The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) celebrated their third year of the Engaging Fathers Award this month by recognizing Charles Diggle, a father of three from Grays Harbor County.
When Diggle’s third child was born, he was incarcerated. As soon as he was able, he entered Family Recovery Court and began his journey to reunification. After finishing inpatient treatment and while managing other treatment, court, and family obligations, Charles supported his daughter through her complex medical issues.
Diggle’s daughter was born with several medical conditions and was under the care of multiple medical professionals including several specialties far outside of Grays Harbor. Despite not having a driver’s license, Charles worked with his social worker to arrange transportation so he could attend appointments weekly.
When his Trial Return Home period began, Diggles’s two older children also began to live with him. During this time, Diggle got his driver's license, bought a vehicle, found a job and an apartment. As of January 2025, Charles graduated from recovery court and his daughter’s dependency was dismissed.
“Mr. Diggle is the perfect example of an individual thinking the world is against him but still worked the program because he knew there was hope towards something better,” said Therapeutic Court Lead Case Manager for Grays Harbor County and award nominator, Megan McLean. “He honored Grays Harbor Therapeutic Court’s key program components: show up, work hard, and try.”
Diggle continues to stay active in his recovery, attending meetings, engaging in monthly check-ins with his substance-use counselor, and of course stopping by the Therapeutic Court Office when he has time.
For the award ceremony, Diggle gathered in person with DCYF staff from Grays Harbor, the members of the Therapeutic Court Office, and Family Recovery Court, with online attendance by DCYF Secretary Senn as well as child welfare leadership and staff.
When asked to say a few words, Diggle shared gratitude for those that supported him on his journey.
“Thank you to everyone who believed in me and taught me how to believe in myself,” said Diggle.
The Engaging Father award is part of DCYF's Engaging Fathers project, an engagement effort for fathers with children in the child welfare system. Research shows that when fathers are involved in their children's lives, children perform better in school and exhibit healthier behavior. DCYF received dozens of nominees from caseworkers, family members, and providers for fathers across the state who have had a successful outcome with their child welfare cases.
“The Engaging Father Award provides an opportunity to highlight fathers who may have been in crisis or made mistakes but make the choice to engage in services and turn their lives around for themselves and their children,” said DCYF Secretary Tana Senn. “The number of nominations we received this year shows there are a lot of fathers out there willing to engage and we must continue to make a deliberate and ongoing effort to make it easier for them to do so. These inspiring stories demonstrate what can be achieved when DCYF partners with dads.”
Learn more about the program on the Engaging Fathers Webpage.