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Democratic

Jay Inslee

Jay Inslee is a fifth-generation Washingtonian who has lived and worked in urban and rural communities on both sides of the state. Governor Inslee worked his way through college and graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in economics before earning his law degree at Willamette University. He and his wife, Trudi, then moved to Selah, a small town near Yakima where they raised their three sons. Jay worked as an attorney and prosecutor.

Budget

The 2017 -2019 operating budget fully funds schools for the first time in decades, and avoids damaging cuts to services and programs that help families and workers while putting significant new resources into reforming and strengthening Washington’s mental health system.

Other successes of the 2017 legislative session include:

  • New department of Children,Youth and Families --  the governor signed a bill to restructure how the state serves at-risk children and youth. After a yearlong transition period that began July 2017, the new agency will oversee several services now offered through the state Department of Social and Health Services and the Department of Early Learning. These include all programs from the Children’s Administration in DSHS such as Child Protective Services, the Family Assessment Response program and adoption support, as well as all DEL services, including the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program for preschoolers and Working Connections Child Care.
  • Paid family leave -- Washington became the fifth state in the U.S. to establish a paid family and medical leave program for workers.The law, signed by the governor was passed with strong bipartisan support and will be in place by 2020. It creates the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, which will provide everyone in the workforce with up to 12 weeks of paid medical leave, and up to 12 weeks of paid time off to care for a new child or an ailing family member. That leave is capped at 16 weeks if the employee needs both types of time off in a one-year period.