Washington governor shutters lifesaving facility for drug-exposed newborns

A renowned care center for treating drug-exposed newborns is being forced to close its doors after Washington Governor Bob Ferguson vetoed state funding that had helped sustain the nonprofit for decades.

The Pediatric Interim Care Center (PICC), located in Kent, WA, has served more than 3,500 vulnerable infants since opening 35 years ago. But now, despite bipartisan support in the state legislature to continue funding its services, the center says it has been blindsided by the governor’s decision to strike its funding from the final budget.

According to KOMO News, the PICC’s contract with the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) was officially terminated in a letter dated June 3, citing the governor’s veto as the reason. PICC, which was slated to receive more than $700,000 annually, was instead allocated just $100,000 for the next two years. That amount, too, was ultimately eliminated.

Despite widespread recognition of the facility’s value — even from within Ferguson’s administration — the governor used his partial veto authority to slash the funding from the final 2025–27 state operating budget, a $77.9 billion plan that includes record tax increases.

Governor Ferguson defended his budget and the largest tax increase in Washington state, calling it necessary to maintain “core services” amid a claimed $16 billion shortfall. Yet critics say the veto contradicts that mission. “Governor Ferguson told his own party to rein in the tax hikes and shift course. That turned out to be all talk,” said Rep. Travis Couture, House Republican Budget Leader. “Instead, he approved a budget that taxes the joy out of Washington and defunds one of the only facilities that gives drug-exposed babies a fighting chance.”

Couture said of the veto, "This absolutely makes my guts turn. Republicans had to fight tooth and nail just to get these table scraps to help drug addicted babies, then Bob Ferguson vetoed it. Outrageous."

Currently, the center has two infants in care — one of them in extremely fragile condition. With no state contract in place after June 30, the center will no longer be authorized to accept newborns sent by state agencies.

PICC was widely seen as a cost-effective alternative to prolonged hospital stays, caring for infants at roughly $160 per day compared to thousands in hospital costs. Despite this efficiency and a $5 million community-funded, hospital-grade facility, PICC now faces empty beds while drug-exposed infants languish in overburdened hospitals or fall through the cracks.

The team at PICC says they are exploring every possible avenue to stay open, appealing to the community, donors, and lawmakers to help fill the funding gap or reinstate the state contract.