Report to the Washington State Governor and Legislature

ANNUAL FOSTER PARENT AND
ADOPTIVE HOME RECRUITMENT REPORT

February 2019

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 CHILD FATALITY REPORT/CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES
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ANNUAL UPDATE ON FOSTER PARENT AND ADOPTIVE HOME RECRUITMENT

CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 1
MEETING THE NEED FOR ADOPTIVE & FOSTER HOME PLACEMENTS .............. 1-2
PARTNERING WITH RECRUITMENT CONTRACTORS ............................................... 2
FOSTER HOME RECRUITMENT CHALLENGES ...................................................... 2-3
REDUCING FOSTER HOME TURNOVER: RETENTION ........................................... 3-4
HOME STUDIES FOR LEGALLY-FREE CHILDREN..................................................... 4
BENEFITS OF LICENSING RELATIVES .................................................................... 5
WORKLOAD AND RATE OF PRODUCTION ............................................................. 6
WITHDRAWN APPLICATIONS ............................................................................... 6-7
ADOPTION HOME RECRUITMENT............................................................................ 7-8
LOCAL AND NATIONAL ADOPTION EXCHANGES .............................................. 8-9
ADOPTION RECRUITMENT WITHIN REGIONS ................................................... 9-10
FINALIZED ADOPTIONS ........................................................................................ 10-11
BARRIERS TO ADOPTION & ADOPTION RECRUITMENT OF FAMILIES........... 11-12
REASONS FOR BARRIERS TO PERMANENT PLACEMENT ........................... 11-12
REASONS FOR DELAY IN ADOPTION .............................................................. 12-14
TAKING STEPS TO IMPROVE THE ADOPTION SYSTEM .................................... 14-16
FOSTERING WELL-BEING & APPLE HEALTH CORE CONNECTIONS .............. 14-16
MAJOR COMPONENTS OF FOSTERING WELL-BEING ........................................ 14
APPLE HEALTH CORE CONNECTIONS ............................................................ 15-16

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report is prepared in compliance with RCW 74.13.031(2), which requires the Department of
Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF, or the Department), Division of Child Welfare Programs
to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature on the agency’s success in:
a)
b)
c)
d)

Meeting the need for adoptive and foster home placements;
Reducing the foster parent turnover rate;
Completing home studies for legally-free children; and
Implementing a program per RCW 74.13.285 that obtains all known and available
information concerning the mental, physical, health, and educational status of the child
for any child who has been in a foster home for 90 consecutive days or more.

The report provides a broad overview of foster and adoptive parent recruitment, the retention of
foster and adoptive homes, the status of home studies in Washington, and the tracking of
medical, mental, and educational status of children in foster care. The report must include a
section entitled “Foster Home Turn-Over: Causes and Recommendations.” Additionally, this
report provides recruitment and retention data trends and summarizes the steps DCYF is taking
to address areas of concern.

MEETING THE NEED FOR ADOPTIVE & FOSTER HOME
PLACEMENTS (RECRUITMENT)
DCYF works to continuously strengthen, improve, and diversify recruitment efforts for potential
foster and adoptive families. This includes families who reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of
children in care, with an interest in caring for children of varying age and gender, sibling groups,
and children with special developmental, behavioral, or medical needs. To meet the need for
adoptive and foster home placements, DCYF uses three recruitment strategies: general,
targeted, and child-specific.
General Recruitment This strategy helps build public interest and awareness. Recruitment
messages appeal to prospective families and their desire to make a difference for children.
General recruitment strategies also encourage the development of communities that are
responsive to the unique experiences of caregivers and children in care. Examples of general
recruitment includes posters and flyers placed in locations that are frequented by a large crosssection of the public.
Targeted Recruitment This strategy uses data and demographics of the children and youth in
care to recruit resources specific to need. Targeted recruitment is culturally-responsive and
community-based. Regional Recruitment, Development, and Support (RDS) teams guide these
efforts and develop regionally-based, targeted recruitment strategies with the recruitment
contractors. These multi-disciplinary teams are coordinated by DCYF and engage the expertise
of Olive Crest and Eastern Washington University (EWU), child placing agencies (CPAs), the
Alliance for Child Welfare Excellence, tribes, foster parents, community partners, and
stakeholders. Targeted recruitment may include posters and flyers tailored and placed in
specific venues. It can also include outreach to organizations that serve particular groups. One
example of targeted recruitment is partnering with Special Olympics to generate interest from
families who understand and are interested in the serving the unique needs of special needs
children and youth.
Child-Specific Recruitment This strategy focuses on recruitment of prospective families for
specific children and youth in foster care. Child-specific recruitment may include the sharing of
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biographical sketches of children with specific foster parent groups, brief video vignettes of
individual children, or child and youth-developed profiles shared with recruitment partners.

PARTNERING WITH RECRUITMENT CONTRACTORS
DCYF contracts with two entities for recruitment of foster parents: EWU in regions one and two
in eastern Washington, and Olive Crest, a private CPA, in regions three, four, five, and six in
western Washington. Funding is allocated across a two-year period, July 1, 2018 – June 30,
2020. EWU’s maximum allocation for the two-year period is $1,119,870, and Olive Crest’s
maximum allocation is $2,242,920.
These agencies recruit prospective foster families, track their inquiries, support their completion
of training, and assist with the submission of licensing applications either through DCYF
Licensing Division or one of the CPAs.
Recruitment contract staff are essential to the support of prospective foster parents as they
begin the process of required training and the licensure application. Guidance and direction
from contractor liaisons and mentors helps ensure prospective foster parents continue the
required process to obtain their license. Without this support, prospective foster parents can get
lost in the process. The contract provides incentives for increases in the number of applications
from prospective foster parents.
The contracts focus specifically on recruiting foster families for:








Racially and ethnically diverse children
Sibling groups
Youth over the age of 13 and youth in Extended Foster Care
Children with emotional and behavioral challenges
Children birth to three
Medically fragile children
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ+) children and youth

Recruitment messaging is shared across all regional areas and local communities, emphasizing
that foster families are needed statewide for children of all ages and of diverse backgrounds.
Prospective foster parent inquiries are distributed to the two contractors by Northwest Resource
Associates (NWRA) which manages the Statewide Recruitment Information Center (SRIC),
serving as the point of entry for all initial inquiries from families who reach out to DCYF with an
interest in foster parenting. A majority of these inquiries enter the SRIC response system
through online form submissions such as the Becoming a Foster Parent form on the DCYF
website, or are directly input by recruitment contractor staff. A small portion come from the 1888-KIDS-414 statewide phone line listed on the DCYF website. Alternately, some prospective
families inquire directly through a licensor in the Licensing Division. Based on the SRIC Monthly
Reports,1 the SRIC posted an average of 546 potential foster parent monthly inquiries during FY
2018. This was a small increase from FY 2017.

FOSTER HOME RECRUITMENT CHALLENGES
Washington continues to be challenged in recruiting an adequate supply of diverse, quality,
safe, and nurturing foster families. Factors that have been identified which may impact foster
care recruitment in Washington and other states include:
1

Statewide Recruitment Information Center Monthly Reports, July 2017 – June 2018

February 2019

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






Children and youth enter care due to child abuse and neglect, which may result in
challenging behaviors, mental health issues, and other unique needs.
Today’s foster parents assume more responsibilities than foster parents in the past.
Previously, foster parents were recruited as substitute care providers; now they are
considered important members of the child’s case planning team. Their information and
knowledge about the child is highly valued and they are often asked or encouraged to:
o Meet with the caseworker and other professionals working with the child
o Provide periodic or ongoing transportation for the child
o Help with regular visitation for siblings and/or parent(s)
o Attend family team meetings
o Provide a written report for the court and attend hearings
“The pool of potential foster parents is affected by cost of living, maternal employment,
child care, and [monthly foster care reimbursement rates].”2
Negative press about foster children and problems in the child welfare system
discourages individuals from learning more about becoming foster parents, supporting
foster caregivers, and other ways to support positive outcomes for children in care.
Families who provide foster care experience changes in life circumstances including
adopting children placed in their home and decide they can no longer be a resource for
foster children.

REDUCING FOSTER HOME TURNOVER: RETENTION
There was a small overall upward trend in the total number of licensed foster homes in
Washington over the last fiscal year. Permanency efforts to decrease length-of-stay have
resulted in some foster home closures as families finalize permanent plans such as adoption or
guardianship for children in their care.

Total Licensed Foster Homes End of Fiscal Year
5,600
5,400

5,344

5,200

5,060

5,019
4,922

5,000

4,764

4,800

4,745

4,729
4,596

4,600
4,400
4,200
Number of Licensed Foster Homes
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

The table3 below shows the number of foster homes licensed each year since 2010. The
licensed foster homes retained from one year to the next has been improving slightly. The
2

Marcenko, M. O., Brennan, K. D., & Lyons, S. J. (2009). Foster Parent Recruitment and Retention: Developing Resource Families
for Washington State’s Children in Care. Seattle: Partners for Our Children
All data updated 9/5/18. DCYF Source PQR 863 – Data on Licensed Foster Family Homes
Data include DLR licensed, adoptive home, and other provider types. Counts identify first foster home license date.
3

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licensing period for foster homes is three years and to remain licensed must be renewed. There
is a tendency for foster families to allow their license to expire at the three-year mark.
Fiscal Year
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
FY14
FY15
FY16
FY17
FY18

Newly Licensed Homes
1,203
1,049
1,056
1,036
1,096
1,031
1,180
1,195
1,155

HOME STUDIES FOR LEGALLY-FREE CHILDREN
To promote the health, safety, and permanency of children in out-of-home care, DCYF
Licensing Division completes home studies for all caregivers caring for children in the custody of
DCYF. The vast majority of home studies completed by DCYF are unified, meaning that the
caregiver is assessed for placement as well as permanency (adoption or guardianship). Home
studies can be divided into two general categories: licensed and unlicensed. Kinship caregivers
are not required to get a foster care license; however, there are benefits (discussed later in this
report) to licensing kinship caregivers when possible. In order to increase resources, establish
permanency for children sooner, and better support kinship caregivers, DCYF Licensing
Division would like to:





License more homes for general foster care
Increase the number of home studies completed each month
Improve the timeliness of home studies
License more kinship caregivers

The two primary barriers to achieving the goals listed above are:



Insufficient capacity to manage the applications, approve home studies, license homes,
and maintain the foster homes once they are licensed
The home study process is inefficient with large amounts of paperwork that must be
completed by applicants and managed by DCYF Licensing Division staff4

DCYF Licensing Division is currently undergoing structural changes as well as considering
significant changes to the home study process to increase efficiency and timeliness. The current
home study process and its tools were designed more than a decade ago and need to be
updated with the goal of establishing a research-based and data-guided methodology which will
help with consistency, objectivity, and reliability. In addition to the changes in the home study
process, many other factors are being considered, including repurposing current resources,
developing an IT system with an online portal for providers and caregivers, and adding new
resources. Short-term, mid-range, and long-term tasks are identified:
Short-Term
 Lean process to streamline the home study methodology

4

The Department is requesting funding for an online portal allowing individual foster parents to set up an online account and monitor
the progress of a licensing application, including changes or submitting follow-up information through the portal.

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



Six-person unit working solely on backlogged kinship home studies that have been
identified as priority (two-year project using reallocated FTEs)
Improve the home study referral process. A report was recently developed that identifies
all caregivers in need of a home study, resulting in earlier home study referrals. When
home studies are referred sooner caregivers are more likely to engage in the process
Effort to license more relatives by improving caregiver engagement

Mid-Range
 Streamline home study process, based on recommendations from the lean process and
the Licensing Division study of the research-based methodology
 Workload study to identify resource needs/allocation and performance measures
 Negotiation with the union regarding performance measures. Once there are
improvements to the home study process and referrals are made sooner, it is anticipated
that the rate of production will increase
 Work with IT to automate the home study referral process
Long-Term
 Online portal (dependent on funding)
 Additional capacity (dependent on funding)

BENEFITS OF LICENSING RELATIVES
At the end of FY 2018 there were 9,278 children in out-of-home care and approximately 46
percent of those are placed with kinship caregivers. Of the kinship caregivers, approximately 7.5
percent are licensed. Kinship caregivers who are not licensed can apply for a Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grant, which provides some financial support; however,
foster care reimbursement rates are significantly higher, especially for sibling groups (see table
below for comparisons).
BASIC FOSTER CARE AND TANF RATES (AS OF JANUARY 2019)
Number of
Children
Placed
1
2
3
4
5
6

Basic Foster
Care Rate
(Ages Birth-5)
$562
$1,124
$1,686
$2,248
$2,810
$3,372

Basic Foster
Care Rate
(Ages 6-11)
$683
$1,366
$2,049
$2,732
$3,415
$4,098

Basic Foster
TANF Rates With
TANF Rates
Care Rate
Shelter Costs (Includes
Without
(Ages 12+)
Utilities Assistance) Shelter Costs
$703
$363
$221
$1,406
$459
$280
$2,109
$569
$345
$2,812
$670
$408
$3,515
$772
$469
$4,218
$877
$532

In addition to financial support, licensing kinship caregivers would provide the following benefits:




Increased support (they would have a licensor assigned to them)
More prepared and better trained kinship caregivers
o Trauma informed training would be provided. Currently, training is available but
not required for unlicensed kinship caregivers
Increased consistency in care between kinship caregivers and licensed foster homes
o First Aid/CPR/BBP training
o TB testing
o Influenza vaccinations for caregivers if caring for children under the age of two
o Required safety equipment
o Vaccinations required for all child household members

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WORKLOAD AND RATE OF PRODUCTION
Licensing kinship caregivers will significantly increase workload for DCYF Licensing Division
staff, where there is already a substantial backlog. There are currently 1,473 kinship caregivers
who are in need of non-licensed home studies (see Current Pending Home Studies table
below). Additionally, there are 607 pending applications for new state licensed foster homes.
Licensed Home Studies
607

Current Pending Home Studies
Unlicensed Home Studies
1,473

Total Home Studies Pending
2,080

Currently home study workers and licensors are averaging 2.3 home studies per worker per
month (see FTE, Workload and Rate of Production table below). If the number of licensed
relatives significantly increases, as is hoped, it will impact workloads for DCYF Licensing
Division, as there will be additional licensed foster homes to monitor.
FTEs, Workload, and Rate of Production
# of Months
Average # of
Pending
Average # of Home
Current Licensor / Home Studies
Needed to
Applications
Home Studies Studies Completed
Home Study FTEs
Pending
Complete Pending Received Per
Per FTE
Per Month Per FTE
Home Studies
Month
97
2,080
21.4
2.3
9.3
313

DCYF plans to implement an online portal to allow foster parent applicants and kinship
caregivers the ability to complete the home study application and paperwork online.5 It is
currently done in paper form, and a single application packet consists of 30 to 50 pages of
paperwork. Licensors and home study writers spend a large part of their time reviewing the
paperwork to determine what is complete and what is still needed. They must individually review
each form; incomplete forms often cause the paperwork to go back and forth between DCYF
and the applicant multiple times.

WITHDRAWN APPLICATIONS
Due to the “back and forth,” paperwork is sometimes lost. The withdrawal rate for licensed
applications is around 50 per month (see Application Withdrawals table below), and on average
the withdrawal rate for unlicensed withdrawals is 60 per month, which totals an average of 110
withdrawals per month.
Application Withdrawals January – November 2018
Type of Application
Applications Received
Applications Withdrawn
Unlicensed
1,957
655 (33 percent)
Licensed
1,464
537 (37 percent)

DCYF believes that many applicants withdraw because of how frustrating and cumbersome it is
to deal with the amount of paperwork. It is anticipated that the online portal will result in the
following:







5

Improve convenience for applicants to apply for a home study or foster care license
Manage large amounts of information that is currently kept in paper form
Paperwork will not be lost
The application submission time will be shortened
Reduce application withdrawals
Increase the number of relatives getting licensed
Increase accountability for staff

The Governor’s 19-21 biennial budget proposal sets aside $1.4 million to accomplish this critical project.

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




Staff will spend less time on paperwork and will have more time to work on the home
study portion of the process, decreasing the amount of time it takes to complete a home
study/license
Improve permanency numbers if home studies are completed more quickly
Decrease the current backlog of pending applications
Will be less overwhelming for applicants if they can enter information into a portal where
it is managed and progress is tracked by the applicant and staff

Given this workload and the existing capacity, if DCYF Licensing Division continues at the
current rate of production, it would take about nine months to complete all of the current pending
home studies. This does not take into account the home study applications received every day
in the DCYF Licensing Division. With the short-term, mid-range, and long-term tasks discussed
on page six, it is anticipated that DCYF Licensing Division will be able to reduce the average
time it takes to complete home studies and increase the number of home studies completed
each month, which will lead to better outcomes for children.

ADOPTION HOME RECRUITMENT
Adoption home recruitment is different than foster home recruitment because adoption is a
social, legal, and lifelong permanent commitment for children and youth while foster care is
temporary care. Not all families are able to be an adoptive resource for DCYF’s children and
youth. Prospective adoptive families must have an approved pre-placement home study report
prior to being considered as an adoptive family. Using shared planning meetings, DCYF makes
critical assessments regarding the best interest of the children/youth and prospective families.
As of July 1, 2018, there are 1,8976 legally-free children with a permanent plan of adoption.
More than half of these children are in placement with a permanent adoptive family and are
awaiting finalization of their adoption. There are also 64 youth age 18 or older who were legallyfree and are now in the extended foster care program. The length of time to finalize an adoption
depends on several factors:7






The Child/youth is in a permanent placement.
There is not an appeal of the termination of parental rights order.
The case transferred from Child and Family Welfare Services to adoptions within five
days as per policy.
There is an approved home study completed for the prospective adoptive parent.
The relative search and Indian Identity form been completed for the child/youth.

Adoptions for children and youth can be completed within three months if the answers to the
factors listed above are affirmative.

6

DCYF Source: FamLink PQR 863 August 2018 Legally-free Children
Also see page 13 of this report which discusses the barriers to adoption finalization and the steps being taken to improve
timeliness.
7

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Legally-Free Children Comparison by Fiscal Year
1,897

2,000
1,517
1,500

1,417

1,529
1,388

1,388

1,000
500

0
2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

FamLink8 does not provide current information on whether the placement for a legally-free child
is permanent. FamLink does not allow a case worker to accurately identify if a child or youth is
in a permanent placement. Requests have been made to change this function in FamLink, and it
is in the Department’s technology services queue to be processed. At this time, hand counts
within regions as well as feedback from adoption staff are used to assess placement needs and
the success of recruitment techniques.
DCYF uses a variety of methods and activities to recruit adoptive families for waiting children
and youth. These activities include using local and national adoption exchanges, Kids Fests,
hosting consortiums, and contracting with community partners for child-specific recruitment.

LOCAL AND NATIONAL ADOPTION EXCHANGES
DCYF currently has a contract with NWRA to provide two exchanges and specialized
recruitment for Washington youth at a cost of $366,445 per year. This contract also includes
training for case workers and coordination of other state recruitment efforts.
Registration on the state exchange site is the first step in recruitment for a child/youth in need of
a permanent adoptive family. Prospective adoptive families can read child and youth profiles on
the exchange site and request additional information if they are interested in possible adoption.
NWRA provides a secure website Washington Adoption Resource Exchange (WARE) for DCYF
staff and private adoption agency staff to recruit and match children/youth with approved
adoptive families as well as the Northwest Adoption Exchange (NWAE) which is open to the
general public.9 Only approved Washington families have access to WARE. The goal is to place
children and youth in a permanent home in their community; if that is not possible, then within
Washington.
In FY 2018, NWRA provided a specialized recruitment program (SRP) for 21 children and youth.
Eleven of the 21 children were matched (52.4 percent), none were withdrawn from SRP, and 13
children/youth are still waiting for an adoptive placement. This is an increase from 2017 when
four of 20 children were matched (20 percent).

8
9

DCYFs child welfare information system
www.nwae.org

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NWAE features children in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. According to the NWAE
Annual Report for FY 2018, there were 548 children served on the NWAE. The majority of the
children and youth registered on the exchange are older than 12 years of age.
In 2017, NWAE hired a Youth Engagement Specialist to expand the youth-driven content with
teenagers featured on NWAE. The Youth Engagement Specialist works 1:1 with youth who
desire to have a leading voice in their own adoption recruitment. Through these 1:1 visits, youth
have collaborated to create videos and podcasts, share their writing and artwork, expand on
their interests and passions, and take ownership over their own profile content.
NWAE has seen a sharp increase in referrals to this service as more youth participate and
workers recognize the value of this youth engagement work. This service promotes youthdirected recruitment. The goal is to serve at least 40 youth through In-Depth Profile services in
FY 2019. The number of youth served with this program is limited due to the contract amount.
On a national level, NWAE registered 93 children/youth with AdoptUSKids.org in FY 2018.
Between January and June 2018, there were 952 inquiries on Washington children/youth placed
with AdoptUSKids, a 26.8 percent increase from the previous reporting period, with 34 children
placed during this time period.
DCYF also contracts with NWAE to provide front-end communication responses to adoption
inquiries. In FY 2018, NWAE processed and approved 1,554 inquiries on Washington children
from home studied families. Additionally, staff responded to 1,066 inquiries from families who
had not yet completed a home study. NWAE’s website, www.nwae.org, had a total of 149,901
visitors during FY 2018. Average session duration remains strong, with users spending 4:29
minutes on the site and visiting an average of 6.02 pages per session.
DCYF Adoptions has a Facebook page www.facebook.com/WAStateAdoptions with more than
1,400 followers. This social media site is used to promote profiles of legally-free children/youth
who are in need of permanency and to advertise monthly consortium events. This site is also
used to share educational materials to foster and adoptive families.

ADOPTION RECRUITMENT WITHIN THE REGIONS
Kids Fests are held in community centers. The concept behind a Kids Fest is to provide an
opportunity for children and prospective adoptive parents to meet and interact in a casual,
friendly environment. Kids Fests are usually hosted by NWAE, although some local DCYF
offices such as Spokane and Bellevue also sponsor a Kids Fest in their community. NWAE also
hosted a July 14 Studio Day event that brought together professional photographers and youth
who want to showcase their personality through professional portraits. It is difficult to correlate
the number of children and youth adopted from these events. These events highlight the need in
communities for placements for children and youth. While a family may not be matched with a
child at Kids Fest, they may eventually adopt another child from DCYF.
Adoption Consortiums are events that bring together both state and private agency staff to
provide information about a child/youth or siblings, learn about waiting adoptive families, and
additional recruitment options. Prior to 2016, consortiums were held in a few areas of the state
and very little information was shared statewide about children, youth, and adoptive placements.
Beginning in June 2016, consortium meetings now occur every month and include at least one
office from every region. DCYF Child and Family Welfare Services (CFWS) and adoption staff,
DCYF Licensing Division staff, adoptive families, private agencies, and GALs/CASAs participate
through video conferencing technology. Typical attendance includes two to five private
agencies, 12 or more DCYF staff, and one to three families. Consortiums build relationships

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with community partners and interregional linkages on behalf of children and youth. NWAE
attends all consortium events and acts as a consultant for workers.
Typically, DCYF hosts in-person consortiums twice a year, one on the western side of the state
and the other on the eastern side. These allow DCYF to interact with community partners
(private agencies and CASA) and prospective adoptive families to identify permanency options
for children/youth in DCYF’s care. These in-person events are also used to provide two to four
hours of training on barriers to permanency with community partners. These events have
increased communication between DCYF staff as well as with community partners to better
serve DCYF’s children/youth. Evaluations are provided at the end of every event with positive
comments and requests to continue. The FY 2018 event was held in Ellensburg, and was
attended by 95 staff, private agencies, CASAs, and families. The regional leads report an
increase in the number of adoptive placements due to statewide consortium events. These
events allow families the opportunity to see children and youth across the state. The wider
statewide recruitment efforts of matching families with children and youth is working better than
the local resources and having children and youth remain in care due to lack of local resources.
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK) through the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (DTFA)
provides recruiters who assist DCYF staff with recruitment activities for legally-free
children/youth in need of permanent homes. In FY 2018, this program expanded from three
counties to covering the entire state with the addition of 24 WWK workers based on a legislative
decision to provide $500,000 in funding. This contract with DTFA was completed in January
2018 and will expire in June 2019. WWK centers on child-focused recruitment strategies.10
WWK workers have monthly contact with the child/youth to discuss permanency options. They
screen inquiries they receive and provide that information to the DCYF case worker, the
regional DCYF permanency lead, and the statewide adoption program manager. WWK began
statewide in January 2018 with 24 workers. They served 113 children, of which 15 were
matched with potential permanent homes. Of the 113 youth, 72 are active youth which equates
to three per WWK worker. The contract with WWK focuses on legally-free youth in need of
permanent homes, and WWK is not receiving referrals from the regions to warrant 24 full time
workers. Based on information from the regions, this is most likely because the number of
legally-free children/youth not in permanent placements is around 200.

FINALIZED ADOPTIONS
Permanency through adoption was established for 1,341 children in the care and custody of
DCYF during FY 2018. From 2014 to 2018, completed adoption numbers have remained fairly
consistent.

10

The Governor’s proposed 2019-2020 budget provides funds to contract for specialized, enhanced adoption
placement services for youth who are legally-free
February 2019

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Finalized Adoptions From Fiscal Year
2005 - 2018
2,000
1,800
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0

1,760

1,247 1,291 1,280 1,182

1,630 1,659
1,293 1,239

1,390 1,390 1,419 1,339 1,341

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

11

Based on legislation, DCYF has the use of a forecasted budget, Purchase of Service (POS)
funding,12 as a resource for the following adoptive placements:





Out-of-state private agency placements where funding is needed for monthly health and
safety visits as well as adoption finalization costs
Out-of-state private agency home studies
In-state home studies for legally-free youth that DCYF Licensing Division is unable to
complete
Short-term intensive in-home services and assessments to assist adoptive families in
learning to adapt to challenging child behaviors

BARRIERS TO ADOPTION & ADOPTION RECRUITMENT OF
FAMILIES
REASONS FOR BARRIERS TO PERMANENT PLACEMENT
There are several reasons that contribute to the lack of permanent placement for legally-free
children/youth in need of an adoptive home:








Workers not registering legally-free children/youth with WARE/NWAE and with WWK.
While required, workers report that they are too busy to complete the short computer
generated form, do not know how to complete the form, or do not know about WARE.
Increased training on the registration has been provided by NWAE to staff, and NWAE
also will work with staff to complete the form
High caseworker turnover
High caseload numbers in adoption units
Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children regulations and contracting issues
An increase of appeals by biological parents regarding termination of parental rights
Youth is on the run and/or has behavioral issues that need to be stabilized

11

11
DCYF Source info FamLink Adoption Finalization report.
The POS program is a successful means to pay for the supervision of adoptive placements of high needs children/youth until the
adoption is finalized. The POS program was designed in the late 1980s and provides funding to private agencies outside of
Washington state to offset the cost of recruitment, training, transitioning and supervision of adoptive placements for eligible children
and youth. This adoption recruitment program is Title IV-E reimbursable
12

February 2019

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

Transfer of case to adoptions from ongoing CFWS unit is not timely. This can be due to
several factors:
o Timely filing of termination order
o CFWS retaining parent case because one sibling is legally free and the others
are not
o Preparing for a termination trial involves a high volume of work and once the
hearing is over, the CFWS worker reprioritizes work focus on other families who
need immediate casework attention that may have been delayed while trial
preparation was occurring instead of preparing the case for transfer to adoptions
staff.

REASONS FOR DELAY IN ADOPTION
There continue to be delays in adoptions for children/youth who are placed in permanent
homes. Based on feedback from the regional Adoption Area Administrators, the following are
statewide barriers to completions of adoptions and/or reasons for the decrease in number of
adoptions in FY 2018:










13

The number of appeals over termination of parental rights has increased. An adoption
will not be finalized until the appeal process is complete and this can take approximately
18 months.
The identified adoptive placement does not have a completed home study. Due to
current FamLink13 limitations, at this time, DCYF is unable to identify if a child is in an
adoptive placement, therefore cannot provide data on how many adoptive homes do not
have a home study.
Caregivers who struggle with caring for children and youth who have experienced
trauma based on physical and medical neglect, and a reluctance to adopt due to lack of
post-adoption resources and assistance. Although post-adoption services have changed
over time in response to identifying resource need, gaps in services remain. Current
services include:
o Beginning January 2019, medical coverage through Apple Health Core
Connections will provide integrated services. Coverage for a child will include
medical, mental, and behavioral health.
o Up to $1,500 per child for adoption-related expenses.
o Pre-authorized counseling services have been expanded and now include
individual counseling, parental counseling, in-home evidence based practices,
and may include intensive in-home WRAP services.
o Training for caregivers is available through the Alliance for Child Welfare
Excellence and Apple Health Core Connections.
o Families may negotiate a monthly cash payment that removes barriers to
adoption. The maximum for the monthly cash payment is based on legislatively
mandated caps.
Attorneys now being assigned to every child/youth who has been legally free for more
than six months has increased the workload of adoption workers. The attorneys request
discovery on each case which requires redaction and disclosure of a file that can take
days to complete. Identifying information about the biological parents and siblings is
redacted. Since the biological parent is no longer a party to the dependency when the
child/youth becomes legally-free, information cannot be disclosed in discovery for a
legally-free child unless it directly impacts the child.
High case worker turnover.
High caseload numbers in adoption units.

DCYFs child welfare information system

February 2019

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

Cases are transferred into adoption units with denied home studies that are not
addressed timely or become contested adoption cases. A contested adoption case is a
case where the court has ordered continued placement of a child/youth in a home with a
denied home study by DCYF Licensing Division. DCYF cannot consent to an adoption in
those cases and cannot move the child/youth because the placement is court ordered.
Delayed completion of home studies creates contested adoption cases. Courts are
reluctant to move a child/youth when a home study is completed and denied when the
child/youth has been in a placement for a year or longer without a home study. These
are typically cases where the home study was not completed within the first 90 days of
placement because:
o The home study referral was not made in a timely manner.
o The caregiver did not complete paperwork or background checks delaying home
study completion.
o A home study was completed and denied within the first six months of placement
but DCYF did not make a request to the court to move the child.

DCYF’s plan for increased focus on more timely referrals and improvements to the home study
process (see short-, mid-, and long-term tasks identified on page six) will address this issue.











Cases are being transferred into adoption units prematurely, when permanency planning
staffing’s have not taken place and children/youth are not in stable or appropriate
placements. As a part of this, the needs of the caregivers and children/youth are not
being assessed prior to transferring the case and the adoption units must then address
these needs before an adoption can be finalized.
The prospective adoptive family is not willing and/or able to meet the specific needs of a
child and a new placement needs to be identified.
The child’s Family Medical and Social Background disclosure with the prospective
adoptive family is time intensive and difficult to complete more quickly within current
staffing levels.
Cases are being transferred into adoption units where the child is legally-free, but
refuses to be adopted and/or has significant behavioral issues resulting in group care
placement(s) and/or tendency to run away from placements. The adoption workers must
prioritize the safety of these youth, and completing adoptions on stable cases becomes
a secondary priority. To address this, DCYF is:
o Providing training to workers on having difficult conversations with children and
youth including an in-depth conversation on permanency and what that means,
such as “Unpacking the No” training.
o Utilizing POS monies to provide intensive in-home services for three months to
work with prospective adoptive families on dealing with youth impacted by
trauma.
o Asking regions to assign an adoption worker solely to adoption cases with stable
placements rather than splitting all adoption caseloads with stable and unstable
placements.
Delayed case transfer between CFWS and Adoptions which directly impacts finalization.
In the electronic legally-free file process, delayed case transfer is the number one barrier
to timely creating a legally-free case. Headquarters is working with regional
management to improve case transfers.
A significant amount of time can elapse between the filing of a termination of parental
rights petition and the termination hearing.
Some youth and adoptive families are more frequently inquiring about the pros and cons
of delaying adoption finalization in order to take advantage of newly publicized college
assistance and extended adoption support programs. The eligibility requirements for
some programs are determined by the youth’s age at time of adoption.

February 2019

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These issues also impact DCYF’s ability to meet the federal requirement of timely adoptions
within 24 months.

TAKING STEPS TO IMPROVE THE ADOPTION SYSTEM
To address these issues, some regional adoption staff have routine meetings with the
Administrative Office of the Courts to address permanency delays. In some areas, the court
requires early reviews to track the child’s movement toward adoption finalization. DCYF
provides monthly data on adoption, and legally-free cases and facilitates workgroups with staff
and stakeholders to identify and create strategic work plans to address barriers to adoption.
NWAE has increased training within regions on WARE/NWAE registrations.
In March 2018, DCYF implemented a pilot project in Regions 5 and 6 (Region 3 prior to the
DCYF transition) to increase the timeliness of case transfer to adoptions by using two donated
clerical positions to create electronic legally-free files and pre-adoption disclosure folders. The
outcomes of this project include:





An increase in timeliness of case transfers to adoption units at the time a child/youth
becomes legally-free
A sharp decrease in paperwork responsibilities for adoption workers
Cost savings in terms of FTEs and use of supplies and equipment

This change has led to the adoption of 31 children in less than five months from date of
termination of parental rights within those regions within the project timeframe (six months).
DCYF plans to expand this program statewide in FY 2019.
Other than the delays caused by appeals of termination of parental rights orders, home study
issues are the leading cause of delays in adoptions. Completing home studies on families within
90 days of placements is a goal that DCYF Licensing Division is working toward.14 Increasing
the contracted amount with NWRA for youth-directed recruitment would allow additional
children/youth to be served (the current contract limits the number to 40 youth statewide).

FOSTERING WELL-BEING & APPLE HEALTH CORE
CONNECTIONS
DCYF has two primary mechanisms to ensure caregivers have access to information regarding
a child or youth’s physical and behavioral health needs.


The Fostering Well-Being (FWB) program is a collaborative effort between the Health
Care Authority, Aging and Long-Term Support Administration, and DCYF. FWB serves
children and youth in tribal custody who do not opt into the Apple Health Core
Connections (AHCC) managed care plan and undocumented children who are not
eligible under Medicaid rules for Medicaid managed care.



AHCC is contracted with the Health Care Authority to administer a single managed care
plan for children and youth in foster care, adoption support, Extended Foster Care, and
alumni of care to age 26.

14

Currently, if a worker refers for a home study on the 30th day (max allowed by policy) the Licensing Department is expected to
complete it within 120 days of receiving the application

February 2019

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FWB and AHCC provide physical and behavioral health care coordination for their covered
populations. These programs also provide case workers and caregivers with information
regarding a child or youth’s physical and behavioral health care needs to ensure the case
worker and caregivers have appropriate information to support and care for the child or youth.

MAJOR COMPONENTS OF FOSTERING WELL-BEING















FWB program specialists and clinical nurse advisors provide integrated behavioral and
physical health care coordination as well as consultation with case workers and
caregivers regarding individual health questions and concerns.
o After implementation of AHCC on April 1, 2016, FWB remained available to
provide physical and behavioral healthcare coordination for children and youth in
out-of-home placement who are not enrolled in AHCC.
o FWB is available to assist youth regarding their physical and behavioral health
care as they transition into Extended Foster Care or adult services.
Provides consultation to AHCC managed care leadership and case management staff
around Medicaid policy and rules and provides expert medical opinion to support
continuity of medical and behavioral health care.
Provides clinical input and review of physical and behavioral health related child welfare
policies.
Reviews Child Health and Education Tracking (CHET) screens of all initially placed
children and youth in DCYF custody to identify medically fragile cases and expedite
referrals to AHCC managed care.
Serves as a consultant to DCYF licensing staff during:
o Medically Fragile Group Home (MFGH) initial licensing and comprehensive
review processes
o Renewal site visits
o Fatality reviews
Teams with appropriate staff at the Health Care Authority on all potential denials for any
Medicaid fee-for-service prior authorization requests.
Six Regional Medical Consultants are a vital resource for social service specialists,
caregivers, and local medical providers to draft Adoption Support “At Risk” medical
provider statements and provide in-depth medical consultation.
A specialized Medicaid eligibility unit at Health Care Authority partners with FWB, DCYF,
and AHCC to send caregivers’ reports from the Washington State Immunization
Information System reports and healthcare reports of Medicaid services the child
received prior to entering out-of-home placement (reports are only mailed to caregivers
for children under the age of 13). The reports are mailed to caregivers within three
working days of placement notification.
Health education materials are mailed to caregivers including information about
recognizing symptoms of trauma and how to support a child who is exposed to trauma.
In the 2017 calendar year, FWB made more than 9,600 contacts on behalf of 4,104
children.

APPLE HEALTH CORE CONNECTIONS




On April 1, 2016, the AHCC program was implemented. AHCC serves approximately
23,000 children, youth, and young adults who are or were involved in the Washington
State child welfare system (see the AHCC Annual Report for additional information and
data about the program).
Children and youth enrolled in AHCC currently receive:
o Physical and behavioral health care coordination
o Access to a 24/7 nurse advice line
o A program to support healthy pregnancy

February 2019

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o
o
o
o

o

February 2019

Healthy Kids Club for children 12 and younger to support and promote healthy
habits
“Cent Accounts” for extended foster care, alumni of foster care, and adoption
support populations that provide money on a prepaid debit card when certain
healthy actions are taken (i.e., getting an annual well-child check)
Prepaid cell phones (250 minutes/month) for extended foster care, alumni of
foster care, and adoption support populations with unlimited minutes of access to
Coordinated Care and the 24-hour nurse advice line
Programs in continued development and implementation:
 a2A – adolescent to Adult: This program will provide resources for this
population to understand their physical and behavioral health care
benefits now that they are adults. This service will be available for most
youth and young adults until age 26
 Adoption Success: This program will provide supports to adoptive
families to coordinate physical and behavioral health care services for
children served in the adoption support program until age 21
Full integration of all behavioral and physical health care services by January
2019

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