wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 5866 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that child protective services is understaffed, which is consistent with the findings of the child welfare workload study completed by the department of children, youth, and families. The legislature also finds that the department's program support is overstaffed in excess of 100 full-time equivalents relative to the program's base appropriation. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to increase the number of social workers and related staff that provide direct services to receive, refer, and respond to screened-in reports of child abuse or neglect while also reducing the number of staff that do not provide direct client services.
Within existing resources, the department of children, youth, and families shall increase child protective services staff that provide direct services, which may include social workers and related staff that provide services to receive, refer, and respond to screened-in reports of child abuse or neglect, by 100 full-time equivalents by the end of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium. Staff may only include those provided for in RCW 43.88.058(2).
For the purposes of this section, "within existing resources" means by using reductions in staffing in the department of children, youth, and families' program support appropriation of the 2025-2027 operating budget.