INTERNAL ONLY Child Welfare Dependency Discovery Manager (WMS2) - Olympia

State of Washington; Olympia (WA); Hybrid; USD 84,000 - 106,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) seeks a Dependency Discovery Manager to oversee statewide discovery guidance and staff training, ensuring compliance with laws and court expectations. This role serves as the primary contact for TORT discovery and collaborates closely with the AGO TORT division and DCYF leadership.

With statewide travel and a blend of in-office and remote work, you will lead quality improvement efforts, develop performance standards, and coordinate with ASD

Qualifications

• Minimum five years of experience with child welfare records and records production.
• Ability to lead teams toward continuous quality improvement in discovery.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and liaison between Child Welfare, AGO, and partners.
• Strong understanding of the legal framework governing Washington State tort environment.
• Proactive learner with willingness to grow and meet others' needs.

Responsibilities

• Serve as child welfare’s dependency discovery lead and subject matter expert.
• Develop, manage, and update the statewide dependency discovery guide.
• Develop, lead, and deliver training to all discovery staff and direct staff on dependency discovery.
• Serve as primary point of contact for the AGO on systemic barriers and changes within the portfolio.
• Serve as primary point of contact for all TORT discovery and produce discovery to the AGO TORT division and legal office.
• Develop performance standards for dependency discovery staff, engage in quality assurance, and continued quality improvement efforts.
• Identify and prioritize obstacles within this portfolio and provide professional consultation to leadership toward continued improvement.
• Identify and communicate best practices to dependency discovery staff and leadership.
• Serve as primary point of contact for DCYF leaders and risk management staff on the portfolio.
• Collaborate with the AGO and ASD to establish technology to manage dependency discovery work, including production of discovery.
• Engage in ongoing research and knowledge building on the portfolio and provide updated communication and training to dependency discovery and direct service staff.
• Lead QA/CQI workgroups where strategies for improvement are developed; collaborate with other DCYF divisions and with child welfare staff to ensure developed strategies are appropriate and being implemented.

Skills

Child welfare records

Team leadership

Interpersonal skills

Legal framework understanding

Action-oriented

Job description

Our vision is to ensure that “Washington State’s children and youth grow up safe and healthy— thriving physically, emotionally, and educationally, nurtured by family and community.”

Attention: INTERNAL ONLY: This position is open to current DCYF employees only.

Location

Olympia, WA - This position will have in-office and remote work expectations and will require statewide travel for the purpose of delivering training and engaging with field staff.

Salary

$84,490 - $105,612 Annually.

Closes: 09/29/2026

The Opportunity

This Dependency Discovery Manager is responsible for developing and overseeing a statewide dependency discovery guide and training curriculum for discovery staff and direct service staff. This position ensures dependency discovery work adheres to all laws, precedent, policies, and court expectations. This position is the primary point of contact for all TORT‑related discovery and works closely with DCYF’s legal officer and AGO’s TORT division, ensuring all TORT‑related materials are produced timely and accurately. This position is expected to understand all relevant laws within this work and to ensure that child welfare complies with these laws. This position is the lead resource to child welfare staff on the topic of dependency discovery and is accountable for building consistency within the entire division. This position is the liaison between child welfare and other divisions within DCYF on the topic of discovery and is tasked with working closely with ASD on developing technology systems to be utilized by all discovery staff. This position partners with agency leadership on questions about dependency discovery and is responsible for identifying agency risk related to this portfolio. This position also makes recommendations for all improvement strategies and is responsible for establishing statewide performance expectations for discovery staff, in collaboration with child welfare leadership.

Some of what you will do

• Serve as child welfare’s dependency discovery lead and subject matter expert.
• Develop, manage, and update the statewide dependency discovery guide.
• Develop, lead, and deliver training to all discovery staff and direct staff on dependency discovery.
• Serve as primary point of contact for the AGO on systemic barriers and changes within the portfolio.
• Serve as primary point of contact for all TORT discovery and produce discovery to the AGO TORT division and legal office.
• Develop performance standards for dependency discovery staff, engage in quality assurance, and continued quality improvement efforts.
• Identify and prioritize obstacles within this portfolio and provide professional consultation to leadership toward continued improvement.
• Identify and communicate best practices to dependency discovery staff and leadership.
• Serve as primary point of contact for DCYF leaders and risk management staff on the portfolio.
• Collaborate with the AGO and ASD to establish technology to manage dependency discovery work, including production of discovery.
• Engage in ongoing research and knowledge building on the portfolio and provide updated communication and training to dependency discovery and direct service staff.
• Lead QA/CQI workgroups where strategies for improvement are developed; collaborate with other DCYF divisions and with child welfare staff to ensure developed strategies are appropriate and being implemented.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of five (5) years of experience working with child welfare records, specifically records production.
• Dependency Discovery expertise and the ability to lead teams toward continuous quality improvement.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to serve as the liaison between Child Welfare, AGO, and other external and internal partners.
• Strong understanding of the legal framework related to child welfare, as required to work within Washington State’s complex and unique tort environment.
• The ability to take action to learn and grow.
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.

Preferred/Desired Education, Experience, and Competencies

• Competent in developing quality assurance and continuous quality improvement strategies.
• Competent in developing and delivering training curriculum to adult learners.
• Competent in leading teams toward cohesion.
• Possess excellent communication skills, particularly within adversarial settings.
• Competent in identifying risk, providing consultation, developing strategies, and overseeing complex government processes in a constantly changing legal landscape.

Supplemental Information

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is committed to Washington’s children and youth growing up safe, healthy, and thriving. We invite all candidates to join us in our goal to create a diverse and equitable workplace that reflects the communities we serve. If you are excited about this role but you believe that your education and/or experience might not align perfectly with every qualification in the job posting, we encourage you to apply anyway.

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained service animal by a person with a disability.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple vacancies.

Degrees must be obtained from an accredited college or university whose accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), or a foreign equivalent verified by a NACES‑approved organization at naces.org. Foreign Equivalency certification must be attached to the application for degrees obtained outside the U.S.

Benefits eligibility for this position may be different than what’s listed in the benefits tab of this recruitment announcement. For more information on employee benefits eligibility, visit Public Employee Benefits Board (PEBB).

DCYF participates in the federal E‑Verify program. The selected candidate must provide proof of identity and authorization to work in the United States, consistent with E‑Verify requirements, on their first day of employment.