DCYF office of fraud & acct.

AN ACT Relating to establishing an office of fraud and 1
accountability within the department of children, youth, and 2
families; amending RCW 74.04.014; and adding new sections to chapter 3
43.216 RCW. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 43.216 6
RCW to read as follows: 7
(1) There is established an office of fraud and accountability 8
within the department for the purpose of detection, investigation, 9
and prosecution of any act prohibited or declared to be unlawful in 10
the programs administered by the department. The secretary must 11
employ qualified supervisory, legal, and investigative personnel for 12
the program. Program staff must be qualified by training and 13
experience. 14
(2)(a) The director of the office of fraud and accountability is 15
the head of the office and is selected by the secretary and must 16
demonstrate suitable capacity and experience in law enforcement 17
management, public administration, and criminal investigations. The 18
director of the office of fraud and accountability shall:19
(i) Report directly to the secretary; and 20
S-4517.1
SENATE BILL 6344
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Christian and J. Wilson
p. 1 SB 6344
(ii) Ensure that each citizen complaint, employee complaint, law 1
enforcement complaint, and agency referral is assessed and, when risk 2
of fraud or abuse is present, is fully investigated, and is referred 3
for prosecution or recovery when there is evidence of wrongdoing.4
(b) The director of the office of fraud and accountability shall 5
establish a 24-hour citizen's hotline capable of receiving both 6
telephone calls and text messages for complaints. 7
(3) The office of fraud and accountability shall:8
(a) Conduct independent and objective investigations into 9
allegations of fraud and abuse, make appropriate referral to law 10
enforcement when there is evidence of criminal activity, and recover 11
overpayment whenever possible and to the greatest possible degree;12
(b) Recommend policies, procedures, and best practices designed 13
to detect and prevent fraud and abuse, mitigate the risk for fraud 14
and abuse, and ensure that department programs are being used for 15
their statutorily stated goals; 16
(c) Analyze cost-effective, best practice alternatives to any 17
current cash benefit delivery systems consistent with federal law to 18
ensure that benefits are being used for their intended purposes; and19
(d) Use best practices to determine appropriate utilization and 20
deployment of investigative resources, ensure that resources are 21
deployed in a balanced and effective manner, and use all available 22
methods to gather evidence necessary for proper investigation and 23
successful prosecution. 24
(4) By December 31, 2027, the office of fraud and accountability 25
shall report to the legislature on the development of the office, 26
identification of any barriers to meeting the stated goals of the 27
office, and recommendations for improvements to the system and laws 28
related to the prevention, detection, and prosecution of fraud and 29
abuse in department programs. 30
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.216 31
RCW to read as follows: 32
(1) In carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the office of 33
fraud and accountability established in section 1 of this act shall 34
have prompt access to all individuals, records, electronic data, 35
reports, audits, reviews, documents, and other materials available to 36
the department of revenue, department of labor and industries, 37
department of social and health services, employment security 38
department, department of licensing, and any other government entity 39
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that can be used to help facilitate investigations of fraud or abuse 1
as determined necessary by the director of the office of fraud and 2
accountability. 3
(2) The investigator shall have access to all original child care 4
records maintained by licensed and unlicensed child care providers 5
with the consent of the provider or with a court order or valid 6
search warrant. 7
(3) Information gathered by the department or the office of fraud 8
and accountability must be safeguarded and remain confidential as 9
required by applicable state or federal law. Whenever information or 10
assistance requested under subsection (1) or (2) of this section is, 11
in the judgment of the director, unreasonably refused or not 12
provided, the director of the office of fraud and accountability 13
shall report the circumstances to the secretary immediately.14
Sec. 3. RCW 74.04.014 and 2018 c 58 s 9 are each amended to read 15
as follows: 16
(1) In carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the office of 17
fraud and accountability shall have prompt access to all individuals, 18
records, electronic data, reports, audits, reviews, documents, and 19
other materials available to the department of revenue, department of 20
labor and industries, department of children, youth, and families, 21
employment security department, department of licensing, and any 22
other government entity that can be used to help facilitate 23
investigations of fraud or abuse as determined necessary by the 24
director of the office of fraud and accountability.25
(2) ((The investigator shall have access to all original child 26
care records maintained by licensed and unlicensed child care 27
providers with the consent of the provider or with a court order or 28
valid search warrant.29
(3))) Information gathered by the department, the office, or the 30
fraud ombuds shall be safeguarded and remain confidential as required 31
by applicable state or federal law. Whenever information or 32
assistance requested under subsection (1) ((or (2))) of this section 33
is, in the judgment of the director, unreasonably refused or not 34
provided, the director of the office of fraud and accountability must 35
report the circumstances to the secretary immediately.36
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