Child Welfare

The Extended Foster Care program offers young adults leaving foster care the opportunity to voluntarily continue receiving services while transitioning to independence. The additional support provided by EFC services has been linked to improved outcomes in adulthood. Former foster youth can choose to enter or leave EFC at any time during their years of eligibility (ages 18-21). DCYF tracks both initiation of EFC and longer-term utilization of services as a balancing indicator for our support of successful youth transitions. Across the past five years, the utilization rate of EFC is within 2 percentage points of the initiation rate. While the raw eligibility numbers decreased each year from 2021-2025, as a result of fewer children and youth in out-of-home care more broadly, the percent of eligible former foster youth who initiated and utilized EFC grew each of those years, and the percent who did not engage at all with services decreased each of those years. In state fiscal year 2026 the eligible population of young adults nearly tripled, as SB5908 expanded eligibility and allowed far more young people to access EFC. Of 2,222 eligible young people, 82% initiated EFC services, receiving them for one day or more since turning 18, 81% utilized EFC services, receiving them for at least 6 months since turning 18, and 18%% of eligible former foster youth did not engage at all with EFC. While the percentage of eligible  young adults who initiated and utilized EFC was slightly lower in SFY 2026, the number of young people receiving and benefitting from EFC services was much higher than in past years.

READ THE OIAA DATASHEET ON ANNUAL EXTENDED FOSTER CARE ENGAGEMENT RATES

READ THE EFC REPORT FROM THE RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

Between 2017 and 2023, the gap between employment rates for young adults who have experienced foster care and those who have not, remained fairly consistent in Washington State. During the same time period however, the gap in median earnings between the two groups widened, and that increase cannot be attributed to differences in number of hours worked. Longitudinal analysis shows that over time, while the employment gap remains steady, the gap in median earnings continues to increase. It is widest for people without post-secondary education credentials, and narrowest for those with four-year post-secondary credentials, but the earnings gap between people who have experienced foster care and those who have not persists across all levels of educational attainment.

Read the Education Research and Data Center (ERDC) Report

Employment Among 2017 Cohort of Young Adults, by Former Foster Status, 2017-2023

Employment Among 2017 Cohort of Young Adults, by Former Foster Status, 2017-2023

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Source: McCabe, H. (2025) Long-term education outcomes of Washington students who have experienced foster care, homelessness, or institutional education, 2024. Olympia, WA: Education Research and Data Center, Forecasting and Research, Office of Financial Management. https://erdc.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/PEI%20Brief%20-%20HM%203.24.25.pdf
Notes: Population is cohort of young adults who turned 18 in 2017. Chart represents employment outcome for the cohort over the following 7 years, through age 24.
Young adults are identified as having been in foster care if they were in foster care at any point from 2012, when they were in approximately 8th grade, forward. Data were not available to identify foster care at younger ages.
Young adults were considered employed if employed at any point during the calendar year in Washington, have wage records (federal employees, independent contractors, and others do not have Employment Security Department wage records), and earned more than $100 or worked more than 40 hours in a quarter.

One of DCYF’s strategic priorities is that we create successful transitions to adulthood for youth and young adults in our care. Graduation from high school is an outcome indicator for this priority. Over the past decade, high school graduation rates have increased a bit for all students, however a persistent gap of around thirty percentage points persists between those students and youth who have not experienced foster care. In the class of 2015, 41% of youth who had experienced foster care graduated in four years, compared to 78% of those who had not experienced foster care. Statewide, the 2025 four year graduating cohort included 90,315 students, 83% of whom graduated on time. Among that 2025 cohort, 398 youth were indicated as having been in foster care. Youth who have not been in foster care graduated at the rate of the overall class, whereas 51% of youth who had been in foster care graduated on time. In most years, an additional 2-3 percent of the class have graduated by the end of their fifth year.

VIEW THE Washington State Education REPORT CARD Dashboard

Housing instability is a balancing indicator for our outcomes related to creating successful transitions to adulthood. Youth and young adults who exit the foster care system without being placed into a permanent family through reunification, adoption, or guardianship are often referred to as "aging out" of foster care. These youth are at higher risk of becoming homeless or unstably housed than those who have a family to support them at this critical life transition. Overall, across the past five years, 16% of former foster youth experienced an episode of housing instability or homelessness within 12 months of leaving care. Annual rates of homelessness among former foster youth have declined over the course of those years however, most notably in 2024. The proportion experiencing homelessness was 22% in 2020, 14% in 2021, 15% in both 2022 and 2023, and 9% in 2024.

Analysis has also been done about the housing instability of youth and young adults (ages 12 to 25) who are released from a Juvenile Rehabilitation institution. Until 2021, the rate of homelessness for youth and young adults leaving Juvenile Rehabilitation institutions largely mirrored those of former foster youth. In more recent years however, new programs and resources have reduced homelessness among former foster youth, while rates of homelessness among youth and young adults leaving JR have changed very little. Overall, across the past five years, 21% experienced an episode of housing instability or homelessness within 12 months of discharge from JR. The annual rates over those years have fluctuated between 18% and 24%, without any clear upward or downward trend. The proportion experiencing homelessness was 19% in 2020 and 2021, 24% in 2022, 19% in 2023, and 18% in 2024.

VIEW THE REPORT FROM THE RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

A DCYF strategic priority is to improve the quality and availability of provider services. As an outcome indicator, we are monitoring the needs and provided treatment of children and youth in foster care. Research shows that exposure to traumatic events and chronic stress - such as poverty, housing instability, family conflict, abuse and neglect, and exposure to caregivers’ mental illness or substance use disorder - contribute to the greater behavioral health needs of children and youth experiencing out-of-home care.

All of the numbers of children and youth needing and receiving these services have been decreasing since 2018, as the number of children and youth in foster care has decreased more generally. Treatment rates have also declined, albeit only slightly. From 2017-2019, 79-80% of foster children and youth who needed mental health treatment received it, while 2022-2024, 77% received needed mental health treatment. Similarly, from 2017-2019, 39-42% of foster youth who needed SUD treatment received it, while in 2022-2024, 38-40% received needed SUD treatment.

READ THE REPORT FROM THE RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

Needs and Treatment of Children and Youth in Foster Care, SFY 2017-2024

Needs and Treatment of Children and Youth in Foster Care, SFY 2017-2024

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Source: Iverson, A., Pavelle, B. Lucenko, B. & Felver, B. (2026). "Behavioral Health Treatment Needs and Outcomes among Medicaid-Enrolled Children in Washington State." Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Research and Data Analysis.
Notes: Total in out-of-home care includes all children and youth age 0-17 ever in out-of-home care, for any length of time, during the state fiscal year. Mental health treatment need includes any mental health diagnosis, prescription, or service recorded in state administrative data in the past 24 months. Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment need includes one or more substance-related diagnosis, procedure, prescription, treatment, or arrest in the past 24 months. Treatment need indicators that are not captured by state administrative data, including privately paid or insured services, are not included. SUD is not measured for children under age 13.

The Healthy Youth Survey asks youth whether, over the past year, they ever felt so sad or hopeless, almost every day for two weeks or more in a row, that they stopped doing some of their usual activities. Results show that youth who live with their parents/guardians are less likely to report having been depressed than youth not living with their parents/guardians. In 2025, 25.2% of 10th graders who lived with their parents/guardians had been depressed, while 40.8% of those who did not live with their parents/guardians had been depressed.

10th Graders Reporting Depression, by Living Situation, 2025

10th Graders Reporting Depression, by Living Situation, 2025

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Source: Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Health Care Authority Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, & Liquor and Cannabis Control Board (2025). Healthy Youth Survey [2025]. https://askhys.net
Notes: "Does Not Live with Parents/Guardians" includes students who live with other relatives (kinship care), who are in foster care, or who have other living situations.

The second DCYF education outcome goal is that youth are engaged in school. Youth who feel more connected or committed to school are more likely to achieve positive academic outcomes and are less likely to experience mental health issues.

Engagement in school can be measured by the Healthy Youth Survey’s index of engagement in school, which captures information on decision-making opportunities at school, one-on-one opportunities with teachers, opportunities to work on special projects, extracurricular opportunities, and feeling a part of class activities or discussions. Results show that youth who live with their parents/guardians are more likely to report high levels of school engagement than youth not living with their parents/guardians. In 2025, 82.2% of 10th graders who lived with their parents/guardians had high levels of school engagement, compared to 77.1% of those who did not live with their parents/guardians.

10th Graders with High Levels of School Engagement, by Living Situation, 2025

10th Graders with High Levels of School Engagement, by Living Situation, 2025

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Source: Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Health Care Authority Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, & Liquor and Cannabis Control Board (2025). Healthy Youth Survey [2025]. https://askhys.net
Notes: "Does Not Live with Parents/Guardians" includes students who live with other relatives (kinship care), who are in foster care, or who have other living situations.

Another indicator of healthy youth-adult relationships is engagement between children and youth and their families. Family engagement includes opportunities to discuss problems with parents, chances to have fun with their families, and opportunities to be involved in family decisions. Results show that youth who live with their parents/guardians are more likely to report high opportunity for family engagement than youth not living with their parents/guardians. In 2025, high opportunity for family engagement was available to 76.4% of 10th graders who lived with their parents/guardians compared to 61.4% of those who did not live with their parents/guardians.

10th Graders with High Opportunity for Family Engagement, by Living Situation, 2025

10th Graders with High Opportunity for Family Engagement, by Living Situation, 2025

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Source: Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Health Care Authority Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, & Liquor and Cannabis Control Board (2025). Healthy Youth Survey [2025]. https://askhys.net
Notes: "Does Not Live with Parents/Guardians" includes students who live with other relatives (kinship care), who are in foster care, or who have other living situations.