Deaths and critical injuries spike in Washington's child welfare system

Yahoo

19-07-2025

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Critical injuries for Washington children involved in the state's welfare system jumped significantly in the first half of this year.
Through June, at least 92 children had died or nearly died, according to the state's Office of the Family and Children's Ombuds. That's up from 78 in the first six months of 2024. These incidents stem from causes such as drug exposure, abuse and neglect. They also include expected medical deaths if the family had some involvement with child welfare.
The figures only capture cases the state Department of Children, Youth and Families is aware of. The agency oversees Washington's child welfare system.
Some Republicans have blamed a recent state law for putting kids at greater risk. But state officials say there isn't a definite link between that law and many of the incidents.
The highly potent opioid fentanyl has driven increases in fatalities and near-fatalities for the state's children in recent years. Last year, over two-fifths of the episodes were tied to accidental drug ingestion and overdose. Such incidents were very rare in 2017 and 2018.
So far this year, 20 of the cases involving children ages 0 to 3 stemmed from accidental fentanyl exposure, according to the ombuds data. There were 33 such cases in all of 2024.
'These are the ones where, usually, it's a younger child accidentally picks up some foil and puts it in their mouth or a tablet and ingests it,' Patrick Dowd, the head of the agency watchdog, told the Department of Children, Youth and Families oversight board Thursday.
In light of this spike, state lawmakers in 2024 passed legislation requiring courts to more strongly weigh the presence of opioids in the home when deciding whether a child should be removed and placed into foster care.
State officials also point to increased economic stress over the past few years as a contributor to the incidents, and say that may only increase as the impacts of tariffs and cuts to social safety net programs are felt.
'It is not necessarily going to be better before it's worse,' said Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Federal Way, the co-chair of the oversight board, 'and so we really have to think about what that looks like and how we leverage resources and support.'
The 2021 Keeping Families Together Act raised the bar for taking children away from their parents and favored placing them with other relatives over foster care. The idea was that removal from their homes can cause them major problems later in life.
The legislation passed with strong bipartisan support in the Legislature. But now Republican lawmakers in particular are souring on the law.
Rep. Chris Corry, R-Yakima, said if he could take back any of his votes since joining the state House in 2019, this would be it.
'It's either being completely misapplied or when the law was passed, it was misrepresented to myself and members of the Legislature because this was not ever in my mind where we keep children with drug-addled parents,' said Corry, who has fostered children.
But the ombuds office didn't recommend changes to the Keeping Families Together Act, enshrined in House Bill 1227, to the oversight board.
'We did not find in many cases a certain point where, if only 1227 had not been enacted, then the department would have filed' for removal, Dowd said.
Instead, the ombuds suggested the state expand treatment services for pregnant women and mothers, increase efforts to engage fathers and look into allowing children to stay in their guardians' homes under court-ordered state supervision.
The agency has taken steps to respond to the alarming trend.
For example, the state now requires 'safe child consults' for all child welfare cases involving opioid use and a child younger than 3. These reviews help determine whether officials will allow a child to go home or petition a judge for care elsewhere. The department has also increased training for caseworkers on neglect and medically complex cases.
Republicans have also been frustrated over the state's defunding of the only medical facility in western Washington focused on caring for drug-exposed newborns. Most of the babies cared for at the Pediatric Interim Care Center in Kent were exposed to fentanyl or methamphetamine before birth.
The Department of Children, Youth and Families, in a statement Friday, said it's 'not possible or appropriate' to point to a single cause driving this year's rise in child fatalities.
The agency attributed the increase largely to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, parental stress, 'an increase of families with high needs, and the complexities of cases and the systems involved.'
Last year saw a slight decline in the overall number of fatal and near-fatal incidents, with 140 child deaths and near deaths compared to 147 in 2022.
Of those whose deaths last year were related to maltreatment, like abuse or neglect, 42% were part of an open case with the Department of Children, Youth and Families at the time of their death. Another nearly 40% had a case closed in the prior 12 months.
Of the 38 maltreatment deaths in 2024, more than half of the children were under one year old.
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