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Porch View by Jahla Brown, DCYF ESIT Partnership & Collaboration Specialist
“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist,
every minute a chance to change the world.”
-Dolores Huerta, American labor leader, civil rights activist and, with Cesar Chavez, Co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association.
Top 13 Books to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month 2024
Whether we’re talking about music, food, dance, language or literature, the contributions and influences of the Latinx community in America are boundless. This month, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with stories of immigration, love, survival, coming-of-age, folklore and many others that span the cultures of Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean, and South and Central America. Curated by Luis Martinez in Hispanic Heritage Month, here is a list of books you may already be familiar with and others that you may not know yet but won’t soon forget:
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“So, when Columbus got off the boat and he said to the first people he saw, "Who are you?", the first people he saw said, "We're human beings." and Columbus said "Oh, Indians." And right now, when I'm talking Columbus, Columbus is every descendant of the tribe of Europe that came. We're not talking one person here. We're talking a mindset. This is a mentality that came. The Columbus mentality, we name it right? But in about discovering this is, it's almost like this. . . when the virus got here and this is how long it's been here but because we've never had this disease before that we have no natural, we can't, we don't have an immunity to it, but if we can survive the ravages of this disease, we will evolve an immunity to it because we are part of the earth and that's what happens. Anyway, when Columbus got here, and he didn't know what it meant to be a human being. See, that perceptional reality of being a human being and what it really meant had been erased from the descendants of the tribes of Europe by the time they got here.”
-John Trudell, Dakota, poet, recording artist, actor and speaker
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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:
Doctrine of Discovery
This short film is part of 8 short, testimonial films, on the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois.) The Iroquois are embarking on a historic project about the 500-year history of the Iroquois, their relationship with Europe and America and their prophesies that, if heard, can help us navigate the oncoming changes due to climate change. This series of short films is done via their testimony and creates the space for the Iroquois to tell their story as they strive to uphold the traditions and the legacy of their people while also protecting the central tenants of their people and their relationship and care for the Earth (watch time 5:59):
Plan Ahead for Indigenous Peoples Day October 14!
Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration
Celebrate local Indigenous culture, history, and communities at Indigenous People’s Day, presented by the Squaxin Island Tribe and the City of Olympia, at Squaxin Park!
Mon., October 14 | 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Squaxin Park, 2600 East Bay Drive NE, Olympia, WA 98506
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a holiday that celebrates and honors Native American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. There will be cultural performances, speakers, and educational activities. Families are welcome. Free!
Daybreak Star Celebration - Indigenous Peoples Day
Join us for Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2024 at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center! We plan to have incredible activities, food, music and special guests! We encourage you to wear traditional regalia and bring a drum, rattle, flute, etc. for a jam session!
Mon., October 14 | 5 p.m.
Indigenous Peoples Day
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The Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) program is recruiting for the Parent Institute for Engagement (PIE) program. PIE is a 12-month leadership program for parents and caregivers of children who have received services through ESIT. We will help you build and strengthen your skills, and support you to become strong leaders, advocates, public speakers and active members in your state.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please submit an application by Fri., Sept. 20. We will notify selected individuals the week of Sept. 23.
Check out, download and share the flyer:
For more information on how to apply, contact Vanessa Allen, ESIT Family Engagement Coordinator at Vanessa.allen@dcyf.wa.gov.
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The DCYF ESIT Workforce Development team recently held two focus group sessions for educators and paraeducators who provide Special Instruction (SI) on Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs). During these sessions, attendees were able to share their experiences through discussion and polls. We would like to extend an invitation for all educators who were unable to attend, to add your voice via an Insight Survey. The survey has the same questions as the live focus group. The gathering of this important information about our ESIT educator workforce will inform the creation of their ESIT Credentials. So please stay tuned for more discussions. If you provide special instruction on IFSPs, please take a few minutes and share your insights.
The survey will remain open through Friday, September 27:
Please feel free to pass this survey along to anyone you know who fits the criteria.
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You are invited to ESIT's upcoming October State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC) Meeting, which will be held via zoom!
Wed., October 16
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Draft agenda & Meeting link TBA.
For Review
The draft July meeting minutes and updated meeting materials packet have been posted to ESIT's SICC Meetings page for review. If edits are needed to the draft July meeting minutes or materials, please email Will Moncrease Jr.
SICC Direct List
If you would like your email added to the SICC direct email list to receive the agenda and meeting materials in advance of upcoming SICC meetings, email Will Moncrease Jr., with the subject: Add me to SICC DL.
Questions?
Please contact DCYF ESIT Partnership & Collaboration Manager, Will Moncrease, Jr., at will.moncrease@dcyf.wa.gov.
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The Family Outcomes Surveys will be distributed to families beginning Wed., August 28.
We have contracted with WSU for another year and their team will be sending the surveys and facilitating data collection and analysis. The team at WSU will follow the process outlined below:
WSU Data Collection Process
Data collection
- First questionnaire with incentive | August 28
- Email reminder 1 | Sept. 3
- Postcard reminder | Sept. 9
- Email reminder 2 | Sept. 12
- Replacement questionnaire | Sept. 24
- Email reminder 3 | Sept. 27
- Telephone contacts | Oct. 7 – Nov. 8
Data collection will close on November 8 and we will present preliminary information during the January SICC Annual Performance Report Meeting. If you have questions about the ESIT Family Survey, please contact ESIT Data Systems and Analysis Manager, Kim Hopkins, at kim.hopkins@dcyf.wa.gov.
DCYF ESIT and the Public Consulting Group (PCG) are continuing their collaborative work on the ACORN (Access to Child Online Records Network) migration project. The project is happening in multiple phases, beginning with the release of the case management module. This first release focuses on the replication of current functionality in Silverlight and data migration from Silverlight to ACORN. The goal is the customization and adoption of the PCG product “EI Hub”, a comprehensive data system that features several modules, to include service logging, billing and claiming, and workforce management. This system is an off-the-shelf solution for serving Early Intervention Programs under IDEA Part C consistent with federal regulations and has been successfully implemented in several other states, to meet the data entry and reporting needs of Washington State’s Early Intervention Providers.
Read Full Update
Learn more about Customizations, Data Migration, Data Exchanges, Training Plans and Timeline, Mandatory Training Completion and Preparation for Go-Live:
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Speech learning starts in the womb and a critical amount of learning already happens before infants turn age 1. My lab conducts research that helps us understand whether and how speech learning during the first year of life can be predictive of later language acquisition and if there are strategies that we can use to help improve speech learning during this period. In a most recent study (Zhao, Boorom, Kuhl & Gordon, 2021), we have demonstrated that how infant brains process speech at 11 months of age is highly predictive of their individual grammar skills at 6 years of age, measured with SPELT-3. More importantly, we were able to identify children who exhibited atypical language development at 6 years of age based on their infant brain data. We are currently conducting a large-scale study to further understand early signs of atypical language development in infant brains, with the hope to improve early diagnosis and early intervention. On the other hand, infant speech learning before the age of 1 is highly malleable by environmental factors, such as the quantity and quality of speech input. In a series of studies (Zhao & Kuhl, 2016, Zhao, Llanos, Chandrasekaran, & Kuhl, 2022), we have shown that even a lab-based music intervention affects infant speech learning. The goal of the course is to give an overview of the state-of-the-art neuroscience research in infant speech learning, and to discuss potential ways to incorporate research findings into SLP clinical practice.
What Can Infants’ Brain Activities Tell Us About Speech Learning?
Wed., September 25 | 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Cost
- WSLHA Members - $35
- WSLHA Non-Members - $50
- ASHA CEU Members - $5
- ASHA CEU Non-Members - $7
For additional information and to register, visit the WSLHA website at: https://wslha.org/.
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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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