This bill amends RCW 74.13.802 to require the department to administer a child welfare housing assistance program, subject to funds appropriated for that purpose. The program, as described, provides housing vouchers, rental assistance, navigation, and other support services to eligible families to reduce the need for foster care placement and shorten time in out-of-home care. The statute directs that the program be operated or contracted in one or more counties west of the Cascade crest and one or more counties east of the crest, allows the department or contracted entities to continue assistance after the department is no longer providing child welfare or child protective services to a family, and requires the department to adopt rules for formal procedures and to contract with outside entities that demonstrate relevant housing expertise (with the department permitted to operate parts if no contractor is available). The law establishes referral sources (department caseworkers, attorneys, guardians ad litem, parent allies, office of public defense social workers, or courts), requires consultation with a specified stakeholder group beginning after July 28, 2019 to assist with program design and equity considerations, and requires annual reporting to the Legislature beginning November 1, 2024 with designated data items (including participant demographics, waiting list data, uses of funding, and recommendations). The statute and its operation are repeatedly conditioned on the availability of appropriated funds and direct the department, subject to available appropriations, to attempt to eliminate waiting lists. This is a statutory amendment creating program requirements and procedural duties (rulemaking, contracting, stakeholder consultation, reporting); it does not create new crimes or change penalties. The text references eligibility terms and roles by citation (chapter 13.34 RCW for “dependent” and “guardian ad litem,” RCW 26.44.020 for “candidate for foster care,” and RCW 2.70.060 for “parent ally”) but does not include those definitions, does not identify which specific state department is referenced, does not specify appropriations amounts or specific counties to be served, and does not provide operational or contractual detail beyond the program framework.

If enacted, the statute creates a state-run child welfare housing assistance program that uses appropriated funds to provide housing vouchers, rental help, navigation, and other supports to families involved in child welfare in at least one county west of the Cascade crest and one county east. The likely practical effects are more housing options for parents at risk of losing custody or trying to reunify with children, the ability for families to keep receiving housing help after child welfare involvement ends, and new contracting and rulemaking responsibilities for the state department named in the law; contractors with housing expertise may be hired to operate parts or all of the program if available. Who is most affected: eligible families could gain access to housing supports that may reduce foster placements or shorten out-of-home stays, but access will depend on available appropriations and local rollout; the state department will face new costs, procurement and reporting duties (including annual data reports to the Legislature starting November 1, 2024); community housing providers and social service partners may see new contracting opportunities. Important details are missing from the extracted facts—specifically which state department is responsible, exact funding levels, which counties will be served, and precise eligibility and operational rules—so actual reach and impact will hinge on those unresolved decisions.