SEATTLE — A federal team has completed its review of the state’s Division of Children and Family Services, part of an ongoing, nationwide effort to improve states’ child welfare services.
"It is clear that Washington’s child welfare system is not broken," said Uma Ahluwalia, who leads the Children’s Administration within the state Department of Social and Health Services.
Federal reviewers recently shared their impressions with Ahluwalia and other DSHS officials. Their final report is expected in January. So far, every state that has been reviewed has failed at least one of the federal standards.
The reviewers praised DSHS for using data to monitor strengths and weaknesses in the child-welfare program, Ahluwalia said, and they found the state’s quality assurance program was yielding good decisions. Reviewers said the state did a good job of collaborating with local partners. Foster parent licensing, recruitment and training also got high marks, Ahluwalia said.
On the negative side, she said reviewers noted a lack of consistency in child-welfare decisions, not enough follow-up with families who need help, and limited mental-health services for foster children. Also, reviewers said the department needs to give foster parents more support and do a better job of retaining foster parents — something the department has been working on for several years.
Ahluwalia said the federal government has set a "very high standard for the states to reach, and we expect that we, too, will have difficulty. However, it is a challenge that we welcome because it is in the best interests of our state’s children."
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