My Rainbow
written by Trinity Neal and Deshanna Neal, illustrated by Art Twink. A dedicated mom puts love into action as she creates the perfect rainbow-colored wig for her transgender daughter, based on the real-life experience of mother-daughter advocate duo Trinity Neal and Deshanna Neal (for reading ages 4-8 years):

My Rainbow

Add your celebratory notes to ESIT State Program Administrator, Valerie Arnold's, Thank You and Appreciation Padlet! Celebrating Val's years of dedication, service and collaboration as she transitions out of her leadership role and into retirement:

Val’s Appreciation Padlet

Important note: The Padlet we previously shared was accidentally cleared and the original goodbye messages unfortunately didn’t get saved, in case you didn’t see a note you already shared. The ESIT team would love for you to re-share anything you had written. Thanks again for your understanding and participation!

Skylar Saga is the rare provider who embodies all Seven Key Principles. As an intake supervisor, her approach to families is both respectful and compassionate, ensuring that each family feels heard and supported from the very first interaction. Skylar strives to make a personal connection with every family.

Skylar promotes families as equal partners. She consistently involves families in every aspect of the intake process, acknowledging their valuable input and recognizing them as the final decision-makers regarding what will work best for their child and family. She listens attentively and ensures their voices are at the forefront of planning.

Family relationships are central in ESIT. Skylar's understanding of the critical role family relationships play in a child's development is evident. She builds strong, trusting relationships with families, which helps create a sense of security during what can be a stressful time.

Skylar promotes learning through everyday experiences: Her ability to connect with families is rooted in her approach to helping them understand that early intervention can be integrated into their daily lives. She uses her firsthand experience as a mother who also received ESIT services to provide an example to families that their children's home-life and routines will not be interrupted but enhanced with ESIT services.

Skylar demonstrates an unwavering commitment to tailoring the intake process to meet the unique needs, learning styles, and cultural beliefs of each family. She adapts her approach to ensure every family feels supported and understood. She recognizes when a family has a concern that may be amplified by their unique experiences and she does everything she can to reassure the families while never brushing off their concerns.

Skylar empowers every family she meets by providing them with the resources and supports they need to enhance their child’s growth. She fosters a nonjudgmental, understanding environment where families feel confident in their ability to contribute to their child’s development.

Skylar treats every family as a member of the team with their providers. She relays the family’s needs, concerns and priorities to other team members. She communicates with the provider teams to make sure the intake team is always providing the correct information to families.

Key Principle 7, evidence-based practices, exemplifies one of Skylar's most admirable traits - striving to learn and grow. She's genuinely enthusiastic when bringing the latest ESIT state news to our intake meetings. She always makes sure all of our information is up to date. Skylar’s efforts in the intake process have made a lasting, positive impact on the families she serves. Her dedication to these principles is evident in everything she does, making her an invaluable asset to the Wonderland team. Skylar's example and leadership has a ripple effect, influencing how others in the organization approach their work with families and ultimately strengthening Wonderland’s approach to services.

Thank you, Skylar! 

Submit Your Nomination!

To make a nomination, please complete the Nomination Form. Read and download ESIT's Guiding Principles.

The ESIT State Leadership Office is pleased to announce the statewide rollout of the revised System of Payments and Fees (SOPAF) Policy and associated new forms.

The rollout will be done in the following two phases:

• 60-day Universal Training period will begin May 1 - June 30.
• 90-day Targeted and Tailored Technical Assistance period will begin July 1 - Sept. 30.

The revised SOPAF policy and forms will be available for soft implementation starting July 1, with full statewide implementation no later than Oct. 1. 

The Accountability and Quality Improvement team has scheduled two statewide orientation webinars in June. Participants (administrators, FRCs, fiscal staff) will be provided a detailed overview of the revised SOPAF policy, field expectations, and introduced to the new forms associated with the revised policy.   

If you missed the first webinar held on June 16, please plan to attend the following Teams Webinar (no registration required):

Monday June 16, 9-10:30 a.m.  
Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 275 391 099 457 1
Passcode: bZ9Jv7c8
Dial in by phone
+1 564-999-2000,,354537349#United States, Olympia
(833) 322-1218,,354537349#United States (Toll-free)
Phone conference ID: 354 537 349#

Monday, June 23 | 1:30-3 p.m.
Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 273 261 012 468 7
Passcode: Rt3xx74u
Dial in by phone
+1 564-999-2000,,793094422#United States, Olympia
(833) 322-1218,,793094422#United States (Toll-free)
Phone conference ID: 793 094 422#

Next Steps

After July 1, Contractors will have an opportunity to implement the revised policy and new forms and then schedule Targeted and/or Tailored Technical Assistance virtual visits with their Quality Improvement and Technical Assistance Specialists to answer any questions staff may have.

DCYF’s ESIT State Leadership Team and King County’s ESIT Lead Agency Team are partnering to host an ongoing meeting space to support ESIT Providers who work with immigrant and refugee families. The space will provide best practice training, guidance, resources, and reflective practice to ESIT Providers, in response to the evolving needs of families. Providers will have the opportunity to process, connect, and reflect with one another.

The launch session for this statewide group will be held on June 30! This first session will include a training, discussion, and reflection on the ESIT FAQs. This document provides potential and current families with important information about the enrollment process, what personal information is (and is not) collected, and the strong privacy protections in place to keep family data safe - especially as it relates to immigration status.

Who should attend?

Any Provider who works with immigrant and refugee families! For this first session, we highly recommend ESIT staff who support the intake/referral and evaluation/assessment process to attend.

Monday, June 30 | 9 -11 a.m.
Register for Supporting Providers Working with Immigrant and Refugee Families 

Questions?

Contact DCYF ESIT Technical Assistance Specialist, Molly Stryker, at molly.stryker@dcyf.wa.gov or King County Program Manager, Norma Renteria Lobo, at nrenteri@kingcounty.gov.