Social Services Milestone Timeline
Protecting and providing for those who can’t care for themselves, regardless of age, has been a priority for Governor Gregoire since she finished law school and got her first job in Spokane protecting children from abuse. See the timeline below to learn more about the actions the Governor took to assist families, rehabilitate substance abusers and care for the mentally ill.
| Year | Initiative | Short Summary | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Gov. Gregoire signs bills to protect children, prevent loads from falling on highways | More than 50 bills signed, including 2 that resulted from tragedies. One sets up a task force to find better ways to protect children in troubled home situations and the other prevents loads from falling on highways. | News release |
| 2005 | Scholarships awarded to 27 foster youth | Gov. Gregoire awards Washington State Governor’s Scholarships to 27 Washington foster youth to help children in state-recognized foster, group and kinship care enroll in and complete college in Washington state. | News release |
| 2005 | Gov. Gregoire and state leaders proclaim Missing Children's Day | May 25 is proclaimed as Missing Children’s Day in Washington. $25,000 will be used to develop a child-abduction-prevention informational pamphlet and poster for distribution to Washington elementary schools. | News release |
| 2005 | Appointments to Developmental Disabilities Residential Study Advisory Council | At the governor's request, the Legislature authorized a Developmental Disabilities Residential Study. The study, to be overseen by an advisory council, will identify a preferred system of residential services for individuals with developmental disabilities and a plan for implementing the preferred system within 4 years. | News release |
| 2005 | Washington leads in best practices in employment of people with disabilities | Gov. Gregoire announces that Washington has won national recognition from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as a leader in employment of people with disabilities. The report cites work done in providing guidance and reviews for reasonable accommodation policies, establishing a reasonable accommodation loan fund, and Braille and taping access centers among several other accomplishments. | News release |
| 2005 | MacArthur Foundation selects Washington as model state for national juvenile justice reform initiative | John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation selects Washington as one of 4 states to participate in its national initiative to accelerate promising models for juvenile justice system reform. MacArthur will award up to $7.5 million in grants over 5 years to build upon juvenile justice reform efforts under way across the state. | News release |
| 2006 | Federal bonus for basic food program | Governor announces Washington received a $1.2 million bonus for successful outreach efforts in the state's Basic Food program. | News release |
| 2007 | Federal grant to support DSHS independent living project | Department of Social and Health Services receives a $19.7 million grant to provide independent housing support to older adults, people with disabilities and Medicare recipients. | News release |
| 2007 | Proposed investments to support veterans | Governor urges Legislature to pass bills that would create a shared leave pool so state employees would be able to donate leave for co-workers serving in the military, and build a veterans cemetery in Eastern Washington. | News release |
| 2007 | Funds to reduce homelessness in 9 counties | $10 million awarded to Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Douglas, Franklin, King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, Walla Walla and Whatcom counties to help reduce homelessness. The grants were awarded by the Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. | News release |
| 2007 | More beds for state violators in Snohomish County | Gov. Gregoire, Snohomish County Executive and Department of Corrections announce plan to make more room for offenders who violate community custody. | News release |
| 2007 | Funds for community development | $7.5 million in community development grants from the Washington Community Development Block Grant program will help fund grassroots projects such as construction of local infrastructure and local social service facilities. | News release |
| 2007 | Gov. Gregoire signs legislation to support foster youth | Several laws will improve opportunities for young people who have been in foster care. The “Passport to College” program for former foster youth extends health care coverage until the age of 21 and provides housing stipends. | News release |
| 2007 | Gov. Gregoire signs legislation to support veterans and their families | Bills clarify the preference given to veterans in the application for public employment as well as require public colleges and universities to waive all tuition and fees for the children and spouses of military veterans or National Guard members who are killed or totally disabled, missing in action or prisoners of war. | News release |
| 2007 | Counties to receive juvenile justice reform grants from MacArthur Foundation | Governor announces that 6 counties will receive funding and technical support to improve juvenile justice systems, part of a 5-year, $10 million investment: Benton, Clark, Franklin, King, Pierce and Spokane. | News release |
| 2007 | Governor encourages state agencies to promote voter registration | Governor designates the Washington Department of Social and Health Services as a voter registration assistance agency. | News release Executive order |
| 2007 | Washington awarded $2.9 million bonus for reducing food stamp errors | Governor announces that the Department of Social and Health Services has been awarded $2.9 million in a federal bonus for reducing errors in delivering food stamp benefits. | News release |
| 2007 | WorkFirst successful in helping more families break the cycle of poverty | Gov. Gregoire announces that the TANF caseload is down to its lowest level since 1967. TANF, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, is the state and federal assistance program commonly known as welfare. | News release |
| 2007 | Support for projects helping low-income Washingtonians | Gov. Gregoire announces $604,000 for 12 communities to develop and expand the work of local asset-building coalitions that benefit low-income Washington families. | News release |
| 2007 | Operation Crackdown: statewide sweep to arrest sex offenders | Across Washington, local law enforcement, the Department of Corrections, and U.S. Marshals are tracking down and making arrests on all DOC and local warrants for sex offenders wanted for violating the conditions of their community supervision. | News release |
| 2007 | Gov. Gregoire, legislative leaders invest to increase housing security | Governor Gregoire, Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the House propose investing $57 million to boost housing security. | News release |
| 2008 | Gov. Gregoire and Washington recognized for efforts to end homelessness | The Governor and the state are recognized by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. | News release |
| 2008 | Gov. Gregoire signs bills to help military families | Law will allow more unpaid leave for military families before or during deployment. | News release |
| 2008 | Gov. Gregoire signs major housing legislation | Law will help Washingtonians find more affordable housing and offer protections against foreclosures. | News release |
| 2008 | Gov. Gregoire kicks off statewide food drive | Governor kicks off her “Feeding Washington” initiative, a first-of-its-kind food drive uniting the state’s agriculture community to increase donations to local food banks. | News release |
| 2009 | Federal funds to help crime victims | Office of Crime Victims Advocacy awarded $933,000 in federal Recovery Act funds for crime victim service providers. | News release |
| 2009 | Federal grants for local jobs | Recovery Act makes $3.4 million available for 300 positions in local communities to help meet social needs resulting from the economic crisis. | News release |
| 2009 | Combat crimes against women | Governor announces funds awarded to STOP (Services Training Officers Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program for county criminal justice agencies and nonprofit programs to improve safety for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking or dating violence. Adds 27 jobs. | News release |
| 2011 | Reach Out and Read, supported by First Gentleman Mike Gregoire, expands to Washington military bases | Based on the successful implementation of the Reach Out and Read school readiness initiative at Fairchild Air Force Base, Madigan Army Hospital and Bremerton Navy Hospital, the research-proven program will expand to 100 U.S. bases by 2013 to serve more than 200,000 children of military families. | News release |
| 2011 | Changes at Washington State Penitentiary will increase efficiency | Gov. Gregoire endorses a plan developed by the Department of Corrections that will save an estimated $10 million each year and provide the state’s prison system with the additional minimum-security beds it needs. | News release |
