Department of Children, Youth, and Families

Policy Changes

Administrative Hearings

Adjustments are made for each agency's anticipated cost of administrative hearings from the Office of Administrative Hearings. (General Fund - Federal, General Fund - State)

Administrative Reduction

Funding is reduced to reflect a reduction in administrative services. (General Fund - State)

Archives/Records Management

Adjustments are made for each agency's anticipated share of charges for archives and records management services provided by the Office of the Secretary of State. (General Fund - State)

Audit Services

Adjustments are made for each agency's anticipated cost of audits performed by the Washington State Auditor. (General Fund - Federal, General Fund - State)

Child Safety Framework

The current Safety Framework that is used by caseworkers was implemented in 2011 and has not been updated. Since that time, substantial advancements in research and practice have informed the understanding of child safety and risk. Funding is provided for DCYF to purchase an updated assessment and conduct initial roll-out in two communities highly impacted by fentanyl. DCYF will use this information to inform continuous improvement and a subsequent budget request for statewide roll-out. (General Fund - State)

Child Welfare Workload Model

Case worker workload has increased due to recent legislative changes such as Chapter 211, Laws of 2021 (E2SHB 1227), making it harder to remove a child from a home and Washington State Supreme Court decisions expanding the number of cases and duties related to the Indian Child Welfare Act. Funding is provided for indirect administrative support for DCYF's update to its workload model. (General Fund - Family Support/Child Welfare, General Fund - Medicaid Federal, General Fund - State, other funds)

D.S. Legal Fees

In January 2021, a class action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on behalf of youth experiencing placement instability through night-to-night placements in hotel and overnight stays in Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) offices. In June 2022, DCYF and plaintiffs reached a settlement agreement requiring certain system improvements. Funding is provided for plaintiff and court monitor obligations as required by the settlement agreement. (General Fund - State)

D.S. Underspend

Funding is adjusted to reflect underspend in the emergent facility-based receiving care portion of the D.S. proviso. (General Fund - State)

DES Central Services

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges from the Department of Enterprise Services for Capitol Campus costs; real estate, risk management, and small agency services; the Perry Street and Capitol Campus child care centers; enterprise applications, and other items. (General Fund - Federal, General Fund - State)

Enrollment Based Pay

The 2025-27 biennial budget provided funding for DCYF to comply with revised federal rules around paying providers prospectively and based on enrollment effective August 1, 2026. In August 2025, the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) issued a waiver extension opportunity allowing states to delay implementation of these rules until August 1, 2028. DCYF applied for a waiver and savings is assumed in anticipation of ACF waiver approval. (General Fund - Federal, General Fund - State)

FFPSA Backfill

The 2021-23 budget assumed a base funding swap from state to federal funds in anticipation of DCYF claiming federal Family First Prevention Services Act funds. The department later learned that the state cannot claim these funds until a Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System is completed in fiscal year 2030. The department has previously absorbed the state funding reduction through child protective services staff vacancies and excess prevention services funding, but these appropriations are now being fully expended. An adjustment to partly restore the General Fund-State was made in the biennial budget, and this funding provides part of the remaining balance. (General Fund - State)

GOV Central Services

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges from the Office of the Governor for the Office of Equity. (General Fund - Federal, General Fund - State)

Home Visiting Underspend

Due to delays in rate increase implementation, there is one-time underspend in the Home Visiting Services Account, which is captured as savings and transferred to the state general fund. (Home Visiting Services Account - State)

Imagination Library

Funding for the Imagination Library was not renewed for the 2025-27 biennium. As a result, the department does not need administrative resources to administer the program and this funding is eliminated. (General Fund - State)

JR Placement Options

Funding is provided to reduce reliance on Juvenile Rehabilitation facility placements and relieve overcrowding by expanding use of Department of Children, Youth, and Families’ Community Transition Services program. (General Fund - Family Support/Child Welfare, General Fund - State)

JR Staffing Model

Funding is provided for staffing needs at Green Hill School and Echo Glen Children's Center to support the rehabilitative needs and safety of the young people within the facilities. (General Fund - Family Support/Child Welfare, General Fund - State)

Legal Services

Adjustments are made for each agency's anticipated cost of legal services provided by the Office of the Attorney General. Funding provided in the central service model is not all inclusive, as legal services expenditures are based on consumption. (General Fund - Federal, General Fund - State)

Network Administrator Elimination

The network administrator contracts with 36 providers in Eastern Washington to coordinate and oversee family visits for children in out-of-home care and in-home therapy for families in child protective services. DCYF estimates it can manage this with fewer resources by shifting some work to caseworkers. The network administrator is eliminated to generate administrative efficiencies. (General Fund - State)

OFM Central Services

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges from the Office of Financial Management for existing statewide applications, the One Washington program, and other central services. (General Fund - Federal, General Fund - State)

One-Time Lease Costs

One-time funding is provided for costs associated with relocating DCYF offices critical to execute core agency functions. (General Fund - Family Support/Child Welfare, General Fund - State)

Parent Child Assistance Program

The parent-child assistance program (PCAP) is an evidence-based home visitation and case-management model for pregnant and parenting mothers with substance-use disorders. Funding is provided for DCYF to contract with existing providers to expand PCAP by 16 slots in each of two high-need communities, for a total of 32 more slots. (General Fund - Cash, General Fund - Medicaid Federal, Opioid Abatement Settlement Account - State, other funds)

Plan of Safe Care

A Plan of Safe Care is a family-centered prevention plan designed to promote the safety and well-being of birthing parents and infants with prenatal substance exposure. Funding is provided for the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to refer high-needs families with children up to age three in five high-needs communities (including one Tribal community) to a specialized team trained in perinatal substance use. Teams connect families to resources that will help them access parenting education, early intervention services, substance use treatment, housing, health insurance, state benefit programs, and concrete goods prior to closing a Child Protective Services, Family Assessment Response or Family Voluntary Services case. (General Fund - State)

Pre-K Promise (ECEAP)

The Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) is a preschool program that improves educational outcomes for three- and four-year-olds from low-income families. The Pre-K Promise Account proposed in Z.xxx is established to support a partnership between state government and the private philanthropic donor, Ballmer Group to support ECEAP expansion. This partnership provides up to $170 million per year of private Ballmer funding on the condition that the state may not reduce the number of state-funded ECEAP slots. It is expected that this will support a minimum of 2,000 new ECEAP slots in the 2026-27 school year, with additional expansion planned in future years. (Pre-K Promise Account - Non-Appropriated)

Professional Development Reduction

Professional development activities, including contracted supports and training for providers, are reduced to generate savings. (General Fund - State)

Qualified Expert Witness

The federal and state Indian Child Welfare Acts (ICWA and WICWA) require that a Qualified Expert Witness (QEW) be available to testify in custody determinations to provide a culturally relevant perspective during proceedings. Several court cases, including a new ruling issued in August 2025 have significantly increased the number of cases requiring protections under ICWA and WICWA. Funding is provided to support ongoing compliance with QEW testimony requirements with the increased workload. (General Fund - Family Support/Child Welfare, General Fund - Medicaid Federal, General Fund - State, other funds)

Regional Disability Liaisons

Funding is provided to support compliance with a Voluntary Resolution Agreement between DCYF and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Justice regarding DCYF's treatment of parents with disabilities. These resources will establish a disability liaison program including one dedicated liaison for each of the six child welfare regions. (General Fund - Family Support/Child Welfare, General Fund - Medicaid Federal, General Fund - State, other funds)

Security Costs

One-time funding is provided for security costs at Echo Glen Children's Center while the new fence is completed and at Green Hill School for the remainder of an existing contract. (General Fund - State)

Self-Insurance Liability Premium

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's share of actuarially projected costs of the self-insurance liability premium. (General Fund - Federal, General Fund - State)

Settlement Payouts

Funding is provided for the state to pay for eight settlement agreements that exceed the $10 million amount covered by the Self-Insurance Liability Account for each case: $5 million for Wolf for Estate of Ford v. State, $5 million for J.P., et al. v. State, $2 million for Anderson by Graves, et al. v. State, et al., $10 million for A.G., et al. v. State, et al., $4.6 million for K.W.L. by Wolf v. State, $8.5 million for Wolf for Estate of Green v. State, et al., $1 million for Tandberg, et al. v. State, $6.5 million for D.H., et al. v. State. (General Fund - State)

Subsidy Rates to 75th Percentile

RCW 43.216.828 requires subsidy child care base rates to be paid at the 85th percentile of market rate based on the most recent market rate survey. The 85th percentile is not currently sustainable for the state budget. This adjustment reflects a rebase of subsidy child care provider rates to 75th percentile of market based on the most recent market rate survey, which means that child care centers will receive a rate increase from 85th percentile of 2021 market rates to 75th percentile of 2024 market rates in fiscal year 2027. Licensed family home rates will be maintained at 85th percentile of 2024 market rates per the enacted 2025-27 collective bargaining agreement. Future rate increases for both provider types will be informed by the 75th percentile of future market rates. (General Fund - State)

Ta'afulisia Settlement

The settlement agreement in the case of Ta'afulisia et al v Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families et al was amended in 2025 along with a court order requiring the state to pay plaintiff attorney fees. Funding is provided to pay attorney fees in compliance with the court order. (General Fund - State)

WCCC Soft Caseload Cap

The Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) eligibility has been expanded to various populations in recent years through the Fair Start for Kids Act. This has resulted in WCCC growing at a pace that the state budget cannot currently sustain. The WCCC budget is reduced by implementing a "soft caseload cap", allowing the caseload to decline through households naturally exiting the program while still allowing for placement of child-welfare-involved children. Going forward, the number of households WCCC would serve would be limited to 33,000 households, with exceptions for immediate placement of child welfare-involved children and required prioritization of specific target populations. (General Fund - State)

WTS Central Services

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges from Washington Technology Solutions for the Office of Cybersecurity, the state network, enterprise services, small agency IT services, enterprise architecture and data management, Microsoft 365 licenses, and other items. (General Fund - Federal, General Fund - State)