Washington Department of Children Youth and Families Archives

Hotel Stays Up, Abuse Reports Down: Report Highlights COVID’s Affect On Washington Child Welfare

By Austin Jenkins December 8, 2020

A poster for reporting child abuse and neglect in Washington State

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in Washington foster youth spending more nights in hotel rooms while overall reports of child abuse and neglect have declined precipitously. Those are among the pandemic-related findings of an annual report from the state’s Office of the Family and Children's Ombuds (OFCO) released Monday. Read More

13,000+ Washingtonians Qualify For Developmental Disabilities Services, But Don’t Get Them

By Austin Jenkins September 25, 2019

Lindsey Topping-Schuetz holds her nearly three-year-old son Owen who qualifies for developmental disabilities services, but has been denied them because of a lack of state funding. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS / N3

Fifty years ago, Owen might have been institutionalized because of his developmental disabilities. Today, his family just wants to take care of him at home. But they can’t get services from the state to help. And they’re not alone.Read More

Washington Reduces Number Of Foster Youth Out Of State, But In-State Beds Still Lacking

By Austin Jenkins August 13, 2019

Washington's Department of Children Youth and Families removed youth from Clarinda Academy in Iowa following an investigation by Disability Rights Washington. CREDIT: DISABILITY RIGHTS WASHINGTON

A year ago, Washington state had 82 hard-to-place foster youths, mostly teenagers, living in facilities in states as far away as South Carolina, prompting calls to bring them home. As of Aug. 1, that number had been reduced by more than half to 38, according to the Department of Children Youth and Families.Read More