Seattle, situated in King County, is considered to have one of the best domestic violence programs in the nation, according to social-service advocates.

But a recent reorganization of Seattle's human services department has some concerned that the city will not be able to meet the needs of victims of domestic violence.

The reorganization was the project of a new hire Seattle made last summer. Last June, the City of Seattle hired Dannette Smith as its new director of Seattle's Human Services Department. At the time she was hired, she promised to make department spending more efficient, a vision she shared with Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn.

Smith has previous experience in human services in the Atlanta area. In looking at the Seattle Human Services Department, she noted that she noticed it was divided into "silos" with directors who didn't work together. She says the reorganization will help to integrate the various services offered and make better use of data in determining whether city programs are helping to change lives.

The reorganization, which was announced in January, eliminates the director of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention position and places the entire program in a division charged with a variety of other social services.

Perhaps surprisingly, Seattle's domestic violence division doesn't provide any direct services. Instead, it contracts with nonprofit and social-service agencies who themselves provide the services.

Mayor Mike McGinn supports the reorganization and believes it is an appropriate response to the economic downturn to ensure that resources are more efficiently used and available to more people in the community.

Some feel that the reorganization might threaten the ability of human services to deal with domestic violence complaints. Others feel that it is wise for the city to examine how it can streamline its resources and make its spending more efficient.

Because of the concerns raised by the reorganization, Smith has been asked to appear before the Seattle City Council's human services committee to provide an explanation of how the reorganization will improve services. Alongside a satisfactory justification for the plan, there is also a question as to whether Smith is even able to reorganize the divisions of human series without approval of the council, since the divisions are written into the city's code.

According to sources, no domestic violence programs will be cut by the reorganization, and the division's 2011 budget of $4.6 million will remain the same.

Source: The Seattle Times, "City Council challenges change in domestic-violence program," Lynn Thompson, 9 Feb 2011.