The Yakima field office of Casey Family Programs has been serving central Washington since 1972. Our largely rural area covers Yakima County and parts of three other counties.

Building a supportive community
Most of the youth we serve are children of color. An increasing number are being cared for by their relatives—primarily grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

Youth living in foster care account for about 34 percent of our caseload. Currently, most foster families are white, but we are focusing on recruiting and retaining more families of color.

We strive to create a community where foster and kinship youth and families can come together to get support from each other, attend events, receive services, discover resources, and take classes to help them parent successfully.

Celebrating stars in all orbits
Our annual milestones celebration—which can draw a crowd of 100 or more—honors youth graduating from high school as well as foster parents who have been with us for more than 10 years.

Among our recent shining stars is a young man who turned his failing grades around and has become a camp counselor, serving as a model to others.

To help young people prepare for independence from foster care when they turn 18, we introduce teens from age 13 to 17 to the world of work through jobs in parks and other community settings.

The job preparation program is part of our “Get Set” partnership with Catholic Family and Children’s Services and the nonprofit organization, Enterprise for Progress in the Community.