With less than a week before the start of the 2026 session, Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, is building support for his bill to fix the unintended consequences of Washington’s Keeping Families Together Act and restore the state’s ability to act when children face clear danger due to hard drug use in the home.
Couture says House Bill 1092 is about one core responsibility: protecting children’s lives, especially babies and toddlers who cannot protect themselves.
“This bill is not about tearing families apart,” Couture said. “It’s about making sure children don’t die while the state stands by, waiting for something worse to happen.”
The Keeping Families Together Act, passed in 2021 as House Bill 1227, raised the legal bar for removing children from their homes. Under current law, Child Protective Services must show “imminent physical harm” before acting, even in cases involving active use of fentanyl or other hard drugs.
Critics, including frontline social workers, judges, and medical professionals, say that standard has made it harder to remove children from dangerous situations until it is too late.
State data show the problem is getting worse. According to the Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds, there were 92 child deaths or near-deaths tied to the child welfare system in the first six months of 2025 alone, putting this year on pace to be the deadliest on record. Many of those cases involved fentanyl exposure or ingestion by very young children.
Recent media reports have highlighted cases in which children remained in unsafe environments despite repeated warnings and community concern, raising questions about whether the current law gives the state enough authority to intervene before tragedy strikes.
House Bill 1092 would clarify that active use of hard drugs like fentanyl in a home with children can meet the threshold for removal when it creates a serious danger. The bill also lays out a pathway for parents struggling with addiction to receive treatment and work toward reunification once sobriety is documented.
“This is not a punishment-first approach,” Couture said. “It’s a safety-first approach. Children deserve protection, and parents deserve a real chance at recovery.”
Under the bill, families would be connected to services, treatment and support. Children could be reunited with their parents once there is verified progress, including sustained sobriety.
Couture said the state’s current harm-reduction-focused approach has failed to stop the growing number of child fatalities and near fatalities.
“Doing nothing differently year after year is costing lives,” he said. “Lockboxes and check-ins don’t protect babies from fentanyl smoke, pills or powder within reach. Pretending this system is working does not make it so.”
House Bill 1092 has drawn bipartisan support in past sessions, but previous versions did not receive a hearing. Couture said the urgency is now undeniable, and there is renewed interest in hearing the bill.
“We are talking about preventable deaths,” he said. “If the law is stopping us from saving children in obvious danger, then the law must change.”
The bill has been referred to the House Human Services and Early Learning Committee. The 2026 legislative session gets underway Jan. 12.