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Senate passes bill updating Office of Homeless Youth after debate over parental notification
Summary
The Washington State Senate passed Substitute Senate Bill 6184 to codify and expand services through the Office of Homeless Youth, adding transitional housing and removing geographic limits. Amendments to change oversight or require broader parental or law-enforcement notifications failed after extended floor debate; final passage was 30–19.
The Washington State Senate passed Substitute Senate Bill 6,184 on final passage after floor debate that centered on whether parents should always be notified when a young person is admitted to a shelter or host home.
Sen. Claire Wilson, the bill sponsor, told the chamber the measure aligns statutes and program practice for the Office of Homeless Youth (OHY), expands eligible programs to include transitional housing, removes a statutory expiration and broadens the office’s reach to better serve housing‑insecure young people statewide.
"This merely aligns statutes and program practices within the Office of Homeless Youth," Wilson said in floor remarks. "It also helps diversify the housing offered to young people so we can better meet their needs."
The bill’s most contested floor moments concerned amendments that would have changed where OHY sits administratively and whether facilities must notify parents or law…
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