The Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the State of Washington have announced a public-private partnership to make Washington the first state in the nation to create a long-term source of funding for support services to homeless children and their families.

In addition to supporting existing services and creating new statewide programs, the Washington Families Fund will provide ten years of financing for both on- and off-site support services tied to affordable housing, including job training, budgeting, parenting skills, and substance abuse counseling. The fund, which will be administered by AIDS Housing of Washington, was established with $2 million in seed money from the state legislature, $1 million from the Seattle-based Medina Foundation, $25,000 from the Seattle Foundation, and $1 million from the Gates Foundation, which also is offering an additional $1 million in matching funds to attract private donors.

"One of the top priorities for the Gates Foundation is serving at-risk families here in Washington," said Rick Shaw, director of the foundation's Northwest program and co-chair of Sound Families, an affordable housing and homeless family support services organization serving the Puget Sound region. "We know that if families are given the right tools and support, their chances of breaking the cycle of homelessness dramatically improve."