SB 6184 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Updating the office of homeless youth program provisions.

SB 6184 updates Washington state's definitions and administrative provisions for homeless youth programs, primarily affecting unaccompanied homeless youth and HOPE centers (facilities providing temporary housing and services). The bill specifically limits stays at HOPE centers to 90 days for most unaccompanied homeless youth, requiring department approval for extensions, while allowing longer stays if a parent arranges return. It revises key terms like "homeless person," "HOPE center," and "street outreach services" to clarify program eligibility and operations. These changes aim to standardize definitions across state agencies and align with existing homelessness housing frameworks without introducing new funding or major program shifts.

Issues: ✗ Housing

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2026 Last action Mar 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the Office of Homeless Youth program by modernizing definitions, extending the maximum stay in HOPE centers from 30 to 90 days, and clarifying the roles of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families versus the Department of Commerce. The changes aim to provide more stable housing options for unaccompanied homeless youth and align state laws with current federal standards for young adults up to age 21.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of youth eligible for certain services to include young adults up to age 21 and clarifies that the Department of Children, Youth, and Families is the primary agency responsible for licensing HOPE centers, whereas the Department of Commerce was previously listed as the department in some definitions.

DEFINITION

Updated the definition of 'child' and 'young adult' to explicitly include unaccompanied homeless youth up to age 21 in alignment with federal school admission qualifications.

Changed the maximum stay in a HOPE center from 30 days to 90 days for unaccompanied homeless youth while services are arranged.

Clarified that the Department of Children, Youth, and Families is the department responsible for licensing HOPE centers, replacing references to the Department of Commerce in specific operational contexts.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the definition of 'HOPE center' to remove references to 'street youth' and replace them with 'unaccompanied homeless youth' to reflect modern terminology.

Added new requirements for host home programs to report annually to the Office of Homeless Youth Prevention and Protection Programs regarding the number of children served and their outcomes.

Expanded the definition of 'protected health care services' in host home regulations to explicitly include gender-affirming treatment and reproductive health care services.

TIMELINE

Removed expiration dates and specific fiscal year bed increase targets from 2017-2019, indicating the program is now permanent and subject to future legislative appropriation.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 10, 2026

How they voted

32–19

Passed

Total votes 51

Feb 10, 2026

D Democratic31

31 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican20

1 Yea 19 Nay

95% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules 2 Review.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

APP - Majority; do pass with amendment(s).

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Appropriations at 10:30 AM.

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 10:30 AM.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

ELHS - Majority; do pass.

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Early Learning & Human Services at 1:30 PM.

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Early Learning & Human Services at 1:30 PM.

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (32-19)

senate

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Human Services at 8:00 AM.

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the Senate Committee on Human Services at 1:30 PM.

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Human Services at 1:30 PM.

upper

1 primary · 4 co-sponsors