Governor's proposed budget preserves many DCYF programs, delays some expansions and trims other items

SEATTLE — The governor's proposed budget for the 2025–27 biennium would maintain many existing services at the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) while funding targeted new investments, agency officials said during a Jan. webinar. Lisonbee Kreutzinger, director of public affairs at the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, and Renee Newkirk, DCYF chief financial officer, walked stakeholders through which agency decision packages the governor included, partially funded or left out.

The proposal arrives as Washington faces a projected $10 billion to $12 billion state budget shortfall for the coming biennium, Newkirk said, and the governor’s team prioritized measures intended to “be the least harmful to the clients that we serve.” The package, she added, includes program delays, some reductions and a targeted wealth-tax proposal to raise revenue.

Why it matters: The governor’s proposal sets the administration’s priorities and will shape agency planning, but it is not law. “None of this is law. None of this has passed,” Kreutzinger said, and the legislature will take up and revise the proposal over the coming months.

Major juvenile rehabilitation investments

The governor’s proposed budget would fund staff and infrastructure to support DCYF’s juvenile rehabilitation (JR) operations, including resources to stand up an internal infractions unit, expand classification staffing, and improve video storage and privacy protections. The proposal funds temporary contracted security at Echo Glen until a planned fence replacement and other capital work are complete.

The budget also includes funding to create a 48-bed Emerging Adult Leaders unit at Stafford Creek, an initial capacity increase DCYF said will open in winter (February–March) of fiscal…