Olympia — The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) will begin a new effort to recruit and retain caregivers. DCYF plans to shift its recruitment efforts to attract a diverse pool of caregivers who can meet the unique needs of children placed in out-of-home care.

The recruitment effort aims to achieve the following outcomes:

• Increase the number of caregivers who are racially, ethnically and culturally diverse.
• Increase the number of caregivers who can accommodate sibling groups.
• Increase the number of caregivers for medically fragile children.
• Increase the number of caregivers for children with extensive emotional, behavioral and physical needs.

For this to occur DCYF plans to implement the following:

• Community-Focused Targeted Recruitment – (DCYF direct service)
• Caregiver Retention and Support – Contract with community partner(s) (RFP process)
• Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds (Contract)

“Examining the current population of children placed in out-of-home care, there are gaps in resources. This challenge is particularly acute for certain populations of children and youth and DCYF’s new approach reflects our intention to ensure a focus on these critical areas,” explains Frank Ordway, DCYF’s Chief of Staff. “A normal part of agency business practices is to review and re-compete contracts to ensure they continue to meet the needs of the agency.”

This transition will take place on July 1, 2020. We will provide ongoing updates with additional information and details.

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