Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families

March 2023 Issue

ECEAP Updates

Grant Opportunities

ELMS Updates

Important Dates:

Questions?

Training Opportunities & Support

Equity, Child Development, Education, & Health

Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families sent this bulletin at 03/10/2023 07:43 AM PST

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ECEAP is Washington’s pre-kindergarten program that prepares 3- and 4-year-old children furthest from opportunity for success in school and life.

Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant Survey

DCYF ECEAP is gathering information to understand mental health services across the state. The intent is to begin to understand the landscape of ECEAP IECMH Consultant implementation and access. We are asking each program to complete a brief survey about how you access your IECMH Consultant. You can find the survey here. Please complete the survey by COB Wednesday, March 22^nd.

Teaching Strategies Resources

The enhanced planning features are now available to preschool teachers using The Creative Curriculum Cloud. These new capabilities

are directly based on feedback from customers, and
are designed to provide a much more flexible and streamlined experience for teachers when planning for custom activities and resources.
- New Support Articles
- New Ready-Set-Go! Videos

Washington has been awarded a $4 million Preschool Development Planning Grant (PDG-P)! This grant focuses largely on supporting our state’s early learning workforce and will run through the 2023 calendar year alongside the Preschool Development Renewal Grant (PDG-R). You can read the press release and learn a little more about what’s funded through PDG-P here

State Median Income Updated

The state median income (SMI) guidelines were released with a small increase in the annual income amounts. They are effective in ELMS now. ELMS recalculated the SMI for children on your waiting lists or with completed applications, as well as all children entered in ELMS in the future. View the new chart here.

AAP
The Alternative Attendance Plans forms are now updated in ELMS. Please check the ELMS News page for additional information and updates.

Within six months of hire and every three years thereafter: Lead teachers must complete Teaching Strategies GOLD® inter-rater reliability certification.

Within 90 days from class start date, enter health screenings, well-child exams and dental screenings in ELMS.

Email questions about newsletter topics to eceap@dcyf.wa.gov or your Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Specialist.

For additional information about ECEAP or the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), please visit our Contractor webpages.

ECEAP Professional Development Webinar Series

DCYF ECEAP and Professional Development (PD) team are hosting a webinar series for ECEAP contractor staff. This series will focus on navigating the MERIT system, application processes and professional development related to performance standard monitoring. This series is intended for staff who support others in ECEAP roles with staff qualification requirements.

The webinars will occur on the 4^th Thursday of the month.

Webinar Topic: Staff Qualification Application Process

Thursday, March 23rd at 11am – Join Zoom

Webinar Topic: Monitoring Staff Qualifications in ELMS and MERIT

Thursday, April 27^th at 11am – Join Zoom

Government to Government Training

March 30, 2023 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm Please register here

This training explores tribal sovereignty, tribal governments and local tribes. This training is for all ECEAP providers, and contractors who subcontract with tribes and is especially helpful for programs that serve Tribal children or partner with local tribes

Since Time Immemorial Early Learning Curriculum Training

April 24, 2023 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm Please register here

Since Time Immemorial Early Learning is a free curriculum designed to introduce young learners to concepts related to tribal sovereignty and learning about local tribes. Since Time Immemorial Early Learning Training is open to all ECEAP contractors who are planning to use the curriculum in their classrooms.

Mobility Mentoring

Would you like to find out how other PNW Exchange Members are utilizing Mobility Mentoring in their programs? Have questions about engagement, retention, goal-setting, recognition? Do you want to increase the impact of this model in our home states? If you answered yes to any of these questions than please join us for a Virtual Member Networking event on March 22nd from 9-10:30 am Pacific Time. This event will provide a unique opportunity to meet and learn from other professionals and programs utilizing Mobility Mentoring outside of ECEAP. We will also explore possibilities for staying connected with each other moving forward.

DCYF ECEAP will be facilitating and EMPath’s President & CEO, Kim Janey, will be providing opening remarks. You and any other members of your organization who are implementing Mobility Mentoring are warmly invited. The more the merrier! The link below will allow you to register for this FREE event and can be shared with others.

https://portal.empathways.org/events/37637

Mobility Mentoring Webinar in SPANISH!

On April 28^th 9:00am to 10:00am via Zoom, ECEAP will be providing a webinar for family support staff in Spanish. Our topic is the Mobility Mentoring Bridge tool relevant to the Hispanic Culture.

El Puente Relevante a la Cultura Hispana, donde hablaremos sobre las formas de presentar y hablar lo que es Mobility Mentoring y la coneccion de tal tema con nuestras familias 04/28/2023 from 9:00am to 10:00am

Link to register here.

Questions?
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Promoting Equity for Young Multilingual Children and Their Families

In this Focus Bulletin from WIDA^TM, they offer “ideas for taking a language-focused approach to caregiving and instructional practice in ECE settings”. This bulletin encourages readers to critically reflect on their own identities and practices. Voices from the field and reflection questions help readers consider what it means to promote equity for multilingual children and their families.

Art in the Trauma Informed ECE Classroom: Process over Product

Open ended art is a creative process of self-discovery that grows the brain. Art is a safe way to experience choice and control, make decisions, take risks and express thoughts and feelings. In this webinar learn how current neuroscience supports art as self-regulation and stress relief in trauma informed classrooms. March 22^nd at 11am - Register here.

Preschool Math Center – Challenge Levels

Explore preschool math center activities from Development and Research in Early Mathematics Education (DREME). Search for activities that align with objectives for math content and learn how to modify activities for differentiated learning.