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Washington’s foster care system has undergone a dramatic transformation. The number of children in state foster care has dropped by almost half in just six years from 9,171 in 2018 to 4,971 in early August 2024, said an article by Nina Shapiro of The Seattle Times published yesterday, per Wenatchee World.
State officials call this progress. The Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) says the decline reflects a shift toward keeping families together and reducing the trauma of removing children from their homes.
Family advocates agree this shift is important. Tara Urs, special counsel for civil policy and practice at the King County Department of Public Defense, notes that family separation is one of the most frightening experiences a child can face. And historically, the burden has fallen disproportionately on poor, Black, and Native American families.
Shrounda Selivanoff, a leader of the Keeping Families Together coalition, said it is encouraging to finally see a system focused on supporting families rather than pulling them apart.
Yet, as Shapiro points out, the trend comes at a time when DCYF is under heavy scrutiny for overcrowded juvenile justice facilities and the controversial transfer of 43 youths to an adult prison before a judge intervened. Officials had been waiting to announce the foster care milestone until the system dipped below 5,000 children.
Not everyone is celebrating.
Some caregivers and children’s advocates warn that struggling families may now be left in unsafe situations with too little oversight or support. They fear the state may be prioritizing lower numbers over child safety.
DCYF Secretary Ross Hunter has stated that while horrific physical and sexual abuse cases do occur, the majority of child welfare interventions stem from neglect, often tied to poverty, housing instability, mental health needs, and lack of childcare.
DCYF says its approach now focuses on helping families address those problems early. Parents may be connected to substance use treatment, counseling, social work support, or simply provided practical essentials like diapers, beds, or car seats.
A major law change in July 2023 accelerated this shift. House Bill 1227 raised the standard for court-ordered removal from “serious threat of substantial harm” to “imminent physical harm.” In the year after the law passed, foster care placements fell another 14 percent.
The agency says families left together under safety plans may receive unannounced home visits or support from relatives and close family friends if a crisis arises.
However, longtime foster parent Shannon Anderson said she sees growing signs of trouble.
Children entering care now have more severe mental health issues, she says, and more exposure to dangerous drugs like fentanyl, warning signs that they were kept too long in unsafe environments.
She also cites rising reports of child fatalities and near fatalities among families previously involved with state child welfare, from 77 in 2019 to 149 in 2023, although experts caution it is too soon to link those cases directly to policy changes. Some believe the fentanyl crisis plays a major role in those tragedies.
Seeking balance, lawmakers recently passed Senate Bill 6109, requiring courts to give “great weight” to the dangers posed by opioids in the home.
Advocates argue the state still falls short in helping families who do not meet the new removal standard. When the agency decides not to intervene fully, supports such as child care or housing vouchers may suddenly disappear, leaving vulnerable parents without services they relied on while being investigated.
DCYF says it works to maintain connections to support programs as cases close. Still, the agency itself admitted in a July presentation that access to treatment and community resources remains insufficient, leaving children at continued risk.
Washington’s rapid reduction in foster care placements raises an urgent question: Is the system finally healing families, or failing them more quietly?
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