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Council reviews proposal to fund one King County sexual-assault legal advocate for Kirkland as a two-year pilot
Summary
Staff proposed a two-year, $200,000 pilot contract with the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KSARC) to provide a dedicated, trauma-informed legal advocate based in Kirkland to meet victims where they are and connect them to services; council supported refining duties, local office location and outcome metrics before contract execution.
City staff presented a proposal to contract with the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KSARC) for a two-year pilot that would fund a dedicated sexual-assault legal advocate assigned to serve people who live, work or study in Kirkland. "This proposal was developed in partnership with the chief program officer of KSARC to contract for one sexual-assault legal advocate dedicated to serving victims of sexual assault in Kirkland," Senior Management Analyst Andreanna Campbell said, describing a role that would provide legal advocacy, emotional support, and connections to community resources. Staff explained the pilot is funded in the 2025–26 biennial budget with a $200,000 set-aside in the general fund; the city already provides Human Services grant funding to KSARC, but that grant buys shared capacity and not a Kirkland-dedicated advocate. KSARC’s designation as a community sexual-assault program under state law allows advocate records and communications to be legally privileged and exempt from disclosure; staff noted that privilege would not extend if the city directly employed the advocate. Council members supported the concept and asked staff to refine the proposal before executing a contract. Councilmember Tim Chisholm and others urged that the advocate be physically accessible in a neutral public location such as City Hall rather than being colocated inside police or prosecutor offices to reduce barriers to access. Councilmembers also asked staff to ensure the advocate will conduct outreach to schools and vulnerable populations, connect victims to mental-health resources, and help with civil sexual-assault protection orders as well as criminal-case support. Councilmembers asked for clear accountability and metrics: how caseload and non-advocacy duties (community training, interagency coordination, outreach) will be tracked, and how the city will evaluate pilot outcomes at the end of two years to decide whether to continue funding. Staff said they will incorporate council feedback and return with a draft agreement and a recommended set of performance measures and reporting requirements for council review before final contract execution.
