Social Media spotlight: All Home Twitter
All Home is a community-wide partnership to make homelessness in King County rare, brief and one-time.
Follow All Home on Twitter today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
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Employee learning priorities: Online resources survey
Your learning and growth are important to us. If you haven’t had a chance to complete our quick survey yet, please do. It will help us in the short-term to tailor our online learning portal, KC eLearning. Results also will be used to identify priorities for future development of learning resources.
Complete the survey by July 25 and be entered to win a prize! Details can be found using the survey link above.
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Explore farm fresh food in King County
A new virtual tour of farm fresh food in King County will spark inspiration in foodies and newbies alike. Explore the farmers markets, farm stands, and CSA programs in our community with a dash of history and helpful shopping tips.
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You belong here: Welcome Inclusion Symposium supports 2018 Special Olympics
Shared from the DCHS Touching Base Newsletter
The Special Olympics USA Games are coming to Seattle/King County in 2018! Thousands of athletes and their families will travel to the Pacific Northwest to compete in the games.
Businesses and governments across King County are actively preparing for those visitors. More than 300 people attended the Welcome Inclusion (WIN) Symposium hosted by Microsoft at their Redmond Campus on June 27, 2017. Sponsored by the Arc of King County, WIN is a public awareness campaign to promote a community of inclusion for children and adults with intellectual, behavioral and social differences. It is a grassroots movement to dispel misunderstanding and promote the benefits of including people of all abilities in daily relationships, workforces and civic activities. Businesses can receive special designation and decals as WIN-friendly locations.
The symposium is one of several events taking place in 2017 in advance of the 2018 games. King Executive Dow Constantine, as the keynote speaker, talked about King County’s Equity and Social Justice Initiative and the County’s core value of ensuring that our region provides opportunities for people of all ages and all abilities to achieve their full potential and be involved in and contribute to their community.
The campaign will continue now through next spring. The opening ceremony for the Special Olympics USA Games will take place at Husky Stadium on July 1, 2018.
To learn more about what DCHS is doing in our community, read the most recent issue of the Touching Base Newsletter (on SharePoint).
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The 2017 King County Trans Resource and Referral Guide is now available
The Department of Community and Human Services is excited to announce that the 2017 version of the King County Trans Resource and Referral Guide is now available! Thanks to Mental Illness and Drug Dependency (MIDD) funding provided last year, the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence, in partnership with several community organizations and with support from King County, was able to produce this updated guide. The online version is available here and is live – available in both Spanish and English versions now. The web hosting has been donated by a community member and will be updated ongoing.
In 2014, the Coalition was able to produce the very first King County Trans Resource and Referral Guide (2014 Community Draft Project) via the LGBTQ Access Project, which was funded under a Department of Justice Grant to the Coalition and the NW Network to promote access for LGBTQ folks to many social services throughout King County, including behavioral health. King County DCHS ESJ supported this work and provided resources to print the guide, as well as the Public Health Department. The Guide, only the fourth or so in the county of its kind, was distributed widely throughout King County to both trans folks and providers of social services. There has been demand for an updated version ever since.
This is another ESJ milestone for DCHS and King County that will benefit our trans community members in King County – and educate and support our Contractors to provide excellent trans competency services! Thanks to the MIDD Oversight committee and the MIDD staff for assistance in funding this important work!
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KCIT named top large county IT organization in the U.S.
King County Information Technology (KCIT) took first place in the 15th annual National Association of Counties (NACo) Digital Counties Survey. King County was recognized for its vision, strategy, innovation, and collaboration.
“This is an important award,” said Bill Kehoe, Chief Information Officer and IT Director. “It validates the real, day-to-day work that our employees do. They are the reason King County is known as one of the Best Run Governments in the country.”
The Digital Counties Survey comes from the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties. The national award recognizes best practices and innovation for IT plans and programs.
KCIT is a business solutions partner that collaborates with the 18 King County departments to develop products and services that benefit King County residents and King County employees. Among the notable services and products called out in the award:
- Increased mobile applications for King County residents
- Improved mobility through increased wireless capacity, speed, and access
- A cloud strategy that saves money and reduces the carbon footprint
- A focus on the Internet of Things (IoT) and all aspects of data, including analytics for faster and better strategic and operational business decisions.
“Judges were impressed with our regional collaborative approach to problem solving. They specifically called out our modernization strategy which includes standardizing on platforms and our cloud strategy,” said Kehoe. “Of course, cybersecurity is foundational to everything we do from elections to managing privacy in the justice system.”
Kehoe added, “In the last few years, the organization and the county have gone mainly from operational and transactional to more of a strategic and innovative approach. I think we are always looking to improve and really understand where our customers’ pain points are and new ways to engage with them as well.”
“Digital counties are leveraging technology to improve the ways they conduct business and engage with citizens in increasingly innovative and exciting ways,” said Todd Sander, executive director of the Center for Digital Government. “The Center for Digital Government congratulates this year’s winners for their work to reduce costs, encourage citizen engagement, increase efficiencies and proactively address citizen expectations.”
In November 2016, Governing Magazine named Dow Constantine Public Executive of the Year. “Executive Constantine has high expectations for himself and for us. I’m pleased we are able to deliver,” said Kehoe.
KCIT is a consolidated executive branch IT organization that provides IT consulting and services to the 18 executive and separately elected departments.
The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute focused on technology policy and best practices in state and local government. CDG is a division of e.Republic, the nation’s only media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government and education.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) unites America’s 3,069 county governments. Founded in 1935, NACo brings county officials together to advocate with a collective voice on national policy, exchange ideas and build new leadership skills, pursue transformational county solutions, enrich the public’s understanding of county government and exercise exemplary leadership in public service.
The Digital Counties Survey awards will be given out July 22 in Columbus, Ohio.
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Reuniting families through Reunification Day 2017
King County celebrated the efforts of parents to reunite with their children that were once placed in foster care at the eight-annual Reunification Day on June 30, 2017.
Judge Helen Halpert, Superior Court Chief Dependency Judge, kicked off the celebration which was attended by several Superior Court Judges and Commissioners, and featured Presiding Judge Laura Inveen, a Reunification Day Proclamation by King County Executive Dow Constantine and parents sharing the stories of their journeys to reunification.
“I listened to those wonderful words from [parents] Scott and from Natalie, and I think they couldn’t have imagined three years ago that they would get in front of a room, serve as this kind of inspiration, be comfortable with public speaking and be the wonderful parents and wonderful community leaders they have become today,” Judge Halpert said. “I am so proud of them and of all of you.”
Watch the video to see the full celebration.
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Featured Job: Transit Electrical Designer IV
Closing date/time: 07/30/17 11:59 PM
Salary: $27.69 – $37.43 Hourly
Location: King Street Center – 201 S Jackson St, Seattle
Job type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week
Division: Department of Transportation – Transit Division
Description: Come help build the future of Transit in King County! Over the next few years King County Metro Transit will be expanding our fleet to provide greater transit service which will include a fleet of all electric buses. We are recruiting for a Transit Electrical Designer IV to help build the infrastructure that supports that new fleet. That infrastructure will include:
- the design and installation of charging stations to support that electric fleet,
- the design and expansion of our existing transit maintenance and operations facilities,
- the design and construction of at least one new maintenance and operations facility,
- the design and installation of passenger facilities and so much more.
All of these require electric power to operate and maintain, we need a dedicated individual to help design these systems so that we can continue to move people safely and electrically throughout the greater Seattle/King County area.
Contact: For more information contact Mara Cardenas, Talent Acquisition Manager, 206-477-2358, mara.cardenas@kingcounty.gov.
Learn more about this position, or view all available jobs.
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Kudos to officers during Probation and Parole Week, July 16-22, 2017
The following is a kudos from Catherine Thompson, a Probation Manager with King County District Court:
We would like to recognize King County District Court Probation Officer’s (P.O.’s) during National Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week, focusing on Empowerment through Partnerships. An important part of supervision is understanding how we can work together to give clients the best chance of successfully reentering the community. We are continuously mindful of how to best utilize current and potential partnerships to the benefit of our clients.
Probation services are provided to any defendant who is sentenced to probation by a judge, including primarily high impact and repeat offenders, those convicted of violent offenses, and those in need of drug, alcohol and/or mental health treatment. Probation supervision enhances community and individual safety and offers life-changing intervention by helping individuals to make better decisions.
In addition to the P.O.’s , an important part of our probation team are the Probation Clerks. There is a court clerk assigned to each courthouse location housing a KCDC Probation Services office. Probation Clerks are often the first face that our clients see when entering our office. They are an excellent resource to the defendants and Probation Officers alike.
It is a privilege and honor to work alongside King County District Court’s team of skilled and dedicated Probation Officers, Probation Mental Health Specialists and Probation Clerks. Their work is challenging but rewarding, difficult but necessary. These individuals are committed to improving public safety and reducing the likelihood that an individual will re-enter the criminal justice system, one client at a time.
Join us in recognizing our Probation Teams. Below are our District Court officers, specialists and clerks.
- Auburn Courthouse: Probation Officers-Jay Gorham, Elizabeth Owens, Probation Clerk– Michelle Ewing
- Kent RJC: Probation Officers– Nadine Wallace, Rachel Brooks-Bailey, Lema Hackett, Probation Mental Health Specialist– David Alber, Probation Clerk– Suzette Van Aken
- Seattle Courthouse: Probation Officers– JD Pettitz, Chris Allen, Probation Mental Health Specialists– Steve Wede, Susan Butler, Heather McIntyre, Katherine Pfundheller, Probation Clerk- Naomi Pennington
- Shoreline Courthouse: Probation Officers– David Sterner, Nicholas D’Angelo, Probation Clerk: Andrea Shao
- Issaquah Courthouse: Probation Officers– Annette Pooley, Kari Goode, Lead Probation Officer– Samantha Corder, Probation Clerk– Margo Cusin
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