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DCYF proposes 'report efficacy' agency request legislation to remove duplicative public reports
Summary
DCYF policy staff said an agency request bill would seek to eliminate or modify non‑substantive, duplicative or burdensome reporting requirements and move more data to dashboards; staff asked ELAC for feedback on the proposal.
Melissa Cheeseman, DCYF's early care and education government affairs senior policy adviser, briefed the Early Learning Advisory Council on Aug. 5 about a draft agency request legislation (ARL) that would reduce statutory reporting burden and shift data toward online dashboards.
“The proposal is to eliminate non‑substantive, duplicative, or burdensome reports to achieve greater operational efficiency,” Cheeseman said, asking council members for early input and examples of reports that feel duplicative or onerous.
Why it matters: Several reports required in statute duplicate data already published on DCYF dashboards or depend on policy expansions that were delayed or reduced in the 2025 session. Removing or consolidating statutory reporting can reduce staff workload and improve public access to data via dashboards, but it requires statutory changes.
What DCYF is proposing - Target reports include some early learning reports tied to Early Achievers and the Fair Start for Kids Act, as well as reports across child welfare and prevention. Cheeseman said no early‑learning reports were removed at the time of the ELAC briefing but that DCYF is seeking to change reporting frequency or shift content to dashboards in several places. - For quality ratings (QRIS / Early Achievers) reporting, DCYF proposed changing a twice‑annual requirement to an annual report in October to align with data publication and federal funding cycles. - DCYF identified the Fair Start for Kids Act implementation report as potentially burdensome because statute ties that reporting to program expansions that have been delayed and because implementation‑level data will be published in the Fair Start for Kids Act dashboards.
Legal and process notes Cheeseman outlined the ARL development process: internal agency drafting, attorney‑general review, submission to the code reviser, cost estimates (if any), and then submission to the Office of Financial Management for inclusion in a governor's package. She said the ARL is intended to be technical and non‑substantive to DCYF’s mission; the proposal aims to increase online data availability rather than reduce transparency.
Responses and next steps ELAC members asked for examples of reports to consider removing or modifying; Cheeseman cited RCW 74.13.0621 (kinship oversight report) as an illustration the agency considers “nonsubstantive” in its current form. She said DCYF will draft a one‑page summary and continue stakeholder engagement before submitting any ARL, and she invited council members to send written feedback and suggested changes to her email.
Ending: DCYF staff said they will circulate a one‑pager on the proposal and continue soliciting feedback; no statutory changes were made at the meeting.
