Department of Social and Health Services is reviewing several contracts, including one funding the peer support network Parent to Parent
Kassidy Logan started noticing signs of autism in her son when he was 1. The pandemic was in full swing and Logan, who lives in Mount Vernon, remembers feeling “isolated” while she awaited a diagnosis.
“Any disability is a whole new world,” Logan said. “It’s very intimidating.”
When her son eventually received a diagnosis, Logan connected with Skagit County’s Parent to Parent program. There, she met other parents whose experiences mirrored her own. They could offer advice on therapies and other resources. They had tips for how to deal with insurance companies and fill out disability paperwork. They understood what it was like to spend a full day in different therapies or miss out on events due to lack of accommodations.
“Having other people is what has gotten me through mentally and emotionally,” Logan said.
A statewide network modeled after a national program of the same name, Parent to Parent exists in every Washington county, supporting the families of individuals with disabilities or complex health needs. It has been so successful that official support for the program was codified into state law in 2016. In fiscal year 2025-2026, the program received over 93,000 calls and emails for assistance statewide.
Historically, the program has received funding via the state Department of Social and Health Services or DSHS. But as the state navigates a budget shortfall, that funding faces uncertainty.
In late June, Stacy Dym, executive director of the Arc of Washington — the statewide nonprofit that sponsors P2P — received an email from DSHS stating that Parent to Parent’s contract was under review and would extend only through the end of July. The contract was then extended again through August, but Dym had expected the program to be funded for a full year.
“We expected a routine process for renewal of the annual state contract, especially given that the program was funded in the legislative budget,” Dym wrote in an email. “It was shocking news to us that the state may not consider renewal.”
A spokesperson from DSHS said the department has not made any final funding decisions yet for its programs and did not specify when those decisions will be made. In the face of uncertainty, families are speaking out in favor of Parent to Parent.
Tracie Hoppis, who leads the statewide Parent to Parent network, said over 1,500 actions have been taken in support of the program, including emails and calls to state legislators and DSHS.
“We have had a groundswell of support that is completely humbling,” Hoppis said.
Evidence-based program is a ‘lifeline’ for families
Founded in 1980, Washington’s Parent to Parent program now employs over 50 coordinators across the state, all of whom have experience raising a child with a disability. The program is modeled on the idea that those with lived experience are the best equipped to guide parents through the challenges of raising kids — or caring for adults — with disabilities or complex medical needs.
“We get it, because we’re on this path as well,” Hoppis, who has an adult son with autism and cerebral palsy said. “That creates trust that you can’t easily replicate between a professional and a parent.”
Studies have shown that fellow parents are uniquely equipped to help families navigate unfamiliar terrain and the emotions that come with raising a child with special health care needs. When a parent decides to become a volunteer with the program, they are trained on how to best support other parents.
For families, having a child with a disability can mean dealing with long waitlists for diagnoses and therapies, an endless stream of paperwork and frequent phone calls with insurance companies –– all while addressing the specific needs of the child at home.
“When families are sitting on waiting lists, especially in rural areas, (and) can’t get services … Parent to Parent is the program that’s in every community willing to walk beside parents and navigate systems and support them through the ups and downs,” Hoppis said.
When parents receive better support, the whole family can thrive, said Beverly Porter, executive director of The Arc of Whatcom County, which sponsors Whatcom’s Parent to Parent program.
Parent to Parent hosts group meetings where family members can share grief or frustration without feeling judged. In Whatcom, Parent to Parent often hosts seven or eight meetings a month. The organization also fields calls from individual parents –– sometimes in crisis–– aiming to connect them with a parent volunteer in 48 hours. Parent to Parent volunteers number over 100 in Whatcom, 65 in Skagit, and over 1,000 statewide.
In addition to emotional support, Parent to Parent helps families navigate paperwork from school districts or the Developmental Disability Administration. They host accessible community events and specific gatherings for siblings of people with disabilities.
Whatcom’s Parent to Parent coordinator, Karlene Umbaugh, said the program is a “lifeline” to families. Parents in Whatcom and Skagit counties said they don’t know what they would have done without support from the Parent to Parent community.
A valuable network at stake
In Whatcom County, about 25% of Parent to Parent’s funding comes from DSHS. That funding helps pay for Umbaugh’s part-time coordinator position, as well as a multicultural coordinator who works one-on-one with Spanish-speaking families. While Whatcom’s program has a number of funding sources, including donations and the county health department, Parent to Parent programs in other counties could be hit much harder by an end to the DSHS contract.
About 38% of San Juan County’s Parent to Parent budget is funded by the state contract. Coordinator Jen DeShon, who started the San Juan program in 2021, said that the program has supported over 35 families countywide
“San Juan County is a rural, isolated community with very limited existing resources,” DeShon wrote in an email. “2026 is the first year that we have had members of our community reach out to our program asking us how they can help support the P2P Program. This is amazing because we are building trusting relationships, raising awareness of the services we provide, and becoming more established in the community. Taking this program away from our families now would be devastating.”
Advocates say discrepancies in funding sources matter in terms of equity, but also because the broader Parent to Parent network fosters connections across counties. Losing a program in a less populated county could mean losing those connections.
“We have learned of at least one program that is postponing its hiring for a vacancy, and I have had outreach from other programs concerned about enough lead time to give two weeks’ notice to its program staff as we near the next deadline for contract renewal,” Dym wrote in an email. “This means that programs will weaken and potentially ‘de facto’ shutter because of the uncertainty of the contract status.”
Unlike many programs that end when an individual enters adulthood, Parent to Parent supports families regardless of age. County programs have built networks with a variety of other organizations and service providers that can offer support through different life stages, including school districts, mental health practitioners, physicians and behavioral health programs.
“What’s happened in 45 years is that we’ve become this trusted, relied upon resource for our community partners who feel safe referring families to us. They know that we’re going to answer the call,” Hoppis said.
These connections are particularly important since Washington state recently stopped assigning caseworkers to individuals who qualify for support from the Developmental Disabilities Association but don’t receive financial services.
Currently, families are calling on DSHS to extend the Parent to Parent contract at least through the end of the year, giving programs time to figure out alternative funding sources if necessary.
The uncertainty regarding Parent to Parent comes at a time when disability rights advocates are already on edge. In June, the Department of Justice issued a memo saying that states were not required to provide in-home or community-based services to people with disabilities, potentially turning back decades of hard-won civil rights battles for the disabled community. Advocates worry this could lead to segregation and institutionalization. Concerns over threats to Medicaid and the Trump administration’s rhetoric surrounding autism have also rocked the disability community over the past year.
Calial McCarty, a Bellingham-based therapist who offers support for neurodivergent youth and adolescents, said that she frequently refers families to Parent to Parent. As the mother of two neurodivergent children, she also participates in the Parent to Parent community herself.
“This is something we need more of in our community. Not less,” she said.
––By Christy Carley