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This begins with an inquiry into allegations. When a finding and further investigation is needed, a social worker is assigned to the case.

Investigators assess child safety, risk of future maltreatment, and child well-being. They are required to make a finding indicating whether the child or youth was abused or neglected.  

A shelter care hearing must occur within 72 hours of Child Protective Services establishing a case. The court reviews the dependency petition filed by the state and addresses parental visitation, legal representation, school or childcare placement, dependency status, and placement during this hearing. 

A dependency fact-finding hearing must be held within 75 days to determine if a child or youth should be made a dependent of the state. After the fact-finding hearing, a dependency review hearing is held every six months to assess the progress made and determine the services offered or needed, including: 

• Educational, physical and emotional needs of youth

• Petition of the termination of parental rights, if needed

Once a child or youth has been in care for 9 to 12 months, a court hearing determines what the permanency plan will be. Options include: 

• Return home 
• Termination of parental rights and adoption 
• Guardianship 
• Third-party custody 

In Washington state, Black and Tribal youth are more likely to be removed from their homes and stay in foster care longer than their white peers. They are also less likely to return home.

• Native American youth are removed at 3.5x their proportion of Native American youth in Washington State 
• Black youth are removed 1.9x their proportion of the of Black youth in Washington State

This is due to racial inequities across generations, with support networks and relationships fractured by systemic practices and biases. 

Research suggests LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and more) youth are over-represented in the foster care system—meaning the percentage of LGBTQ+ youth in foster care is higher than the percentage of LGBTQ+ youth in the general population.

These youth often lack affirming foster placements and caseworkers, as LGBTQ+ foster parents also often face discrimination in the child welfare system as well.

Coincidentally, LGBTQ+ youth have a higher likelihood of living in congregate care and increased placement changes. 

Being forcibly removed from your home or at school is a highly traumatic experience. And the trauma continues because of the sudden, unpredictable life changes youth face throughout their time in the foster care system. 

• Up to 1 in 4 youth in foster care suffer PTSD. 
• Up to 80% of children and youth who experience foster care suffer from a mental health disorder. 

When youth are experiencing foster care, they are more focused on survival than education or their future. However, if their unique education needs are met, they are capable of building the life of their dreams.  

• A student in foster care loses approximately six months of academic progress per school change. They are twice as likely to repeat a grade and to change schools midyear, relative to peers not in foster care. 

• Students in foster care often have special education and behavioral needs that must be assessed and supported to be successful in school. 

• Students in foster care graduate high school at lower rates than their peers.  

• Students who’ve experienced foster care are more likely to drop out of college or transfer than their low-income, first-generation peers. By age 25, only 8% have earned a college degree. 

Nationally, roughly 25,000 young adults exit foster care each year without the support networks of their non-foster care peers. 

• Nationally, 1 in 4 youth who experience foster care will have a child by 21.  

• In WA state, 44% of youth who experience foster care also experience homelessness before age 17.  

• In WA state, 1 in 4 youth experiencing foster care will be arrested for an alleged crime by age 17.  

These outcomes are heartbreaking for our young people and take a toll on our communities. These statistics represent people who would rather be living steady, independent lives that aren’t reliant on public funding. 

• The annual cost for each cohort of youth exiting foster care is estimated to be $8 billion due to poverty, homelessness, and justice system involvement.