King County presenters cite large declines in youth homelessness but warn of funding threats

King County providers and national partners briefed the Health, Housing and Human Services Committee on Sept. 11, highlighting measurable reductions in youth homelessness in Washington and describing programmatic approaches that contributed to that decline — while warning that federal and state funding cuts and administrative changes threaten recent gains.

Casey Troop of North 40 and Mark Putnam of the YMCA Social Impact Center told the committee Washington saw about 10,000 fewer young people experiencing homelessness between 2016 and 2022, and that the graduation rate for students experiencing homelessness rose by 37 percent in the same period. Troop said Washington has made notable progress “focusing on young people coming out of systems of care” including youth exiting foster care, corrections and…