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Join our next office hours at 3 p.m. on June 12, 2025.
Father Engagement Tool Webinar
Time: 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Date: Friday, June 6, 2025
About the Webinar: Attend this webinar to learn more about the Father Engagement Tool, which was created to help experienced home visitors by providing guiding questions for home visitors, survivors of domestic violence, and fathers to consider before, during, and after conversations.
Register: Father Engagement Tool Webinar
Washington WIC recipients can now use benefits for delivery, shipping, or pick up from 67 Walmart stores across the state. Learn about the online ordering pilot from the news release.
The WIC mobile app is now available in 22 languages.
End-of-Legislative Session Webinar Shares Updates from 2025 Legislative Session
In late April 2025, the Legislature passed a budget, which includes recommendations to address the state’s $16 billion budget deficit.
The following End-of-Legislative-Session Webinar is hosted by Director of the Office of Public Affairs, Allison Krutsinger, and Chief Financial Officer, Rene Newkirk, and shares the latest updates from the 2025 legislative session.
Please view the Webinar Recording and Webinar Slides.
In the last quarter, CQI coaching calls have conducted root-cause analyses to develop actionable strategies utilizing PSRS reports to inform enrollment trends. Supervisors and staff are increasingly engaged in CQI efforts, especially through group strategy sessions that build team buy-in and reduce supervisory burden. Amid federal policy shifts, LIAs face challenges in family engagement and retention, prompting adaptations like virtual visits, community partnerships, and continued reliance on both model-specific and DOH data for decision-making.
The following are examples of tests that were conducted during Q3 by CQI topic:
Enrollment and Outreach
- Each HV identifies one new referral partner in the community and provides outreach
- Prioritize specific funding sources in filling caseloads
Staff Engagement and Retention
- Create safety kits for HVs including agency badge, business cards, etc.
- Create transparency in HV schedule to ensure that supervisor is aware of where staff are in case of an emergency.
- Track staff PMRs to calculate "top parent educator of the month." Prizes include trips, gift cards, etc.
- Review APR at each RS session to boost HV awareness of progress and programmatic needs.
Family Engagement and Retention
- Increase access to virtual visits for families.
- Supervisor connects family and parent educator via Zoom to ensure a warm handoff
Caregiver Mental Health
- Review due date forms (NFP)to ensure assessment deadlines are completed on time
This year’s 2025 ParentChild+ Conference’s overarching theme was Innovating Toward an Equitable Future. Marcella Taylor and Pamela Williams held a workshop on day one titled Empowering Diversity: Innovative Approaches to Professional Growth!
The workshop aimed to showcase innovative professional development strategies developed over several years. Emphasizing cultural contexts and intersectionality, the strategies integrate creativity while supporting infant and early childhood mental health. The workshop also highlighted key sessions and initiatives from recent years, emphasizing adaptability, resourcefulness, and advocacy. It shared innovative and inclusive virtual and face-to-face professional development strategies, enhancing support for diverse workforce teams and services to families. Participants engaged in interactive activities and brainstorming sessions to apply these skills.
We are thrilled to announce that Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic Parents as Teachers program has been selected to present at the Parents as Teachers National Conference in Puerto Rico 2025!
Please join us in congratulating them on this incredible accomplishment. They have worked hard to support their families and the community they serve. Their commitment to being innovative and consistently providing the best services to children and families is amazing. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, they are not only helping their families but also working to support other agencies, inspiring them to think innovatively and push boundaries in their own work.
We are so excited to see one of our Washington affiliates was selected to present. Congratulations!
Below is a summary of the workshop they will be presenting.
Title: Community Building Through Group Connections
Presenters: Vanessa Frias and Vanessa Gudino
Summary: This workshop will highlight the successes of the collaborative efforts of Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic's Parents as Teachers affiliate and members of their PAT Advisory Committee to capture family voice, create leadership opportunities for families through collaborative partnerships.
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:
Treaty History with the Northwest Tribes
Isaac Stevens, the first governor and superintendent of Indian Affairs of the Washington Territory, was authorized by the United States to negotiate with Washington tribal nations for the peaceful settlement of their traditional lands.
Stevens ultimately negotiated eight treaties with tribes in what would become Washington. The treaties established or promised reservations for the exclusive use of the tribes. Read to learn more:
Treaty history with the Northwest Tribes
Importance of Treaties with American Indian Tribes (Revisited)
Treaties between Native American tribes and the U.S. government have been broken repeatedly since they were signed. Correspondent Antonia Gonzales looks at the history of treaties and why they still matter today. She sits down with Nick Estes, an assistant professor at University of New Mexico (watch time 12:22):
Importance of Treaties with American Indian Tribes (Revisited)
Book Recommendations
Sources
- Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations, by Suzan Shown Harjo (editor), Kevin Gover (Contributor), Philip J. Deloria (Contributor), Hank Adams (Contributor), N. Scott Momaday (Contributor), Published September 30, 2014 by Smithsonian Books, © 2025 Goodreads, Inc.
- Treaty history with the Northwest Tribes, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, © 2025.
- Importance of Treaties With American Indian Tribes (Revisited), posted to YouTube by New Mexico In Focus, a Production of NMPBS, Jan. 4, 2019.
- Indians of the Pacific Northwest: From the Coming of the White Man to the Present Day by Vine Deloria Jr. (Author), Steve Pavlik (Afterword), Billy Frank Jr. (Foreword), Paperback, Illustrated, September 1, 2012, © 2025 Goodreads, Inc.
50-State Comparison of TANF Policies Linked to Child and Family Protection: The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) is pleased to announce an update to its resource, A 50-State Comparison of TANF Policies Linked to Child and Family Protection, featuring scorecards of each state's current policy position for flexibilities that have been shown to affect child maltreatment, neglect, and foster care placements through their effects on caseloads. These policies include providing cash assistance for up to 60 months in a lifetime, refraining from drug testing applicants and recipients, and exempting parents of children under one year of age from work requirements.
Adolescent and Young Adult Health Youth Advisory Council: The Washington State Department of Health is seeking young people living in Washington state, ages 13-22, who want to share their ideas, recommendations, and feedback on how to improve health care for teens and young adults. Young men who are interested in bringing their experiences to the table are encouraged to apply. Applications are due by May 31, 2025. Visit the Youth Advisory Council Meetings webpage or view the DOH Flyer for more information.
Below are resources and opportunities to engage:
Washington State Office of Equity's Community of Practice: Community of Practice is meant for DEI practitioners, community members, PEAR consultants from state agencies, equity managers, and anyone who strives to make Washington the first state dedicated to true Pro-Equity Anti-Racist outcomes. Community members and organizations welcome! First webinar session is 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
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