Connect (Events)

Visit The Athena Forum’s online calendar for events and trainings related to substance abuse prevention efforts!

Black Children Are Beautiful: Elevating “Black Boy Joy” and “Black Girl Magic”. Part of the 2023 Parenting While Black series, Radically Resistant: Fostering the Brilliance and Awe in Raising Bold Black Children from Brazelton Touchpoints Center. The five-part series continues with Episode 3 on May 15 and ends on June 26. Each webinar is 1 hour followed by a 30-minute Q&A session with our parent panelists. May 15, 12–1:30 PM PT | Register to attend or receive recordings

Supporting Everyone’s Mental Health from Brazelton Touchpoints Center. Many families and providers are under enormous stress. As professionals working with young children and their families, we need to care for our own mental health while also tending to the mental health of the families with whom we work. This series offers concrete strategies you can use in your work and personal life that honor everyone’s experiences, build resilience, and nurture self-care. $35/workshop. Upcoming events (click to register): Parental Depression and Coping During Challenging Times |Tuesday, May 16, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. PT | Nurturing the Nurturer: Self-care for Providers & Parents | Tuesday, May 23, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. PT

Hope in the Face of Adversity: Touchpoints in the Context of Substance Use Disorder. This 90-minute interactive workshop explores how the Touchpoints Approach to family engagement can help you create and nurture relationships with families affected by SUD. Touchpoints is an evidence-based, relational practice that builds collaborative family-provider partnerships in service of strong, healthy family-child relationships from before birth throughout early childhood. May 17, 12–1:30 p.m. PT. Registration fee: Regular rate: $35. Register here

State Tax Credits: How States Can Leverage Tax Policy to Alleviate Childhood Poverty. The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center will be hosting its webinar on state tax credits in two weeks. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to hear from policy experts on why state tax credits are effective in reducing poverty and improving child development, as well as what progress states have made to implement these effective policies. May 24, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.  | Register here

The Family Engagement Seminars from Washington Family Engagement – a 3-part series. Working Towards a Model of Anti-Racist Family Engagement - May 18, 7-9 p.m. | Supporting Your Elementary Student: Top Ten Actions for Black Families - May 25, 7-9 p.m. | Barriers to Mental Health Care for Families of Color - June 1, 7-9 p.m. | Register for all here

The 2023 Youth Leadership Conference sponsored by Consejo. Youth are invited to attend the 2023 Youth Leadership Conference on June 3 at Surprise Lake Middle School from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will feature presentations on: Mental Health Awareness; Art Therapy; Mindfulness Therapy; LGBTQ+ Gender Identity; Sobriety and Substance Use; Coping with Trauma ; Healthy Relationships and Sexual Assault Awareness. In addition to workshops, the event will feature raffles, guest speakers (Dayanira Ramirez, Ms. Teen WA Latina 2022 and Comedian Frank Castillo), prizes, a resource fair, and musical performances. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Sunrise Middle School, Milton, WA | Sat, Jun 3, 8 - 4| Register here

Infant-early childhood mental health statewide tour: In partnership with local organizations, HCA's Infant Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) team will be conducting a tour to visit mental health providers and community partners in each region of the state. The tour will include provider listening sessions with Apple Health mental health providers and community networking events to connect local organizations who support families and young children eligible for Apple Health. June 13: Children’s Home Society, Spokane Valley Office. Visit the website for more locations around the state and to register.

Washington Family Support Network Launch: Strengthening FRCs Statewide. Celebrate the launch of the Washington Family Support Network! Learn about how the network will support and strengthen family resource centers across Washington state. June 8, 12 p.m. Register here.

Learn (Educational Resources)

Child Trends’ State-level Data for Understanding Child Welfare in the United States interactive has been updated with the latest available data. This comprehensive resource offers state-level and national data on child maltreatment, foster care, kinship care, and permanency. These data help stakeholders understand the rates at which the child welfare system intervened in the lives of children and youth, the circumstances under which those interventions occurred, and the outcomes of those interventions. View the data here.

Results Washington: State Agency Performance Dashboards has a wide range of agency data from around the state, including behavioral health and social data that can be helpful in needs assessments and grant proposals. View the dashboards here.

Opiate Use Disorder Prevalence and Outcomes for DSHS Clients in Washington State: This report examines OUD prevalence rates and the association between OUD and key social outcomes for Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) clients aged 18 to 64 in State Fiscal Year 2022. Read the report here.

Innovate (News and New Insights)

WA Plan for Removing Barriers to HHS Services. The plan outlines two goals: 1.  Remove client barriers to accessing benefits. We imagine a future where clients can seamlessly apply for multiple programs in less than 20 minutes and immediately know their eligibility status. 2. The state and its programs have a comprehensive view of clients, and share information across organizations to proactively offer other benefits for which the client may qualify. Read the plan here.

CARE Sounding Board, Reflection 2: Interested in making Washington’s behavioral health systems more equitable & inclusive? Get involved with the Community Sounding Board, UW CoLab’s initiative to make these systems more culturally responsive, equitable, & effective for youth & families. By sharing your reflections and experience, you will actively help expand culturally responsive behavioral healthcare in Washington State. Participate here.

Grow (Funding and Resources)

Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences through Data to Action from the CDC. The three primary goals of this NOFO are to 1) enhance a state-level surveillance infrastructure that ensures the capacity to collect, analyze, and use ACE and PCE data to inform ACE prevention strategies and approaches; 2) support the implementation of data-driven, comprehensive, evidence-based ACE primary prevention strategies and approaches, particularly with a focus on health equity; and 3) conduct data to action activities on an ongoing basis to inform changes or adaptations to existing strategies or selection and implementation of additional strategies. Due June 12. View on grants.gov

Training and Technical Assistance Support for Sexual Assault Services Providers: OCVA seeks a contractor or contractors to provide training and technical support to the recipients of our funding. This includes OCVA’s Sexual Assault Services and Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) Initiative grantees and Tribal partners. OCVA also seeks a contractor or contractors to provide statewide representation, advocacy, and education on behalf of these service providers as well as victims and survivors in Washington. Due June 16. View on the OCVA website.

If you have suggestions for what to include in this newsletter, email Joy Lile.