Child Welfare QA

DCYF works to achieve permanency for children as quickly and safely as possible. The goal is to reunify children with their families when parents demonstrate that they are able to safely care for their children. When children cannot be safely reunified, DCYF makes efforts to achieve permanency through adoption and guardianship as quickly as possible. Of children who were removed from their parents in state fiscal year 2022, over 40 percent were able to achieve permanency within 12 months of their placement out of their parent’s home; the federal target is 37.9 percent or more. Over 96 percent of the children achieving permanency within 12 months were reunified with their families.

Children Placed in Safe and Permanent Homes Within 12 Months of Entering Care, SFY 2010-2022

 

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Children Placed in Safe and Permanent Homes Within 12 Months of Entering Care, SFY 2010-2022

Source: DCYF. (October 2023). Child welfare priority performance measures [July 2009-June 2023]. infoFamlink.
Notes: State fiscal year reflects the year the child entered care, allowing for 12 months to exit to permanency. Excludes children who were placed fewer than eight days.

It is important that children who are removed from their homes experience stability while they are in out-of-home care. To monitor the stability of children in out-of-home placement, DCYF monitors the number of placement moves per 1,000 days in out-of-home care for children and youth entering care during a 12-month cohort period (federal measure) and during the first 90 days (state measure). The federal target is 3.98 moves or fewer; in state fiscal year 2023, Washington had an overall rate of 5.20 on this measure, 1.22 percentage points higher than the federal target. Disaggregation by placement setting however, shows that the kinship care stability rate meets the federal target, while rate for non-kin foster care does not. The state measure of stability is typically greater than the federal measure because a high proportion of the moves that children and youth experience occur in the first 90 days.

When a child or group of children meets the legal criteria for an emergent response or is determined to be at "imminent risk" of harm, a worker must initiate a Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation and make face-to-face contact with the child within 24 hours of receipt of the report. During state fiscal year 2023, 81.3 percent of children in emergent reports were seen within 24 hours.

A Child Protective Services (CPS) report meeting the criteria for a non-emergent response requires workers to initiate a CPS investigation or a CPS Family Assessment Response (FAR) and make face-to-face contact with the child within 72 hours of receipt of the report. During state fiscal year 2022, 89.4 percent of children in non-emergent reports were seen within 72 hours.

A child experiences re-abuse or recurrence when they have experienced a founded allegation of abuse or neglect within 12 months of a previous finding of abuse or neglect. An allegation is founded if the worker concluded that the maltreatment likely occurred. For reports with multiple allegations, the report is considered founded if any of the allegations are founded. State fiscal year reflects the year of the first founded allegation and we must wait 12 months to determine if there was a new founded allegation. In state fiscal year 2021 the rate of recurrence was 8.6 percent, 2.6 percentage points above the federal performance target of 6.0 percent.

Recurrence of Maltreatment, SFY 2010-2021

 

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Recurrence of Maltreatment, SFY 2010-2021

Source: DCYF. (October 2023). Child welfare priority performance measures [July 2009-June 2021]. infoFamlink.
Notes: Percentage of children with a founded allegation of abuse or neglect who had another founded allegation within 12 months. This measure excludes additional reports in the first 14 days.

DCYF works to ensure the safety of children who are in the placement and care authority of DCYF, including children who are placed in licensed care, those placed with unlicensed kin, and those placed with their parents on a trial return home. We measure the number of founded reports of maltreatment for the total number of days children were in DCYF placement and care authority and display this as the rate of maltreatment per 100,000 care-days. In state fiscal year 2022, the rate was 7.9; the federal target is 6.8 or less.

DCYF attempts to place children and youth with relatives whenever it is safe and possible. To balance these efforts, we are monitoring the rates of maltreatment by placement setting. In most years, rates of maltreatment are lower in kinship care than in foster care.

Washington state law requires DCYF to monitor a random sample of no less than 10 percent of the total number of DCYF licensed family foster homes by July 1 of each year and to report the results annually (RCW 74.13.260; RCW 74.13.031(6)). In state fiscal year 2023, 12.1 percent of licensed homes received a random health and safety visit.

Licensed Foster Homes Monitored Annually, SFY 2013-2023

 

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Licensed Foster Homes Monitored Annually, SFY 2013-2023

Source: DCYF. (October 2023). DLR health and safety visits [July 2012-June 2023] & Counts of CA licensed providers by location and type [July 2012-June 2023]. infoFamlink.

When a child is placed in agency custody, DCYF strives to see the child at least once during each calendar month. During state fiscal year 2023, 96.5 percent of children in out-of-home placement received a visit from their worker each month, which is 1.5 percentage points higher than the federal performance target of 95 percent

Children in Placement Who Receive a Monthly Health and Safety Visit, SFY 2010-2023

 

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Children in Placement Who Receive a Monthly Health and Safety Visit, SFY 2010-2023

Source: DCYF. (October 2023). Monthly health and safety visits with child [July 2009-June 2023]. infoFamlink.

Since 2016, the proportion of White children and youth in out-of-home care has decreased by four percentage points, and the proportion of American Indian/Alaska Native children and youth has increased by four percentage points. The proportions of other racial/ethnic groups have varied by one or two percentage points annually.

Children in Care by Race/Ethnicity, Last Day of SFY 2016-2023

 

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Children in Care by Race/Ethnicity, Last Day of SFY 2016-2023

Source: DCYF. (October 2023). Relative versus non-relative [July 2015-June 2023]. infoFamlink.
WSRDAC/M: American Indian/Alaska Native, Multiracial combined with American Indian/Alaska Native and Black/African American, Multiracial combined with Black/African American, and Asian/Pacific Islander, Multiracial combined with Asian/Pacific Islander.

On the last day of the state fiscal year, 2023, there were 5,969 children in out-of-home care. Washington has one of the highest kinship care placement rates among all states in the nation. On the last day of the state fiscal year, 2023, 55.9 percent of all children and youth under 18 in out-of-home care were placed with kin or relatives.