The Children, Youth, and Young Adult Division (CYYAD) works to ensure all young people in King County have equitable opportunities to be happy, healthy, safe, and thriving members of their communities. Below is an overview of our programs and who we reached throughout the year.   

CYYAD provides numerous direct services that connect young people to education, job opportunities, and other opportunities that are meaningful. A few of those programs are highlighted below:  

The New Family Services team received over 200 referrals from Public Health, enrolled 120 families in employment and education programing, and assisted additional families with baby items, community resources, job and education information, and connection to other first-time parents.  

The Career Launch Pad team ran a series of successful work experience programs with students in Federal Way and Auburn this year, including the popular Barber school and Community Shark Garden projects. The young participants in a catering project even won the People’s Choice Award at the 2023 Bite of Apprentice competition!   

Reconnect to Opportunity hosted the annual “Back-to-School Resource Fair” and started a new partnership with the Kent School District to help more students reengage in educational services that are right for them. 

Learning Center Seattle added a new team member and supported hundreds of young people to transition to post-secondary education.   

Bellevue College offered a creative work experience opportunity for young people interested in entrepreneurship and continued to help a diverse group of students in the Center for Education Options (CEO) Program.  

YouthSource saw a record number of students throughout the year and strengthened the bridge between YouthSource and post-secondary options.  

CECO gained access to new resources through the College Success Foundation and offered enhanced programming including mural projects with Urban ArtWorks, Introduction to Automotive careers, and HVAC. 

Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account 

Created by the Washington legislature in 2015, the Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account expects to direct $318 million from Sound Transit 3-related funds to expand and strengthen equitable supports for youth in our region between 2019 and 2037.   

The PSTAA team worked to support the King County Promise partners throughout the year and finalize the Love & Liberation Assessment Report.  

Best Starts for Kids 

The Best Starts levy funds several strategies that support the well-being of young people and throughout 2023 these programs connected young people to their communities, created opportunities, and fostered well-being.  

After voters’ resounding support in 2021, the initiative is now well into its second levy, with more funding dedicated toward child care and capital programs.  

Youth Development led a series of learning circles for more than 30 community organizations. 

Liberation and Healing from Systemic Racism enrolled students into the Liberated Village, held community events, and established parent and scholar leadership groups. 

Positive Family Connections supported the Family Engagement Network. 

Technical Assistance and Capacity Building continued to expand, supporting over 100 organizations with 250 capacity building projects, and supporting over 200 unique organizations with technical assistance since the start of the second Best Starts levy. 

Stopping the School to Prison Pipeline continued to build a strong cohort of community-based partners. 

Transitions to Adulthood supported the great work of agencies like Atlantic Street Center that help young moms go back to school and YouthCare that help young adults gain access to housing and employment.  

The Community Engagement team ratified the King County Youth Bill of Rights, based on input from over 2,000 young people, and hosted the 2023 Best Starts Summit – Growing Roots. Reaching New Heights – in the fall. 

The Child Care team ensured that 2,000 kids and their families received child care each month. 

The Data team launched the brand new Data Dashboard. 

Care & Closure 

DCHS convened the Advisory Committee, a group of community partners, systems partners, and impacted community members, to guide Care and Closure and co-create recommendations for community-based alternatives to incarceration. Over the past year, the team connected with and learned from over 1,700 community members, including impacted youth, families, and harmed community members who helped shape these recommendations. 

Youth Action Plan 

Building off the Community Safety and Well-being Plan led by Public Health, the Youth Action Plan team and the Children and Youth Advisory Board began the work to update King County’s Youth Action Plan, first adopted in 2015, with work continuing on the plan through 2024.