Child Welfare Housing Assistance Pilot Program.

The Child Welfare Housing Assistance Pilot Program (pilot) was authorized to begin July 1, 2020, and provides housing vouchers, rental assistance, navigation, and other support services to eligible families.

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is required to operate or contract for the operation of the pilot, and contracted with Reliable Enterprise located in Lewis County to operate the pilot.

A parent with a child who is dependent and whose primary remaining barrier to reunification is the lack of appropriate housing is eligible for the pilot.  A total of 123 families have received housing vouchers or other assistance through the pilot.  Currently, there is a waitlist of 40 families interested in receiving assistance through the pilot.

The pilot is scheduled to expire June 30, 2023.

Candidate for Foster Care.

A child who is a candidate for foster care is a child who the DCYF identifies as being at imminent risk of entering foster care, but who can remain safely in the child's home or in a kinship placement as long as services or programs that are necessary to prevent entry of the child into foster care are provided.  This includes a child whose adoption or guardianship arrangement is at risk of a disruption or dissolution that would result in a foster care placement.

A child is a candidate for foster care when:

• the child has been abandoned by the parent and the child's health, safety, and welfare is seriously endangered as a result;
• the child has been abused or neglected and the child's health, safety, and welfare is seriously endangered as a result;
• there is no parent capable of meeting the child's needs such that the child is in circumstances that constitute a serious danger to the child's development; or
• the child is otherwise at imminent risk of harm.

The Child Welfare Housing Assistance Program (Program) is established as a permanent program instead of a pilot program with an expiration date of June 30, 2023.  The Program is expanded to serve one or more counties on the east and west sides of the Cascade Mountains. 

The eligibility for the Program is expanded to include:

• a parent with a child who is dependent and a lack of appropriate housing is a remaining barrier to reunification; and 
• a parent of a child who is a candidate for foster care and whose housing instability is a barrier to the child remaining in the home.

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) must contract with an outside entity or entities who have a demonstrated understanding of the importance of stable housing for children and families involved or at risk of being involved with the child welfare system to operate the Program.

The reporting requirement for the DCYF is modified to require the report on the Program to:

• occur annually (instead of biennially) beginning November 1, 2024, and include data (not just outcomes);
• be provided to the Legislature (instead of the Legislature and the Governor, in the underlying bill);
• include information, when available, regarding distribution of the Program by race, geography, ethnicity, and gender, including a discussion of whether this distribution was equitable; and
• include any recommendations for legislative changes to the Program.