$900,000 federal grant to improve child welfare

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Yakima and Catholic Family & Child Service of the Tri Cities are receiving a $900,000 federal grant to change the child welfare system in Central and Eastern Washington.

The grant was bestowed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. It is renewable for three years -- assuming benchmark goals are achieved. An additional $225,000 was pledged for each of the three years by other funding partners.

This was the only grant bestowed to Washington state, and it's expected to serve 840 youths.

"This is all about foster kids," said John Young, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Yakima. "Twenty-four of us in the country got this grant. We feel pretty good about that."

The funding benefits a wide swath of the region, including Yakima, Kittitas, Franklin and Benton counties.

Catholic Charities will work with CFCS, Casey Family Programs and the Yakama Nation to establish the Family Connections Demonstration Project.

The project calls for helping kinship and tribal caregivers navigate complex governmental and regulatory systems. Aggressive efforts will be made to locate and place children with blood relatives, and decisions regarding children will be made by bringing together care givers and other institutional players.

The overarching mission is to reduce the number of children in state custody, as well as to shorten their length of stay in the system, said Maureen McGrath, agency director of CFCS in the Tri Cities.

She hopes the data will serve as a blueprint to be replicated in other areas of the state and the nation.

"The goals of the project really mirror the goals of Adoption and Safe Families Act, which is safety, permanency and well being for children," McGrath said. "This will breathe new life into the system."