 Five Years On, DCYF Continues to Evolve to Meet the Needs of Children and Families
Washington’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) was conceived to focus on the needs of children and youth so they can grow up safe and healthy.
We take on some of the most complex challenges known to government: improving child care, juvenile rehabilitation (JR), early intervention and prevention. Our work empowers families to build their potential for recovery despite trauma, poverty, and structural racism.
As the newest state agency, we are evolving, bringing JR on in 2019, and initiating a major restructuring in fall 2021.
Now we are further refining internal structures to respond to changes in our workplace and the changing daily realities of our clients.
Restructuring means becoming more seamless in the ways we fulfill our mission, including:
- Structuring our Division of Partnership, Prevention, and Services (formerly the Division of Client Services) to amplify service to youth, families, and communities
Division lead: Steven Grilli, Assistant Secretary
Recognizing that helping families be strong and stay together is a vital component of our work, the Division of Partnership, Prevention, and Services is re-organizing into four core teams. The Family and Community Support Team will aim to keep families together through prevention and intensive services. The Service Continuum Team will work with youth and families known to the child welfare and juvenile justice systems to improve engagement and service referral and address gaps to help youth thrive. The Integrated System of Care Team will drive collaboration across divisions and other state agencies for systemic change and improved outcomes for adolescents, families, and children without homes, families impacted by Substance Use Disorder, and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. And, the Practice Support and Quality Improvement Team will support child welfare practice and operations of the division, as well as assess progress toward outcomes. This reorganized division will provide greater focus on strengthening families and keeping them together, while shifting essential agency work in direct child welfare services into our Child Welfare Division for better alignment and service to clients who come into the formal child welfare system.
While we have shifted the compositions of teams, we are committed to improving outcomes for children, youth, and families and, in particular, adolescents. We will be accountable to this work through tracking our key outcome measurements for young people in DCYF systems of care.
- Re-energizing our Early Learning Division to align work to the needs of children, families, providers, and communities
Division lead: Nicole Rose, Assistant Secretary
Our Early Learning Division is restructuring in four areas for the benefit of families and providers. The Early Care and Education team will bring together family-facing programs to improve child care experiences for children and families, including eligibility for support and enrollment for early learning settings. Another group, so new it has not yet been named, is a team that will bring together systems and services to enhance quality, teaching, and learning as well as workforce support in child care.
A Federal Initiatives and Collaborations team will enhance cross-agency collaboration and partnerships to strengthen our early learning system in Washington, and an Operations and Provider Supports team will help the whole division work effectively by interacting with internal operations such as human resources, finance, facilities, safety, and communications. The new structure will bring value through improved experience, access, and services for the children, providers, and communities we serve.
- Revolutionizing JR to connect communities and institutional programs, and focus support on safe operations, programming for youth success, and workforce support
Division lead: Felice Upton, Assistant Secretary
Our JR division has established a director of Staff Initiatives who will oversee and be responsible for professional development, culture, retention, and training. JR is also establishing a director of Operations Safety and Security to oversee and ensure that we are operationally sound across the JR continuum. This director will lead the work to review emergency measures, emergency planning, and manage capital projects and day-to-day security.
The director of Clinical Programs, Behavioral Health, and Substance Use Disorder will focus on meeting emotional and behavioral challenges that trauma-affected youth face, while our director of Programs, Transitions, and Youth Success will focus on ensuring that we have the right programs for youth at the right time. This director will also ensure alignment of practice and policy with all programs.
- Focusing on change for unified, mission-oriented success
We are adapting our systems for engagement, efficiency, and resource mobilization. Through Administrative Services, Information Technology, Human Resources, Public Affairs, and Finance, we will ensure transparency, communicate our mission, meet legal requirements and legislative mandates, maintain client focus, enhance the pool of employee talent, and work toward increasing employee retention. Internal operations will enhance interdivisional strengths to better serve our clients.
Finally, we are establishing a new position of Assistant Secretary of Transformation, a role held by Jenny Heddin, with a team focused on strategic initiatives that drive collaboration and integration, address complex challenges, ensure accountability at DCYF, and build relationships across agencies in fulfillment of DCYF’s mission.
DCYF is a cabinet agency focused on the well-being of families and children. Our vision continuously evolves to reduce the decades-long legacy of internal and external divisions and ensure Washington’s children and youth grow up safe and healthy, thriving in the context of their culture, kin, family, and community.
Over coming days, months, and years, we are striving for nothing less than a child welfare and family well-being transformation. Thank you for your support as we continuously work to empower children and families to thrive in Washington.
Seeking Nominations for Parent, Caregiver Recognition
DCYF is gearing up for its annual Unsung Hero campaign in honor of Parent Recognition month, held in February.
Please help us honor 28 parents and caregivers by nominating a parent/caregiver/guardian for the Unsung Hero award. The nomination form is available in three languages (English, Spanish and Somali).
All nominations must be submitted by Jan. 3, 2023. The nominations can be emailed to strengtheningfamilies@dcyf.wa.gov.
Since 2011, we have honored 309 parents and caregivers in Washington State for the roles they have taken with their families, schools, and communities. They have been recognized for showing strength, courage, and empathy in their communities. Parents and caregivers around Washington State are supporting their children, families, and communities in exceptional ways through this pandemic and we want to show our appreciation. |
