Washington State:
Building Prevention Infrastructure
Through Trust
WASHINGTON AT A GLANCE
5 regional in- person listening sessions
In Washington State, Foster America partners with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to strengthen how families connect for support, so that help is available earlier and families can remain safely together whenever possible.
Washington’s engagement with tribal communities has reinforced the importance of acknowledging intergenerational harm and ensuring that new prevention pathways are grounded in healing rather than surveillance. These details matter. A welcoming environment can determine whether families feel safe enough to speak openly about how systems affect their children. Foster America serves as a neutral bridge between state leaders and community members, helping ensure feedback is gathered respectfully and shared back in ways communities and state partners can use to shape decisions and next steps. The insights are synthesized and shared with participants and partners so communities can see how their input informs planning and action. Foster America then works alongside state and community partners to carry this work forward. At the systems level, this relationship building is beginning to influence how decisions are made. DCYF teams are working more closely together so that policy, data, and funding decisions support the same prevention goals. A cross-division Prevention Impact Action team—now more than 50 members strong— helps bring this work together and deepen shared understanding of how prevention funding, policy, and practice connect. As part of this effort, the “Grow the Green” dashboard, previously used only internally to track indicators related to safely reducing child welfare involvement, is being expanded into a community-facing tool. Paired with a parent-led learning series, the effort helps families engage with the data and shape how it is presented, understood, and acted upon. Across Washington, these efforts reflect a clear lesson: change takes root when relationships come first. By combining meaningful community engagement with systems alignment and fiscal strategy, Washington is strengthening family support approaches that are responsive, measurable, resilient, and grounded in trust.
5 virtual listening sessions
Nearly 200 community members engaged statewide
This work focuses on ensuring that services reflect what families and young people say they need, and that assistance from agencies and communities is coordinated rather than fragmented across individual programs. The goal is to make support easier for families to find and navigate. That begins with relationships. Designing with families requires listening in ways that are welcoming and respectful. Over the past year, Foster America has joined Washington State’s DCYF in designing a Community-Based Pathway for its Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) plan. This effort included supporting listening sessions—five virtual and five in-person—across five regions of the state. Sessions included tribal communities and areas where families experience
Tribal partnerships grounded in cultural protocol and respect Parent-led learning series helping families understand and use DCYF data 50+ members in a cross-division Prevention Impact Action team aligning policy, data, and prevention funding
child welfare investigations and foster care removals at disproportionately high rates.
Building on the expertise of DCYF’s FFPSA team and co-facilitating with DCYF’s Office of Tribal Relations, the sessions were intentionally designed to meet people where they are. Gatherings took place in community spaces rather than institutional settings. Cultural protocols were honored—for example, elders offered blessings, meals were shared, and gifts of cultural significance were given.
When communities feel respected, real change becomes possible.
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