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King County Washington home

Who we are

We are a team of equity organizers who work to advance Public Health’s Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan and Racism is Public Health Crisis work. We prioritize racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and economic issues, as well as community-guided solutions. Our team includes priority population teams, advisory groups, community navigators, a language access team, and an equity response team.

Our goals

Overall goal

Anti-racism and community co-creation drive desired outcomes, decisions, resource allocation, program design, and results across the determinants of equity. We will achieve this by implementing the Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan (10.3 MB) and Racism as a Public Health Crisis goals and strategies with focus, transparency, and accountability, working closely with all divisions. 

Pandemic/crisis response goal

Inequities in health and determinants of equity are minimized and response objectives are achieved through anti-racism practices and activation of community participation, influence and power. 

Our anti-racist organizing principles

Building on the legacy work of local community organizers and internal leaders, Racism is a Public Health Crisis Anti-Racist Organizing Principles provide us a framework for challenging racism, power, privilege, and other forms of oppression in our practices. Through these guiding principles, we collectively commit to understanding how race, power, privilege, and other forms of oppression function at the internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and structural level: 

  • Anti-Racist
  • Focus where negative impacts have been most harmful
  • Center on Black and Brown experiences and voices
  • Be responsive, adaptive, transparent, and accountable
  • Focus on addressing root causes 
     

Our history 

Our office was founded in 2020. Our work began long before. These articles describe our journey, from serving as the first office of equity for King County, through the establishment of our office within Public Health. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our office started within Public Health as the Community & Mitigation Recovery team, providing pandemic response to the most vulnerable populations around King County. We changed our name to the Office of Equity & Community Partnerships when the pandemic slowed down. We’re looking more broadly at how the social determinants of health – where we live, work, learn, and play – affect our health. 

Resources/learn more

Glossary of terms

Learn more about the language we use when we talk about equity.

Equity and Anti-Racism Plans

We worked with Public Health teams to help them develop their own Equity and Anti-Racism plans. These plans help us advance our Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan (10.3 MB) practices and address Racism as a Public Health Crisis. These are written for internal use, but we are providing them here for transparency. 

There are two types of plans:

  • Division Plans, for the eight Public Health divisions;
  • Goal Areas, for the offices who serve across all our divisions.

Equity and Anti-Racism Plans: Division Plans

Equity and Anti-Racism Plans: Goal Areas

Toolkits and guides

  • Demographic Data Toolkit (474 KB)
  • PHSKC Equitable Language Guide (680 KB)
  • PHSKC Equitable Image Guide (770 KB)

  • Conmunity Engagement Continuum
    Public Health – Seattle & King County has developed this Community Engagement Continuum. This Continuum provides details, characteristics and strategies for five levels of community engagement. The continuum shows a range of actions from county-led information sharing that tends to be shorter-term to longer-term community-led activities. The level of engagement will depend on various factors, including program goals, time constraints, level of program and community readiness, and capacity and resources. Regardless of the project, in order to align with the principles of racism as a public health crisis, it's important to move to the right of the continuum, where community shares power and is in the drivers' seat of setting agendas and decision-making.

County Informs

County Consults

County engages in dialogue

County and community work together

Community directs action
King County initiates an effort, and uses a variety of channels to inform community to take action King County gathers information from the community to inform county-led interventions

King County engages community members to shape county priorities and plans

 Community and King County share in decision-making to co-create solutions together Community initiates and directs strategy and action with participation and technical assistance from King County

Sample characteristics
  • Primarily one-way communication
  • Media releases, etc.
  • Primarily one-way communication
  • Focus groups, surveys, etc.
  • Two-way communication
  • Forums, boards, etc.
  • Two-way communication
  • Co-led community meetings, coalitions
  • Two-way communication
  • Community-led activities, partnerships, coalitions

Traditional model, often with gatekeeping ↔ More racially just model, with community leadership

Racism as a Public Health Crisis