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Over the next several newsletters we plan on highlighting a Strengthening Families Protective Factor that support families to stay strong and prevent child abuse and neglect. For more information, see the Protective Factors brief on our website, or visit the Center for the Study of Social Policy website.
This time we are focusing on Social and Emotional Development of Children as a protective factor.
Social and Emotional Development of Children means that parents understand where a child is at in their ability to regulate emotions, form secure attachments and explore and learn about their world. Of course, every child, every family and every situation will look a little bit different, and it’s important to remember there is a wide range, impacted by family, community and culture.
Children confident in their emotions are more likely to have healthier behaviors, peer relationships and a higher capacity to respond to stress. Families equipped with this developmental knowledge are more likely to have improved relationships and bonds within the family, and parents will find it easier to make informed parenting decisions and decrease their own stress regarding their children.
Some milestones are clear and concise and often related to the physical aspect of a child’s development – things like sitting, crawling, walking and fine motor skills. But others, no less important, include social and emotional milestones, like self-awareness, are harder to pinpoint.
Oftentimes these harder to observe milestones like social emotional competence, can be key indicators at what might be going on at home. Children often reflect back what they see and take their cues from the adults in their lives. When they don’t get the emotional response they are looking for, it can cause emotional outbursts. Showing your child respect and understanding in moments when they feel misunderstood, upset, or frustrated and/or validating their emotions and guiding them with trust and affection can help enhance the parent/child bond, which in turn can lessen parental stress during heightened emotions.
Think about it – Have you seen the still face experiment? Watch it here. Humans crave emotional connections with others, even early on. Think about how the infant reacts. How would your child react? How can you lift their day with positive emotions? Would that lift your day too?
Each April, people across the country join together during National Child Abuse Prevention Month to help raise awareness and promote ways we can all help to strengthen families in our communities.
As one of the organizations leading this campaign in our state, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families Strengthening Families Washington team would like to invite you to take part in Pinwheels for Prevention. Your participation could make a world of difference in the life of a child, family or community.
The pinwheel represents our efforts to change the way the state thinks about prevention, by focusing on programs and public policies that prioritize prevention right from the start. Strengthening Families Washington is the state chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, the leading organization working solely to prevent the abuse and neglect of our nation’s children. For more information, please visit: Prevent Child Abuse America.
Last year DCYF distributed around 15,000 pinwheels to communities around the state. Pinwheels for Prevention is a reminder that it is not enough to just respond to child abuse and neglect – we must build and support strong families through community engagement, programs, and policies. This movement works towards developing communities that are healthy, safe, and nurturing for all children and families.
This year, our pinwheel ordering process is looking a bit different. In order to accommodate credit card purchases, we are partnering with Department of Enterprise Services to facilitate pinwheel orders. You will be able to order directly from the DCYF portion of the MyPrint website, simply scroll down to Prevent Child Abuse Pinwheel, or enter pinwheel in the search bar. You will have the option to order by credit card or you can request to pay by check, once your check is received, DES will ship out the pinwheels. For both options, once payment is received, there is a three-day turnaround for the items.
Please note you will need to create a MyPrint account to be purchase the pinwheels. If your organization is tax exempt, there is a tax exempt button on the website as well. If you are placing an order larger than 960 (4 cases) please email us at strengtheningfamilies@dcyf.wa.gov so we can support you in receiving the lowest cost possible. You are able to place multiple orders at once as well as send to multiple recipients if needed.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) – the Prevent Child Abuse Washington State Chapter – is joining with other states and organizations across the nation to acknowledge the powerful work that parents, primary caregivers, and community members do every day to help children succeed. DCYF is participating in the month-long nationwide awareness and impact campaign: “Building a Hopeful Future, Together.”
In support of these efforts, Gov. Jay Inslee proclaimed April as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Washington State.
Every act that builds protective factors in families is an act of prevention and it cultivates an environment where all children can grow and flourish in Washington. This can be a parent spending quality time with their child, a child care provider sharing resources or connecting families, or a neighbor providing a meal to a family to reduce stress. Each pinwheel you see planted is a reminder of inspiration to support children in having positive childhoods.
The theme of this year’s Child Abuse Prevention Month campaign is centered on reminding us that it takes all of us working together to create the future we want for all children, and that by building strong foundations, we build a better world for everyone. Building healthy communities takes work. We all have a responsibility to ensure children have positive experiences, and help families have the resources they need, when they need them. Strong communities are built on stable foundations. Everyone benefits when we focus on addressing underlying causes that lead to health and social inequities. Sometimes, building for the future means deconstructing the past. Proactively addressing inequity and injustice allows us to support safe, stable, and nurturing environments.
DCYF recommends the following ways to help raise awareness and impact positive change virtually during this year’s Child Abuse Prevention Month:
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Follow DCYF on Facebook and share our posts widely — and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Use the hashtags #BuildingHopefulFutures and #CAPMonth to let us know you're committed to helping children, families, and entire communities to flourish.
- You can show support for promoting positive childhood experiences and preventing adversity by wearing blue on April 5 for #WearBlueDay to kick off CAP Month with momentum. Post a photo or video on social media and include the #WearBlueDay2024 hashtag. Download DCYF’s Child Abuse Prevention Month coloring page, or order the What Makes a Hero coloring book, or the Protective Factors coloring book, to create positive interactions with the children and families in your life.
- Plant a pinwheel – a visual reminder of the world we want for all children to grow up happy, healthy, and prepared to succeed. You can order pinwheels through DES here or click here plant one online in the virtual pinwheel garden. Proceeds from virtual pinwheels get deposited into the Washington State Children’s Trust Fund to support family support and prevention activities. All donations are tax-deductible, and funds go directly to your local state chapter to support local children and families
- Email strengtheningfamilies@dcyf.wa.gov for Pinwheel for Prevention stickers, temporary tattoos, posters, and more.
For more information, contact dcyf.strengtheningfamilies@dcyf.wa.gov.
Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention
Strengthening Families Washington (SFWA) at DCYF is pleased to announce that funding is available for program evaluation capacity-building for community-based child abuse and neglect prevention programs! We invite Requests for Application (RFAs) from Washington State organizations interested in child abuse and neglect prevention efforts. Please submit a letter of intent to apply by 5 p.m. on April 22, 2024.
Review the following documents:
This webpage will be updated with FAQs every Monday afternoon starting March 25. The final day to submit questions is 5 p.m. on April 24.
Please share this opportunity with community partners and organizations throughout the state. If you have any questions, please email dcyf.strengtheningfamilies@dcyf.wa.gov.
Perinatal Mental Health Community Capacity Building
Strengthening Families Washington (SFWA) at the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) in collaboration with Perinatal Support Washington (PS-WA), is pleased to announce that funding is available for perinatal mental health community capacity building! We invite Requests for Application (RFAs) from Washington State organizations interested in collaborative efforts to increase community-wide awareness and develop resources to support perinatal mental health.
Review the following document:
Starting April 1, this webpage will be updated with FAQs every Monday afternoon. The final day to submit questions is 5 p.m. on April 29, 2024. Please share this opportunity with community partners and organizations throughout the state.
The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. on May 8, 2024. If you have any questions, please email dcyf.strengtheningfamilies@dcyf.wa.gov.
Crisis Respite Capacity Building Funding Opportunity
Strengthening Families Washington (SFWA) at the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is pleased to announce that DCYF has released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to develop crisis respite capacity in Washington State. Crisis respite is short-term care for children when their parents or caregivers need a break for any reason, whether they are exhausted and worn-out from the demands of parenting or when they experience difficult life circumstances or other unexpected events and have no safe alternatives for care.
We invite proposals from organizations who are interested in developing crisis respite capacity in Washington State communities, Tribal Nations, Recognized American Indian Organizations (RAIOs) and Native Serving Organizations through either in Option 1, crisis respite exploration and planning, or Option 2, implementation.
DCYF will post this Solicitation, and all Amendments and announcements relating to this Solicitation, on WEBS. You can access WEBS at https://fortress.wa.gov/es/webscust. All bidders must be registered in WEBS to download this solicitation and receive notifications regarding amendments to the solicitation.
The deadline for submitting proposals is May 8, 2024, by 4 p.m.
We will host a prebid conference on April 10, 2024, at 10 a.m., Pacific Daylight Time. This will be an opportunity to learn more about the RFP and ask questions.
Zoom Link: https://dcyf.zoom.us/j/83265820921?pwd=QnRhczN4QUwrampnUXBJb0Z0RXZxUT09
Meeting ID: 832 6582 0921
Passcode: 440989
TANF’s “Good Cause Exemption” helps Domestic Violence Survivors receive child support without jeopardizing their safety
When anyone applies for TANF (temporary assistance for needy families), a child support collection case gets opened immediately at the same time. For survivors of domestic violence (dv), this means the abusive parent will be contacted and billed for child support by the state (Division of Child Support- DCS).
If you are a survivor of dv and are worried or fearful that the opening of a child support case could result in retaliation, harassment, or instability for your child(ren), you have options to still receive the financial support (through TANF) and not involve the biological parent of the child – it is called the “Good Cause Exemption.”
Here is the change – the survivor has to tell the state worker about their fear or worries and complete the 18-334 form at the same time when they are applying for TANF– not a day later! If someone applies for TANF and submits the 18-334 form at the same time, a child support case will not be opened at all. The survivor does not need proof of DV with a police report or court order.
Here is the 18-334 form (www.dshs.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/pdf/18-334.pdf) ? There are two things a dv survivor must do:
- On the form, check the box that says “I have a good reason not to help. Please describe your reason outlining your fears and concerns on the next page.”
- After checking the box next to a good reason not to help, then check as many reasons that apply on next page of the form. Then sign the form as the “declaration” and that is enough to be granted Good Cause Exemption. Note: one of the reasons for requesting the Good Cause Exemption is “Concern that the stability of the child(ren) would be disrupted.”
By asking for the Good Cause Exemption and filling out the 18-334 form, at the same time as the TANF application, stops the state from contacting the abusive parent for child support. If you have any questions, please contact Kevin@wscadv.org, Economic Justice Coordinator at WSCADV!
New Interactive Tool to Connect People to the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program
The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program of Washington released an online tool to help people find their closest WIC clinic and apply for benefits. The new WIC Clinic Locator map showcases more than 200 WIC clinics across the state and provides clinic addresses, phone numbers, and business hours. There is also a new WIC Interest Form people can fill out online and submit to their clinic-of-choice. Once received, the clinic-of-choice will contact applicants. Health care providers and community-based organizations may also use the form to refer people to the WIC program.
Announcing the NEW Help Me Grow Washington Website
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Within Reach is excited to announce HelpMeGrowWA.org, their fully revamped online hub where families, providers and partners can find all the essential resources they have come to rely on for health, food, basic needs, child development, parenting, pregnancy and childbirth. This site merges the ParentHelp123.org and Help Me Grow Washington websites, while retaining their widely used ParentHelp123 Resource Finder search tool.
They originally launched ParentHelp123.org to meet families’ needs for an online benefits screening and application tool, a unique tool for our state at the time. As services have deepened and evolved, and the social service landscape has changed, they needed to explore ways to make the pathway to support easier. This launch celebrates our most comprehensive site update to better serve Washington families.
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News
What happened in the 2024 legislative session? Read the Children’s Alliance Legislative Report to see highlights of bills affecting children and families.
2023 Healthy Youth Survey results offer signs of hope and resiliency among Washington students. “Our students are telling us that they are continuing to recover from the impacts of the pandemic––they are resilient, and hopeful, and they are getting access to the supports they need.” View the press release here.
Macklemore visits Green Hill School to support youth who produced fentanyl-awareness music video, The Chronicle
Fatherhood Survey now available. Participate in the Washington State Fatherhood Survey to inform future policies and programs for Washington dads. You can win a $50 gift card!
DCYF News
Federal Recommendations from the Commission on Native Children: The Alice Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children submitted its official report to the United States Congress on Feb. 20, 2024. Many Tribal leaders, academic scholars, and tribal members from across Washington State contributed to this report, including Tleena Ives, DCYF Tribal Relations Director. The report shares several recommendations that impact DCYF’s work specifically, including: 1: Enhance the capacity of Tribal social services and Tribal courts. 2: Ensure compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act. 3: Strengthen advocacy for Native children and youth in child welfare cases. 4: Follow local community standards for Native foster and kinship placements. 7: Keep track of Native youth in Federal, state, and local juvenile justice systems. 8: Expand access to the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. 9: Support Native culture/language learners in early childhood programs & K-12 schools. To access the report: https://commissiononnativechildren.org/reports/TheWayForward.pdf
Racial Equity Resources
'Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting'
'Imagining the Indian' is a comprehensive examination of the movement to eradicate the words, images, and gestures that many Native Americans and their allies find demeaning and offensive.
Check out Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting - 2023 Theatrical Trailer (watch time 1:25):
Imagining the Indian 2023 Theatrical Trailer
Directed by Aviva Kempner (The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg) and Cheyenne filmmaker Ben West, Imagining the Indian is a comprehensive look at the movement to eradicate the words, images, and gestures that many Native Americans and their allies find harmful, demeaning, and offensive.
The film examines mascoting issues through archival footage and interviews with those involved in the fight. It shows how teams such as the Kansas City football team has refused to consider a change and brings a new attention and urgency to the issue.
View the film Imagining the Indian: De-Mascoting Native Americans in Sports (watch time 1:08:20):
Imagining the Indian: De-Mascoting Native Americans in Sports
Sources
Image: Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting logo, © The Ciesla Foundation 2022.
'Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting' - 2023 Theatrical Trailer, posted to YouTube by Imagining The Indian Film, March 27, 2023.
'Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting, posted to YouTube by Factual America Podcast, premiered Sept. 14, 2020.
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