Citizen Corps Councils
Resources for Councils
King County Citizen Corps Council
A Network of Communities
- Overview
- Council Background
- Strategy
- Council Results
- Next Steps
- Additional Information and Resources
- King County Citizen Corps Contact
Overview
Situated on Puget Sound in Washington State, and covering more than 2,200 square miles, King County is nearly twice as large as the average United States county. And, with more than 1.7 million people, it ranks as the 12th most populous county in the nation.The King County Citizen Corps Council serves this diverse expanse by working with volunteers to conduct community assessments and design collaborative partnerships aimed at keeping citizens safe.
Council Background
The 2001 Nisqually earthquake served as a terrible reminder of the vulnerabilities of the Pacific Northwest region. Responding to related citizen concerns, King County Council member Kathy Lambert began exploring different means to improve collaboration among police, fire, medical services, and other community service agencies within King County. Additionally, she began brainstorming ways in which to empower citizens to assist their communities with emergency preparedness.
Convinced that “people want to contribute and be helpful,” the Councilmember and her staff took action. Together, they focused on identifying specific emergency response needs of communities within King County and built a network of public and private organizations and individuals – including emergency management, law enforcement, fire, schools, and other community agencies – who would be essential to the implementation of a coordinated emergency response.
In June 2002, the King County Citizen Corps Council was formally established with the following mission:
“Working with the diverse communities within King County to identify specific community emergency response needs and resources, provide CERT training to as many citizens as possible, coordinate volunteer emergency services, and continually expand and support Citizen Corps programs throughout King County.”
Strategy
In response to the diversity of King County citizens, the King County Citizen Corps Council developed a broad and creative set of partnerships; each designed to fill a particular community need. The Council successfully joined with private companies, such as Albertson’s (a regional grocery chain) and Lowe’s (home improvement centers), to provide reduced-cost emergency supplies to elderly residents and has recruited others, like Safeco Insurance and Washington Mutual Bank, to support CERT training for high school students, their parents, and the business community.
Additional outreach activities include the development of an ad campaign featuring “CERTie” (the “Bee Prepared” mascot) to support emergency preparedness and CERT training, and work with the region’s camp directors to make 550 emergency beds available in private campgrounds.
Council Results
As the Council began to develop strategic plans on how best to utilize volunteers in the event of a major earthquake or landslide, the issue of liability insurance became a central focus. While local businesses that specialize in bulldozer operations were more than willing to train qualified citizens to operate bulldozers, the question of liability during emergency situations threatened to quash the idea.
With creativity and political savvy, a local Citizen Corps group worked with state legislators who drafted legislation which added a paragraph to existing liability law, providing that “any person,” including those in the building, remodeling and repairing trades, would be immune from prosecution for any mishaps that might take place during “emergency repairs to any structure at the scene of an accident, disaster, or emergency that has caused or resulted in damage to the structure.”
With Councilmember Lambert’s help and testimony from members of the local Citizen Corps Council, the King County Citizen Corps Council successfully persuaded the Washington State Legislature to pass this “Good Samaritan” exemption for any potential liability of citizens operating equipment (including bulldozers) during a designated emergency and Governor Locke signed the bill into law in 2003. This Washington State law can serve as a model for other Citizen Corps Councils as they seek to protect the good-faith efforts of their citizen volunteers and still maintain necessary insurance coverage.
Several additional factors have contributed to the success of the King County Citizen Corps Council:
- Strong, visible political support from elected officials
- An experienced, committed, and well-respected leadership
- Willingness to meet with and commit to every community within the County that has an interest in Citizen Corps
- A commitment to CERT training
Next Steps
Moving forward, the goals of the King County Citizen Corps Council include:
- Continue to stimulate interest at the grass roots level
- Provide accurate information of available resources
- Coordinate interests in order to avoid duplication
- Create funding, when available, for increased program growth
Additional Information and Resources
Download
A chart depicting the overall organization of the Carnation-Duvall Citizen Corps Council
King County Organization Chart (PDF Version -- 49 KB)
King County Organization Chart (Text Version -- 2 KB)
The articles of incorporation for the Carnation–Duvall Citizen Corps
King County Articles of Incorporation (PDF Version -- 139 KB)
King County Articles of Incorporation (Text Version -- 7 KB)
A draft of the plan used to launch the Carnation–Duvall Citizen Corps
King County Draft Plan for Launching Citizen Corps (PDF Version -- 49 KB)
King County Draft Plan for Launching Citizen Corps (Text Version -- 3 KB)
The limitations of actions.
King County RCW 4.16 (PDF Version -- 1.1 MB)
King County RCW 4.16 (Text Version -- 47 KB)
The certification of enrollment for the Carnation–Duvall Citizen Corps
Washington State House Bill 1052 (PDF Version -- 8 KB)
Washington State House Bill 1052 (Text Version -- 3 KB)
The agenda and handout for the 1-15-2004 Fall City Citizen Corps Council meeting
King County Fall City Meeting Agenda (PDF Version -- 67 KB)
King County Fall City Meeting Agenda (Text Version -- 1 KB)
The website of the Carnation Duvall Citizen Corps Council that includes information about the council, its programs, and electronic volunteer registration form.
King County Citizen Corps Website
An overview of the Carnation-Duvall Emergency Operations Center
King County Emergency Operations Center (PDF Version -- 47 KB)
King County Emergency Operations Center (Text Version -- 2 KB)
A listing of the 2003 CERT grads
King County 2003 CERT Grads (PDF Version -- 16 KB)
King County 2003 CERT Grads (Text Version -- 1 KB)
An article from the 12-29-2003 Valley View about the first graduates of the CERT training course
King County CERT Valley View article (PDF Version -- 7.1 MB)
King County CERT Valley View article (Text Version -- 5 KB)
A open letter to Carnation and Duvall business owners to offer specials on the items to be featured in CERTIE the bee weekly ads published in the Valley View paper.
King County CERTIE Req to Businesses (PDF Version -- 79 KB)
King County CERTIE Req to Businesses (Text Version -- 2 KB)
The complete run of advertisements to "bee prepared" featuring CERTIE the bee
King County All CERTIE ads (PDF Version -- 514 KB)
King County All CERTIE ads (Text Version -- 3 KB)
A power point presentation about Neighborhood Watch and how to create one in your community
King County Neighborhood Watch (PDF Version -- 123 KB)
King County Neighborhood Watch (Text Version -- 12 KB)
A flyer to encourage residents of fall city to learn about Neighborhood Watch Plus and organize one in their neighborhood
King County Fall City NWP Flyer (PDF Version -- 71 KB)
King County Fall City NWP Flyer (Text Version -- 2 KB)
A flyer announcing an upcoming fair where citizens can learn about disaster preparedness and volunteer opportunities
King County Preparedness Fair Flyer (PDF Version -- 69 KB)
King County Preparedness Fair Flyer (Text Version -- 1 KB)