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Friends of Youth and YouthCare report ending or cutting federal contracts; youth services, shelters and staff affected
Summary
Two major King County youth homelessness providers said federal contract conditions pushed them to end or reduce federally funded programs; Friends of Youth reported $5.1 million lost and about 41 layoffs; YouthCare warned day‑center and clinical services are at risk.
Paul Louwali, president and CEO of Friends of Youth, told the Committee of the Whole on April 22 that his agency "made the difficult and courageous decision to end our contract with the federal government" after concluding new federal conditions conflicted with the agency’s mission and legal obligations.
"Our decision affected about $5,100,000 of our budget, which is about a third of our entire budget," Louwali said. He reported that ending those federal contracts led to closure of several programs and layoffs of about 41 employees, and that roughly 68 young people in transitional living programs and about 38 foster‑care placements were directly affected.
Veil Cooper, chief executive officer of YouthCare, said YouthCare has not yet closed programs but is operating with reduced private support and sharply reduced public dollars. "Nearly 78% of our funding comes from public dollars. Of that 78%, 59% is actual federal dollars," Cooper said, and warned that day‑center operations and clinical services could be reduced further if federal or Medicaid funding declines.
Both leaders described specific operational impacts: Friends of Youth cited lost street‑outreach capacity (about 200 street contacts), Basic Center shelter for minors on the East Side, transitional living programs and long‑term foster care placements. YouthCare said it has reduced to a single ORION day‑center site and faces food‑security demand—"70 percent of the young people who come to us are, in need or have food insecurity," Cooper said. YouthCare also reported a roughly 30% cut to its overall operating revenue over the last two years.
Both organizations said federal requirements around citizenship verification and other conditions have created barriers to service and chilled access among immigrant and LGBTQ+ youth; Friends of Youth described minors asking, "Does this mean that ICE is going to pick me up tomorrow?" when staff explain contract changes.
Councilmembers and staff discussed local contingency options, including re‑allocating unrestricted lodging tax funds or other county funds, and asked for follow‑up on immediate needs. Chair Claudia Balducci said the Council would continue to consider local responses while noting limits in the county’s budget authority.
Ending: Leaders from both nonprofits asked for county support and coordination to avoid service disruption for highly vulnerable young people. Councilmembers requested staff follow‑up on fund‑reallocation options and asked that nonprofit leaders stay in touch about immediate needs.
