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Plan and accomplishments

Plan and accomplishments

What is the Transformation Plan?

The Transformation Plan charts a five-year course to a better performing health and human service system for the residents and communities of King County, Washington. An advisory group (the Transformation Panel), the King County Executive's Office, the departments of Public Health - Seattle & King County and the Department of Community and Human Services collaborated to write the Transformation Plan in early 2013, and it was accepted by the Metropolitan King County Council in July 2013. The Plan emerged from County Council Motion 13768.

HHS Transformation Project Phases

At two levels: people and places

To improve health and well-being and create conditions that allow residents of King County to achieve their full potential, we have to transform the way we engage individuals/families in times of crisis and in the communities they live. At the individual/family level, the Plan calls for strategies designed to improve access to person-centered, integrated, culturally competent services when, where, and how people need them. At the community level, the Plan calls for improvement of community conditions and features because health and well-being are deeply influenced by where people live, work, learn, and play.

There is an important relationship between the two strategies. Better coordination of services for individuals/families and focused investments that address disparities at community levels could be mutually reinforcing. Examples include:

  • people who have experienced four or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), exposure to child abuse and/or neglect, are more likely to smoke, have mental illness, chronic disease and criminal justice involvement later in life (high risk adults with multisystem involvement). Therefore, making environmental changes that can reduce exposure to adverse childhood experiences would potentially impact negative outcomes.

  • improving housing affordability and quality is linked to improving health and reducing criminal justice interactions.

Strategies that can intervene early on in the life course are especially well-positioned to improve health and social outcomes, resulting in fewer high risk individuals and families with multisystem involvement.

Diagram indicating strategic plan to work on individual/family level and community level

Early accomplishments

  • Catalyst Fund design and distribution. The County Council approved the Executive's request for 2014 funding to help jumpstart the Transformation Plan's implementation, including a $500,000 catalyst fund. In early 2014, the County worked with community advisers to develop guidelines for the use of the fund and how it will advance the work under the two early strategies.

  • Health insurance coverage. Community partners and the county designed and launched a campaign to enroll approximately 65,000 residents in health care coverage during 2014 – a core foundation of the Transformation Plan's success.

  • Narrowed the scope of work for the Transformation Plan's two early strategies (community-level and individual/family level). See Communities of Opportunity and Familiar Faces pages for more information.
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