|
Dec. 4, 2002
Jointly release by King County, City of Seattle, City of Bellevue and United Way of King County.
Community report card shows progress and setbacks
King County Executive Ron Sims, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Bellevue Council Member Phil Noble, Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County and Jon Fine, President/CEO of United Way of King County today joined the King County Children and Family Commission to release Communities Count 2002, providing baseline information about the health of people and communities in King County. This is the group's second biennial report, updating these people and community indicators.
"Although we hear almost daily about the state of the economy, it is far less common to hear about people and communities which are the important measures of our social health," says King County Executive Ron Sims. "This report tells us the state of our community, and is just as important."
"There is good news: We continue to have cohesive neighborhoods, where most people report feeling safe and most residents are active in community organizations. Crime continues to decline, with the exception of motor vehicle thefts. We read to our young children and school test scores are improving. Yet, our situation is worsening with respect to affordable housing, increasing obesity and increasing levels of stress," says Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County.
Plough adds, "In some basic ways, King County has not progressed for all of our residents and disparities exist across many of the indicators by income, education level and race/ethnicity. The economic shifts since this information was gathered means that harder times may be ahead."
The Communities Count update also showed that in King County:
- One out of five households still does not earn enough money to cover the basic costs of living and many working families struggle to make ends meet.
- One in ten children continues to live in extreme poverty and child poverty is increasing in South King County.
- The gap between rich and poor is increasing and middle income groups are shrinking.
- Fewer small and medium employers are offering family-friendly benefits than two years ago.
To add stories to the numbers, staff working on the report talked with people who are usually excluded from mainstream surveys. Two hundred and fifty-five people participated in 29 focus groups conducted in five languages with low-income people, people of color, and immigrants and refugees. People were asked about two areas: social support and neighborhood cohesion. Participants discussed the importance of giving and receiving support. They described close links with family and friends here and in their home countries. They discussed the challenges in communicating across language differences, and also gave examples of how people from many backgrounds are working together in their neighborhoods. Low-income working people across all ethnic groups spoke movingly about their struggles and creativity in trying to meet their families' basic needs.
"Communities Count provides valuable information to the public and for use by policy-makers," said Mayor Greg Nickels who recalled using Communities Count 2000 data as a King County Council member to provide context in public budget hearings. He underlined the importance of tracking these indicators over time to shape our policies and improve services by targeting our limited resources to those areas that need the most attention.
"Bellevue is glad to be counted in on this essential look at how we are doing and what we need to do to support our communities. The health of our citizens goes beyond the boundaries of cities and being a partner in this study allows us all to see our communities and ourselves more clearly," said Bellevue City Council Member Phil Noble.
Communities Count is a combined effort of public and private organizations. The report is the product of a long-standing partnership with major support from the public sector and significant additional funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Boeing Company and others.
"A major strength is the fact that the indicators in this report are based on a broad and deep public process in which over 1,500 King County residents told us what they like and what concerns them about their neighborhoods to create the indicators," said Venerria Knox, Director of Seattle's Human Services Department. "Residents and stakeholders called for a regular report on our progress."
"We are committed to getting this information broadly disseminated to King County residents, policy-makers, community agencies and advocates every two years. A summary version of Communities Count 2002 will be in The Seattle Times on December 5th," said Kathryn Barnard, a King County Children and Family Commissioner.
"The value of this report is not only the information in it but also what gets done in response to it," said Jon Fine, President/CEO of United Way of King County.
Communities Count 2002 provides a tool to look at how we are doing and to identify those areas in King County that need our attention.
"In conclusion, we need to face our challenges," said Sims. "Businesses and corporations need to step up to help make King County a place where people can balance work, family, friends and community involvement. Local governments need to work together and across jurisdictions to address the policies that affect all people in our communities.
"We need to determine the most effective actions and policies to improve health and social well-being for all of our neighbors and communities-and we must take action," said Sims.
Related Information
Updated: Dec. 5, 2002
Executive's home
Executive's news
Executive's site map | E-mail the Executive
King
County | Executive |
News | Services |
Comments |
Search
Links to external sites do not
constitute endorsements by King County.
By visiting this and other King County web pages,
you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the
site.
The
details.
|
