their clients with trial clothing for court appearances, so they hired Mariam to maintain, organize, inventory and fill requests for trial clothing for all of the divisions. Mariam also supports the finance department by scanning digital receipts for assigned counsel cases. Prior to centralizing the Client Clothing Room, all of the DPD divisions were maintaining their own clothing and purchases.
Pictured: The Department of Public Defense maintains a clothing room to support their clients with trial clothing for court appearances, so they hired Supported Employee Mariam to maintain, organize, inventory and fill requests for trial clothing for all of the divisions.
“There was no standard process, so we took a Lean approach and created one large clothing closet for all the divisions to utilize,” said Laura Federighi, Chief Financial Officer for DPD. “I thought that managing the clothing room and supporting with administrative needs in our department seemed like a good fit for the Supported Employment Program.”
“There are so many jobs that people can do if we structure them right. Employees in the Supported Employment Program bring so much to the worksite.”
Terry Howard, Project/Program Manager III and Mariam’s direct supervisor, agrees. She shares that Mariam has been a great help in the workplace, handling incoming requests and inventory as well as maintaining the clothing room.
“Mariam’s been a great fit too. She is eager to learn and takes pride in her work. She’s also a joy to work with.”
Mariam takes satisfaction in her work, and the opportunity it has provided her to become independent. Helping employees grow and share their skill sets with one another is an important part of the program.
“I feel happy here and I like working full time. I am able to move into my own apartment, which was a goal of mine,” she said. “I have enjoyed meeting new people, making friends and learning new things. I am pretty shy, so my coworkers have helped me to feel more comfortable.”
Pictured: Supported Employee Chris Noel
Another supported employee is Chris Noel, who works at the Department of Elections as a Data Entry Assistant. His position works to process voter records. The Elections office receives a high volume of voter records each day from the Department of Licensing that need to be processed within the voter tracking system.
Kim Streeter, Program Supervisor I, shared how important it is these records are updated regularly and kept in order.
“Our average amount of records per day is 800. When we have to pause for the election cycle and those individual records start really building up. It has gotten up to 28,000 records,” she said.
Chris was brought on board to verify voter registration information for new and existing voter accounts. His work has helped him gain new skills. It has also opened up training and mentoring opportunities for members of the team to train Chris on the standardized procedures.
“Hiring Chris has helped us keep up with our records. It has also giving other employees leadership opportunities to provide training to him,” Kim said. “Chris is great at his work. He is dependable and dedicated to doing a good job.”
Chris’s job coach helped onboard him at Elections with the initial training, and now checks in regularly to support Chris, Kim and the entire team when needed. The work varies and allows Chris to get to know his coworkers and feel that he is making a visible impact.
“I like working in a quiet atmosphere where everyone is friendly and helpful. I enjoy doing different tasks,” he said. “After being unemployed for two years, finding a job that I really enjoy, and receiving positive feedback about my work, I feel really happy to come to work every day.”
The program is doubly effective as it meets line of business needs, but does so in a way that provides real value to each supported employee. Departments within King County who participate in the program benefit from a dedicated employee who cares about their work.
“The Supported Employment Program continues to grow. We are now have 55 supported employees within King County,” said Christina.
“Big thank you to the leadership in Department of Public Defense, Elections, and other departments for utilizing the Supported Employment Program to fill their business needs.”
To learn more, visit the Supported Employment Program website, or contact Program Manager Christina Davidson at Christina.Davidson@kingcounty.gov to find out how to take advantage of this program.
To support the Department of Public Defense with a clothing donation, contact Terry Howard at Terry.Howard@kingcounty.gov.
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DPD’s new special counsel has long worked at the forefront of social change
By Leslie Brown, Department of Public Defense
As a young woman just out of college and well aware of institutionalized racism and its generational impact on black and brown people in America, La Rond Baker decided to use her degree to teach GED and Adult Basic Education classes at the King County Correctional Facility. Even so, she was struck by what she saw in the jail – by the stark racial disparities between the jail population and the general population of Seattle.
Two years later, La Rond went to work for Powerful Voices, a Seattle-based nonprofit focused on developing young women’s social justice leadership and advocacy. There, she worked with young women in juvenile detention and again saw how various institutional systems – from education to foster care – failed young people in incredibly vulnerable positions.
Law school was the next logical jump, she said. “As much as I loved direct service and recognize its importance, I realized I wanted to use my skills to work for systemic and institutional change.”
Today, La Rond (the “d” in her name is silent) is the Department of Public Defense’s new special counsel for affirmative litigation and policy, where working to address systemic change is part of her job description. Though here less than two months, La Rond has already begun working in collaboration with DPD supervisors on the use of restraints at the Involuntary Treatment Act Court, on an amicus brief on jury pay, and on mental health and transgender issues at the King County jail. She’s representing a family in an inquest over a police shooting, helping to develop DPD’s new role in that process.
“There’s no shortage of issues to work on,” she said.
La Rond obtained her JD from the University of Washington in 2010. Shortly after law school, she became a staff attorney at ACLU of Washington, where she was lead or co-counsel on several high-profile cases and quickly developed a reputation as a thorough and aggressive litigator.
As an ACLU attorney, La Rond worked on two voting rights cases (Montes v. City of Yakima and Glatt v. City of Pasco), successfully challenging the cities of Yakima and Pasco for the way they were diluting the Latino vote. Shortly after a federal judge ruled in ACLU’s favor, three Latino candidates won seats on the Yakima City Council, a first in the city’s history.
She waged a successful battle on behalf of Muslim inmates at the Pierce County Jail who were being denied certain religious freedoms (Tarrer v. Pierce County). She tried the Trueblood case, along with Anita Khandelwal and several other attorneys, helping to successfully challenge the state’s failure to provide timely competency services to defendants ordered to receive mental health treatment.
She might have happily stayed at the ACLU for several more years, were it not for a watershed moment – President Trump’s travel ban. Inspired by State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s determination to stand up to the Trump administration, La Rond saw that one could do meaningful and important work in government. “It was impressive. I had never thought of being a government attorney until that moment.”
Shortly thereafter, La Rond joined the Civil Rights Unit of the AG’s Office and continued to use her legal skills to effect change. One of her biggest cases was against GEO, the private company that runs the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma (it recently changed its name to the Northwest ICE Processing Center), challenging GEO’s practice of paying detainees $1 day, instead of minimum wage, to perform work profiting the corporation. The case continues to move forward after a federal judge this month refused to dismiss it, the third such ruling.
However, since those days in the King County jail, La Rond continued to feel drawn to criminal justice work. Thus, when she learned that DPD was looking for a special counsel focused on litigation and policy, a position that would entail addressing systemic issues that keep poor people and people of color ensnared in the criminal legal system, she jumped at the opportunity.
“Addressing the failings of the criminal legal system is one of the greatest ways to address racial disparities, because involvement in the criminal legal system is what leads to exclusion from basic economic opportunities – from housing, from educational opportunities, from jobs. It also rips families and communities apart,” she said.
Throughout her career, her civil work has often overlapped with criminal defense. She’s glad to now be joining the fight. “This is the job I went to law school for,” she added. ”I’m excited to be here.”
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Five questions with Chris O’Claire, Division Director for Mobility, King County Metro
Why did you start in your role with King County?
I started at King County 15 years ago as an intern in the Service Development. I joined Metro because I was passionate about making a positive impact on the environment. And, I was immediately drawn to public transportation as a way to reduce carbon emissions by getting people out of their cars. But what keeps me here is the people – the employees that are committed to providing the best public transportation and the customers.
For me, the ability to connect customers to their families, workplaces, medical facilities and communities via the various public transportation opportunities we offer is the icing on the cake.
What do you do in your role?
As the Division Director for Mobility, I oversee the planning and preparation for all services, including the development of market innovations for our customers and employers, the connection of our customers on a daily basis to the system, and the delivery of all non-fixed route services. I try to stay at a strategic level, guiding leaders in the mobility division to make decisions, assess risks and allocate resources.
Why did you choose this field as your career?
Somehow the career chose me. I am an environmental economist by training, with a real desire for serving people. Public service is a real passion of mine, as I aspire on a daily basis to improve our communities.
What is the biggest challenge of your job?
Managing my time is the biggest one. As a Division Director, I feel pulled in many different directions by colleagues, stakeholders, customers, elected officials, etc. I try to focus on assessing risks rather than managing details. What I love most is connecting with people – from hearing about what inspires employees professionally or personally to listening to customers on how they thrive or struggle with our services. I love finding pockets of time to connect with people.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
The people! Metro employees inspire me to come to work every day. The commitment we share as a team to deliver the best services to our customers is a big draw. Additionally, I come to work to be challenged on a daily basis. More recently, I’ve been trying to live by our four Pro-Equity Compacts and I am focused on being “comfortable with discomfort.” I am challenging myself to listen deeply to others and think openly around how to lead with a new mindset around delivering services where needs are greatest.
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King County Council recognizes 2019 Disability Awareness Month
Click to view the full proclamation.
On Oct. 16, 2019, the Metropolitan King County Council proclaimed October as Disability Awareness Month in King County, celebrating the many contributions that people with disabilities make to our community and workforce. The proclamation is a reminder of our continued efforts to break down barriers so that people of all abilities can share their unique abilities, perspectives and talents.
Signed into law in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ensures that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
This proclamation is a testament to all the hard work by activists with disabilities and their advocates around the nation. At King County, we celebrate those efforts but know that our work is ongoing and we will continue to advocate, serve and promote our values of inclusion. View the full proclamation here. The announcement can also be seen on the Council’s Twitter and Facebook.
As we prepare to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the passing of the ADA, we are asking for employee volunteers that identify as having a disability and allies to coordinate events next Oct. Please email Christina.davidson@kingcounty.gov if you are interested in helping to plan events/trainings for Disability Awareness month next year.
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Please join us in the Annual Giving Drive
Dear Fellow King County Employee and Giving Partner,
We want to share something amazing about our Employee Giving Program – thanks to the generosity of the people who work here, we celebrate having raised more than $32 million since our program began in 1988.
What does that mean for our community? It means numerous children have learned to read. It means countless seniors at risk for hunger have eaten hot, nourishing meals. It means increasing numbers of animals have gone to live in their forever homes. And it means researchers have achieved groundbreaking results to advance medicine.
The theme for this year’s Annual Giving Drive is a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “The time is always right to do the right thing.”
Today, and every day, our shared passion shines throughout the King County Employee Giving Program. The program supports you in all the ways you give with year-round options and resources, including volunteering.
We invite you to join us in this year’s Annual Giving Drive both by taking action on behalf of a cause important to you and by sharing your giving story. With so many ways to give and nearly 1,200 nonprofit organizations, you can participate in numerous ways.
From now through November 22, go online or use a paper form to pledge to your favorite Employee Giving Program nonprofits through:
- Payroll Donation: Choice of onetime, once per month, or twice per month deductions.
- Time Donation: Eligible vacation or comp time. See your department’s lead ambassador for details.
- Check: Made out directly to a nonprofit.
- Sick Leave for Volunteer Service: Eligible employees may use up to three sick days per calendar year to volunteer at an Employee Giving Program nonprofit or local school.
- Credit Card: Support your coworkers at special events!
Every individual contribution matters in helping our diverse community thrive. Just $5 per pay period can make a genuine difference to people, animals, and our environment. Learn more at kingcounty.gov/giving.
We are both huge fans of the Employee Giving Program, and we invite you to join us!
Your 2019 Annual Giving Drive Honorary Co-Chairs,
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Training Spotlight: Basic First Aid/CPR/AED, renewal
Basic First Aid/CPR/AED, renewal, multiple dates: The “Medic First Aid” program provides basic first aid, CPR, and AED (automated external defibrillator) training. The renewal option is for those who hold a current First Aid/CPR/AED card. It consists of a brief review of primary topics, followed by performance of each skill. This certification is valid for 2 years. Learn more and register here.
View more training and development opportunities at www.kingcounty.gov/learning.
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Third payday of the month, Oct. 31
Almost all King County employees get paid on a biweekly basis, every-other-Thursday, resulting in 26 pay periods per year. You usually receive two paychecks per month, but Oct. 31 will be your third payday of the month. The net dollar amount of these “third” paychecks may be larger because not all deductions are taken out. For example, Deferred Compensation, supplemental insurance premiums, Benefit Access Fees, and Employee Giving donations are not deducted from these checks.
For more information about your paycheck, go to Payroll or speak with your department Payroll representative or timekeeper.
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Discount available for employees at HomeStreet Bank and Disney on Ice
King County partners with HomeStreet Bank to offer employees the Hometown Home Loan Program. This employer-assisted housing program offers a wide selection of home loan options, whether you are buying your first home, refinancing, or remodeling. Visit the website for more information.
Disney On Ice presents Mickey’s Search Party at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, WA, Oct. 30-Nov. 4, 2019. Tickets can be purchased by calling 866-248-8740, option 1. For questions call the number or email FeldDirectGroups@feldinc.com. Savings will be applied at time of purchase. Order tickets before the deadline on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at 11 a.m.
View all available discounts at www.kingcounty.gov/employeediscounts.
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Getting to know Mohamed Nimeri
Pictured: From left, Mohamed Nimeri, Pavement Engineer, and Paul Cook, Maintenance Manager.
Mohamed Nimeri grew up loving airports. The family moved a lot for his father’s work as Sudan’s ambassador to several countries, so he had quite a bit of experience flying. Although he is from Sudan, he grew up in “a lot of countries,” including the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
King County International Airport recently hired Nimeri as its pavement engineer. He is advancing the state of the industry in pavements, and is one of King County’s most highly trained pavement experts.
Nimeri recently completed graduate school, earning master’s and doctoral degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno. In the past five years at UNR, he worked as a researcher, managing large-scale pavement experiments, designing flexible and rigid pavements, and performing laboratory testing.
Prior to his work at UNR, Nimeri managed construction projects in several Middle East countries, where he supervised geotechnical investigations, laboratory testing, and infrastructure work. He also designed retaining walls, shoring systems, and dewatering systems.
Talking with Nimeri, though, you find out he’s quite humble.
“A Ph.D. gives me a license to make mistakes and still get away with it,” he joked.
There are millions of dollars worth of paving projects scheduled at King County International Airport in the upcoming six-year Capital Improvement Program, including $8 million in small runway paving and about $22 million in main runway paving, said Paul Cook, Maintenance Manager.
“By bringing Mohamed on, we’ll be able to do this more scientifically and with metrics,” Cook added.
“Pavement continually deteriorates from day one,” Nimeri said. “You can invest in preventing the problems rather than fixing them.”
Nimeri loves spending time with his wife, Karima, and four children, Lina, Shahd, Ali, and Omar. He is a huge fan of soccer, loves listening to audiobooks and podcasts, hiking, basketball, and volleyball. He also enjoys meeting new people and learning about new cultures.
Please join us in welcoming Mohamed to the airport!
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Research results show students across U.S. put high value on FLASH curriculum
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
Students in different parts of the country overwhelmingly find the FLASH sexual health curriculum, produced by the Family Planning program at Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC), valuable and worth recommending to their peers.
As part of a multi-year study being conducted in the South and Midwest, more than 90 percent of students surveyed say they will use the skills they learned in class in their real lives, and more than 90 percent would recommend FLASH to a friend.
Read more from Public Health Insider
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