Read the full October Secretary Newsletter.

We are worried about young people aging out of foster care into a damaged economy with fewer job opportunities. It would be even more terrible if those youth were to lose their housing on top of that.

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) are pleased to announce the 13 organizations selected to receive a 100 Schools Initiative grant award.

My name is Lindsey. As we begin to plan our son Owen’s fourth birthday, I cannot help but to reflect on the journey. We learned prenatally that Owen had two genetic abnormalities. He spent more than 100 days in the Tacoma General Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and immediately began early intervention services.

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is waiving copayments for the months of October, November and December 2020 for families receiving Child Care Subsidies. Waiving copays allows eligible families to keep more of their income to meet other needs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) partners with Naselle Youth Camp (NYC) to provide firefighting training and job skills to youth in residence. During this very difficult fire season, a crew of 10 residents was dispatched from the facility to assist with the Evans Canyon fire in Central Washington.

A Message From Secretary Hunter

Many public and private organizations across the country, including Washington State, are being targeted by a large-scale, highly sophisticated phishing campaign.

Washington State is taking proactive measures to protect state systems, which may require taking certain applications offline temporarily. There is no known indication of state services being impacted at this time.

My name is Elizabeth Morales. My husband is Arnold, and we are Amelia’s parents. Amelia is just a little over a year old now, and she was born with hearing loss, hip dysplasia, knee dislocations and feet deformities. 

We started receiving services when Amelia was four months old.

This week is Child Welfare Worker Appreciation Week – an opportunity for our agency to acknowledge the child welfare workforce as a valuable and integral part of communities across the country.