Social Media Spotlight: King County Department of Public Defense blog
For The Defense tells stories about the people who work for King County’s Department of Public Defense: Their work, the issues they face, the challenges they experience and the successes they celebrate. It looks at the criminal justice system through the lens of public defense — issues of racial disproportionality, the criminalization of people who are poor and mentally ill, reforms that are needed to make the system fairer and more equitable. Finally, it looks at the clients we serve. When we can, we’ll tell their stories, too. Follow the For The… Read More
Featured Job: Industrial Maintenance Electrician
Closing Date/Time: Mon. 08/29/16 4:30 PM Salary: $39.63 – $41.56 Hourly, $82,430.40 – $86,444.80 Annually Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week Location: West Point Treatment Plant – 1400 Discovery Park Blvd, Seattle, Washington Department: Department of Natural Resources & Parks – Wastewater Treatment Division Description: This position performs a variety of highly skilled journey-level work constructing, troubleshooting, maintaining and wiring a wide variety of equipment and conducting preventive maintenance programs. This position requires the use of analytical skills in implementing various aspects of process control. The Wastewater Treatment Division is committed… Read More
Kudos! Compassion and respect earn client kudos for public health nurse
This note came to the department’s public inbox this month. For context, many state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) offices include an office staffed by public health nurses, who are based in nearby public health centers and deliver Maternity Support Services (MSS) and limited family planning services. One of those nurses is Paddee Buzzard, from Federal Way Public Health Center. To Whom This May Concern- I found out I was pregnant early on and was completely scared. I came in to DSHS to take another test and to just talk to… Read More
Tech Tip: Self-Service Account Management (SAM) password tool
King County’s Self-Service Account Management (SAM) portal provides King County employees with a password management tool. It can be used to change your password (required every 90 days), reset a forgotten or expired password, or to unlock your account. Once you are enrolled you will be able to reset your password/unlock account via the King County Self Service Account Management portal (www.kingcounty.gov/sam) or via your Windows login screen using the “Reset Password/Unlock” link under your password box (see Windows GINA tab for more information). Read more at the KCIT Service Center
You may be on vacation, but your public records aren’t!
Three tips to make your life easier and keep our records tidy. King County Information Technology data shows that August is one of the most popular months of the year for vacation. This can result in our King County Electronic Records Management System (KC ERMS) being packed with “Out of Office” email responses – 27,357 right now to be specific! Below are some tips for keeping these and other transitory records from ending up in KC ERMS. No camping: Don’t let “Out of Office” notices camp out in your inbox. These are… Read More
KCIT initiates ad blocking to improve security
In the coming weeks, internet pages may look different as King County Information Technology begins blocking select ads. These are third party ads that can bring malware and viruses into our network, compromise security and/or privacy or take entire programs, systems or operations offline. “Security is THE top issue in our industry right now,” said Ralph Johnson, KCIT Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer. “We’ve had two major incidents in the past four months that caused King County employees to lose an entire day’s work.” This ad-blocking project will drastically reduce the incursions… Read More
How our Refugee Health clinic is a key step on the path to self-sufficiency
Crossposted from Public Health Insider When refugees escape from war, conflict, famine and other disasters, it’s not unusual for them to end up in King County. We are one of the nation’s major host communities for refugees. A well-organized local network of agencies helps refugees take the first steps into a new life. This network emerged in 1979, when an earlier wave of refugees came from Vietnam, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries. One first step for every refugee is a visit to the Refugee Health clinic inside the Downtown Public Health Center,… Read More
Cine en el Parque celebrates diversity at one of King County’s most beloved parks
Crossposted from King County Natural Resources blog Families had a blast at King County’s second-annual Cine en el Parque in Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center on Aug. 6. The Spanish-language outdoor moving night was co-sponsored by White Center Community Development Association and King County Parks. Cine en el Parque was a special opportunity for us to welcome everybody to one of our beautiful parks and build community. King County screened the box office hit and animated Mexican film, “Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos” onto a 40-foot-tall inflatable movie screen (bigger than most… Read More
A public defender shares her story as a Muslim American
Crossposted from For The Defense A friend of Dua Abudiab stopped wearing the hijab after a man accosted her and called her several names while she was riding a bus in downtown Seattle. It was a sobering moment for Dua, a public defender at the Department of Public Defense’s The Defenders Association Division (DPD TDA), who wears the hijab every day. Dua is also active in the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Around the same time that Dua’s friend was accosted, the director of CAIR reached out to her and asked her if she would write about… Read More
Judge Susan Craighead: The unconscious bias of white privilege
Crossposted from King County Youth Justice King County Superior Court Presiding Judge Susan Craighead is one of many Court leaders encouraging the use of implicit bias training and awareness among other criminal justice leaders and their staff. Judge Craighead also serves on the Juvenile Justice Equity Steering Committee, a group collaborating on solutions to end racial disproportionalities in the juvenile justice system. Recently, I sat next to a businessman from southern Utah on a plane. Like the rest of the country, we found ourselves reflecting on the apparently unjustified shootings of African-American… Read More
Employee News 