About the Initiative February 2008, King County launched the Equity & Social Justice Initiative, to eliminate long-standing and persistent inequities and social injustices.
"It is unacceptable that the color of your skin or your home address are good predictors of whether you will have a low birth weight baby, die from diabetes or your children will graduate from high school or end up in jail," says King County Executive Ron Sims.
The goal of the Initiative is for all King County residents to live in communities of opportunity. To reach this goal, all communities must be equipped with the means to provide individuals with access to livable wage, affordable housing, quality education, quality heath care, and safe and vibrant neighborhoods. King County is applying the principles of the equity and social justice in its actions, decisions, and policies. Our Principles
- Identify and address the conditions at the root of inequities
- Actively seek out and promote decisions and policies aimed at equity
- Empower communities
- Work across agencies and departments
- Recognize and honor cultural differences
- Raise and sustain visibility of equity and social justice, and aim for long-term, permanent change
Taking action in King County Policy development and decision-making
King County has committed to ensuring that promoting equity is intentionally considered in the development and implementation of key policies and programs and in funding decisions. To that end, King County developed an Equity Impact Tool, and departments are starting to use this tool. Delivery of county services
In 2008 all executive departments committed to specific actions that promote equity and social justice. For example, Adult & Juvenile Detention and the Department of Community and Human Services revised their methods for providing incarcerated women with assistance about available services in response to an observation that women of color were less aware of services offered. Internal education & communication
Since the start of the initiative, hundreds of King County employees at all levels have participated in dialogues about equity and social justice following a screening of the PBS series “Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?” The dialogues serve to educate employees about root causes of inequities and to spark discussion about how to address inequities as part of programs, divisions and departments. Community partnerships
King County has committed to supporting capacity building of local organizations and communities and to more effectively listen to and involve community members in creating solutions to inequities. Already over 100 people have been trained to facilitate screenings and dialogues of “Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?” and over 100 different community groups have been engaged. For information about accomplishments, read the January 2009 Update Report. |
