Kudos to Jennifer Hills, Risk Manager, Executive Services
This kudos is from Jennifer Ackerman, the Deputy Executive Director of the Public Risk Management Association. She is recognizing Jennifer Hills for her article published in Public Risk magazine.
Jennifer Hills
Hi Jennifer,
Congratulations! Your article on the Risk-Crisis Continuum has been selected as Public Risk magazine Article of the Year! You were selected by the judging panel for your article. This is a big honor as you were chosen from a pool of practitioner-writers.
Your name will be announced at PRIMA’s awards luncheon, to be held on Monday, June 5, during PRIMA’s Annual Conference in Phoenix.
Congratulations again and keep up the good writing!
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Social Media Spotlight: King County, WA on Facebook
Located on Puget Sound in Washington State, and covering 2,134 square miles, King County is nearly twice as large as the average county in the U.S. With more than 2 million residents, it is the 13th most populous county in the nation.
Learn about King County services you can use, and tell us how we can serve you better. Follow King County, WA on Facebook today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
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Town halls in unincorporated King County offer residents a chance to engage with King County officials
Shared from the DCHS Touching Base Newsletter
Leo Flor and Kelli Carroll staffed a DCHS table at the Fall City CSA meeting in 2016.
The 2017 Unincorporated Community Service Area (CSA) series of town hall meetings kicked off in April with well-attended meetings in Snoqualmie Valley and on Vashon Island. Residents received reports on local initiatives from their Councilmember, sheriff, assessor and other leaders from King County departments, and had the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns about issues affecting their community. A few DCHS management members and Best Starts for Kids reps attended the meetings, hosting a DCHS table with information about DCHS programs.
The CSA town halls offer residents of unincorporated King County an opportunity to engage with King County officials and hear about King County’s work in their specific area. DCHS reps will be attending all the meetings, and you’re invited to join! For a list of upcoming CSA meetings, click here.
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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Monitoring the environment during West Point restoration
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories
King County shared good news April 27 that West Point Treatment Plant is back online. Employees and contractors worked around the clock to restore critical mechanical and electrical systems that were damaged by severe flooding on Feb. 9.
Whenever clean water infrastructure is affected, King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) gets in front of environmental monitoring. The scale of the West Point incident called for increased environmental monitoring and close coordination with the State Department of Ecology.
King County knows how much people in our region care about the environment, including our waters. We are answering questions, addressing concerns, and providing information about our environmental monitoring efforts as West Point is restored. WTD’s West Point Restoration page includes all progress updates, plans, reports and data.
Read more at Clean Water Stories
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Free military career Expo, August 9
King County is hosting the fourth annual “Working with Our Troops Career Expo” at the Washington State Convention Center on Wednesday, August 9, 2017, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Expo is free to both employers and job seekers and attracts 300-400 Veterans, transitioning Service Members and their spouses. There is space for approximately 130 employers. The deadline for employer registration is August 4, or until all spaces are filled. Here is the registration form.
Each participating King County agency receives a:
- 10×10 booth space with an eight foot draped table, two chairs, access to power, and Wi-Fi
- Reduced daily parking rate of $6.00 for each of the agency’s representatives
- Free boxed lunch for each of the agency’s representatives
Unable to attend but want to conduct outreach to military job seekers? Contact Susan Navetski, King County’s Vets 4 HIRE Program Manager, at 206-477-3271 or susan.navetski@kingcounty.gov.
Please direct all questions about the Expo to Andrew Ang, Business Services Liaison, WorkSource of Seattle-King County, at 206-779-4071 or aang@esd.wa.gov.
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Annual conference for administrative professionals, June 21 and 22
King County is participating this year as a sponsor in the 2017 T.R.A.I.N Support Staff Conference, taking place June 21 and 22. The conference is open to employees of public agencies who work in an administrative, departmental, customer service or office support role.
Registration for the conference opens May 8, 2017. Click here to register then, or download this PDF for more information about the conference.
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Upsizing or downsizing your home
Are you ready to move up to a bigger home or downsize to a smaller one? This seminar is presented by HomeStreet Bank to help you learn what it takes to sell your existing home, how to determine the market value of your home, what improvements pay off, and how to crunch the numbers to budget for your next home.
There are two classes available:
- Thursday, May 11, noon to 1 p.m., Chinook Building
- Tuesday, May 16, noon to 1 p.m., King Street Center
To register for these classes you can call the Hometown Hotline at 888-425-6990, or go online to www.homestreet.com/kingco.
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King County Archives receives the AKCHO 2017 Technology Award for its online exhibit, “Responding to AIDS”
Crossposted from Bytes and Boxes
The King County Archives was chosen as winner of the Association of King County Heritage Organizations 2017 Technology Award for its online exhibit, Responding to AIDS: The Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, 1982-1996.
The AKCHO Technology Award is “presented annually to an organization for an outstanding project that pairs technology with local history and provides an inspiration or a model for the heritage community.” We are honored to be among this year’s AKCHO award recipients, listed here: 2017 AKCHO Award Honorees.
Read more at Bytes and Boxes
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New videos showcase diversity of careers, people at King County
King County is releasing a series of new videos that showcase the diversity of career opportunities at the County and the people who work here.
One of those employees is Deborah DeQuier-Bowden, Dental Supervisor for Columbia Public Health Dental Clinic.
“I get out of bed, come in here, because I know that I’m going to make a change, or I’m going to make some kind of good effort in somebody’s life today,” Deborah says in the video. “It makes me happy to help people. That’s one of the reasons I got into public service.”
King County offers a wide range of rewarding careers that provide an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people across our communities.
We are also working to become racially diverse and culturally responsive at all levels of the organization, which will help us provide equitable, high quality services to all our communities, as part of the Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan. Watch the video.
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DCHS developing 5 enhanced shelters for homeless individuals, families
Shared from the DCHS Touching Base Newsletter
Liz McDaniel of Mary’s Place was thrilled to accept 30 sets of sheets from the employees at King County Department of Community and Human Services for the tuck them in sheet drive.
The first of five enhanced shelters for homeless single adults and homeless families opened in March, and two more are moving forward!
White Center – The Family Shelter at White Center operated by Mary’s Place is open and providing safe, temporary housing for about 30 people (parents and children), which is the current capacity. Thanks to the Evergreen Aquatics Center, additional shower capacity is available just a short distance away. Construction is currently under way at the site, including plumbing additional onsite showers. Once that work is complete, the shelter capacity will stretch to about 70 residents. The shelter is open 24/7 with onsite case management and a range of other services. Meals are provided and families have the privacy of their own space for sleeping, in addition to common spaces for eating, socializing, playrooms for toddlers and homework tables for school-age children and youth. The community remains involved in the shelter, with a community work group meeting taking place in May to talk about operations to date. A community open house will be scheduled for early June. This location will house homeless families for about two years while planning gets under way for the permanent use of the land, likely a combination of human services and permanent housing in conjunction with Communities of Opportunity.
Kenmore – A community meeting sponsored by the City of Kenmore, Mary’s Place and King County has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 18 at 6 p.m. at the Northshore Fire Department Headquarters at 7220 NE 181st Street in Kenmore to discuss a proposed 24-hour resource center and family shelter. The shelter would be located on county-owned land, the vacant King County Sheriff’s precinct at 18118 73rd Ave NE in Kenmore. Representatives from Mary’s Place will talk about the services that Mary’s Place provides and how this shelter will help address the homelessness crisis in our region.
Bellevue – The Bellevue City Council voted on April 17 to move forward with planning for the Eastside Men’s Shelter and Supportive Housing project on land owned by King County near both the Eastgate Public Health Clinic and the Eastgate Park-n-Ride. The Council also agreed to a 45-day exploration period to determine the viability of two potential alternative sites for the shelter – the Lincoln Center office building at 515 116th Ave. NE and the future Eastside Sound Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility at 1899 120th Ave. NE. At the council study session on May 1, the City Council will review and comment on a set of criteria for this exploration. Bellevue is committed to a new 24/7 homeless men’s shelter with permanent housing above. Some Bellevue residents have voiced strong opposition to homeless men and the siting of a shelter in the proposed neighborhood.
Two more enhanced shelters are in the discussion and planning stages. Stay tuned!
For more information, contact Valerie Kendall with DCHS’ Housing and Community Development team at 206-263-9076 or valerie.kendall@kingcounty.gov.
To learn more about what DCHS is doing in our community, read the most recent issue of the Touching Base Newsletter (on SharePoint).
Employee News 