Travis Couture and Chris Corry: Children are dying. And the state of Washington is failing to protect them.

When the Legislature passed the Keeping Families Together Act, House Bill 1227, in 2021, it put the children of Washington in danger. Since then the number of deaths and near-deaths among children involved with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families has risen – and in the first half of this year has spiked – to a heartbreaking and unacceptable level.

The law, designed to prioritize family preservation, raised the legal threshold for removing children from their homes–even when those homes are clearly unsafe. In effect, it has tied the hands of social workers and law enforcement, even in cases where parents are actively using dangerous drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine.

That’s insane.

The state now defaults to keeping families together at virtually any cost. In homes where fentanyl pipes sit on coffee tables, where toddlers can reach loaded needles, or where babies crawl through meth-laced carpets, the state’s “solution” has been to offer lockboxes for parents to store their drugs.

This isn’t harm reduction. This is gambling with children’s lives.

In just the first three months of 2025, there were 47 reported cases of child deaths and near-deaths involving DCYF. Nearly half of those–20 cases–involved accidental drug overdoses. Many of the victims were children under the age of three.

That’s not just a policy failure. That’s a moral failure. And it’s 100% preventable.

For the past two sessions, we have introduced bills to fix this law. Each year, we’ve worked to craft a common-sense, bipartisan solution that prioritizes the safety of children while still offering families a path to healing. Each year, our legislation has been ignored. Not once has it even received a hearing.

We are not alone in this fight. We are proud of the growing list of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who have recognized this crisis and signed onto House Bill 1092 this year. This bipartisan proposal would make a critical change: It would require Child Protective Services or law enforcement to remove children from homes where fentanyl or other hard drug use creates a clear and immediate danger. Lockboxes and promises are not enough.

Under HB 1092, parents would be urged to seek treatment and offered supportive services. Children could be reunified with their families once there is documented sobriety – specifically, at least six months of clean drug tests administered randomly twice a month.

That’s not punishment. That’s accountability.

This bill is not about tearing families apart. It’s about giving children a chance to live.

Too many already haven’t. Ariel Garcia. Oakley Carlson. Karreon Franks. And dozens of others whose names the public will never know – children whose suffering has been reduced to cold initials in DCYF’s critical incident reviews.

This cannot continue.

In the first six months of 2024 there were 78 deaths and near-deaths of children involved with the child welfare system. And last month, the state Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds sounded the alarm, informing the DCYF Oversight Board that the number has jumped to 92 in the first six months of 2025. These aren’t just statistics. These are babies. Toddlers. Sons. Daughters.

We need to act – now.

We urge every member of the Legislature, regardless of political affiliation, to make the safety of our children a priority in the 2026 session. Engage with us. Help us fix a law that’s costing young lives. Help us give these kids the voice they don’t have.

And we call on every Washingtonian: contact your lawmakers. Demand that House Bill 1092 get a hearing. Demand action.

The mission of DCYF is to protect children and families. If current law won’t let them do that, then we must change the law.

It’s our duty, as legislators and as human beings, to protect the vulnerable. To speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

We are out of time and must act now.

Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, represents Washington state’s 35th Legislative District. Rep. Chris Corry, R-Yakima, represents the 15th Legislative District.