Tana Senn, the director of the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families, began a note to the governor’s budget director lamenting her agency’s predicament.

“I wish times were better in writing my first budget request letter,” she wrote Monday to K.D. Chapman-See, the director of the Office of Financial Management.

The request is among those state agencies have submitted in recent days to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office as he prepares a budget proposal ahead of the 2026 legislative session.

Senn’s sprawling agency faces twin crises.

There’s the issue of overcapacity in the state’s juvenile detention system . Lawmakers couldn’t figure out systemic fixes to address these concerns this year, and Green Hill School in Chehalis remains dozens of young people above its safe capacity.

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