DCYF Awards Nearly $3.7M to Early Learning Programs Serving Tribal Children
Olympia, WA — Over 30 tribal-serving organizations, including 13 tribal nations, are receiving nearly $3.7 million in funds from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to provide early learning, child care, prenatal, and home visiting programs to tribal children.
The awardees include 34 tribes, tribal providers, and tribal-serving organizations, for a requested total of $3,698,869 in funds. This is the second round of Tribal Early Learning Funds (TELF) provided by DCYF in 2024; a previous round of grant funding was distributed in April for a total of $2.4 million.
Tribes receiving funding include:
- Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
- Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
- Nisqually Indian Tribe
- Nooksack Indian Tribe
- Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
- Puyallup Tribe
- Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe
- Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe
- Spokane Tribe of Indians
- Squaxin Island Tribe
- Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians
- Suquamish Tribe
- Tulalip Tribes
These funds will serve an estimated 1,671 students and tribal families across Washington state.
TELF is designed to provide resources to ensure early learning programs can best serve tribal children, ages prenatal to five, in an inclusive and culturally appropriate manner. Priorities are centered around language development, elder storytelling, outdoor-based learning, and incorporating traditional foods, music, and art in the classroom.
“These funds are being used in so many creative ways by our tribal-serving partners,” said Tleena Ives, DCYF Director of Tribal Relations. “We are incredibly excited to see the ways that these funds have helped to grow and foster ancestorial ties between tribes and their youngest learners.”
For information about TELF, contact the Office of Tribal Relations at dcyf.tribalrelations@dcyf.wa.gov.
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Contact:
Nancy Gutierrez, Communications Administrator | 360-742-6418 |nancy.gutierrez@dcyf.wa.gov
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