Historic child welfare reforms signed into law were championed by Rep. Ruth Kagi

Rep. Ruth Kagi D-32

OLYMPIA – Three separate measures that give child welfare caseworkers new and better tools to help the state’s most troubled families were signed into law last week. Together, these reforms allow caseworkers to focus on the core mission of protecting children, while also setting up the state’s application for a waiver to reinvest federal dollars into services that bring positive results.

State Rep. Ruth Kagi (D – Lake Forest Park) championed the reforms this legislative session as innovative strategies that improve family outcomes and maximize limited dollars during lean budget times.

“This is a great day for Washington’s children and families,” Kagi said. “We’re putting a sturdy framework in place that lets our caseworkers carry out the critical work they do more effectively, and shifts our focus from simply providing services to improving children’s lives in a measurable way.”

The bills signed are:

• House Bill 2263 (sponsored by Kagi), maintains child welfare funding for the next five years, even if caseloads decline. This is important because the current funding formula is based on the number of children placed in foster care. Washington’s innovative and effective programs have reduced the length of time in foster care and avoided out-of-home placement for many children. As a result, state funding has dramatically declined. While the foster care caseload has been reduced 18 percent since 2008, this has resulted in a loss of $8 million in state funding – a loss which threatens the very programs that are successfully helping troubled families. With this legislation, the funding level will not be reduced, and any savings will go right back into providing services.

• House Bill 2264 (also sponsored by Kagi), which moves forward with performance-based contracting for some child welfare services, while also clearly defining caseworker jobs. It brings cohesion to what has been a fragmented network of child welfare providers, adding greater accountability for how services are provided and dollars are spent.

• Senate Bill 6555 (sponsored by Sen. Jim Hargrove), which gives Child Protective Services a way to engage families in crisis, and provide services to address child maltreatment without removing a child from the family home. Studies have shown that the majority of child abuse allegations do not involve imminent danger of physical harm or sexual abuse. Instead, various factors may be contributing to neglect of a child, and these can be addressed through a family assessment process. This process will be phased in throughout the state by 2014.

Enacting these three bills strengthens Washington’s upcoming application for a federal waiver. These waivers give states more flexibility in the use of federal funding, allowing investment in strategies that support families and children rather than just for foster care placement. Like House Bill 2263, the federal waiver will ensure that Washington is not punished for improved child welfare outcomes.

Congress authorized the waivers last year with passage of the Children & Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act.