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DCYF webinar: which bills died, which advanced and what conference could include
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Summary
DCYF staff reviewed bills that died (licensing statute update pending 2027, HB2389 on overcrowding, HB2660/HB6308/SB6319 on child fatality/referral processes, SB6239 tort payouts) and identified bills advanced to the governor (HB1128, HB2219, SB5872, SB5911 funding noted). They said conference budgets may include new work group directions and funding for program supports.
At a mid-session webinar, Department of Children, Youth, and Families officials reviewed the status of multiple bills affecting licensing, child welfare, early learning and tort payouts, and described items that have died this session and those that have passed floors.
Julie Watts said the agency-request bill to update licensing statutes passed the House but did not pass the Senate and will likely be refiled in 2027. She listed bills that died for lack of movement before cutoff dates, including HB2389 (overcrowding responses), HB2660 and HB6308 (court-ordered conditions in shelter-care/dependency cases), and SB6319 (referral processes to community-based services). Watts also said SB6239, a first attempt to limit rising state tort payouts, died this session but that the conference budget may direct the Office of Administrative Hearings to convene a work group to make recommendations to the Legislature by November.
Several early-learning bills were flagged as advanced: HB2219 (mixed-age flexibility) and HB1128 (creates the Washington State Child Care Workforce Standards Board) were described as either passed floors or headed to the governor. Watts highlighted SB5872 (pre-k promise account to sustain and expand ECAP slots) as having passed the House and being headed to the governor, and HB2317 as a companion aimed at easing provider participation in ECAP. SB5500 would require DCYF's market-rate survey to include a cost-of-quality study.
Julie Watts described Senate Bill 5911 as newly passed on the floor and moving to the governor; the bill would prevent DCYF from using Social Security benefits to reimburse the agency for the cost of care for youth in extended foster care and instead direct assistance toward helping the youth access benefits and preserve funds in ABLE accounts. She said the Senate included about $613,000 for that policy in its budget and that the item would likely be visible in the final conference budget.
Why it matters: the session left multiple agency-request priorities unresolved and advanced others; conference language and directed work groups can create new deliverables or delay solutions to problems the agency highlighted, including overcrowding and legal payouts.
Next steps: DCYF will track conference committee outcomes and expects some policy ideas to reappear in 2027; the agency plans a follow-up webinar after the final budget is adopted.
