Soundside
Soundside
KUOW News and Information
Washington made it harder for CPS to separate families. Critics say kids are less safe
22 minutes Posted Jan 20, 2026 at 10:26 pm.
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In recent years, Washington state has made two major policy changes to keep more birth families together.

Since then, fewer kids in Washington have been taken from their birth families, especially infants. But over the same time period, more babies and children from families who’ve been investigated by child welfare workers have died.

That’s why critics say those changes have made children less safe and should be reversed.

Read the full story: Washington made it harder for CPS to separate families. Critics say kids are less safe

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