The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) recently launched a webpage dedicated to the Fair Start for Kids Act (FSK). The page will contain all information about FSK implementation, including:
- Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) and Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) changes for families
- How the Act is supporting child care and early learning providers
- Expanded resources and innovations for child care licensing
- Prenatal to age three supports for families and providers
- Data and accountability measures that DCYF reports on over the years
Through the Child Care Collaborative Task Force and other efforts, community partners such as the Association of Washington Business, Mom’s Rising, and Start Early are already helping to share changes for the business community, families, and providers that result from FSK. Additionally, the WCCC team notified subsidy providers about the increased subsidy base rates due to FSK, and the Home Visiting team included information about FSK and investments made to the Home Visiting Services Account in their monthly newsletter.
The DCYF Government Affairs and Provider Supports teams have been delivering presentations on the elements of FSK to stakeholders, community groups, and K-12 partners since the bill was passed.
The FSK webpage will be updated frequently as the agency moves through implementation and is a great place to direct constituents that have questions.
Changes to Support Child Care Providers and Families Accessing Child Care
We are excited to share the following changes that went into effect on July 1 to support child care providers and families accessing child care!
Family Subsidy Co-payments Waived for July, August, and September 2021
DCYF is waiving child care co-payments for families accessing subsidies for July, August, and September 2021. Notifications have been sent to families via postcard, informing them of the waived co-payments and that their co-payments will begin again on Oct. 1, 2021. This provides necessary time to implement the Fair Start for Kids Act changes to eligibility calculations and the co-payment schedule. Learn more.
Full-time Student WCCC Eligibility
DCYF is pleased to share that starting July 1, 2021, parents attending full-time community, technical, or tribal college are no longer required to work to qualify for WCCC. This policy change passed as part of the Fair Start for Kids Act during the 2021 Legislative Session. Learn more.
Licensing Fee Suspension
Beginning July 1, 2021, child care providers will not be required to pay licensing fees. Governor Jay Inslee signed SB 5151, suspending fees for child care applicants and licensed child care providers through June 30, 2023. Learn more.
WCCC Reimbursement Rate Increases
Beginning July 1, 2021, reimbursement rates for WCCC increased to the 85th percentile for licensed child care providers who accept WCCC. Learn more.
Successfully Reducing the Number of Children in Out-of-Home Care
We’re thrilled to share positive developments aligned with DCYF’s strategic priority to safely reduce the number/rate of children in out-of-home care. As of May 31, 2021, there are 6,997 children in out-of-home care (DCYF custody and under 18 years), a 10.6% decrease from May 2020. We attribute this decline to the dual trends of intake reduction as well as an increase in successful exits into permanency.
The agency’s shift in focus to prevention has increased the number of services in place to support families before a need for child services is necessary. It has also engaged stakeholders in making sure children are safe in their homes. DCYF staff have been engaged in the hard work of successfully exiting children into permanency. In fact, this year’s numbers show that our number of exits exceed our number of entries into care. We’re also proud to share that the majority of the exits into permanency are reunifications.
As we look forward, we continue to refine our practice model to more critically examine cases of "neglect" having more to do with poverty than abuse and find new ways to support families in having the resources they need to care for children. Our ultimate vision includes a practice model with a more robust service array, more behavioral health supports, more front-end work on the root of issues that drive children into care, and much deeper service availability across the state.
Find more information about DCYF agency performance.
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Green Hill Youth Testifies Before Congress
Emerging Leaders Committee Chair Aaron Toleafoa testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security on Tuesday, May 13. He spoke about the importance of involving those with lived experience in shaping the youth criminal justice system. He also discussed the crucial role of trainings and supports to break cycles of recidivism and support successful reentry and rehabilitation.
Watch the video. (Aaron's testimony begins at 45:58).
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DCYF and Amara Expand Family Connections Program
In 2020, the Legislature passed HB 2525, creating the Family Connections program to facilitate relationships between foster families and birth parents. However, the Governor vetoed funding for the program due to projected budget shortfalls related to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even without funding, Amara and DCYF staff worked together to develop a memorandum of understanding (MOU) related to developing the program. The MOU was finalized in March, and Amara has since engaged a small number of families to participate. The 2021-23 biennial budget included the necessary funding to move forward with developing and expanding the program, and Amara is planning expansions on both the east and west sides of the state. During the pandemic, staff from Amara and DCYF, along with stakeholders, came up with innovative and creative solutions to implement this innovative approach to supporting parents involved in child welfare.
ECEAP Expansion RFA Has Allocated 500 New Slots
To be nimble and responsive to the needs of the field, DCYF’s ECEAP team began an early Request for Applications (RFA) process for the new ECEAP slots allocated during the 2021 Legislative Session. ECEAP slots provide free early learning child care or preschool to support child development and learning, as well as family support, child health coordination and nutrition, and culturally responsive services appropriate to each child. Children in programs like this are shown to have better outcomes beginning in Kindergarten and through adulthood.
As soon as the 2021 Legislative Session concluded, the team got to work. They transitioned the RFA process online and pulled off an impressive modified process. The RFA closed on May 18, and successful applicants were notified of their slot awards by Friday, May 21. During this open application window, DCYF received RFA’s for over 1,500 slots. Decisions about the placement of the 500 new slots were based on contractor’s:
- Plan to serve children and families furthest from opportunity.
- Priority of communities that have higher amounts or percentages of children unserved according to the ECEAP and Head Start Saturation Study.
- Recent loss of Head Start slots.
The table below shows the geographical distribution of the new slots, including expansion, exchange, and conversion. DCYF ECEAP is now proceeding with adding these slots to contracts for the coming year.
The slot totals are more than the 500 expansion slots, which the Legislature awarded DCYF. The agency had additional slots due to the following factors:
- A contractor giving back slots to DCYF outside of the RFA process.
- Multiple applicants giving back Part Day (PD) slots in exchange for School Day (SD) slots.
- DCYF deciding to convert remaining PD slots to additional SD slots to award. There were no more requests for PD slots, so the agency moved forward to convert these, which is also in alignment with the goal to have more SD than PD slots in the future.
DCYF's Early Learning Dashboards Go Live
The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) Child Care Need and Supply Data Dashboard is an interactive tool used to estimate the percent of child care need met throughout the state. The map can be viewed by county, legislative district, zip code, and age range. The map shows child care needs met by the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), Head Start, Early Head Start, Child Care Centers, and Family Homes. DCYF will build on its ability to communicate through these dashboard tools through funding in SB 5092 Sec. 230(6).
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