Delivering technology solutions with architectural precision
What does an IT Business Analyst have in common with an architect? According to Ina Percival, a senior Business Analyst with King County Information Technology, it comes down to the planning.
“It’s probably not the best idea to build a house without an architect, and in the same way, we shouldn’t tackle an IT project without the help of a Business Analyst,” Percival said.
KCIT Junior and Senior Business Analysts are now available to provide services Countywide on IT projects. If a department or agency knows there’s an upcoming IT or technology project, it can submit a request to procure Business Analysis Services for assistance.
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Fighting truancy to keep kids out of court system
In Washington State, 75 percent of prison inmates do not have a high school diploma.
That’s why Stephanie Sato, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Senior Specialist in Truancy Intervention, is passionate about education.
“Basically education re-engagement is crime prevention. When I worked in our juvenile division I got to see it for myself. The students skipping school—they’re not bad kids—maybe there are problems at home. But, if you don’t catch truancy early, they fall behind,” Sato said. “It spirals out of control into criminal activity, and I don’t know if the kids even knew how they got there.”
Stephanie Sato, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Senior Specialist in Truancy Intervention
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Five Questions with Meredith Li-Vollmer, Risk Communication Specialist, Public Health – Seattle & King County
1, What is Risk Communications? Risk communications involves providing information and engaging audiences about issues of concern or perceived threats in ways that will help people cope, make informed decisions, and understand their risks. This means we need to show empathy for what people are experiencing, be as open and transparent as we can about what we’re doing and why, and start communicating as soon as possible.
2. What do you do as Risk Communication Specialist for Public Health? I support the health department’s programs that work with disease outbreaks and other health threats, and I develop our plans for communicating during public health emergencies. During crisis situations, I work on a team to communicate critical health and safety information. As part of my job, I work with the news media, manage social media, and find ways to reach everyone in King County, especially those with the greatest barriers in accessing information. I talk with members of diverse communities to learn how they get information, who they trust for information, and how we can better reach them. I try to put what I learn into action by improving our public information materials and communication channels. Much of the work is collaborative with other programs that can help build the relationships we need to communicate effectively. We use these improvements for everyday communications, not just for emergencies.
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Goat Hill gears up for spring gardening
Every morning on his way to work, Dan Malone stops by King County’s Goat Hill Garden for a few minutes to rip up some weeds and make sure plants are growing as they should.
Malone and fellow Goat Hill Garden Coordinator Heather Whitten, along with other King County employee-volunteers, tend and manage garden maintenance and growth on their lunch breaks and before and after work at the garden located across from the Chinook Building in downtown Seattle.
Malone, a new Goat Hill Garden Coordinator, and Whitten, a veteran coordinator, have a few new ideas for the upcoming Goat Hill growing season.
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Employee finds new ways to deliver energy and cost savings
Ben Rupert, Energy Manager with Facilities Management Division
Ben Rupert has been the Energy Manager in King County’s Facilities Management Division (FMD) for a little over a year but has already made significant contributions to the County’s reduction targets for energy use and operating costs in its facilities.
King County is on track to meet its 2015 goal of reducing energy use in its facilities by 15 percent over the baseline 2007 usage. For more than two years, the County has been meeting its goal of generating the equivalent of 50 percent of county government energy needs through renewable resources. At the end of 2014, the County had reduced energy use by 16.3% versus the 2007 baseline.
Ben has focused his efforts on providing leadership in four areas: technical training for internal staff, project financing, occupant/staff engagement and policy review and development. In 2014 he coordinated training for FMD operating engineers to become certified building operators, which will ensure that County buildings are operated as efficiently as possible while also offering career development for employees. He secured grant funding to continue this effort, and FMD is on track to have more than 15 staff certified through this program by the end of 2015.
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New approach to youth who commit violence in the home
Stephanie Trollen (left), Juvenile Section Supervisor, and Jimmy Hung, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, are organizing the FIRS program.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (PAO), in partnership with King County Superior Court and the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, plans to launch FIRS (Family Intervention and Restorative Services), a new juvenile diversion program geared to provide services to families who are struggling with domestic violence (DV).
Unlike adult court, juvenile DV rarely involves intimate partner violence. Instead, the vast majority of cases in juvenile court involve youth acting out against their parents or siblings at a misdemeanor level. Many of these youth struggle with substance abuse and mental health disorders.
Juvenile DV cases are referred to the PAO typically after families, in a moment of crisis, call police. Although families look to the juvenile justice system for help, almost none of them want their children to end up with a criminal record. Approximately 40 percent of juvenile DV referrals result in declines because families routinely decline to assist or participate in the formal court system for this reason.
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Who is your favorite nonprofit?
If your favorite nonprofit wasn’t in last year’s Annual Giving Drive, now is the time to make sure they get in for this year.
All nonprofits that turn in a complete, on-time application by April 30, 2015, and meet all of the eligibility requirements, can participate in the upcoming 2015 Annual Giving Drive and be eligible to receive payroll and time donations.
“By being in the program nonprofits gain exposure and access to 13,000+ King County employees, payroll donations, which statistically are three to six times larger than one-time check gifts because you can spread them out, as well as time donations, and it is incredibly efficient,” said Junelle Kroontje, Employee Giving Program Administrator. “They benefit from our very low program costs allowing them to maximize gifts even further, and can harness the power of collective giving and community relationships.”
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Public safety employees reach out to the community to build trust
To build trust between law enforcement and Hispanic community in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, Sheriff’s Office Community Service Officer Dahlia Corona started a workshop series called “Nurturing Trust, With Family, With Community – Padres Unidos-Familias Seguras.”
“You’ll find that when there is a language barrier or a cultural barrier then there’s a disconnect between the police and the community,” Corona said.
The workshops focus on topics such as positive discipline, domestic violence and child abuse, bullying, drug prevention and leadership in the community, and the role that law enforcement plays in preventing negative outcomes and promoting positive ones.
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Five Questions with Debra Baker, ROYAL Project Manager, Department of Public Defense
1. Why did you choose Public Defense as a career? I began working in public defense right out of high school. As a young person I endured a lot challenges and knew that I couldn’t go to college right away. That’s when I stepped into the door of a public defense office – TDA (The Defender Association). I started there as a receptionist and went to school along the way. I fell in love with the work and chose over the years to remain in the work. Public defenders then were my some of my first English instructors, my sociology teachers, and my first law instructors. I am proud of my choice to remain in the field.
2. What is the ROYAL program? The Raising Our Youth as Leaders program is a social service program and strategy that collaborates with other agencies and organizations to provide services – from case strategizing to coaching – to high-risk/high-needs youth involved in the criminal justice system. We serve youth ages 12 to 18. Our motto is “developing minds, changing lives.” We invite our youth to take responsibility and improve their lives by teaching them how to think for themselves. For instance, we teach, “A thought is a suggestion not an instruction.” This helps youth to learn that not every thought that visits the mind should be acted upon. Over the last 12 years, ROYAL has held an 80 percent success rate (average) at keeping youth from reoffending.
3. What do you do as ROYAL Project Manager? As program manager, I provide oversight for the model, including training for staff in the areas of program instruction, legal advocacy, gang intervention, educational advocacy, coaching, and crisis intervention.
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Marine employees rescue kayaker off Alki Point
Employees from the Department of Transportation’s Marine Division recently rescued a capsized kayaker in the water about a mile off Alki Point, bringing him to safety aboard their Vashon Island ferry.
On Friday, March 13, 2015, Captain Frank Massaro and Deckhands Joe Chrisman and Scott Denhart, were operating the M/V Melissa Ann serving the Vashon Island route. After departing Vashon Island at approximately 5:58 p.m. bound for Seattle, the crew on the bridge noticed something in the water approximately one-half to three-quarter miles away. They slowed the vessel and looked through the binoculars and determined that there was a person in the water who was waving and appeared to be clinging to a capsized kayak without a life jacket. They immediately notified the other crew on board to announce there was a person in the water and they would be picking the person up on the starboard side of the vessel. Coast Guard was notified of the situation while en route to rescue the stranded kayaker.
Employee News 