Foster Care: A System in Crisis

Months of reporting by InvestigateWest shed light on a foster care system under strain and in disarray. Distributed via our partners KCTS 9 and Crosscut, as well as on our own website, reporters Susanna Ray and Allegra Abramo produced stories about social worker churn, systemic obstacles to academic success and emotional stability for foster kids, and the foster parent exodus — but with a special focus on solutions. We plan to follow these issues in the legislature and in the coming years.InvestigateWest starts conversations that are urgently needed for the betterment of our society. In this Seattle Channel recording of the Town Hall event spurred by InvestigateWest’s reporting, panelists Snohomish County Prosecutor Adam Cornell, Representative Ruth Kagi (D-Seattle), former Department of Social and Health Services employee Dee Wilson, advocacy lead and Washington State Parent Ally Committee/Children’s Home Society of Washington staffer Alise Hegle, and Foster Parents Association of Washington State Executive Director Mike Canfield discuss paths forward with moderator and Town Hall Program Director Katy Sewall.