Inslee Wants New Agency for Vulnerable Children, Families

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Gov. Jay Inslee wants to create a new state agency to deliver services to vulnerable children and families.

Surrounded by children, Inslee signed an executive order Thursday creating the "Blue Ribbon Commission on the Delivery of Services to Children and Families." The commission must, by Nov. 1, send the Legislature recommendations for the structure, cost estimates and outline of how a new agency could work effectively.

Currently, the services that Inslee wants the new agency to handle falls under the responsibilities of the Department of Social & Health Services. But Inslee said that it was important to have an agency that focuses directly on children services. He cited other states like New Jersey, Tennessee and Indiana that have created separate departments for children.