On July 6, 2017, Governor Jay Inslee signs into law House Bill 1661 to create the state's newest cabinet-level department. The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) brings together early learning and child welfare services previously housed in separate agencies; juvenile justice programs will be added later. The new department is the unanimous recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Delivery of Services to Children and Families, authorized by the governor and co-chaired by State Representative Ruth Kagi and Seattle Municipal Court Judge Anne Levinson. At the signing ceremony, Inslee appoints Ross Hunter, former Microsoft executive and current director of the state's Department of Early Learning, as the new DCYF secretary. The department will create more visibility for foster care and early learning services and bring the state closer to its goal of giving all Washington state children an equal opportunity to succeed in life.
Unifying Services for Families and Children
Programs and services targeting children and families, previously housed in the Department of Early Learning and the Department of Social and Health Services, were combined July 6, 2017 to form the new Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). House Bill 1661 aims to "help families before children are removed due to neglect or abuse, and before youth get into trouble with the law. The bill passed with broad bipartisan support on June 30 as the legislature wound down" (Abramo).
DCYF oversees all programs from the Children's Administration, including Child Protective Services' investigations and Family Assessment Response, licensed foster care, and adoption support. Also included are the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program for preschoolers, Working Connections child care, and home visitation. The new department began administering juvenile justice programs in 2019, allowing more time for a thoughtful transition.
State Representative Ruth Kagi (b. 1945), who had chaired the House Early Learning and Human Services Committee since 2002, was a sponsor of the bill. Besides seeking to improve opportunities for children and youth, Kagi and her colleagues believed that families benefit more, and the state pays less, if services and policies take a more preventative approach.
The creation of a new department was driven by a statewide crisis in foster care, "largely by the Legislature's chronic under-funding of the Children's Administration, which has long been a part of the state's giant Department of Social and Health Services. Stagnant salaries, cuts to services for the most troubled foster children and reduced supports for struggling foster parents have contributed to an exodus of foster parents and case workers" (Abramo).
The new centralized department was modeled after those set up by other states, such as New Jersey, Indiana, and Tennessee. Their track records confirmed that a unified administrative structure offered more accountability, amplified resources to reach families in need and thus improve outcomes, and promoted the importance and awareness of issues affecting children and youth.
Ross Hunter Appointed Inaugural Secretary
At the July 6, 2017, bill-signing ceremony, Governor Jay Inslee (b.1951) announced the appointment of Ross Hunter (b. 1961) as the agency's first secretary. Hunter began his new job on August 1, 2017. A native of Philadelphia, Hunter earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science in 1983 from Yale University. He worked at Microsoft for 17 years and holds several patents for database and user interface design. From 2003-2015, he served as a state representative for the 48th district, which comprises the greater Eastside. He chaired the House Appropriations Committee from 2010-2015, and was instrumental in passing the Early Start Act of 2015 and expanding the Foster Care to Age 21 program. In September 2015, he was appointed head of the state's Department of Early Learning.
When asked about his selection as DCYF secretary, Hunter said: "It's not every day you get a chance to create a new agency, one that lets us address many of the ideas employees have had for years on how to improve the delivery of services and generate better outcomes for kids and families. Recent science about how young brains develop allows us to rethink many long-held beliefs and invest upstream, preventing harm to young people" ("A New Department to Better Serve…").
Two Years in the Making
The process to create DCYF took two years, starting with the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Delivery of Services to Children and Families, established by Governor Inslee in 2016. Inslee announced the commission's formation at an event where he was surrounded by children, sending a strong message to the commission's members. "Our goals are clear. We need greater accountability, we need greater visibility of children's issues, we need fewer barriers to improve service, and we need a direct line to me as governor on how we're going to make our children safer, healthier, more secure and more connected to their communities" (La Corte).
The commission was co-chaired by Kagi and retired judge Anne Levinson. Kagi later recalled: "I served on the committee for seven months. We took fragmented programs across three departments and transferred them into one. The new department was spurred by extreme frustration with the Department of Social and Health Services, where Children's Administration was buried. That meant it was given low financial priority and attention. DCYF allowed for better integration and administration. It was a way to change the culture" (Ruth Kagi interview).
As the commission explored the issues, Inslee did his own homework. He met with foster parents, youth, child care workers, and early education advocates. He heard from people who had been in the foster care system who wanted to standardize services and provide more support for foster families. After Inslee signed DCYF into law, it took another year to complete the transition. The new department employs a variety of professionals, including foster care caseworkers, social workers, social service specialists, licensors, researchers, and policy experts in early learning and child welfare. Olympia lawmakers appropriated $6.3 million for the rollout of the new department.
Kagi noted the Herculean effort of the undertaking. "There's such a feeling of success today that we really have accomplished the impossible. We're off to a great start ... It bodes for a much better future for children and families in Washington" ("Inslee Kicks Off ...").
Next Steps
When the new department opened its doors in 2018, Inslee held a news conference where he focused on the need to act quickly if all children were to have an equal chance for success. "We shouldn't be waiting until a child is harmed to step in. There's so much we can do starting as early as a mother's pregnancy to reduce the chances of harm to children and increase the chances they can succeed in school and in life. By bringing together the staff who work most with children and families, we're going to be much better able to identify children and parents or caretakers who are struggling and need support" ("Inslee Kicks Off ...").
In July 2019, DCYF began administering programs previously housed in the Juvenile Rehabilitation division and the Office of Juvenile Justice in the Department of Social and Health Services. These programs included juvenile rehabilitation institutions, community facilities, and parole services.
