News from King County Executive Dow Constantine

October 2017

Creating partnerships that help children and youth flourish in all learning environments

This autumn, as kids and youth return to school after an all-too-brief summer break, we are forming strong partnerships that will help students throughout King County thrive.

I recently launched new initiatives funded by the voter-approved Best Starts for Kids levy that will:

• Help teachers, staff, and students better support children and youth who have experienced trauma.
• Create learning environments that build resilience so all students are able to bounce back after experiencing adversity.
• Expand effective restorative justice programs that empower students and teachers to resolve conflicts by collaborating rather than relying on less-effective disciplinary actions, such as detention and suspension.
• Expand mental-health support in 56 middle schools so more teachers and staff can intervene as soon as substance use or mental-health challenges arise. 
• Open new school-based health centers in urban, suburban, and rural communities, where students will soon be able to meet with medical-, dental- and mental-health providers at no cost.

These and other initiatives are providing parents, caregivers, teachers, and child-care providers with effective tools so children and youth get the support they need wherever they are in our community -- whether they are at home, in a classroom, at an early-learning center, or in their own neighborhood. 

Together, we are delivering on the promise I made to help put every baby born and every child raised in King County on a path toward lifelong success. 

Thank you, as always, for the opportunity to serve.

Sincerely,

Dow Constantine

King County Executive

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VIDEO: Moving forward with battery buses, accelerating the transition to a clean-energy future

The Executive brought together transit agencies from across the nation and Canada along with utilities, regulators, and other partners to accelerate the transition to a clean-energy future -- not only in King County, but across North America.

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Helping get guns out of the hands of domestic violence abusers

The Executive included $650,000 in additional funding for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office to increase enforcement of Orders to Surrender Weapons and Protection Orders, including Extreme Risk Protection Orders.

"For too long, those seeking protection from their abusers have been left wondering whether the system is doing all it can to keep them safe," the Executive said. "It should be simple and consistent: when there’s a protection order, the guns should be removed. By making sure we have the tools and resources to vigorously enforce laws already on the books, we live up to our commitment to protect all those who seek to escape domestic violence and begin a new life."

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VIDEO: Honoring a neighborhood group that helped Greenwood thrive following a major explosion

The Executive honored a community organization for helping the Greenwood neighborhood in Seattle recover and thrive in the aftermath of a 2016 gas explosion that leveled three businesses and damaged 50 others.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association crowd-sourced more than $330,000 in relief funds to help local small businesses and organized volunteer work parties that helped refurbish the impacted area. Local businesses also played a central role in the initial response, providing meeting spaces and food to firefighters.

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