Feb. 11, 2008

Closing gap for poor and communities of color is focus of Sims initiative

Root causes of inequity target of county in long-term effort

Poor children and people of color would be just as healthy, and grow up, graduate, and get jobs at the same rate as other children as part of the vision of a major King County initiative announced today. The long-term goal of the Equity and Social Justice Initiative is to end persistent local inequities and injustices that result in such things as higher rates of disease among low-income populations and disproportionate rates of young black men in jail.

"It is unacceptable that the color of your skin or your home address are now 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," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "Even in a progressive, generally affluent area like ours, we have disparities that mirror national rates."

"Inequity, by its very nature, is a solvable problem," said Sims. "The reason inequity exists is that we have discovered solutions that work for some of us. We have just not applied these solutions to all of us."

Under the initiative King County is looking at new approaches in its work, including identifying and addressing the conditions at the root of inequities; actively seeking out and promoting decisions and policies aimed at equity; empowering communities; and raising the visibility of equity and social justice.

"We all need to own the reality of inequity by tearing down the curtain that hides it, by naming it, measuring it, talking about it, and by tracking our progress and solving it," Sims continued. "We need empowered community voices to partner with government and others in shaping policies and decisions."

Sims noted that local governments have great influence on criminal justice, public health, the environment and transportation. He noted that sometimes good projects have unintended consequences on people of color and the poor. To help change that, Sims will require an equity and social justice overlay on a wide range of county work, as well as invite school districts, other governments and agencies to work on promoting equity and an improved quality of life for all residents.

"All residents of King County would reap the benefits of ending inequities through greater economic vitality, a better educated population, a less expensive health-care system, a lower-cost criminal justice system and better government through a more engaged and representative citizenry," Sims said.

Examples of actions under the initiative include:

• Developing and testing an equity impact assessment and review tool and a process for incorporating the tool into decision-making.
• Collecting and publishing measures to highlight inequities and to mark progress in correcting them.
• Beginning a community dialogue process, using a new PBS series "Unnatural Causes," to increase awareness among community members of equity and social determinants of health and to spur action, especially around policies.

The new initiative and actions, including activities by eight King County departments, are outlined in the new report, King County Equity & Social Justice Initiative: Working toward fairness and opportunity for all, and available at: www.kingcounty.gov/equity.

Local inequities

Although King County has a high median income not all residents enjoy the same level of opportunities. Following a national trend, locally there are vast inequities in wealth, health and opportunities.

• A child in south King County is more than twice as likely to drop out of high school as one in east King County.
• A worker making between $15,000 and $25,000 a year is 10 times less likely to have health insurance than one making $50,000 or more per year.
• A youth of color is six times more likely than a white youth to spend time in a state or county correctional facility.
• A southeast Seattle resident is four times more likely to die from diabetes than a resident of Mercer Island.
• A Native American baby is four times more likely to die before his or her first birthday than a white baby.

Plan of action

The county has identified and planned three levels of action:

• Policy development and decision-making: King County will ensure that promoting equity is intentionally considered in the development and implementation of key policies and programs and in funding decisions.
• Delivery of county services: By working with partners and the community, King County and its executive departments will identify and mitigate social inequities. All departments have begun new activities in 2008 and established goals to promote equity.
• Community partnerships: King County will be a catalyst for mobilizing the community and supporting effective partnerships and actions. Community engagement and education constitute the initial set of opportunities in 2008.

"This is not business as usual," said Sims. "We, collectively and historically, have created this problem, and therefore we, collectively, must take on developing and implementing solutions."

For more information about the King County Equity & Social Justice Initiative visit the Web site, at http://www.kingcounty.gov/equity.

Related information

• King County Equity & Social Justice Initiative Web site
• Opinion/Editorial in Seattle Times by Ron Sims, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008
• Plan takes aim at disparities in King County, Seattle Post Intelligencer