Keeping employees safe delivers cost savings
“Prevention is the best cure” might sound like a cliché but it’s an important part of keeping King County employees safe at work and decreasing injury-related costs. King County’s Safety and Claims section is implementing a multifaceted approach to reduce costs on workers compensation claims and lost work days as a result of occupational injuries and illnesses, and their efforts are delivering an estimated $7 million in annual savings in liabilities – funds that can go to providing services to more customers. “It’s not any one thing in isolation that is moving… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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
Employee News 