Illustration by Christine Ongjoco
The number of nights that hundreds of Washington’s foster youth are left essentially homeless has skyrocketed in the last year to 1,863.
For yet another year, the Ombuds office, which oversees the Department of Children, Youth and Families has released an annual report condemning the state agency for the continuing rise of “placement exceptions” that leave children sleeping in hotels, on cots in government buildings, and at times even in social workers’ cars.