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A MOTION accepting the Health and Human Services Transformation Plan for an accountable and integrated system of health, human services and community-based prevention in King County in compliance with Motion 13768.
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WHEREAS, King County has an adopted strategic plan that includes the goal to provide opportunities for all communities and individuals to realize their full potential, and
WHEREAS, the King County adopted strategic plan identifies the "fair and just" principle to guide the county's work and services in order to achieve equitable opportunities for all people and communities, and
WHEREAS, despite the fact that King County has made progress in improving residents' health and well-being, significant and unacceptable disparities persist in relation to geography, race, ethnicity and other social factors, and
WHEREAS, the United States outspends every other industrialized nation on healthcare yet lags behind on health status, and
WHEREAS, social, behavioral and economic factors have a far greater impact on health and life expectancy then do health care services, and
WHEREAS, it is imperative to create and implement innovative health and human service models that integrate services, improve outcomes and control costs acknowledging that human services are health and health is human services, and
WHEREAS, on November 6, 2012, the council passed Motion 13768 requesting the executive, in collaboration with the departments of public health and community and human services and a community stakeholder panel informed by local and national expertise, to develop and submit a plan for council review and approval for an accountable and integrated system of health, human services, and community-based prevention in King County, and
WHEREAS, in January 2013, the executive convened a thirty-member community stakeholder panel, referred to in this motion as the health and human services transformation panel, that included representatives from the healthcare, human services, and prevention sectors, the business community, the geographic subregions of King County and local and national experts in system transformation and innovation, and
WHEREAS, the health and human services transformation panel met between February and May 2013 to advise staff on key design elements of the transformation plan, and
WHEREAS, a transformation plan has been developed that recognizes the various populations and diversity of those in need of services throughout the county, and
WHEREAS, the transformation plan is individual, family and community centered, and takes a whole person approach where the preferences, strengths, needs and goals of individuals and families come first, and
WHEREAS, the transformation plan includes integration efforts and interventions that occur at two levels: the individual and family level, which assures that individuals and families can access an array of person-centered, integrated, culturally competent services; and the community level, which creates community-level improvements because health is most deeply influenced by where people live, work, learn, and play, and
WHEREAS, the transformation plan establishes a path to achieve an outcome-driven system where providers, consumers, funders and policy makers must work together collectively and are mutually accountable through contracts and compacts that include shared priorities, strategies and measurements for assuring health and human service outcomes, and
WHEREAS, the transformation plan will initially concentrate on two early strategies designed to produce better outcomes for those individuals, families and communities that are most in need:
1. Focused population: improve health and social outcomes, while simultaneously reducing costs, by partnering with adults in King County who have complex, multiple health and social needs; and
2. Focused communities: support communities in developing capacity and solutions that will improve the community features that shape the health and well-being of residents, such as housing, physical environment, adequate employment and access to services in targeted communities, and
WHEREAS, the great recession has increased the use of health and human service systems at the same time as revenues supporting those systems have declined, and
WHEREAS, King County has seen a steep decline in the amount of unrestricted general fund revenue available to health and human service organizations over the last six years, and
WHEREAS, since 2006 King County has increased targeted revenues for certain health and human services from the mental illness and drug dependency sales tax and the veterans and human services levy property tax, and
WHEREAS, the demand for services for children, families and individuals in need continues to outstrip supply of health and human services, and
WHEREAS, there is a need to map the existing health and human service systems to identify and address areas of need, and resource and system deficiencies for both individuals and communities, and
WHEREAS, there is a strong desire to secure adequate, stable revenue that supports a transformed system of health and human services that is integrated, accountable and delivers on outcomes that reduce health inequities and positively impact community conditions that shape health and quality of life, and
WHEREAS, the transformation plan proposes an updated approach to investments and financing of health and human services including investing in outcomes, leveraging opportunities made available through federal and state health reform and activities of the Affordable Care Act, and creating conditions to acquire new revenues and new revenue tools;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
The Health and Human Services Transformation Plan for an accountable and integrated system of health, human services and community-based prevention in King County is hereby accepted, in compliance with Motion 13768.