Bridge Fellowship kicks off third year program with expanded group, more development opportunities
Twenty four employees from across King County have been selected to participate in the 2017-2018 Bridge Fellowship Program as part of the County’s Investing In You commitment to provide leadership and development opportunities to employees. The Fellowship, open to all full-time and TLT employees, was reestablished in 2013-2014 by King County Executive Dow Constantine. The program was expanded in 2017. Bridge participants underwent a rigorous application and interview process before joining this year’s cohort. Over the course of the program, participants engage in classroom learning, group projects, presentations and career development activities, as well as interviews… Read More
Best Starts for Kids Health Survey Recognized with National Equity Award
Crossposted from the Best Starts for Kids Blog Last fall and winter, almost 6,000 people participated in a survey to learn about the health and well-being of King County kids and families. The survey closed January 31st. Our data team has been hard at work crunching numbers and analyzing this data, and you’ll hear more about what we learned soon. However, there’s one thing we know already: the groundbreaking new methods we used in the Best Starts for Kids Health Survey lead the nation in ensuring our data reflects the strengths and needs of all King County kids… Read More
Metro is taking action to address cost, quality, and equity in Access paratransit
Crossposted from Metro Matters By Chris O’Claire, Metro Transit Assistant General Manager, and Priscilla Vargas, Managing Director of Paratransit and Rideshare Operations Metro Transit is committed to continuing to improve the Access paratransit service we provide to qualifying riders who cannot ride fixed-route bus service. The King County Auditor’s Office has presented the findings of a performance audit of Access Transportation to the King County Council. Metro concurs with the recommendations of the audit and is moving forward to address each of them. The audit results echo feedback Metro staff solicited and… Read More
New video series on protecting immigrants and refugees
King County has put together a series of videos to help us learn more about the challenges facing immigrants and refugees in King County and across the country. The videos, recorded as part of a recent Equity and Social Justice event, are now available as a series entitled “Protecting Immigrants and Refugees: Our local response.” You can watch each of the videos, which feature speakers from five local community organizations, below: Aneelah Afzali, founder and executive director of the American Muslim Empowerment Network, a new initiative launched by the Muslim Association of… Read More
Keeping people and goods moving at a “Critical Juncture”
Crossposted from Inside Transportation Keeping communities connected is the mission for King County’s Department of Transportation, and that includes during those times when roads are blocked by natural disaster or overturned trucks. It’s impossible to predict when an emergency or disaster will occur, so its job is to be trained and prepared for when that day comes. A big part of that preparation is making sure the jurisdictions in our region are all on the same page. That’s why DOT brought Marcus Deyerin into the Director’s Office as its Training and Exercise Program Manager… Read More
Supervisors share their experiences in hiring Veteran Fellows
What began as King County’s Heroes Employment Reintegration Opportunity (HERO) Program four years ago has developed into the Vets 4 HIRE (Heroes in Reintegration Experiences) program, a paid fellowship/internship for qualified veterans funded in part by the Veterans and Human Services Levy. While the success of any program of this type depends on the quality of the candidates, the success of Vets 4 HIRE also relies on those County’s supervisors who engage with this unique pool of talent. With the approval of funding through this year, and voting on a Levy renewal… Read More
Breaking down barriers with Supported Employment: Ting Chou
Ting Chou is a 17-year King County employee in the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention whose positive attitude and work ethic spreads sunshine through the correctional facility walls. Ting is a supported employee through King County’s Supported Employment Program, which matches job seekers with developmental disabilities to jobs by identifying efficiencies and unmet needs throughout King County government. He is proud of everything the program has helped him to achieve. “If you set a goal for it then you can accomplish a lot of new goals and achievements,” said Ting. Watch the short video below… Read More
PRIDE is coming on June 26! Get ready, get festive and get your t-shirt!
Last year, more than 300 King County employees, along with their families and friends, joined together to march in the Seattle Pride Parade. Tens of thousands of people decked out in rainbow colors thronged Fourth Avenue in downtown Seattle to support the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and celebrate the landmark Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality. T-shirts for King County’s Pride contingent are $9 each and available in adult sizes S-4XL, and child sizes XS-XL. To get your t-shirt this year there are two options: Pre-order and pay for… Read More
Guidance for promoting access to benefits and services for immigrants
Some King County facilities qualify as Sensitive locations with the Department of Homeland Security. Some examples of sensitive locations are schools, hospitals, institutions of worship, and offices providing services for children, pregnant women, and victims of domestic abuse or individuals with significant mental or physical disabilities. The policy does not say that immigration agents cannot enter these locations, only that enforcement actions at these locations are discouraged and that immigration agents have to go through a supervisory review process before they are undertaken. King County is training our employees to be prepared… Read More
Administrative Professionals Recognition Event a huge success
Career Support Services and the Administrative Professionals Advisory Committee sponsored the second annual Administrative Professionals Recognition Event on April 26. More than 200 employees attended the event, which is an impressive increase over last year’s attendance of about 100. As part of the festivities, attendees enjoyed tasty treats, networked, learned valuable information from guest speakers including an introduction to Career Support Services’ new online career development tool, and of course had a great time. Many administrative professionals expressed their gratitude: “Thank you for the efforts involved with organizing today’s second annual King… Read More
Employee News 