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Bill would rename, retool DCYF oversight board and move administration to OFM
Summary
House Bill 25 29 would rename the Department of Children, Youth, and Families Oversight Board as the Accountability Board, change several duties and membership requirements, and move its administrative home to the Office of Financial Management for administrative purposes. Union testimony asked to protect the DCYF caseworker board seat from retaliation or forced leave.
Committee counsel summarized House Bill 25 29 as a measure to rename and reshape the Department of Children, Youth, and Families Oversight Board. Under the bill, the board would be renamed the Department of Children, Youth, and Families Accountability Board and administratively placed in the Office of Financial Management.
O’Meara Harrington told members the bill removes certain specific powers from the board — including authority to review some licensor activities and to conduct annual contract reviews — while replacing them with a more general requirement that the board convene or otherwise meet with community stakeholders at least twice per year. The bill would also allow the board to request reports from the Office of Family and Children's Ombuds and would change some membership rules, such as allowing a kinship provider to fill what had been a foster‑parent representative position. The requirement for a physician report would shift to every other year starting in 2027, staff said.
Representative Dent, who has served on the current oversight board, described the renaming and the move away from the governor’s office as an effort to keep the body nonpolitical and to make its work more useful to the legislature. He said the board has struggled with attendance and turnover and that narrowing the report requirements could help the board focus on recommendations the legislature can act on.
Katie Durkin, representing the Washington Federation of State Employees, testified she supports the restructuring but requested an amendment to ensure the DCYF caseworker seat on the board is treated as a job responsibility so a caseworker cannot be forced to use personal leave to participate. Durkin said a recent caseworker was denied permission by a supervisor to attend board meetings, which the union characterized as retaliatory; she said the immediate situation had been resolved but urged statutory language to protect future participation.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about membership and reporting cadence. No vote was taken; the committee closed the hearing and invited follow‑up on suggested language and technical edits.
