A Message from DCYF Secretary Ross Hunter

October 1, 2019 Issue

DCYF's Plan to Improve Foster Parent Experience

First Outdoor Preschool License

Upcoming Events

DCYF Regional Structure Map Revised

Recently Submitted Legislative Reports:

DCYF Partners:

Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families sent this bulletin at 10/01/2019 09:29 AM PDT

Tues., Oct. 1 - Yakima
Early Learning Advisory Council Meeting 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Fri., Oct. 11 - Online
October Legislative Update Webinar 10 to 11 a.m.

Mon., Nov. 4 - Lacey
Community Legislative Summit 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information, please contact DCYF Community Engagement.

The DCYF Regional Structure Map has been updated. We’ve added staff locations for Child Care Subsidy Programs and have adjusted the locations of some previously incorrect offices. Check it out to get a top-down view of DCYF offices throughout the state.

I wanted to give you a brief update on our DCYF decision packages submitted to the Office of Financial Management last week. The DPs are publicly available on OFM’s website. Here is the link: https://abr.ofm.wa.gov/budget/agency/requests. It only works in Chrome, Edge or Mozilla but is public so feel free to share. We also plan on posting the DPs to our DCYF website soon. You will find my cover letter for the budget and our agency priority ranking for DPs here.

Each year, thousands of foster and kinship families open their heart and homes to our state’s most vulnerable children. There are nearly 9,200 children in Washington who are in out-of-home placements. This number has been climbing slowly every year as we work through the opioid epidemic and the aftermath of the great recession. At the end of June 2018, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) had 5,109 licensed foster homes, this number represents a 3.1 percent increase from the prior year.

Read the full plan on improving the foster parent's experience on DCYF's website.

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This past month, DCYF licensed its very first outdoor, nature-based preschool program: Kaleidoscope Forest School on Orcas Island.

“By licensing outdoor preschool programs, we are expanding access to some really great educational opportunities for children while also giving families more options for child care in their communities,” said Debbie Groff, Licensing Area Administrator.

“Kaleidoscope Forest School takes place in the beautiful parks of Orcas Island, and is also an extension of a licensed early learning center that provides ECEAP to the community. They are adapting and growing to make sure their community is taken care of,” said Aliza Yair, Outdoor Preschool Pilot Program Specialist.

This event is part of a four-year pilot project that began in spring 2017, when the Washington Legislature passed SB 5357 “Establishing a pilot project to license outdoor early learning and child care programs.” The pilot project is analyzing various models of outdoor preschools and has adapted or created specialized, licensing regulations to allow for the operation of outdoor early learning programs. Find more information about the pilot project on our website.