Proposed Rules | Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program
The DCYF Early Learning Division filed WSR 24-08-066 to open the public comment period on proposed amendments to WAC 110-425-0030, Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) Definitions. The Fair Start for Kids Act (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5237) directs DCYF to establish a definition of an Indian child that will be used for ECEAP enrollment.
The definition will include federally recognized Tribal members and increase clarity around which children are eligible for enrollment as an Indian child into ECEAP programming. The definition needs to be in rule by July 1, 2024.
Submit Comments
To participate in the permanent rulemaking process for these rules, the last day to submit feedback on the proposed rules is Tuesday, May 7, 2024. You can provide feedback using one of the following methods:
Equal weight is given to all comments, whether they are made online, by email, or voicemail.
For questions about DCYF rules, email dcyf.rulescoordinator@dcyf.wa.gov.
Welcome Shannel Squally-Janzen, Office of Tribal Relations Tribal Preventive Services Specialist
haʔł sləx̌il. txʷəl gʷəlapu, gʷəlapu dʔiišəd, dsyayayəʔ. Shannel Squally-Janzen tsi dsdaʔ. spuyaləpabš čəd. Robert Hanft (Coats) ti sdaʔ ʔə ti dbad. Sally Hanft tsi sdaʔ ʔə tsi dsk’ʷuy. Rita Clark tsi sdaʔ ʔə tsi dkayəʔ. Good Day. To all of you, all of you are my beloved people, my relations. Shannel Squally-Janzen is my name. I am a Puyallup tribal member. Robert Hanft (Coats) is my father’s name. Sally Hanft is my mother’s name. Rita Clark is my grandmother’s name.
I have a husband, two biological children, and many other children who have become a part of our family. My previous work and my passion are Indian Child Welfare. I earned my Master of Social Work from the University of Washington Tacoma. I completed my school practicums at Chief Leschi Schools, the Native American Community and Child Welfare Advocates, and the Suquamish Tribal Indian Child Welfare Department. I previously worked at the Puyallup Tribe’s Wrap Around Program as the Program Manager. I also worked as the Extended Support Services Caseworker and the Family Voluntary Services Caseworker for Puyallup Tribe’s Children’s Services. I am involved with the Native Action Network and have graduated from the Legacy of Leadership and the Advocacy Bootcamp. I have been a foster parent and guardianship parent, licensed through the Puyallup Tribe. I have personal experience working with the child welfare system through foster care and relative placement. I also have experience navigating mental health challenges and services with family members. I have always had a strong passion for helping families and trying to work through generational trauma.
I am excited and passionate about my new position at DCYF in the Office of Tribal Relations. My title is Tribal Preventive Services Specialist. From my work in child welfare, I have seen a significant need for culturally appropriate prevention services for our Native families and this position will be able to work with the community to bring more culturally appropriate services to our families.
I enjoy sewing, beading, hiking, spending time with family, traveling, attending cultural events, speaking Twulshootseed, and learning new things.
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Native Farm to School Grant
Native Farm to School is a youth-centered food sovereignty project under First Nations Development Institute’s Nourishing Native Foods and Health Program. A new USDA Food and Nutrition grant of $500,000 will support the project, “Native Food Sovereignty for Native Youth,” and Native Farm to School programs across Indian Country. The project incorporates traditional foods and practices, language, land stewardship, and Indigenous knowledge into their education programs. Applications due April 30, 2024, at 5 p.m. Mountain Time.
Visit the First Nations Development Institute for information and to apply.
FY2024 Community Supervision Strategies
Through the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)’s Community Supervision Strategies program, community supervision agencies may receive funding and technical assistance to reduce recidivism among, and improve outcomes for, people under supervision by using one or more of the swift, certain, and/or fair principles of intervention.
The grants.gov deadline to apply is April 29, 2024.
For information and to apply, visit www.ojp.gov.
Early Learning Facilities Grants for Public School Districts
The 2025-2027 Early Learning Facilities (ELF) funding round for public school districts will open April 30, 2024. Funded projects must:
- Result in an increase in early learning capacity
- Commit to reserving spaces for either the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and/or the Working Connections Child Care Program (WCCC)
- Participate in Early Achievers
- Commit to maintaining the site as an early learning facility for at least 10 years
Projects include major construction and renovation grants, including for facility acquisition. Projects that have already completed are not eligible to apply and costs incurred before July 1, 2024, are not eligible for reimbursement. Awards may not exceed $1,101,946 per project.
Applications are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
To apply for the grant, visit the ZoomGrants application link.
Head Start and Child Care Research Dissertation Grants
Two new 2024 funding opportunities for Early Childhood Dissertation Research are now open. This research grant program offers funding for one or two year research projects that conduct rigorous qualitative, quantitative, or secondary research analyses and have the capacity to inform policy and practice decisions and solutions, particularly for underserved/understudied populations.
Visit The Administration for Children and Families (hhs.gov) for information.
Child Welfare Virtual Expo
May 22–23, 2024
This year’s Child Welfare Video Expo (CWVE), Leading from Where You Are, will bring together child welfare leaders and professionals from federal organizations, states, tribes, territories, and local organizations, as well as families and young people with lived experience. Attendees will engage in online discussions and real-time learning opportunities about key components of transformational and inspirational leadership in child welfare.
Visit Child Welfare Virtual Expo 2024 to register.
2024 Turtle Talk: Collectively Raising Indige-babies
Registration is now open for the 2024 Turtle Talks, a new Brazelton Touchpoints Center Family to Family Real Talk free virtual conversation series. This is a four-part series, convened through the Indigenous Early Learning Collaborative (IELC) with Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, Ed.D., IELC Institute Director, Co-Founder, and Principal Consultant at First Light Education Project.
Episodes will be on Fridays from 12 to 1:30 p.m. PST.
- Episode 1: May 24, 2024
- Episode 2: September 13, 2024
- Episode 3: September 27, 2024
- Episode 4: October 18, 2024
Learn more and register at Brazelton Touchpoints.
Early Learning Engagement Session
Join the Office of Indian Education (OIE) for a conversation to learn about the Department's Pre-K-3 Early School Success Agenda and available resources. You will also hear from OIE grantees and be invited to share your insights and experience on supporting young learners in the early grades.
Register here.
Indian Child Welfare Consultant - Tribal Liaison (SHPC4)/DCYF
Position closes: April 29, 2024, 11:59 p.m.
Apply online: Indian Child Welfare Consultant - Tribal Liaison (governmentjobs.com)
Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Social Science/University of Alaska Southeast
Position closes: May 7, 2024
Apply online: Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Social Science
Changes to Head Start Eligibility Criteria
"The President has signed a fiscal year 2024 (FY24) spending bill, funding Head Start programs through the remainder of the fiscal year with additional funds for a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). It also changes eligibility criteria for Regions XI and XII — American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) grant recipients."
Visit house.gov to read the bill in detail.
Washington State Learning Standards Review | OSPI
Regional coordinators from Educational Service Districts around the state are hosting learning standards feedback sessions during April and May 2024. Attendees will review draft versions of the revised learning standards. Each event begins with introductions to the project by Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) staff and provides opportunities for individual and group feedback to be submitted directly to OSPI. Select the content area to find more information and links to register for the events:
For more information, visit ospi.k12.wa.us.
Educator Preparation Program Newsletter
Check out the Spring 2024 edition of the Educator Preparation Program Newsletter, made available by the Washington State Professional Educator Standards Board. The quarterly Since Time Immemorial newsletter provides resources, research, and updates on the work of integrating Native sovereignty curricula into practice, in Washington state and beyond.
For more, visit www.pesb.wa.gov.
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National Indian Nations Conference
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has announced that this year's National Indian Nations Conference will be held from Dec. 10-13, at the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Reservation.
For information and to register, visit www.cvent.com.
MMIWP Community Resources & Events
The following events have been created by community organizers and partners in the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) space:
Mini Pow wow | Fostering Current & Future Generations
Join the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation on Friday, May 31, 2024, from 4 - 9 p.m. at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center to honor Native foster children and their families.
Contact fostercare@unitedindians.org for more information.
Other Upcoming Community Events
Renewal Pow wow | Suquamish Tribe
April 26-28, 2024, at the House of Awakened Culture in Suquamish, WA.
Visit Renewal Powwow – The Suquamish Tribe for information.
37th Annual Honor of our Children Pow wow | Kelso, WA
May 18, 2024, from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Kelso High School, 1904 Allen St.
Visit kelsochildrenpowwow.wixsite.com for information.
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Washington Family Support Network Webinar
May 1 | 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. ET.
Co-presented with Children's Home Society of America
This webinar will detail the impressive success story of how the Children's Home Society of Washington (now Akin) saw the value of establishing a state Network of Family Resource Centers and secured bipartisan legislative support and significant public and private funding to launch it in 2021.
Thriving and Healthy Kids Virtual Conversation
April 23, 2024 | 10 to 11 a.m. PT
Join the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services parent leaders, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Prevent Child Abuse America for a virtual conversation about how communities can support families to create bright futures for all children. This event aims to promote a deeper understanding of Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their implications for lifelong health. We will hear from partners and parents on the role we all play to ensure children and families can thrive.
Register at Register-Fireside-Chat.
Michigan, Salt River Pima Tribe Approved for Federal Kinship Support | The Imprint
"Late last month the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the first state and tribe have had their alternative path to licensing kin approved: Michigan and the Salt River Pima Tribe of Arizona."
Read the full article: Michigan, Pima Tribe Approved for Federal Kinship Support (imprintnews.org)
Healing the Children of Horse Nations | The Imprint
"The Forward Stride sessions are among a growing number of similar equine-centered treatment programs that Spence has contributed to in the area, part of what he described as 'a movement towards Indigenizing therapy options' for struggling youth on reservations and in foster care."
Read the full article: Healing the Children of Horse Nations (imprintnews.org)
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