While child abuse and neglect reports have remained relatively constant in the state of Washington, the number of children taken away from their families by the state has dropped from 9178 in 2018 to 4,971 currently.

That’s a big difference and it’s the result of some dramatic changes in both policy and process. 

According to the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) more children are staying in their homes because of prevention, reducing “racial disproportionality” and providing support to families. “Outcomes like this demonstrate our agency’s commitment to keeping families together and children and youth safe,” DCYF Secretary Ross Hunter said in a department media release on August 19.

Specific changes include “wraparound prevention services” designed to support families before more dramatic and potentially disruptive child welfare intervention is needed; an improved caregiver licensing process, and supports designed for kinship caregivers. 

“Giving families the tools they need to thrive and safely parent means more children and youth remain safely at home," said DCYF Assistant Secretary Natalie Green.

For more details, the department’s  Thriving Families website includes a significant amount of detail about the many projects involved with the initiative, along with webinars, related studies, legal information, fact sheets, information on provider availability and access, improved transparency and family support initiatives, as well as various efforts aimed at caseworker training. 

The website also includes information on a class action complaint that was filed in January 2021 “on behalf of a class of foster children and youth,” with a settlement that was reached in June 2022. The plan and process laid out in the settlement specifically refers to “dependent children with behavioral health and developmental disabilities to be promptly reunified with their families and adequately supported while in out-of-home care.”

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