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Republicans press for DCYF law fixes and narrower foster‑youth benefit recovery
Summary
Leaders said oversight reforms alone are insufficient and urged fixes to statutory standards for child-protection; they described a foster‑youth benefits bill narrowed this year to ages 18–21 and expressed support for broader relief when budgets permit.
Republican leaders at the availability urged structural fixes to the Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) and discussed a bill to limit the state's recovery of certain federal benefits from foster youth.
Representative Stokesberry described problems with the agency's "imminent harm" standard and said Travis Couture's bill (previously introduced) addresses that standard. "We've gotta fix this imminent harm standard, which turns out to not really be applied in a way that can actually is actually saving kids' lives," he said, and added that passing that kind of statutory fix could prevent tragic outcomes.
A senator who identified sponsorship of a foster‑youth bill (59 11 in the availability) said the current version narrows relief to foster youth aged 18–21. "We did have a good hearing on that bill... it has narrowed it down to foster youth that are 18 to 21," the senator said, and argued that Washington should not use foster‑youth benefits to balance the budget.
Leaders emphasized oversight is important but that substantive legal standards must be fixed as well. They did not announce enacted changes or offer a specific timeline for legislation.
The comments tied oversight concerns to pending statutory fixes and a narrower foster‑youth benefits proposal, placing both as priorities the leaders said they support.
