The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) wants to ensure people are prepared and know how to prove their vaccination status when it is required. Vaccine verification options now include QR code functionality through WA Verify, the state’s new Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record system.

Currently, there are several forms of proof people can use to verify their vaccination status:

• Original, copy, or photo of your Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card.
• Verified electronic medical record printout from your medical provider.
• Your record from the state’s immunization information system, which can include:
  • A Digital COVID-19 Verification Record from WAVerify.org, which includes a QR code that can be scanned by a SMART Health Card reader.
  • A certificate of COVID-19 Vaccination from MyIR Mobile.

Depending on the establishment, some places may only accept one specific type of vaccine verification, so it is important to check ahead of time.

WA Verify is Washington’s new Digital COVID-19 Verification Record system that draws COVID-19 records from the state’s immunization system. To use the tool, people enter their name, date of birth, and an email or phone number associated with their vaccination record. If the information matches an official record, they will receive a text or email with a link to their Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record. WA Verify currently supports more than 30 languages, with additional languages available soon. For more information, visit WA Verify’s Frequently Asked Questions page.

Those who have questions or need help accessing their vaccination records can call the state’s COVID-19 Information Hotline at 1-800-525-0127, then press #. Language assistance is available.

Earlier this month, Naselle Youth Camp hosted its annual potlatch where community members, family, and DCYF staff gathered to share a meal and immerse themselves in the spirit of local potlatch tradition.  

“The event is a chance to have our voices heard,” said Sage, a youth of the Cheyenne River Sioux and Lummi Tribes. “It brings us closer together.”

Practiced by Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast for thousands of years, a potlatch traditionally takes place during colder months and serves as a gathering for the redistribution and reciprocity of wealth. During Naselle’s event, youth and guest speakers shared ancestral stories, performed traditional songs, and bestowed youth-made ceremonial gifts to attendees.

“I like the potlatch because I have learned about other cultures, and we can show appreciation for those cultures,” said Gabriel, a non-tribal youth participant. “People come here with thoughts about who we are and don’t see us as kids. We just want to be able to show people that we appreciate others and other cultures, and we have open minds.”

The potlatch ceremony closed with youth gifting blankets to the people they were especially grateful to, including the guest speakers, event organizers, and staff who helped them share this rich Native tradition with the community. 

Special thanks to the local tribes who attended and DCYF Native Group staff, Hugh Amaguq Ahnatook of the Inupiaq Tribe and Aliza Quinlan of the Yaqui-Pascua Tribe, for making this event possible.

DCYF is establishing a pilot project to determine the feasibility of a center or school-age child care license category for multi-site programs operating under one owner or entity.

Referred to as the “Organizational License,” DCYF will create a streamlined process for one entity with multiple locations to gain licensure, streamline oversight, and address varying community needs.

New or existing child care providers may participate in the pilot, with representation from a mix of rural, urban, and suburban locations. DCYF has multiple pathways for interested participants to be involved in the process.

For more information about the pilot, read DCYF Seeks Organizational License Pilot Participants or email michelle.balcom@dcyf.wa.gov.

Echo Glen Children’s Center recently celebrated three significant high school graduations for youth in residence – the first it has seen since integrating with DCYF in 2019.

Secretary Ross Hunter attended one of the graduation ceremonies. “It was awesome to see a very proud young person eloquently thank almost everyone in the room for helping her figure out a positive path to her future,” he said. “Her mother was beaming with pride. This is the best of what we can be as an agency – helping youth navigate their own future.” 

That young person went on to enroll in community college with a clear intention to launch their goals. Another graduating youth plans to go to college to become a firefighter and give back to the community, stating, “I can’t believe I’ve come this far. I honestly didn’t think I was going to make it. [Echo Glen] turned out to help me a lot to succeed in my education.”

Creating successful transitions to adulthood for the youth in our care is one of DCYF’s key strategic priorities and is at the heart of these graduations.

“These young people did the work, but the team at Echo Glen provided them with the stability they needed, the support to accomplish a pretty hard task, and an opportunity at self-directed reinvention,” added Secretary Hunter. “I could not be more proud of the work we do as an agency.”

Echo Glen will continue to work hand-in-hand with the Issaquah School District to complete more graduations and increase post-secondary employment pathways for the promising young leaders of tomorrow.

Special thanks to Issaquah School District staff Allison Ilgenfritz and Echo Glen staff Stephanie Ewing, Izzy Campbell, and Kelsey Kitchen for supporting these youth every step of the way to celebrate this milestone.

Chris White, IT Customer Support/Service Desk, is always very helpful, gets back to you very quickly when you are having computer issues, and is always patient with folks. “There have been plenty of days where I would not have been able to do my work without Chris and I am very thankful!” Recognized by Mel Morris, Region 6 Regional Licensing Supervisor.

Sharon Stewart, Public Disclosure Training Manager & her training team; Daniel Keith, Valen Kadura, and Nicole Bordelon, Forms and Records Analyst 3. “The Public Disclosure Training team has been a huge help to me and other new workers within the Public Disclosure unit. The training team made themselves available to me and other new workers to support our onboarding process and guide us in the right direction. The training team was incredibly knowledgeable and helped me and other new workers get up to speed. I would like to sincerely thank the training team for their time and dedication to make us great!” Recognized by Melissa-Marie Jewell, Forms and Records Analyst 3.

Do you want to give kudos to an extraordinary coworker? We want to hear from you! Let the Office of Communications know who you want to recognize and what they did in a few sentences. To share a note of appreciation for a coworker, email dcyf.commsupport@dcyf.wa.gov.

Our partners at WaTech have made changes to our Secure Email Service.

When sending an email outside of DCYF that needs to be secure, ensure that you have [secure] with a space after the close bracket in the subject line.

The following training aids are available for staff on the DCYF Intranet under Computer Help > Email Services > Training:

• Sending Secure Emails Guide
• Accessing and Reading Secure/Encrypted Emails – Internal Users
• Accessing and Reading Secure/Encrypted Emails – External Users

Another change you will notice when sending secure emails is that senders will no longer receive confirmation of acceptance or receipt of secure email from the recipient.

If you have additional questions, please email the DCYF IT Service Desk at dcyf.servicedesk@dcyf.wa.gov or call 360-725-4357.