February, 2003: Envisioning Human Services Policy
From the Computer of Mayor Dave

On December 6, 2002 a statewide Human Services Visioning Forum was held in Seattle. The purpose was to project our future policy directions and programming to foster the values we hold in common.

The values include:

• Valuing our children, our families and our elders.
• Caring about our quality of life in our communities and believing in personal responsibility, hard work and accountability for our actions
• Having compassion for people of all ages who need help, hope and humanity.

How these values are supported and fostered within our community is complex. In King County, human services are a regional responsibility. In South King County and on the Eastside there are human service forums made up of public and private service providers. In the Northend a less formal structure, the Northend Alliance, provides information on social services. These services are provided to residents by the county, sub-regional groups, municipalities, non-profit organizations and individuals.

At the Forum, we worked in groups to look at questions about how to provide human services. One conclusion was clear to me and to the members of my group; the best way to deliver human services effectively is at the local level. In our City, we are caught between the perception that there are few human service needs and the reality that there are individuals and families with real needs. We must have good information about what we really need so we can understand what level of service we need to serve our residents.

As we look at our budget priorities we must not forget the real human service need of our community. If you have any ideas or thoughts, feel free to email me at mayord@ci.lake-forest-park.wa.us or phone me at 206-368-5440.

              -- Dave