Drafter
Clerk 05/16/2012
Title
A MOTION adopting the council's equity and social justice initiative work plan for 2012.
Body
WHEREAS, in February 2008, then-King County Executive Ron Sims launched the King County equity and social justice initiative to address inequities in King County, and
WHEREAS, while many of our communities are thriving, Executive Sims noted that there are still neighborhoods with high crime, poor education, poor health and little economic opportunity, and
WHEREAS, in launching the equity and social justice initiative, Executive Sims saw an opportunity to identify contributors of inequity in county government, discuss it, problem-solve it and reap the benefits, and
WHEREAS, in July 2010, the King County council adopted the 2010-2014 King County strategic plan with a "fair and just" guiding principle to serve all residents of King County by promoting fairness and opportunity and eliminating inequities, and
WHEREAS, in March 2011, the council adopted the council's own strategic plan for 2011-2015, which values equity in order to provide all people with access to a good quality of life, and
WHEREAS, objectives of the council's strategic plan include to support safe communities and accessible justice systems for all, opportunities for all communities and individuals to realize their full potential, encourage a growing and diverse county economy and vibrant, thriving and sustainable communities and promote robust public engagement, and
WHEREAS, in October 2010, the council in Ordinance 16948 unanimously directed creation of an interbranch team to support the county's application of equity and social justice foundational practices and implementation of the fair and just principle of the countywide strategic plan, and
WHEREAS, according to Ordinance 16948, equity and social justice foundational practices are efforts that enable King County government to, among other things, consider equity and social justice impacts in all decision-making so that decisions increase fairness and opportunity for all people, foster an organizational culture that promotes fairness and opportunity and build capacity to engage all communities, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 16948 identified determinants of equity to include, among other things, equal opportunity for a quality education, quality health and human services, jobs that provide residents with the skills to compete in a diverse workforce and pay a wage sufficient for basic necessities, affordable housing, safe neighborhoods and access to parks and natural resources, and
WHEREAS, in Ordinance 16948 the council directed that the equity and social justice interbranch team shall support the identification of annual work plans by branches' departments and agencies on application of equity and social justice practices;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
The attached 2012 council work plan for equity and social justice, Attachment A to this motion, is hereby approved.