A Little Book About Activism by Courtney Ahn
A little book with a big goal! This book aims to give kids the building blocks to develop strong principles of care, empathy, and community.
This book was made to introduce little ones aged 0-4 to this important topic, because they’re never too young to make a difference in the world and their communities!
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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 Tribal elder, environmental leader and advocate of treaty rights
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:
What is Tribal Sovereignty?
Tribal sovereignty, the right for tribes to make their own laws and be governed by them, predates the United States. Learn more about the importance of tribal sovereignty in Washington (watch time 3:22):
February 2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of the decision in U.S. v Washington, a federal case that changed the way natural resources are managed in Washington state. Here's what you need to know about the Boldt decision (watch time 2:47):
Treaty tribes mark 50th anniversary of the Boldt decision
February 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the decision in U.S. v Washington, a federal case that changed the way natural resources are managed in Washington state. View a selection of media coverage of the 50th anniversary of US v. WA:
Sources
Please join the Early Support for Infants & Toddlers (ESIT) State Leadership Team in recognizing and celebrating Kim Hopkins as the honored recipient of the prestigious Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG) - Spotlight on Success – Washington State Employee Recognition Award! This distinguished award celebrates Kim’s outstanding contributions and dedication to our military-connected community across the state of Washington!
The Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs recognizes Veterans Day as a time to honor and elevate the brave servicemembers who have served in all branches of the United States Armed Forces. Each year there is a special ceremony that serves as an opportunity for everyone to come together as a community to express gratitude and appreciation for people just like Ms. Kim Hopkins, for their dedication, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to our military-connected individuals!
Ms. Hopkin’s academic achievements are vast and deep. She earned her Master’s degree in Financial Management and Information Systems (2018) and Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration (2016) from the University of Maryland. Both degrees were conferred with Summa cum Laude designations signifying degrees earned with the highest educational honor and distinction. She also holds an Associate of Science degree in Business Operations Management (2014) from Fayetteville Technical Community College in North Carolina.
For the past 15 years Kim’s professional career has focused on serving, supporting, and championing the aspirations and goals of those around her. While serving in the military (October 2010 through April 2015) both abroad and in the United States, she provided executive managerial services that included account management, fiduciary oversight, reconciliations of information technology and validation of system metrics, and preparation of long-range costs estimates for use of funds to advance specific organizational military projects and programs. Kim joined the Early Childhood Education & Assistance Program (ECEAP) in 2015 and successfully advanced into the world of Information Technology with the ESIT Program in 2017. In her current position as the ESIT Data Systems & Analysis Manager, Kim is responsible for direct administrative oversight of the development, implementation, evaluation, and ongoing improvement of the comprehensive state data management and reporting system. As a result of her leadership, leaders and influencers can make data-informed policy decisions and/or recommendations to improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, and their families.
Ms. Hopkins also engaged in extensive volunteer work over the past 8 years. Examples include serving the Mom2Mom Bavaria as the Financial Director (2019-2021) and the Washington State Combined Fund Drive as the Agency Campaign Chair (2017-2018). Ongoing volunteer work includes serving as the Chapter Leader (2019-Present) for the Military Birth Resource Network and Agency Representative with the Washington State Veterans Employee Readiness Group (2017-Present). Kim holds multiple certifications including Six Sigma Black Belt (2014), Certified Birth and Bereavement Doula (2019), and Military Lactation Counselor (2022).
Ms. Hopkins is receiving the 2024 Washington State Employee Recognition Award at the “A Legacy of Loyalty and Service” Ceremony being held onsite at the Washington State Capitol Legislative Building on November 6. At this special ceremony, Ms. Hopkins will be presented with the VERG Challenge Coin and a Certificate of Appreciation. In addition, she will have a spotlight feature on the VERG website.
Congratulations and accolades abound for Kim from all of us, across the early support landscape in Washington State!
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PIE is ESIT’s 12-month training program designed for parents or caregivers with children who have received early intervention services through an ESIT program. The goal of PIE is to enhance the leadership and advocacy skills of participants so they can become active leaders in their communities.
We’d like to introduce you to Nicole:
I’m excited to join the PIE Cohort 7 team. My early intervention journey began with my daughter, now 11, who received speech therapy. Since then, my husband, Stephen, and I have navigated additional services for our son, Gabe, including speech therapy and infant-toddler education, after a complex experience with family services that has profoundly impacted our family journey.
As a mental health facilitator and somatic trauma therapist in Anacortes, I’m eager to bring my professional and personal experiences to PIE, with the goal of supporting families across Washington. I’m looking forward to building advocacy skills, becoming a better speaker, and connecting with like-minded individuals passionate about positive change. With three children, I’ve learned the value of advocacy, resilience and the power of community. As a forever student, I’m thrilled to be part of this journey.
Welcome to PIE, Nicole!
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In an effort to prepare for the launch of ACORN, the ESIT Data Systems and Analysis Team will be hosting number of ACORN training sessions throughout November and December covering several ACORN related topics. You can sign up for the following training sessions today!
ACORN for Beginners
This session is ideal for those users who haven’t begun exploring the ACORN platform. We’ll cover user roles, the login process, basic navigation skills, and more. Click below to register:
ACORN for Transition Service Partners
Are you a school district partner who missed the September ACORN training sessions? Then you’re in luck! Join a repeat session where we’ll cover: the login process, navigational tips, and your ACORN access. Click below to register:
ACORN Administrative Functions
This session is designed to teach Lead FRCs, Lead Agency Managers, and Agency Managers how to navigate the administrative functions available in ACORN. Check out one of these training sessions to learn about managing agency and provider data, and how to navigate user management functions. Click below to register:
Don’t worry if you aren’t able to make it to one of these sessions. The Data Systems and Analysis Team will be sending out additional training topics and dates soon!
Questions?
If you have specific questions about ACORN development and support activities, please contact ESIT Data Systems and Analysis Manager, Kim Hopkins, at Kim.Hopkins@dcyf.wa.gov.
For technical assistance with accessing and/or navigating the ACORN training environment, please contact ESIT.Help@dcyf.wa.gov.
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The ESIT state leadership team plans to highlight individual providers or ESIT provider agencies that are demonstrating one or more of the Seven Key Principles in their work in a new section of the ESIT Weekly titled Key Principles in Action. This new section will help us recognize the high-quality agencies and efforts of individual providers across the ESIT statewide system. Nominators will remain anonymous (though we may contact you for more details about your nomination).
Principles
- Families are equal partners who bring to the team skills, experience and
knowledge about their child; and, are the final decision makers as to what
will work best for their family.
- Early intervention recognizes that family relationships are the central focus in the life of an infant or toddler.
- Infants and toddlers learn best through everyday experiences and interactions with familiar people in familiar settings.
- The early intervention process, from initial contact to transition, must be responsive, flexible and individualized to reflect the child’s and family’s priorities, learning styles and cultural beliefs.
- All families, with the necessary supports and resources, can enhance their children’s learning and development.
- The role of the service provider is to work in a team to support Individualized Family Service Plan functional outcomes, based on child and family needs and priorities.
- Early intervention practices must be based on the best available current evidence and research.
Read and download ESIT's Guiding Concepts.
Submit Your Nomination!
To make a nomination, please complete the form linked below:
As 2025 is quickly approaching, we are gearing up for our annual Unsung Hero campaign in honor of Parent Recognition month (February) and we are hoping you can help us spread the word far and wide.
Since 2011, with your help, we have honored 366 parents and caregivers in Washington for the roles they have taken with their families, schools and communities. They have been recognized because they have shown strength, courage and empathy in their communities. Parents and caregivers around Washington State are supporting their children, families, and communities in exceptional ways and we want to show our appreciation. Please help us in honoring 28 more in February 2025 by nominating a parent/primary caregiver/guardian/community members for the Unsung Hero award. The nomination form is available in three languages (English, Spanish and Somali). A parent panel will select an honoree for each day in February and then all honorees (including their family or supporters) and their nominators will be invited to an in-person celebratory dinner event in Olympia.
All nominations must be submitted by January 3, 2025. The nominations can be emailed to strengtheningfamilies@dcyf.wa.gov.
Save the Date
We hope that you will join us for the 2025 Infant and Early Childhood Conference (IECC), May 5-9, 2025 hosted completely virtual via Zoom.
Call for Presenters
IECC is currently seeking proposals for its 2025 conference. The IECC Conference is well known within the State of Washington for providing high quality, evidence based training for families and professionals working with young children (ages birth to eight) and their families.
- If you or someone you know may be interested in submitting a proposal - please submit proposals no later than Monday, January 13, 2025. To apply online, click here.
- IECC will be evaluating session proposals using a Rubric developed by DEC - we encourage presenters review our selection criteria before submitting their proposal.
IECC Partnership Opportunity
IECC is so thankful for its many community partners. Due to their support IECC has been able to shift its platform and offer the conference registration complimentary for all attendees the past few years. If your organization would be willing to partner with us please email the conference coordinator, Amanda Cardwell directly at amandacardwell@frontier.com.
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DaSy State of the State Map
A high-quality statewide data system provides the information needed to address important questions about early intervention and early childhood special education. DaSy has updated its State of the States Maps with 2023 data on the national status of features of high quality Part C and 619 data systems. Respondents provided information on the following 11 features, which are included in the maps:
- Child-Level Data Systems
- Child Data Elements Linked or in 1 System
- Workforce-Level Data Systems
- Child Data Linked to Workforce Data
- Unique Child ID
- Same Unique Child ID in Part C & Part B 619
- Part C Child Data Linked to Part B 619 Data
- Child Data Linked to Other Early Childhood Education Data
- Child Data Linked to K-12 General Education Data
- Data Governance Body
- Child Data Linked to K-12 Special Education Data
Electronic surveys were sent to Part C and Part B 619 coordinators in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Watch for some forthcoming briefs summarizing more exciting findings from the data collection. State Part C or Part B 619 coordinators or data managers may provide information, make a correction, or request a copy of their responses by contacting DaSy.
Promoting First Relationships Parent Handouts are vetted and available in the following languages:
- English,
- Spanish,
- Somali,
- Arabic,
- French,
- German,
- Polish,
- Russian,
- Tagalog, and
- Ukrainian.
ESIT providers who have completed PFR level 1 training or higher can email pcpr@uw.edu to request copies of any of the above languages.
Languages coming soon:
- Amharic,
- Korean,
- Chinese Traditional, and
- Chinese Simplified.
30+ additional languages are awaiting review and will be released once vetted.
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This class will focus on creating and implementing low-tech communication systems for emerging communicators in and out of the classroom setting. The class will begin with a brief review of what is augmentative alternative communication (AAC). It will provide examples of no-tech, low-tech, mid-tech, and high-tech AAC systems. Participants will then learn the difference between a communication system and a classroom support. Designing and implementing a low-tech system will then be discussed. Participants will learn how to create low-tech communication systems and classroom supports using the PASS software.
Registration
Sat., November 2 | 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Live Webinar & Recording Available
Presenter: Shari Sayan, M.S., CCC-SLP
Learning Objectives
- Describe the difference between no-tech, low-tech, mid-tech, and high-tech AAC.
- Describe the difference between a communication system and a classroom support.
- Name two considerations when selecting vocabulary for a low-tech communication system.
Pricing
- WSLHA Members | $75
- WSLHA Non-Members | $99
- ASHA CEU Members | $5
- ASHA CEU Non-Members | $7
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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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