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The 2024 PATNC Blue Ribbon Affiliates have been announced and two HVSA programs have been awarded this Quality Endorsement: Columbia Basin Health Association PAT and St. James Family Center PAT programs as Blue Ribbon Affiliates! Congratulations on all your hard work! The full list of programs can be found here.
This special FAN training is designed to support ED’s and Program Managers from HVSA contracted home visiting programs by providing a framework for applying the principles of reflective supervision to leadership. It is designed to help you recruit, develop, and retain skilled staff; to maintain financial viability, and to strengthen programming to fulfill your program’s mission and achieve outcomes. Agency Leader FAN presents a model that incorporates reflection and attunement into the strategic, administrative, and staff development roles that you have. There is no cost to attend, but space is limited; to reserve a spot, please email nina.evers@dcyf.wa.gov.
March 6 & 13, 2025
9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is offering Positive Indian Parenting (PIP) Train-the-Trainer trainings at no cost! For more information, or to register, visit https://dcyf.wa.gov/tribal-relations/training.
Apply for the ACF Tribal MIECHV Program by March 17. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will provide up to $3,000,000 to help tribes run high-quality, culturally grounded, and evidence-based home visiting programs. The Tribal MIECHV Program connects American Indian and Alaska Native families and children to resources and support to improve family and child outcomes. Federally recognized Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations are eligible to apply. Apply by March 17, 2025.
Our next office hours will be Feb. 20, 2025, at 3 p.m. Join here. The focus will be will an updated HVSA Training and Learning Supports Overview.
Birth Doula Benefit now at Apple Health
Every 3 years, the Department of Health (DOH) releases the Maternal Mortality Review Panel Report (MMRP). Many audiences in Washington, including lawmakers, health care providers, and social service organizations use this document. The MMRP examines maternal death data, identifies inequities and contributing factors, and offers actionable recommendations to prevent future deaths.
In the 2023 MMRP report, expanding access to doulas1 emerged as a key recommendation to save lives, reduce bias, and improve perinatal health outcomes. Acting on this guidance, Washington legislators approved a maximum reimbursement of $3,500 per doula per client – the highest in the country. This milestone helps make sure doula services are recognized and valued as essential care.
Following legislative approval, the Health Care Authority (HCA) launched the Apple Health birth doula benefit on January 1, 2025. The benefit covers one prenatal intake visit, labor, and delivery support, and up to 20 hours for additional prenatal or postpartum visits, including 1 comprehensive postpartum visit. Birth doulas must be certified by DOH to get reimbursed for services provided to Apple Health clients. Since launching in October 2023, the program has certified 106 birth doulas.
Developing and implementing this benefit and the joint statewide recommendation for doula services letter involved close collaboration between DOH, HCA, and community partners. The Birth Equity Project and the Washington State Perinatal Collaborative core team provided invaluable insights. Surge Reproductive Justice, a DOH and HCA contractor, hosted 6 “Family Tour” events to gather feedback, educate communities, and strengthen Washington’s doula network.
This initiative marks a significant step in turning policy recommendations into action, advancing equity, and improving birth outcomes for Apple Health clients. However, more work remains to enact the MMRP recommendation of full doula access throughout pregnancy and 1 year postpartum.
New Language Options Enhance WIC Access for Families Across Washington State
Read the full news release to learn how the new language options in the mobile app enhance WIC access for families across Washington.
Spring 2025 Foundational Training Schedule
Start Early’s HVSA-funded Foundational trainings have concluded for the fall, but you can now register for these trainings coming up from January through June! Please note: Home visitors and Supervisors from HVSA programs are given registration priority for these trainings.
Cross-Model Activities
Home Visitor Peer Connection – February 19th (10-11)
Home Visitor Peer Connections provide an open space for home visitors across the state to connect with each other about their work. Topics for each section are co-created based off of themes identified by participants. Our next session will be held on Wednesday, February 19th (10-11) – to sign up, please click here and contact Adrienne Matthias (amatthias@startearly.org) or Alex Patricelli (apatricelli@startearly.org) with any questions.
Each month, DCYF ESIT Tribal Program Consultant Brian Frisina will provide a key topic to help support us all in getting to know our Tribal Nations partners better.
This month’s topic is:
Learn About Northwest Treaty Tribes
Tribes. Treaty Rights. That’s what we’re all about. The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission has been around since 1974, supporting tribes in the exercise of their treaty rights. One way we’ve helped is by telling the story of the tribes protecting and restoring natural resources. So, NWIFC launched a communications effort called Northwest Treaty Tribes: Protecting Natural Resources for Everyone.
The 20 treaty Indian tribes in western Washington are leaders in efforts to protect and restore natural resources in the region. At the heart of those efforts are rights reserved by the tribes in treaties with the U.S. government. Tribes reserved rights to harvest fish, shellfish, wildlife and other natural resources in exchange for most of the land that makes up the region today. Because all natural resources are connected, and because of their role as co-managers with the state, treaty tribes are active in every aspect of natural resources management in western Washington. As a result, tribal treaty rights and natural resources management efforts are protecting and enhancing natural resources for everyone. Learn more:
About Northwest Treaty Tribes
Below are resources and opportunities to engage:
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
In Richard Rothstein's book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, argues with exacting precision and fascinating insight how segregation in America—the incessant kind that continues to dog our major cities and has contributed to so much recent social strife—is the byproduct of explicit government policies at the local, state, and federal levels.
Richard Rothstein, Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and a Senior Fellow (emeritus) at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, lectures on his book (49:22):
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As communities around Los Angeles continue to navigate the impacts of a historic series of wildfires, it is clear that wildfire smoke increasingly affects the daily lives of millions of Americans. Wildfire smoke presents a major threat to the health and development of young children, and it is critical that we understand its impacts. We must also implement available solutions to protect young children while taking action to limit the burning of fossil fuels like oil, coal, and gas, which is worsening the conditions that lead to longer, more frequent, and more intense wildfires. Solutions can be implemented in ways that help safeguard all the places where children spend time, including homes, early care centers, schools, businesses, and communities. A wide range of strategies already exists to protect children from the threat of wildfire smoke. In a new brief, the Early Childhood Scientific Council on Equity and the Environment (ECSCEE) examines how wildfire smoke impacts children’s development and health and shares strategies and solutions for protecting children.
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Maternal Mental Health in Home Visiting: Addressing Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Nearly half of parents with children under age 18 cited completely overwhelming levels of stress in 2023, reflecting a widening gap compared to other adults. Our latest Research Snapshot brief looks at home visiting models and strategies that address maternal mental health needs, including depression, anxiety, and stress.
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