Restoring Common Sense to Washington
If you look a couple hundred pages into the budget, $42.9 million in excess lawsuits are budgeted to come out of DCYF coffers... $42.9 million in lawsuits related to dead children, dead and dying children.
The Cost of Bureaucratic Failure
I stood on the House floor during the 2026 legislative session. I held the heavy truth of our failures in my hands. I read the DCYF unexpected fatality reports directly to my colleagues. These reports detailed the preventable deaths of babies and children.
Fentanyl and opioid exposure killed our youngest citizens. The state's "imminent physical harm" standards made intervention nearly impossible. These high standards prevented DCYF caseworkers from removing children from drug-exposed homes. The "Keeping Families Together Act" prioritized a bureaucratic ideal over the safety of a child. This policy kept children in dangerous environments.
I watched as the state prioritized the rights of parents over the lives of infants. The law created a barrier that caseworkers could not overcome. We saw the results in the eyes of grieving families. We saw the results in the empty cribs of our community.
The Price of Negotitation
I fought this dangerous standard. I authored and moved Amendment 2105 to our state operating budget because I knew we needed to change the course of our state.
My amendment sought to lower the barrier for removal in fentanyl cases. It was a last shot after years of other efforts to address this. A budget maneuver grounded in the spiraling lawsuit costs the state is now facing. Fix the failure, address the lawsuit costs. Address the core issues through the budget. Not a perfect solution, but it would work.
The amendment would also pushed for the funding of additional staff to support our caseworkers. Who have been screaming that the current law around child welfare in relation to fentanyl and dangerous situations requires them to prove things it would take a whole team of people to do in order to intervene. If we couldn't fix the law, perhaps we could beef up our caseworkers so they could exhaust all avenues to keep these children alive - and our state out of lawsuits.
I pointed this out to my colleagues in excruciating detail during the debate.
The numbers told a story of systemic neglect.
"If you look a couple hundred pages into the budget, $42.9 million in excess lawsuits are budgeted to come out of DCYF coffers... $42.9 million in lawsuits related to dead children, dead and dying children."
These lawsuits represent the cost of our failure to act. We paid for our inaction with both lives and taxpayer dollars. The state's refusal to act earlier created this massive legal burden. We spent millions of dollars on litigation because we failed to protect children from the start. This budget reflects a state in crisis.
A Vision for a Balanced Washington
I want to take Washington back to a place of common sense. When children are literally dying of fentanyl ingestion while under our supervision we've lost something. We've focused on protecting broken policy and not on protecting families and children.
We must bring balance back to Olympia. I see a future where our government executes the basics flawlessly. We need a state that protects the vulnerable instead of protecting dangerous policies.
I refuse to accept a government that prioritizes ideology over safety.
We must stop the extremes that drive our state toward chaos. We need common sense in our laws and our budgets. We must focus on the fundamental duty of the state: the protection of life.
I see a Washington where caseworkers have the tools they need. I see a Washington where we value the lives of children above all else. We must move away from the era of high-standard bureaucracy and toward an era of decisive action. We need an administration that values results over rhetoric.
I am building a coalition of citizens who value accountability and safety. We want a state that works for everyone. We want a state that honors its promises to the most helpless among us.
Stand with me.
Watch the Floor Speech
Join The Fight For Accountability
Help us hold the line against bad policy and runaway spending.