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Evergreen Stroll by Jahla Brown, DCYF ESIT Partnership & Collaboration Specialist
“Part of the problem is that we tend to think that equality is about treating everyone the same, when it’s not. It’s about fairness. It’s about equity of access.” – Judith Heumann, American disability rights activist, known as the "Mother of the Disability Rights Movement."
Please note that there will be no issue of the ESIT Weekly sent out Fri., July 19, due to ESIT's Combined Parent Institute for Engagement (PIE) and State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC) Meeting, hosted in-person, in Colville, WA on Wed., July 17. The ESIT Weekly will resume its regular schedule on Fri., July 26.
Thank you!
A Kids Book About Emotions
A Kids Book About Emotions by Nakita (she/her), art director, designer, illustrator: Emotions? emotions... EMOOOOTIONS! We all have them, they’re all different, and they’re rarely simple. This book helps kids explore the complexities of their emotions with stories, questions, and coloring activities made for self-expression. What color do you feel like today?
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“Every time we carry an eagle feather, that’s sovereignty. Every time we pick berries, that’s sovereignty. Every time we dig roots, that’s sovereignty.” -Billy Frank Jr., Nisqually
Each week, DCYF ESIT Tribal Program Consultant, Brian Frisina, provides a key topic to help us get to know our Tribal Nation Partners better.
This week’s term is:
Indigenous civil rights documentary FISH WAR
“The right of taking fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations is further secured to said Indians in common with all citizens of the Territory, and of erecting temporary houses for the purpose of curing, together with the privilege of hunting and gathering roots and berries on open and unclaimed lands …”
— Article 5, Treaty of Point Elliott, 1855
The life and legacy of Salmon Warrior
Billy Frank, Jr. was a tireless advocate for Indian treaty rights and environmental stewardship, whose activism paved the way for the “Bolt decision,” which reaffirmed tribal Co-management of salmon resources in the state of Washington:
In 1974, a conservative federal judge upheld Indigenous fishing rights in Washington, ending violent clashes with law enforcement and laying the foundation for environmental stewardship in this locally produced activism documentary (1:59):
Read more about the Indigenous civil rights documentary FISH WAR premiere at Seattle International Film Festival:
Sources
New ESIT Practice Guide! Late Referrals: Timelines and Requirements
The new ESIT Practice Guide, Late Referrals: Timelines and Transition Requirements is now available on the Practice Guidance page of the ESIT website under the dropdown titled Transition.
This Practice Guide explains timelines, requirements and strategies to expedite services for children referred to ESIT close to their third birthday. Information on late referrals was previously included in the Late Services-Provision and Documentation Practice Guide, but removed during its July 2023 update. The Washington Late Referrals to Part C Timeline (2019) has been removed from the ESIT website and is now included in the Late Referrals: Timelines and Transition Requirements Practice Guide.
Highlights include:
- Clarification of the criteria and requirements for each of the three categories of late referrals.
- Strategies to expedite services, for each of the three categories.
- Tips and requirements for communicating with families for each category of referral.
- Example scenarios.
Much gratitude goes to the following groups for their collaboration and feedback:
- County Lead Agencies representatives.
- ESIT Service Providers from ESIT Provider Agencies across WA State.
- Office of Special Education Programs.
- Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center.
For questions about the Practice Guide, please contact your regional Technical Assistance Specialist or ESIT Service Delivery/Technical Assistance Manager, Laurie Thomas, at laurie.thomas@dcyf.wa.gov.
Natural Environments Practice Guide Updated
The updated Natural Environments Practice Guide is now available on the Practice Guidance page of the ESIT website under the dropdown titled, Developing the Individualized Family Service Plan.
This Practice Guide explains requirements and evidence-based practices for providing and documenting services in natural environments.
Changes from the currently posted version of the Natural Environments Practice Guide include:
- Updated terminology, formatting and accessibility.
- Expanded description of natural learning opportunities.
- Clarification of service setting, method, strategy and intensity as relate to natural environment requirements, decisions, and documentation.
- Clarification of issues regarding groups and natural environment requirements.
- Move from former reliance on acceptable justification reasons to acceptable justification processes.
- Detailed example of an acceptable justification process, plan, and documentation.
- Expanded resource and citation section.
- New decision-making flow chart: Does the Service Meet Natural Environments Requirements?
Much gratitude goes to the following groups for their collaboration and feedback:
- State Interagency Coordinating Council Service Delivery Committee.
- County Lead Agencies representatives.
- ESIT Service Providers from ESIT Provider Agencies across WA State.
For questions about the Practice Guide, please contact your regional Technical Assistance Specialist or ESIT Service Delivery Technical Assistance Manager, Laurie Thomas, at laurie.thomas@dcyf.wa.gov.
Late Referrals Practice Guide Webinar
This webinar will provide:
- A brief overview of the Late Referrals Practice Guide- highlights and changes.
- A run-through on how to use the Late Referrals Practice Guide and Washington Late Referrals to Part C Timeline to determine transition requirements and practices for individual children.
- An opportunity to have previously submitted questions answered.
- An opportunity to submit new questions, which will be answered after the webinar.
This webinar will not provide in-depth training. For more information on Late Referrals practices, refer to the Late Referrals: Timelines and Transition Requirements Practice Guide or contact your regional Technical Assistance Specialist or the Service Delivery/Technical Assistance Manager, Laurie Thomas (laurie.thomas@dcyf.wa.gov).
July 23 | 12:30 - 2 p.m.
ASL interpretation and other supports are available to fully access this event. Complete this form to make a request. DCYF may not be able to accommodate requests made less than two weeks prior to the webinar.
Natural Environments Practice Guide Webinar
This webinar will provide:
- A brief overview of the updated Natural Environments Practice Guide.
- A run-through of two natural environments scenarios as a large group.
- An opportunity to have previously submitted questions answered.
- An opportunity to submit new questions, which will be answered after the webinar.
This webinar will not provide in-depth training. For more information on natural environments practices, refer to the Natural Environments Practice Guide or contact your regional Technical Assistance Specialist or ESIT Service Delivery/Technical Assistance Manager, Laurie Thomas, at laurie.thomas@dcyf.wa.gov.
Mon., July 29 | 11 - 12:30 p.m.
ASL interpretation and other supports are available to fully access this event. Complete this form to make a request. DCYF may not be able to accommodate requests made less than two weeks prior to the webinar.
Updated SAW FAQ Available
An updated SAW FAQ is available on ESIT's ACORN Data Management System page. Please use this updated guide to help create your SAW account and access ACORN. The changes to the process outlined in this document will help us reduce the number of duplicate accounts in ACORN and will reduce errors with caseload migration.
ACORN Go-Live and DMS Blackout Dates
We are all looking forward to the launch of the ACORN Data Management System. Our Users have been actively exploring the ACORN training environment for two months now. Insights and feedback that were shared with our team have helped program developers to identify and correct common bugs and glitches. Over the next several weeks, we will continue to engage with Users and learn about their experiences in the training environment and will finalize readiness criteria for the ACORN Go-Live in Production. At this point in time, the potential blackout dates aligned with the Go-Live date is still tentative. All of our Users and local administrators will be notified via Gov-Delivery once a Go-Live date has been confirmed and blackout dates have been established.
ACORN Office Hours
The ACORN Office Hours are an opportunity for ACORN Users to connect with the DSAT and PCG teams to ask questions and receive technical assistance. ACORN Office Hours are scheduled every Friday from 9 -10 a.m. The week of August 1, the ACORN Office Hours will move to Wednesdays at 1 p.m. You can join the Microsoft Teams Meeting using this link:
Meeting ID: 214 221 472 407
Passcode: 35ZAs6
Beginning June 7, we will implement a short training at the beginning of the ACORN Office Hours. The training will be a task specific learning opportunity. Topics for the upcoming weeks are:
- July 12 | 9 - 10 a.m. – User Roles,
- July 19 | 9 - 10 a.m. – Proxying as Another User,
- July 26 | 9 - 10 a.m. – Creating a Custom Report.
During our Office Hours, we will ask “How To” questions. Please submit your questions by Thursday to ESIT Data Systems and Analysis Manager, Kim Hopkins, at kim.hopkins@dcyf.wa.gov.
If you would like to report bugs or glitches, please submit these here.
If you would like to submit ideas for improvements and changes, please submit these here.
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You are invited to ESIT's upcoming July combined Parent Institute for Engagement & State Interagency Coordinating Council Meeting, which will be hosted in-person!
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Wed., July 17| 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. | Draft Agenda
Stevens County Sheriff’s Training Room
425 N Hwy, Colville, WA 99114
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 843 9083 7440
Passcode: 982761
Dial by your location:
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 213 338 8477 US (Los Angeles)
Meeting ID: 843 9083 7440 Passcode: 982761
For Review
The draft April meeting minutes and meeting materials have been posted to ESIT's SICC Meetings page for review. If there are needed edits to the April meeting minutes, please email Will Moncrease Jr.
SICC Direct List
If you would like your email added to the SICC direct email list to receive the agenda and meeting materials in advance of upcoming SICC meetings, email Will Moncrease Jr., with the subject: Add me to SICC DL.
Questions?
Please contact DCYF ESIT Partnership & Collaboration Manager, Will Moncrease, Jr., at will.moncrease@dcyf.wa.gov.
The Three Pronged Approach (TPA) is the required protocol to gather information for vision and hearing as a part of the creation of the present level of development (PLOD) in every initial IFSP and annual review.
What is the TPA?
Developed by the Washington Sensory Disabilities Services (WSDS), the TPA is a comprehensive protocol to identify risks factors for a child’s vision and hearing to lead to possible referral for medical evaluation and/or to Blind/Low Vision and/or Deaf/Hard of Hearing Providers.
The protocol includes tools to:
- review medical records and interview parents,
- identify developmental skills related to vision and hearing, and
- observe physical and behavioral characteristics.
Training is Available
Training modules on conducting the TPA are available now in the DCYF Training Portal for all ESIT Professionals. If you have questions, please contact your regional DCYF/ESIT Technical Assistance Specialist: Diana Golovkin at Diana.Golovkin@dcyf.wa.gov, Michelle Baker at Michelle.Baker@dcyf.wa.gov, or Iris Dunaway Dunaway@Iris.Dunaway@dcyf.wa.gov.
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Apply to be on the SICC
The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is recruiting members for the State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC)!
Currently 1 open position to be filled:
Below are the requirements:
- Parent of an infant, toddler, or child with a disability aged twelve or younger, who has knowledge of, or experience with, programs for infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities.
Apply on the Governor's website, and under 'Board Information,' select Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and Their Families, State Interagency Coordinating Council:
Apply for SICC Sub-Committees
The SICC Data, Finance, Personnel & Training, Public Policy, and Service Delivery Committees are accepting applications from qualified and interested individuals:
If you have any questions, please contact DCYF ESIT Partnership & Collaboration Manager, Will Moncrease, Jr., at will.moncrease@dcyf.wa.gov.
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We are currently seeking clinicians who provide early intervention services to participate in a research study. We invite those interested in using a digital, switch-accessible play kit with their clients for four weeks. The switch kit was co-designed with families and clinicians, and can be thought of as a high-tech switch adapted toy. You can learn more about the switch kit in this video here.
All participants will be provided with a switch kit, including an iPad, to be used for the duration of the study.
The study will include two, 1-hour sessions with the research team and completion of surveys during the 4-weeks you are using the switch kit. Participants will receive compensation of $50 and will have the opportunity to keep the switch kit for your clinic, without the iPad, upon the study's completion.
Questions?
For more details, kindly refer to the attached flyer. Should you have any inquiries or express an interest in participating, email Mia Hoff, PhD student, University of Washington, at miahoff@uw.edu, or by phone at (614) 561-7793 (text messages are preferred).
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Washington state has joined the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (ASLP-IC). Under the ASLP-IC, out-of-state audiologists and SLPs may obtain privilege to practice in Washington or any other participating member state. The purpose of entering into the ASLP-IC is to improve public access to audiology and speech-language pathology services.
The ASLP-IC is currently not accepting any applications from audiologists and SLPs but anticipates starting sometime in 2025.
For more information check out the ASLP-IC website or contact Kim-Boi Shadduck kim-boi.shadduck@doh.wa.gov, Board of Hearing and Speech Program Manager, WA DOH.
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Speech learning starts in the womb and a critical amount of learning already happens before infants turn age 1. My lab conducts research that helps us understand whether and how speech learning during the first year of life can be predictive of later language acquisition and if there are strategies that we can use to help improve speech learning during this period. In a most recent study (Zhao, Boorom, Kuhl & Gordon, 2021), we have demonstrated that how infant brains process speech at 11 months of age is highly predictive of their individual grammar skills at 6 years of age, measured with SPELT-3. More importantly, we were able to identify children who exhibited atypical language development at 6 years of age based on their infant brain data. We are currently conducting a large-scale study to further understand early signs of atypical language development in infant brains, with the hope to improve early diagnosis and early intervention. On the other hand, infant speech learning before the age of 1 is highly malleable by environmental factors, such as the quantity and quality of speech input. In a series of studies (Zhao & Kuhl, 2016, Zhao, Llanos, Chandrasekaran, & Kuhl, 2022), we have shown that even a lab-based music intervention affects infant speech learning. The goal of the course is to give an overview of the state-of-the-art neuroscience research in infant speech learning, and to discuss potential ways to incorporate research findings into SLP clinical practice.
What Can Infants’ Brain Activities Tell Us About Speech Learning?
Wednesday, September 25 | 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Cost
- WSLHA Members - $35
- WSLHA Non-Members - $50
- ASHA CEU Members - $5
- ASHA CEU Non-Members - $7
For additional information and to register, visit the WSLHA website at: https://wslha.org/.
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My name is Chia-Cheng Lee. I am a speech language pathologist at Akin/Childhaven. I am conducting a research study in collaboration with School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Moravian University. We are interested in learning more about the experiences, perceptions, and support needs of Mandarin-speaking, first-generation immigrant parents of children with communication delays.
See attached flyers for more information:
Questions? Contact Dr. Chia-Cheng Lee, at chiachenglee2020@gmail.com, or call (206) 536-0706.
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Emergency Broadband Benefit Funds Available
The WA Office of Broadband has funds available to assist families with internet costs. More details on this benefit and how to apply are located here.
Discounted Internet Service Available to Low-Income Households
The federal Affordable Connectivity Program offers eligible households a high-speed internet plan for no more than $30 per month. More details on this program and how to apply are located here.
Digital Navigation Toolkit Available
Digital Health Navigators are individuals who address the whole digital inclusion process - connectivity, devices, and digital skills - to support community members and provide access to healthcare. The National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers (NCTRC) has released a new toolkit that provides helpful resource links relating to digital navigation.
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Workshops offered by the Infant Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Workforce Collaborative are free for professionals who serve or support children prenatal to five and their families enrolled in Apple Health (Medicaid).
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IECMH Clinical Workshops are designed for clinical professionals involved in mental health assessment and diagnosis for children birth to five.
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IECMH Community Workshops are intended for all professionals who support the social-emotional well-being of babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and their families, as well as expecting families.
For more information visit:
CEUs and/or STARS hours are provided for most workshops.
Questions? Contact admin@wa-aimh.org.
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