Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is state-level social services agency in Washington. It was created by House Bill 1661, which was signed by Governor Jay Inslee on July 6, 2017. [1]
Beginning January 15, 2025, Tana Senn will serve as the director. Prior to Senn, Ross Hunter led the agency. [2]
The United States Department of Education is a cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services by the Department of Education Organization Act, which President Jimmy Carter signed into law on October 17, 1979.
Maria Ellen Cantwell is an American politician who is the junior United States senator from Washington since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Washington House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993, and in the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995.
Maximus Inc. is an American government services company, with operations in countries including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Maximus provides administration and other services for Medicaid, Medicare, health care reform, welfare-to-work, and student loan servicing, among other government programs. The company is based in Tysons, Virginia, has 39,600 employees and a reported annual revenue of $5.3 billion in fiscal year 2024.
The United States Children's Bureau is a federal agency founded in 1912, organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau's operations involve improving child abuse prevention, foster care, and adoption. Historically, its work was much broader, as shown by the 1912 act which created and funded it:
The said bureau shall investigate and report to [the Department of Commerce and Labor] upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people, and shall especially investigate the questions of infant mortality, the birth-rate, orphanage, juvenile courts, desertion, dangerous occupations, accidents and diseases of children, employment, legislation affecting children in the several states and territories.
In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC), juvenile detention, juvenile jail, juvenile hall, observation home or remand home is a prison for people under the age of majority, to which they have been sentenced and committed for a period of time, or detained on a short-term basis while awaiting trial or placement in a long-term care program. Juveniles go through a separate court system, the juvenile court, which sentences or commits juveniles to a certain program or facility.
The Department for Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) is a government department within the Government of Tasmania with responsibility for Government schools, child and family learning centres, child safety and out of home care, youth justice services, libraries and the Tasmanian archives.
The Washington State Department of Ecology is the state of Washington's environmental regulatory agency. Created in February 1970, it was the first environmental regulation agency in the U.S. predating the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by several months.
Barbara Riley is the former director of the Ohio Department of Aging and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is an agency of the New York state government. The office has its headquarters in the Capital View Office Park in Rensselaer. Along with the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance it is part of the pro forma Department of Family Assistance.
The Department for Education (DfE) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education, apprenticeships, and wider skills in England.
The New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department is a state agency of New Mexico, headquartered in the PERA Building in Santa Fe. It is the state agency responsible for child protective services and juvenile justice services. It was created as a cabinet department by statute in 1992 under Ch. 9, art. 2A NMSA 1978.
The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) is a state agency of Rhode Island, headquartered in Downtown Providence. The agency provides services for children and families.
The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) is a state agency of Massachusetts. Its administrative office is headquartered in 600 Washington Street, Boston. The agency operates the state's juvenile justice services and facilities for incarcerated children.
The New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) is a state agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire, headquartered in Concord. Providing services in the areas of mental health, developmental disability, substance abuse, and public health, it is the largest agency operated by the state.
A children's ombudsman, children's commissioner, youth commissioner, child advocate, children's commission, youth ombudsman or equivalent body is a public authority in various countries charged with the protection and promotion of the rights of children and young people, either in society at large, or in specific categories such as children in contact with the care system. The agencies usually have a substantial degree of independence from the executive, the term is often used differently from the original meaning of ombudsman, it is often an umbrella term, often used as a translation convention or national human rights institutions, dealing with individual complaints, intervening with other public authorities, conducting research, and – where their mandate permits them to engage in advocacy – generally promoting children's rights in public policy, law and practice. The first children's commissioner was established in Norway in 1981. The creation of such institutions has been promoted by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, and, from 1990 onwards, by the Council of Europe.
The Washington State Department of Early Learning, or DEL, was a Washington state agency responsible for early childhood education. The agency was informed by the Washington State Early Learning Advisory Council. Governor Inslee signed House Bill 1661 on July 6, 2017, creating the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), part of which includes the work that DEL used to do. Its director is Ross Hunter.
The Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) is a state agency in Texas, headquartered in the Central Services Building (CSB) in Austin.
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward or a non-minor, typically aged 18–21, who volunteers for placement, is placed in a relative placement, a non-related extended family (NREFM) placement, a community family home, an institution, or a group home. Relative, NREFM, and community caregivers certified by the state are typically referred to as "foster parents," "kin caregivers," "resource parents," or other local terms. The placement of the child is usually arranged through state or county social services. The institution, group home, or caregiver is reimbursed for the expenses related to caring for the child. The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions, while the caregiver is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor. Even while their child is in Care, typically birth parents retain Education and Medical rights and the right to contact with their child unless parental rights are terminated by the Court.
Tana Senn is an American politician who represented the 41st legislative district in the Washington House of Representatives from 2013 to 2025. She is currently leads the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families
Katrina Frye Shealy is an American politician, and a member of the South Carolina State Senate. She is a Republican but was elected as a petition candidate from District 23 in Lexington County. At the time of her election in 2012, she was the only woman in the South Carolina Senate and in May of 2023, was one of six women serving in the South Carolina State Senate. She was defeated in a runoff in 2024.