Summary:
King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci is calling for immediate and sweeping reforms to restore public trust and strengthen oversight of the county's grantmaking system after a damning audit exposed systemic failures in the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS). Balducci is urging the council to act decisively to fix long-standing issues and prevent future failures, and has proposed a package of systemic reforms that include establishing public trust as a guiding principle for all county contracting, setting deadlines for measurable action, and creating a dedicated audit function within the Executive branch.
In the wake of a damning audit that exposed systemic failures in the King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS), Councilmember Claudia Balducci is calling for immediate, sweeping reforms to restore public trust and strengthen oversight of the county’s grantmaking system.
Following Tuesday’s council briefing on legislation she co-sponsored—Ordinance 2025-0266—Balducci announced plans for a broader package of reforms aimed at addressing critical gaps identified in the recent audit. The proposed ordinance seeks to enhance contract management and compliance protocols within DCHS, but Balducci emphasized that deeper, more urgent action is needed.
“The proposed ordinance before us is a good start, but now is the time for action,” Balducci said in a statement. “I’m preparing a package of systemic reforms that go beyond this ordinance and include actions that can be implemented immediately, without waiting for change in executive branch leadership.”
The audit, released by the King County Auditor’s Office, found that DCHS had awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in grants with minimal oversight, leaving public funds vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse. In response, Balducci is urging the council to act decisively to fix long-standing issues and prevent future failures.
“Today’s follow-up conversation was essential,” she said. “The County Council has both the opportunity and the obligation to restore public trust while delivering for the people who need us most in King County. I look to bring forward these additional actions, including budget proposals, as we continue to respond to the audit findings.”
Balducci’s proposed reforms include establishing public trust as a guiding principle for all county contracting, setting deadlines for measurable action, and creating a dedicated audit function within the Executive branch to ensure implementation of best practices. She is also calling for a comprehensive internal audit to assess the full extent of contracting problems, noting that the current report reviewed only a fraction of existing contracts.
Other key elements of her proposal include requiring formal reports on past audit findings—such as the 2023 Seabold report—and clarifying what changes were made as a result, increasing financial oversight to match the scale of the department’s grant funding, protecting nonprofit contractors from unnecessary red tape, and strengthening conflict-of-interest safeguards throughout county government.
A full vote is expected at next week’s council meeting on September 23, 2025.
