Bill would expand child welfare housing assistance; sponsors cite reunification and cost savings

House Bill 1177 would expand the Child Welfare Housing Assistance Program administered by the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) to serve more families whose housing instability is a barrier to reunification or that would otherwise lead to foster care placement.

Staff told the committee that DCYF’s existing program provides housing vouchers, rental assistance, navigation and other supports intended to reduce foster care placements and shorten out-of-home stays. Staff said DCYF served 464 families through the program in the prior year and that 108 eligible families were on a waiting list. Under HB 1177, DCYF must increase the number of households served by at least 200 above the fiscal year 2025 level over the upcoming biennium, with priority for families on wait lists; beginning July 1, 2027, the department must continue serving at least the same number of households that it served in the new biennium. The bill also allows assistance to continue after DCYF service involvement ends and clarifies annual reporting requirements.

Sponsor Representative Lillian Ortiz-Self (21st Legislative District) described the bill as an effort to prevent poverty and housing instability from causing family separation. “Housing insecurity should not be a reason why families can't be together,” she told the committee, noting the program’s pilot success and urging support while acknowledging fiscal constraints.

Supporters from public-interest and housing organizations testified in favor. Kim Justice of Partners for Our Children said the program “has proven to be successful at housing families,” and argued the state spends far more on foster care than it would to provide housing assistance. Michael Mirra, representing the Association of Public Housing Authorities of Washington and the Administrative Office of the Courts’ Housing and Child Welfare Committee, described a memorandum of understanding that secured 2,167 housing vouchers from 15 housing authorities and estimated those resources at roughly $60 million per biennium with potential foster care cost savings.

Public defenders, parent allies and contracted social-service workers described cases in which stable housing quickly enabled reunification; several witnesses said the lack of housing is a routine barrier in dependency courts. The committee heard multiple personal accounts of parents and contracted allies who said housing assistance directly enabled reunification or shortened out-of-home care.

The committee heard testimony in support and did not take a final vote at the hearing. Sponsors and stakeholders said program details, including funding amounts and metrics, could be refined in follow-up work; the bill includes reporting requirements to monitor how many placements are avoided or shortened.