Eighth Annual Big Backyard 5K Presented by Kaiser Permanente
Parks will host its eighth annual 5K run/walk at Marymoor Park on Sunday, June 11 at 9 a.m. Parks is thrilled to welcome back Kaiser Permanente as the event’s presenting sponsor and Harborstone Credit Union as the official sponsor of the popular BBY5K hoodie. Early registration is available until April 15 and if you register by March 31, you can get that popular hoodie for only $5 more above the early registration rate. This event has raised more than $250,000 for King County Parks over the last seven years. Read more about the event via the press release and register today at bby5k.com.
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Tech Tip: KC eLearning, Explore and leverage a wealth of resources . . . today
Whether you’re looking for just-in-time support for an immediate task, skill and knowledge development around a specific topic, or a certification prep series to propel your career, KC eLearning is your new best friend. Tailor your learning with 1,000s of resources, the flexibility of 24/7 access, and learning at your own pace in your own space.
To get started with KC eLearning, download the KC eLearning Quick Start Guide here or click on the links below:
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MRJC Detention Facility observes 20th Anniversary
Leadership and staff from the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention celebrated Maleng Regional Justice Center’s 20th Anniversary last month at the facility in Kent; marking 20 years of providing jail services to the citizens and law enforcement agencies of South King County.
Director William Hayes, Commander Corinna Hyatt, and other DAJD team members shared memories of the direct supervision facility’s March 24, 1997 opening. Direct Supervision refresher training was occurring during the observance; highlighting the importance of ongoing in-service training for corrections staff on Direct Supervision principles and effective supervision of the inmate population.
Commander Hyatt, Kent Division Jail Commander, said “My coworkers at the MRJC detention facility consistently go above and beyond to get the job done and meet the demands of the operation. Many staff work long hours and at times under extreme stress and personal sacrifice. In celebration of the 20-year anniversary, I want to honor our staff and offer my sincere appreciation for their service, leadership, dedication and commitment to operating a safe, secure and humane detention facility. Staff efforts continue to reflect well upon personnel, the Department and King County. Thank you for a job well done!”
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Finding my way into restaurant kitchens: A Food Inspector story
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
For National Public Health Week, we’re celebrating by featuring unsung public health heroes who make our communities safer and healthier. Each day, we’ll highlight a public health worker through their own words, sharing their work and why they’re committed to serving our community.
To kick off the week we spoke with one of our Food Inspectors, Shauna Cartwright. Shauna and her fellow inspectors are responsible for inspecting over 12,000 food establishments, 1,800 pools and spas, 3,000 temporary food events (such as farmers markets and street fairs) and started 2017 by incorporating the new Food Safety Rating System into their day to day work. Wow, they are busy!
Read more at Public Health Insider
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Social Media Spotlight: King County Historic Preservation Facebook
This Facebook page is dedicated to the exploration and discussion of historic preservation activities in King County, Washington.
Follow King County Historic Preservation on Facebook today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
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Employee Discounts: Save 15% to Seattle Symphony
Employees can save 15% off regular priced seats to the Seattle Symphony’s Rachmaninov “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” using promo code Conductor1617.
Dates: Thursday, April 13, 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 15, 8 p.m.
How to buy tickets:
Online: Visit the website and use promo code Conductor1617 before selecting your tickets.
Phone: Call 206-215-4747 or 1-866-833-4747 (toll-free)
In Person: Visit the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall, on the corner of Third Ave and Union Street.
See all available discounts on the Employee Discount Webpage.
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Kudos! Office of Risk Management Services featured in national magazine for significantly improving employee engagement scores
In 2015, the Office of Risk Management Services scored 66% on the countywide employee engagement survey. While a positive score, Director Jennifer Hills sought to improve it.
“What I realized was that we really needed to invest in becoming a more cohesive team,” Jennifer said. “We were an agency of strong individual performers but we really needed to come together as a team and start to build trust and have healthy conflict and have commitment around our goals and hold one another accountable to achieve the results that we were looking to achieve.”
By working together and using The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team principles, progress was made. In the 2016 employee engagement survey results, the Office of Risk Management Service’s score rose from 66% in 2015 to 84%.
Read more about how this team stepped up to the challenge in this article at Integris titled Raising employee engagement by 33% in one year with The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team.
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After 25 years of work, a geomorphologist has a deep understanding of how rivers change
Crossposted from The Downstream Blog
Terry Butler, a fluvial geomorphologist with King County’s Water and Land Resources Division, tracks ever-changing river conditions.
For a quarter of a century, Terry Butler has been observing the way rivers course through King County.
He has seen some, like the Tolt, transform overnight, when an avulsion – the rapid abandonment of a river channel to create a new one – has occurred. He has seen others migrate gradually, moving laterally across a basin over the course of years. He has watched side channels become main channels, witnessed erosion and sedimentation and has seen the dramatic changes a landslide can trigger.
“That’s why my work has been endlessly fascinating,” he said. “Rivers are dynamic. They’re prone to change. And yet people generally live near rivers and construct things near rivers. We’re drawn to rivers. And that can create problems.”
Read more at The Downstream Blog
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April is Records Management Month
Every day, King County generates thousands of records. Keeping track of all this information, and making sure it’s accessible, is a monumental task. Records can be in any format: paper, electronic, audio/video recordings, photographs, magnetic, microfilm, and more – and each has unique storage needs. In addition, depending on the content of the record, it may need to be retained for a few years – or in perpetuity.
King County is celebrating April as Records Management Month. This celebration, established in 2002 by ARMA International, a not-for-profit professional association for records managers and administrators, promotes best practices in records and information management.
Read more link
As King County employees, each of us has a duty to properly manage our records. Your four records management responsibilities are to:
- Create records needed to document your work
- Maintain your records so they can be easily retrieved
- Retain your records for the legally required amount of time
- Protect your records from destruction during litigation, active public records requests, audit or investigation.
The professionals of the King County Records Management Program, part of the Department of Executive Services (DES), are here to help you manage your public records throughout their life cycle. They also provide tools for electronic and physical record management, and conduct training on various records management topics.
Think you already know all there is to know about records management? Test your knowledge by taking this short quiz!
This year’s Records Management Month Theme is “Be a Records Management Superhero.” Unlock your records management superpowers by participating in some of outreach activities hosted by the Records Management Program this month.
For more information about the King County Records Management program, or about Records Management Month, visit our website. You can also email records.management@kingcounty.gov or call 206-477-6889.
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Another successful year for King County’s Annual Transition Resource Fairs
Shared from the DCHS Touching Base Newsletter
Attendees had the opportunity to meet employment providers to learn about their services and supports for School-to-Work students.
The Department of Community and Humans Services’ Developmental Disabilities Division (DDD) sponsored its 10th Annual Transition Resource Fairs on March 11 and March 14 this year. With growing turnout each year, the popular fairs provide information for youth with developmental disabilities and their families to help them prepare for the student’s successful transition from high school to adult living.
The Transition Resource Fairs took place on March 11 at Highline College and March 14 at Microsoft, drawing more than 1,650 people out to the two events! This was the fourth year that Microsoft generously provided facilities, onsite coordination, an employer session and volunteer support for the event held on their campus.
The day-long fairs featured more than 40 organizations including King County School-to-Work Program, King County supported employment vendors, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and community and technical colleges.
The fairs included 12 one-hour sessions for families, students and educators with key information needed for students to successfully transition past school with the support they need to get and keep a job. Topics included:
- An orientation on the School-to-Work Program
- Eligibility and services offered by the State of Washington’s Developmental Disabilities Administration and Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
- Guardianship
- Estate planning
- Special needs trusts
- Housing
- Building expectations of employment.
Richard Wilson provides a School-to-Work orientation, explaining what the program is, how and when to enroll and what to expect from the program.
Additional outreach was provided this year in 13 languages and DDD received 16 interpreter requests. These were supported by Open Doors for Multicultural Families in Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Somali, Amharic, Arabic, Dari, Bengali, Khmer, Cantonese, Mandarin and Vietnamese.
Big kudos to Richard Wilson and Emily Hart, our School-to-Work Program Coordinators, for organizing another series of successful Annual Transition Resource Fairs, and to the rest of the DDD staff who supported the fairs.
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 