Foster Care

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is making it much easier for individuals interested in becoming foster parents to apply.

In an effort to increase accessibility to high-quality child care for children and youth in foster care and increase placement capacity throughout the state, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) now offer multi-licensing.

Today, Washington State stopped forcing parents involved in the child welfare system to pay the state for the costs of caring for their child in foster care. Credible studies show that doing so often results in children lingering in foster care, causing needless damage to the child and costing taxpayers more than is likely to be collected.

DCYF’s Recruitment and Retention Team is stepping into the world of social media! After months of hard work, we are excited to announce a DCYF-approved Facebook page for recruiting foster parents across Washington State.

DCYF and Binti, a child welfare software provider, have joined together to launch the Washington Caregiver Application Portal (WA CAP) this fall, which will allow prospective foster parents to complete the application process online. 

DCYF’s Adolescent Programs division oversees implementation of the Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) initiative for Washington State, coordinating with each local Public Housing Authority.

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) applauds legislators for funding $10.6 million in stipends for youth aging out of the agency’s Extended Foster Care (EFC) program.

Foster parents and kinship caregivers may claim a tax deduction on certain foster care payments for children who have been placed in their care for more than half of the tax year. Exceptions apply for a foster child born within the tax year; caregivers will need to check with their tax advisor in these situations.

This month, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families is joining the country to celebrate Social Work Month.

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families and the Seattle Mariners are excited to announce the return of our annual foster parent and kinship caregiver celebration—We Are Family Day!