King County is working to become an anti-racist and pro-equity government, and is looking toward community engagement and co-creation to reach those most affected by inequality. One way shown to improve on this inequity is to compensate those in the community who participate in developing county programs. The Office of Equity and Social Justice (OESJ) is partnering with Root Cause Equity Consulting to connect King County departments doing this work with these community members. The goal is to establish consistent standards for compensating community members who work with our government through volunteer… Read More

Originally posted in Plane Talk Getting an internship at King County International Airport (KCIA) provides a unique opportunity for high school, college, and graduate students. Key Brewer, Landin Reibram, Chloe Sow, Inayah Farooqi, Elijah Jones, Vaibhavi Lakshmi, Sierra Sellers, and Rares Neagu have joined the team this year to add valuable on-the-job experience to their educations, as well as some fun. One of the benefits of an internship at KCIA is getting to tour the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) station and get some hands-on experience. Above, at left, Elijah Jones gets… Read More

King County’s Priority Hire program has been featured by the White House as one of six examples from across the country to share how evidence can inform practices and policies. “When we use evidence to inform our practices and policies everyone benefits,” said Sandy Hanks. Manager, Business Development and Contract Compliance in the Department of Executive Services. The White House’s recent Year of Evidence for Action Summit highlighted leading practices from Federal Agencies to generate and use research-backed knowledge to advance better, more equitable outcomes for all of America. As a lead… Read More

Jail Health Services recently wrapped up a successful month of COVID-19 vaccinations, building on a program that used financial incentives to encourage vaccine uptake among people in custody. As part of the COVID-19 Vaccine Benefit Program, people detained at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle and the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent were provided a $50 credit to their commissary accounts (“books”) for any dose as part of their overall vaccine series. Anyone receiving a first, second, or a booster dose was eligible. From May 19 to June 21, staff… Read More

Originally posted in King County Sheriff’s Office News Recently, Sound Transit Resource Deputies Steve Wright and Marshall Smith were assisting BNSF Railway police with contacting the occupants of the pictured encampment, located on rail property near Skyway. As the photos show, the encampment wasn’t suitable for anyone to be living in or around. However, Deputies Wright and Smith found a woman and her 21-month-old son living here. The woman said she and her son had been living in the encampment for over a year. Deputies Wright and Smith knew they needed to… Read More

Originally posted in King County Sheriff’s Office News On Thursday June 16, law enforcement throughout the state participated in the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) for the Special Olympics. The mission is to raise awareness and funds for the Special Olympics movement, and several King County contract city partners also participated. Shoreline, Burien, Sound Transit, Sammamish, Maple Valley, and Covington ran or walked alongside community members and King County Deputy Kristi Bridgman, who led the effort.  There were also two Special Olympic athletes in attendance, both of whom have been participating in… Read More

Originally posted in the June edition of Roll Call, the newsletter for the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention Commander Todd Clark’s deep experience working for King County jails made him a wealth of institutional knowledge. At the end of April, Clark stepped down from the commander’s role for both the Seattle and Kent divisions. He had been leading the Seattle Division since 2020, following Gordon Karlsson’s retirement. In the fall of 2021, he took on the added role as commander of the Maleng Regional Justice Center, after Ed Bautista retired. Clark’s… Read More