Budget Oversight Hearing for Child and Family Services Agency and Office of the Ombudsperson for Children – May 12, 2026

Councilmember Zachary Parker, Chair of the Committee on Youth Affairs, convened a budget oversight hearing to review the Fiscal Year 2027 proposed budgets for the Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) and the Office of the Ombudsperson for Children (OFC). The hearing began at 12:14 PM and adjourned at 8:03 PM, featuring over 80 public witnesses and testimony from agency leaders. Key topics included proposed cuts to family success centers, the Seoul Act for older foster youth, funding for Safe Shores, staffing and retention at CFSA, and potential expansion of OFC oversight to the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Ralph Belk (NCCF): Urged maintaining CFSA funding, highlighting NCCF's role in foster care and the burden of transportation costs due to CFSA's freeze. He noted NCCF has taken on nearly 20 children in the past three weeks, including two sibling groups of five.
• Thomas Saloshev (The Family Place): Described the HIPPY home visiting program serving 125 families, funded through CBCAP/CFSA. He asked to maintain current funding levels, not an increase, warning that cuts would lose trusted relationships.
• Tracy Velasquez (Council for Court Excellence): Supported flat funding for OFC at $733,094 and advocated for a study to expand OFC's jurisdiction to DYRS, citing the sunset of OIJJFO and the need for independent oversight of DYRS.
• Joshua Miller (Open City Advocates): Asked to extend OFC's jurisdiction to all DYRS committed youth, not just those with CFSA cases. He provided a redline of the OFC statute and estimated $500,000 to $1 million above current budget for such expansion.
• Fernanda Ruiz and Carlos Marchan (Mary's Center): Urged restoration of $200,000 in recurring CBCAP funding for the Father Child Attachment Program, warning that without it, funding would return to FY2009 levels, shrinking staff and families served.
• Tammy Warasinga Kote (Children's Law Center): Focused on the Seoul Act, urging full funding in FY27 despite the tight budget. She noted Seoul passed its first full council vote unanimously.
• Leah Castellas (Children's Law Center): Supported level OFC funding and asked to consider establishing a DYRS deputy ombudsperson within OFC.
• Chris Gamble (Children's Law Center): Urged restoration of $1.35 million for Safe Shores, the child advocacy center, and called for a long-term reliable funding solution.
• Princess Sims, Zanaya Torres, Sierra Bailey, Kanaya Parks, Olivia Thomas (Lex Leaders, youth with lived experience): Testified passionately in support of the Seoul Act, describing how it would allow youth to choose their own family structures, avoid aging out without support, and provide both legal permanency and continued services. They asked for full funding in FY27.
• Susan Pennett (Family and Youth Initiative): Highlighted Seoul's design process led by youth, and noted a fiscal analysis showing cost savings from reduced aging out.
• Kari Wood (Time for Change): Described financial literacy and match savings programs for foster youth, asking to retain CFSA's budget.
• Christy Matthews Jones (DC Girls Coalition): Expressed concern about overreporting to CFSA from schools and urged focus on prevention funding, not cuts.
• Natalia Otero (DC Safe): Reported calling CFSA 77 times in the past year; received initial response but lacked follow-up communication. Asked for better collaboration and training on domestic violence.
• Mary Ellen Ryan and Dante Massey (DC Kincare Alliance): Urged full funding for grandparent and close relative caregiver subsidies, noting that foster children receive higher daily rates and additional supports not available to kinship caregivers.
• Melody Webb, Angel Brand, Blair Green, Aqua Donqua, Sharon Harris (Mothers Outreach Network): Criticized CFSA's flex funds, stating only 4.8% spent in Q1 of FY26, no written eligibility criteria, and that families are denied or required to have an open case. Recommended transferring flex fund administration to a non-investigative agency.
• Dr. Dawn Sherman (Community of Hope): Urged restoration of $2.925 million for family success centers, citing that Bellevue serves over 550 households and that prevention works.
• Penny Griffith and Dion Reader (Collaborative Solutions for Communities and Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative): Described the 30-year history of collaboratives, noting they serve 10% of households below the poverty line, with 90% of children remaining safely at home. They asked to restore $4.06 million reduction to the Office of Thriving Families.
• Multiple family success center staff and residents (from Edgewood Brooklyn, Carver Langston, Bellevue, etc.): Provided data on services: 5,260 diapers, 7,950 meals, 133 residents connected to city resources, 32 enrolled in workforce development, etc. They asked to preserve funding.
• Kimberly Williams Jenkins (foster parent with NCCF): Asked for an increase in foster parent stipend, not increased in nine years, and described out-of-pocket costs for enrichment, tutoring, and braces.
• Shelton Donaldson (youth in foster care): Described how tutoring through NCCF improved his grades and GPA, urging continued support for such programs.
• Heather Holt (former resource parent): Criticized CFSA for high social worker turnover, lack of respite, and failure to support biological families. She asked for dedicated respite homes and better transparency.
• Esther Hardesty, Patrice Lancaster, Talia Chestnut, and others: Testified that family success centers are lifelines for food, housing, employment, and community connection, and asked the council to restore funding.

Discussion Items

• Chair Parker's opening remarks: Highlighted significant cuts in the mayor's proposed FY27 budget, including elimination of 10 family success centers ($3.5 million), elimination of $1.35 million for Safe Shores, and reductions to TANF and other social safety nets. He expressed concern about the impact on families and committed to prioritizing foster youth, prevention, and staffing.
• OFC Testimony (Petrina Jones Jez): OFC is flat-funded at $733,094 for FY27. The office requested additional funds for a chief deputy ombudsperson, a data analyst, and a legal analyst, and to expand oversight to DYRS (estimated total $1.57 million). Chair Parker expressed skepticism about OFC's capacity to take on DYRS, fearing mission creep, but said he was open to discussion.
  • OFC reported 291 complaints received since February 2023, with 104 in FY25. Screen-out analysis of 430 cases found 83% appropriately screened out, 2% should have been screened in, and 9% could have been referred to the 211 warmline. OFC also reviewed four child fatalities and is working on systemic recommendations.
• CFSA Testimony (Tanya Torres Trice): CFSA's FY27 proposed budget is $203.9 million, a 5.6% reduction from FY26. Reductions include $4.6 million from the Office of Thriving Families (including family success centers), $2.2 million in management contracts, and $5.56 million in rent abatement. The budget includes $648,000 for school transportation.
  • Director Trice explained the rationale for cutting family success centers: low utilization data (only 688 individuals served across all centers as of March, with Brightwood serving 11). She said the agency would explore federal funds to fill gaps and work with the human services cluster.
  • She noted 28 social workers were hired with a $5,000 hiring bonus, but 28 also left, maintaining a steady state. She highlighted rising placement costs, especially for children with autism ($282,833 per year per child).
  • Regarding the curfew bill amendment, she said CFSA is not equipped to hold youth overnight due to minimal evening staff and lack of secure facilities.
  • On Safe Shores, she said CFSA is not equipped to conduct forensic interviews without funding.
  • She committed to working on transparency for foster parent programs and to increasing the stipend if sustainable federal funding can be found.
  • She noted that 51 children are on contracted transportation at a cost of $2.7 million in FY26, with $71,000 spent on no-shows.

Key Outcomes

• Chair Parker committed to working to fully fund the Seoul Act and to restore funding for family success centers, Safe Shores, and the grandparent caregiver subsidy, though he cautioned that the budget is extremely tight.
• No votes were taken; the hearing was for oversight and testimony. The committee will send written follow-up questions to OFC and CFSA.
• Chair Parker expressed skepticism about expanding OFC to DYRS at this time, but said he would continue conversations about independent oversight of DYRS.
• CFSA Director Trice agreed to provide data on flex fund usage, family success center metrics, and to improve transparency on the website for foster parents and kinship caregivers.
• The committee will consider the recommendations and testimony as it finalizes the FY27 budget for the Committee on Youth Affairs.