|
|
August 2025 Issue:
 Alliance Caregiver Retention, Education, and Support Program (CaRES) is a program that supports all current foster parents and kinship caregivers by providing the following:
- Support through the licensing process
- Support at key points, such as when a foster parent welcomes their first placement or when a kinship caregiver steps forward to care for a relative or child of a family friend
- Online and local support groups in different formats, including events, groups, and ongoing learning opportunities
- Supportive and helpful resources, including helping identify training opportunities
- Peer mentors who are current or former foster parents and kinship caregivers
Watch their new video
Visit the Alliance CaRES website for more information.
|
|
|
|
The dangers of High Potency Synthetic Opioids (HPSO) like fentanyl continue to impact communities across the nation and throughout Washington state.
Caregivers can learn more about the risk of fentanyl exposure for children and youth on the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) website.
New and Updated DOH Guidance
|
In March, DCYF made some changes to the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP). These updates were necessary due to budget changes and new state rules (WAC Chapter 110-85) that went into effect in May 2024. We want to share what’s changed and hear how it’s going for you.
What changed:
-
A New GAP Team at Headquarters: A dedicated team now manages GAP subsidies from start to finish, including help with subsidy changes and Extended GAP services.
-
Changes to Monthly Subsidy Calculations: DCYF updated how subsidy amounts are determined. The agency works with you to understand your family’s situation and your child’s needs to make sure the process is fair and consistent.
What DCYF looks at:
- Your child’s health, education, and other needs
- Your family’s size, income, and living expenses
Join Us for a Feedback Session
DCYF is hosting a virtual session to walk through the changes and to hear directly from you about how the changes are going. This is your opportunity to share how the new GAP process is working — or not working — for you. We want to know what’s helpful, what’s challenging, and what could be better. Your voice matters, and your feedback will help us improve the program for all families.
Monday, August 26, 2025, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Meeting Link
Meeting ID: 210 507 272 805 6
Passcode: wS672Hi7
Dial in by phone
+1 564-999-2000,,388055590# United States, Olympia
If you have any questions reach out to geene.delaplane@dcyf.wa.gov.
|
MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™ includes six to 10 foster or kinship families connected to an experienced caregiver known as the “Hub Home” forming a “constellation.”
Constellations are like an extended family, they are there to help with all parts of care for youth, and families and to build community supports and resources. gatherings to connect everyone in the Constellation through an extended family/network.
Program benefits include:
- Access to respite, training, mentoring, and community resources
- Monthly gatherings and social events
- Increased connections for caregivers, youth, and families
- More opportunities for sibling visits and reunification support
- Normalizing experiences for youth
If you are interested in being part of a MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™ community or want more information about the program, please fill out the inquiry form or attend one of the monthly information sessions:
Second Thursday of the month
Time: Noon and 7 p.m.
Mockingbird Family Monthly Info Session Link
Meeting ID: 297 838 975 850
Passcode: jN9yE37U
|
The new Kinship Licensing Standards — launched July 1 — include 50% less forms for applicants to fill out. The new standards also established a kinship home study with less questions than the current community foster care licensing process while still prioritizing safety.
Licensing is important because it opens up opportunities for financial reimbursement, respite, and other supports that help meet the needs of the children and youth being served as well as the caregivers themselves.
Additional Resources
|
You may qualify for free or low-cost child care through Washington state’s Child Care Subsidy program. It’s available to more families than ever, and signing up is as easy as 1, 2, 3.
If you qualify, you’ll pay no more than $165 a month. Some families pay nothing at all!
Apply online or by phone. Visit www.dcyf.wa.gov/childcare or call 844-626-8687. Help is available by phone in multiple languages.
Help spread the word! Pass this on to a family you know.
|
The Alliance for Professional Development, Training, and Caregiver Excellence
-
Cultural Humility — Aug. 7, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
This course provides participants with an overview of cultural humility and helps participants recognize the importance of honoring a child’s cultural identity. Course learnings include strategies for parents who are fostering or adopting to respect as well as navigate differences in values from the children and families while acknowledging imbalances of power and inequities. Register Here
-
Building Life Skills for Drug Impacted Children — Aug. 11, 6 to 9 p.m. This training will focus on how children exposed to prenatal substance use in their life have an increased chance of experiencing many effects, such as poor social, cognitive, and emotional development, physical, mental, and health issues, depression, anxiety, concentration and learning difficulties, trouble controlling their responses as well as other traumatic issues.
Register Here
Learn about all the upcoming classes.
Sign up to get these notices sent right to your inbox or explore the training calendar.
|
|
|
|
|
|
