Midstream

How is King County doing?

Midstream indicators highlight the conditions in a community's social and physical environment that support health and well-being. Education, livable wage jobs, transportation, health care, and physical activity are key examples of midstream conditions. Access to these economic, social and physical environments promote opportunity and reduce the likelihood that individuals in these communities experience poor health.

The indicators on this page illustrate several conditions in the social and physical environment for different groups in King County. For example, in education, African-American, Latino, and Native-American youth are much less likely than white youth to be proficient in reading and math in 4th grade according to WASL scores. This disparity can also be seen in graduation rates where African-American, Latino, and Native-American youth are much less likely than white youth to graduate on-time from high school. Disparities also exist in access to health care. In particular, the percentage of Latino adults without health insurance has climbed to 47.6 percent compared to 10.8 percent for white adults.

What else influences these indicators?

Within each community, there is a unique set of conditions that contributes to these disparities. Influencing these indicators often will require understanding the underlying causes and coordinating policies and strategies across several different disciplines and jurisdictions.

What role does King County government play?

As a regional and local service provider, King County government has specific programs that target some of these areas, such as access to affordable housing and transportation. Most often, however, these programs alone will not achieve equity in these indicators. King County can continue to partner with other jurisdictions, and communities to create policies and programs that promote equity in these midstream areas. This website will soon include measurements for specific strategies to address these midstream conditions.