Early in December an article from realchangenews.org was shared with the group about Washington State merging children and family services into one Department. As with many States, leaders in Washington State are looking to advances in brain-science, trauma-informed practices, the impacts of ACEs, and focus on the developing child to provide scaffolding for the framework of this new Department. Click here to download the final report and read more about the Blue Ribbon Commission – the group tasked with developing recommendations and planning for this systems merge.
Many long-time child welfare professionals in the State of Washington are excited for the potential this new Department can bring to Washington children, families, and communities, but there remains some skepticism related to funding and the steadfastness required, in a wavering political climate, to implement such a transformation.
The following blog is published monthly by the Court Improvement Training Academy at the University of Washington, the author Dee Wilson is a long-time child-welfare professional highly regarded for his work and trainings in child welfare.
Washington State’s Governor, Jay Inslee, has proposed creating a new department of children’s services that would remove the Children’s Administration (CA) from the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and combine the state’s child welfare system with the Department of Early Learning (DEL) and juvenile justice.
In a tightly controlled political process that left little room for critical questions or dissent, a 16 person Blue Ribbon Commission delivered to Governor Inslee the recommendations he was looking for: creation of a separate children’s department dedicated to prevention combined with an agency that oversees early learning programs. Influential advocates insisted on the inclusion of DSHS’ Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration (JRA) at the tail end of the Commission’s deliberative process.
Follow this link to read the remainder of this blog for a local perspective on resources, rational and reform in Washington’s child welfare system.
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