Safely Reduce the Number of Children and Youth in Out-of-Home Care by Half

  • Kinship Care Licensure

    The term "kinship care" refers to the full-time care of a child by relatives or suitable others (unrelated kin). In State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2023, over 50% of children experiencing out-of-home care were placed with kin. DCYF strongly encourages kinship caregivers to be licensed and can provide additional support to licensed caregivers, including foster care reimbursement. Over the past few years, the percentage of licensed kinship caregivers has more than doubled.

    Number and Percent Kinship Care Providers Licensed, Last Day of State Fiscal Year, 2013-2023
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  • Intake Decisions

    An intake is the process by which DCYF receives and processes reports of child abuse or neglect. In State Fiscal Year 2023, 54% of children referred for intake had cases that were screened-in for further investigation. Since 2010, Washington State’s population has grown by 18% (Office of Financial Management), and the number of annual intakes has accordingly increased. The percentage of children whose intake cases were screened-in however, has remained fairly consistent since 2015.

    Intakes by Screening Decision and State Fiscal Year, 2010-2023
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  • Children and Youth in Out-of-Home Care

    One of DCYF’s strategic priorities is to safely reduce the number of children and youth in out-of-home care. The outcome indicator for this priority is the number of children and youth in out-of-home care. In SFY 2023, one third of the 9,677 children and youth under age 18 who were placed in out-of-home care for one or more days were under three years old.

    Although the number of children and youth in out-of-home care at any single point in time is far fewer than the number who experience any out-of-home care over the course of the year, by either measure, the number has been declining. On the last day of the state fiscal year, 2023, there were 5,969 children and youth in out-of-home care. At that time, 55.9 percent of all children and youth under 18 in out-of-home care were placed with kin or relatives.

    Number and Percent of Children/Youth Who Experienced Out-of-Home Care, by Age, SFY 2023
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    Children and Youth under 18 in Out-of-Home Care, SFY 2011-2023
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  • Re-Entry into Care

    When children must be removed from their families, DCYF strives to move them into permanent homes as quickly as is safely possible and to support reunification and other permanency goals so that children do not return to out-of-home care. In state fiscal year 2022, 4.7 percent of children who exited out-of-home care to permanency through reunification or guardianship re-entered care in the following 12 months. The national performance, which is the standard to which DCYF is held, is 5.6 percent or less. DCYF monitors re-entry into care as a balancing indicator for safely reducing the number of children and youth in out-of-home care.

    Children Who Re-Enter Care within 12 Months of Exit, SFY 2010-2022
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    Screened-In CPS Intake or Placement within 12 Months of Case Closure, by Closed Case Type, SFY 2016-2023
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  • Entries to and Exits from Out-of-Home Care

    Numbers of children and youth entering and exiting out-of-home placement is another driver indicator for number of children and youth in out-of-home care. The number of children and youth entering out-of-home care has been declining since 2017. In SFY 2023, 3,302 children and youth entered out-of-home care, while 4,022 exited.

    Children Entering and Exiting Out of Home Placement, SFY 2010-2023
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  • Out-of-Home Care Length of Stay

    DCYF strives to return children and youth home as soon as safely possible, and when this is not possible – to place them in an alternate permanent home.  The agency monitors the median length of stay for children in out-of-home care as a driver indicator for the number of children and youth in out-of-home care.  In state fiscal year 2021, the most recent year that can be reported, the median length of stay was 534 days, an increase of 68 days from the previous year.

    Median Length of Stay (in Days) in Out-of-Home Care, SFY 2010-2021
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