department of children youth and families

Hotel stays up, child abuse reports down. New report highlights COVID impacts on WA child welfare

By • Dec 7, 2020
Austin Jenkins / Northwest News Network

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in Washington foster youth spending more nights in hotel rooms while overall reports of child abuse and neglect have declined precipitously. Those are among the pandemic-related findings of an annual report from the state’s Office of the Family and Children's Ombuds (OFCO) released Monday. 

New report sounds alarm over state of Washington's foster care system

By • Nov 27, 2018
Flickr Photo/Rich Uchytil (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)/https://bit.ly/2KEV8gw

Washington's child welfare system is failing to adequately serve foster youth with the most vexing needs, resulting in hotel stays and out-of-state placements, according to a new report by the state's Office of the Family and Children's Ombudsman (OFCO).

Report describes 'abusive restraint practices' for Washington foster youth sent out of state

By • Oct 17, 2018
Disability Rights Washington

The state of Washington sent high-needs foster youth to a residential facility in Iowa where they were isolated, held in a restrictive setting and at times subject to “abusive restraint practices," according to a scathing report released Wednesday by the advocacy group Disability Rights Washington.