After 35 years, the Pediatric Interim Care Center in Kent – the only specialized medical facility in western Washington caring for drug-exposed babies – stopped accepting new intakes on Monday.
That’s because the Department of Children, Youth & Families canceled its contract with the Pediatric Interim Care Center, or PICC, citing state budget cuts.
PICC historically received about $700,000 annually from the state. However, the funding was significantly reduced to $100,000 annually for the next two years. Despite lawmakers voting to keep it funded, Gov. Bob Ferguson ultimately cut the funding completely through a partial budget veto.
“We must use our resources as a state as efficiently as possible. Unfortunately, the current funding going to the Kent PICC was not cost-effective,” DCYF Child Welfare Communications Consultant Kortney Scroger emailed The Center Square.
Since 1990, PICC has taken care of newborns born to mothers with substance use disorders. Up until this year, about half of PICC’s funding came from the state. This year, majority-party Democrats scrapped all funding, but Republicans managed to claw back $100,000 in the final budget.
“It was only $100,000 in the budget, and we knew long term that was going to be a real challenge, but it still gave us room to operate. But then even that got a veto,” PICC Development Director Elaine Purchase told The Center Square on Monday.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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