State budget proposals could slash Washington home‑visiting funding, officials and providers say

Department of Children, Youth, and Families officials and home‑visiting providers told the Home Visiting Advisory Committee (HVAC) that proposed state budget actions could significantly reduce funding for Washington’s home‑visiting programs and force service reductions.

At a virtual HVAC meeting, Erica Hallock, director of policy and advocacy at Start Early Washington, summarized the fiscal picture facing the legislature: “Based on the last revenue forecast that was done in March, we are facing about a $16,000,000,000 budget gap,” she said, and added that the state’s biennial budget is “about just under $80,000,000,000.” Hallock said the Senate and House had both proposed revenue packages; together they estimated about $12,000,000,000 in new revenue, leaving roughly $4,000,000,000 more to close from cuts and other actions.

Why it matters

The committee heard that that gap, plus the Senate’s use of spending‑pattern “sweeps” and proposed reductions aimed at Fair Start for Kids Act allocations, could translate into millions in cuts to home visiting. Erica Hallock said the Senate’s draft would apply a larger, ongoing sweep than the House and that the two chambers remain far apart on scale and approach. Laura (DCYF program staff) told providers the Senate budget as drafted would reduce the agency’s state spending authority for home visiting relative to the current year. In DCYF staff briefings during the meeting, officials flagged an $8,056,000 biennial reduction proposed in the Senate draft (about $4 million per year) and described a separate Senate sweep of underspends described as ongoing.

What officials said

Erica Hallock framed the legislative timeline and stakes for services: “If they do not pass a budget and they are in town when the June forecast comes out, their job will be exponentially harder,” and she described the situation as “twin tsunamis” of state revenue shortfalls and federal uncertainty. She said the Senate proposed significantly larger revenue and spending changes than the House and that Governor Inslee’s refusal to accept a proposed wealth tax removed a major revenue assumption from both proposals.

DCYF program staff explained how the Senate approach would change the agency’s available state authority for home visiting. Laura said the agency was continuing to analyze the drafts and noted uncertainty about whether underspend assumptions used by budget staff matched program realities. She told HVAC, “we have some work to do, internally at DCYF, to clarify the assumptions that the budget writers are making.”

Provider reaction and consequences

Local providers and tribal program leaders said a funding reduction at the scale presented would produce direct, visible harms in communities. Corey Silvey, case caring supervisor for the Suquamish Tribe’s Changing Tides Helping Hands program, described how the agency’s performance letters were experienced by tribal and community programs: they “felt dismissed” and did not reflect “the practices that we have in place to keep birthing people safe and to welcome new babies into our community.”

Multiple providers raised the risk that cuts would create service deserts where few alternative supports exist, and noted long lead times to rebuild tribal or community programs if funding is lost. Providers repeatedly urged DCYF to prioritize staff retention and to consider how reductions would affect community trust and culturally specific programs.

Next steps and timeline

Legislative leaders aimed to finish by the scheduled April 27 sine die; HVAC members were told negotiators were likely to reach detailed agreements in the days after that and that an additional advisory meeting would be scheduled once the final budget emerged. DCYF said it would meet with every funded local implementation agency (LIA) to review contracts, slots, and performance data after a final budget is available.

Ending

DCYF and the committee agreed to schedule follow‑up briefings for HVAC members once the legislature’s final budget position is public and told local providers to expect program‑level conversations with program specialists in the coming weeks. The agency emphasized that the final scale and form of any reductions would depend on the legislature’s final package, and staff asked providers to submit updated enrollment and spending projections to inform the agency’s internal analysis.