FY26 Course Launches

Caregiver Core Training (CCT) is a mandatory training series for non-kin caregivers to become licensed in Washington State. Kin caregivers are welcome to complete all or parts of CCT, but the training is not required. CCT is made up of six eLearning sessions, approximately two hours each, designed to support basic knowledge for caregivers. CCT includes voices from former youth placed in care, current caregivers, and parents who have been involved in the child welfare system. CCT is fully online and completed at your own pace. You have one year to complete the course, including the “while you wait” support session.

In this course, participants will develop skills to differentiate between risk and safety, and complete assessments of safety at key decision and planning points, with standardized criteria using the Child Safety Framework to reduce individual biases. Additionally, participants will value the Child Safety Framework to ensure consistent, equitable decision making. This will increase the consistency of responses across workers, offices, and regions, and will provide transparency regarding rationale for DCYF actions.

You will navigate the court process effectively, engage in critical thinking, clearly document and articulate your assessments, and actively drive the case plan.

You will act ethically and with transparency. You will acknowledge that the legal process is designed to safeguard the due process rights of individuals and to protect families from government intervention, unless a child’s basic rights to nurturing, health, or safety are jeopardized.

You will navigate the court process effectively, engage in critical thinking, clearly document and articulate your assessments, and actively drive the case plan.

You will act ethically and with transparency. You will acknowledge that the legal process is designed to safeguard the due process rights of individuals and to protect families from government intervention, unless a child’s basic rights to nurturing, health, or safety are jeopardized.

This course provides participants with key information about engaging with parents, children and youth, and caregivers through monthly contacts, and youth and family planning meetings to co-create case plans. Participants will use engagement strategies to facilitate difficult conversations, and value family engagement which supports best outcomes for children and youth.This course is a session in the five-part Child and Family Welfare Services (CFWS) In-Service training suite, a foundational training series for CFWS workers. CFWS In-Service: Assessing Safety is a prerequisite to this course.

As a result of this training, you will assess for and pursue the most appropriate permanency plan for each child by engaging families, caregivers, and children in the planning process; applying the CSF and SDM-RA findings to establish behaviorally specific conditions for return home; evaluating kin and foster caregivers as permanency resources; and completing the case closure and transfer steps that support a stable, well-documented transition out of DCYF involvement.

You will recognize that every child deserves a permanent, safe, and culturally connected home and that achieving permanency requires continuous, unbiased assessment, diligent efforts to reunify when it is safe to do so, and to have difficult conversations with families, caregivers, and courts about what a child’s best interest requires.

This course will inform about and deepen your understanding of the developmental needs of the adolescents you are assigned to work with. You will be able to use engagement strategies that meet these youth “where they are” to complete transition planning that incorporates their expressed desires and needs to inform these plans.

You will value partnering with youth to support their healthy development. You will incorporate the youth’s voice and promote their autonomy while maintaining safety. Participants will provide trauma-informed, nonjudgmental engagement that recognizes healthy adolescent development and decreases stigmatization.

The goal of this training is to prepare child welfare professionals to effectively implement the CPS Family Assessment Response (FAR) approach. You will develop a deep understanding of FAR principles, including comprehensive family assessments, case planning, and ongoing monitoring to ensure child safety and well-being. Through practical skill-building, you will enhance your ability to engage families, locate and involve non-custodial parents, collaborate with tribes, and develop SMART case plans tailored to family strengths and needs. You will deepen your understanding around the value of family engagement, trauma-informed practice, and culturally responsive decision-making. This course is a session in the five-part Child Protective Services (CPS) In-Service training suite, a foundational training series for CPS workers.

The goal of this training is to equip child welfare professionals with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to conduct complex investigations while prioritizing worker safety, child well-being, and investigative integrity. You will learn best practices for assessing risks, conducting trauma-informed interviews, and collaborating with multi-disciplinary partners to ensure thorough and legally sound investigations. Through skill-building exercises, you will develop strategies for engaging children, caregivers, and alleged perpetrators while maintaining professionalism, neutrality, and adherence to policy and procedure. You will demonstrate investigative integrity through communication with multi-disciplinary partners centered on the child’s well-being. This course is a session in the five-part Child Protective Services (CPS) In-Service training suite, a foundational training series for CPS workers.

This training provides child welfare professionals with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to effectively assess child safety and implement appropriate interventions. You will increase your understanding of the Child Safety Framework, including Structured Decision Making (SDM) and the distinction between safety plans and protective actions. Through practice-based learning, you will enhance your ability to conduct comprehensive safety assessments, apply critical thinking, and document safety findings accurately. You will develop plans that are focused on the best interests of the child, culturally responsive, developed with the family, and strength-based, as this approach leads to the best outcomes. This course is a session in the five-part Child Protective Services (CPS) In-Service training suite, a foundational training series for CPS workers.

This training is intended to give participants the information they need to provide Qualified Expert Witness (QEW) testimony in Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) Indian Child Welfare cases. This training provides an overview of background information on the history and impacts of colonization on Native American and Alaska Native children and families that led to the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, an introductory level overview of the Indian Child Welfare Act and Washington Indian Child Welfare Act, an overview of DCYF Dependency Cases, and a detailed look at QEW purpose, qualifications, and procedures. Participants will review two precedent-setting cases for Washington state and understand how QEW testimony can impact court cases. Participants will also have an opportunity to practice the knowledge and skills presented in this training.

This course examines how adverse childhood experiences become normalized and perpetuated through social construction, how it can and does inform our decision making, and ways we can partner with our tribal partners to improve outcomes and promote wellness.

Grief and loss are powerful experiences in the lives of youth in out-of-home care. This module in the Engaging Youth in Group Care series concentrates on the way this history can create expectations or associations that can interfere with a child’s ability to form healthy relationships. In this course you will learn about the types of grief and loss and what impact each may have on a youth, including the teen’s ability to attach. Learning how to promote healthy relationships is an important component of this training, as so much of building a supportive relationship lies with developing a sense of security. With than in mind, you also will learn about developing “felt safety,” which happens when a youth truly believes they are safe; and developing structure and nurture, essential components of safety and healing.

This module provides group care staff with tools and strategies to respond effectively to youth who display rejecting, testing or disruptive behaviors. You will explore how trauma, disabilities and sensory processing needs shape behavior.

Using the Regulate–Relate–Reason framework, the course offers response strategies such as logical consequences, environmental modifications and positive reinforcement. You will also explore the impact of secondary trauma and identify self-care practices to prevent burnout and support sustainable, compassionate caregiving.

This module equips group care staff with practical tools to respond to high-risk behaviors often seen in teens, such as sexual acting out, physical aggression, unsafe internet use, self-harm and suicidal ideation.

You will explore the developmental and trauma-related roots of these behaviors, as well as how to approach them using the Regulate–Relate–Reason framework. The course emphasizes proactive planning while also recognizing the importance of building youth capacity for discernment, consent and digital literacy.

This session of Engaging Youth in Group Care equips you with practical strategies to support youth in developing strong, positive identities. You will explore how to affirm and incorporate each youth’s race, culture, sexual orientation and gender identity into the group care environment. Through reflection, discussion and real-world scenarios, the course builds skills for identity-affirming care. The goal is to foster safety, connection, and resilience by ensuring every young person feels seen, respected and supported in their identity.

This training prepares caseworkers to partner with young adults in Extended Foster Care (EFC) using a person-centered, developmentally appropriate, and trauma-informed approach.

You will explore the history and purpose of EFC, gain skills to support youth-driven transition planning, and apply engagement strategies rooted in strength discovery, futures planning, and real-life practice. Emphasis will be placed on inclusive documentation, healthcare navigation, housing stability, and the development of lifelong supportive connections.

This course will help supervisors learn new skills in conflict management and resolution while using culturally responsive approaches to communication. Through deepening their understanding of communication styles and interpersonal dynamics, supervisors will be able to identify the components contributing to workplace dynamics.

In Session 1.1, you will receive practical information about your main job functions and get to practice applying this information. Intake staff serve as the first point of contact for community members with concerns about children, and complete the first assessments of this information to determine if and how DCYF may respond. These two functions are addressed and information about the role of Intake staff in assessing child safety and in educating the community is provided. The training helps new staff understand the differences between intake types and identify timelines associated with each. Lastly, roles and actions outside the scope of child welfare Intake are discussed.

 
Providing for child safety is part of DCYF’s core mission. As an intake worker, your main role is to gather information from each caller and from additional sources, to make the most appropriate screening decision based on the available information. This training will focus on the screening process and tools that you will use to help you make the best screening decisions possible.
In this eLearning, you will learn about racial disproportionality in our state’s child welfare system and focus on what intake workers can do to contribute to equality in initial screening. You will learn tips about effectively gathering racial and ethnic background information and how to support Native American children and families by complying with the Indian Child Welfare Act. Additionally, you will learn easily understandable, non-biased and supportive language for culturally respectful communication.
This training will help you build skills to focus and guide callers so they can provide essential information about the incident of concern. You will learn how to gather critical information, such as the history of the family and the children, and their cultural background to help you make the best possible screening decisions.
This brief eLearning reviews federal legislation and DCYF policy requirements for screening intakes regarding currently pregnant substance using birthing parents, and newborns who experienced prenatal substance exposure. You will consider important questions to ask callers in order to gather the most relevant information, which will support good screening decisions and capture important information about the family that may be used by workers who are assigned to this family now or in the future.
There is a high co-occurrence of domestic violence in cases of abuse or neglect of children and youth. However, a child’s exposure to domestic violence, in or of itself, does not constitute abuse or neglect of children and youth. This training will help you develop the skills to ask the right questions to make a prompt and accurate assessment of whether a child is in clear and present danger from domestic violence.

In this eLearning course, you will learn the specific requirements for contacting law enforcement and how to gather information from medical professionals to clarify what is needed to protect the child. You will also become familiar with various collateral contacts and learn how to best use each of these collaterals before making a screening decision.

This training will orient you to some basic considerations related to screening intakes that involve a licensed foster home, child care facility, or other state-regulated facility. You will learn how to screen these intakes, and then you will have a chance to test your understanding with some sample calls.

This eLearning offers an introduction to the impacts of abuse and neglect on child development at every stage. This course is built for Workforce Core and is used to support additional learning through an experiential activity, but is available to DCYF staff beyond that point for review as needed. 

This training will increase your commitment to, and skills for, engaging with Tribes so that children, youth and families have cultural continuity and culturally relevant safety, permanency and wellbeing.

This course will offer ways to learn about Tribal resources, and to support Indigenous families with meaningful cultural connections. Cultural continuity is a protective factor, and when cultural relationships have been interrupted, facilitating reconnection can be healing of the issues that brought the family to the attention of child welfare. We will explore Tribes’ traditional supports, cultural activities, community knowledge keepers and Tribes’ structured service programs. Each Tribe has a unique culture and their particular approaches to supporting their families.

This eLearning course provides an overview of the permanency pathways that support both reunification and early planning for legal permanency after a child’s removal.

This eLearning course provides an overview of the permanency pathways that support both reunification and early planning for legal permanency after a child’s removal.

Pathways to Permanency is a collection of courses designed for caregivers to strengthen their understanding of permanency options for children in out-of-home care, with a focus on the role of the Family Team in the permanency planning process. In this session, you will deepen their understanding of the alternative permanent plans of Guardianship and Adoption in Child Welfare. You will explore common misconceptions that can occur between caseworkers and caregivers when discussing concurrent planning for children in out-of-home care. Additionally, best interest of the child will be discussed as it relates to the dimensions of permanency, and least restrictive plans.

By the completion of this course, you will be able to recognize the purpose of post-permanency supports and explain the eligibility requirements, application processes, and key components of post-permanency supports within the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) and the Adoption Support Program. You will enhance your understanding of how these supports are utilized to support children, youth and families, post-permanency, through real-world case scenarios.

By gaining a deeper understanding of these programs, you will be empowered to advocate effectively on behalf of children in permanent placements – to increase a child or youth’s long-term stability and well-being, promote continuity of care, and uphold the best interests of the child throughout the permanency journey and beyond.

Over the past four years, law enforcement has identified numerous online “gore groups” that target youth across the United States and other countries. These groups engage in acts of Sadistic Online Exploitation, identifying vulnerable minors and coercing them to self-harm; produce violent and gory child sexual abuse material; torture animals; and live-stream suicides via social media platforms. Victims are often found and groomed in publicly available online spaces where youth are known to frequent, such as popular social media platforms and open-world videogames. Offenders participating in these groups are sometimes motivated by Nihilistic Violent Extremism, an ideology that aims to bring about the downfall of society through corrupting youth. These groups often target minor females, LGBTQ+ youth, and minors who struggle with mental health issues to include depression, eating disorders, self-harm and suicidal ideation. This session will explore the history and rise of these types of groups; victimology and offender demographics; group structure, targeting practices, and motivations; and legal considerations of investigating and prosecuting these types of case.

This course will enhance your ability to identify, respond to, and serve children and youth experiencing sexual exploitation and/or trafficking by knowing the laws, policies, and basic concepts. You will apply youth-centered, trauma-informed practice that adapts to new knowledge. This will improve safety, dignity, and outcomes of children and youth impacted by trafficking and exploitation.

Through this course, you will gain a foundational awareness of substance use disorders and the impact on child safety in child welfare cases; recognize common signs and impacts of adult substance use disorders on children and family relationships; and respond in a manner that supports the well-being of the child or youth in your care.

This course will strengthen your understanding of parental substance use while reinforcing the value of nurturing the parent-child relationship and remaining supportive of parents whenever it is safe to do so. You will be better prepared to approach concerns that may be impacted by substance use with clarity, compassion and appropriate boundaries – supporting child safety and well-being while promoting connection, stability and family engagement.

In this course, you will review the basics of child sexual development and methods for talking about sexual topics with children and youth. By the end of the course, you will have increased skills to hold regular conversations with children and youth about sexual development, using natural opportunities that come up in daily life.

This training will enhance your ability to identify, respond to, and serve children and youth experiencing sexual exploitation and/or labor trafficking through trauma-informed and collaborative practices.

This eLearning will focus on DCYF’s Tribal Inquiry process. This training will address the procedures for Caseworkers, Active Efforts Specialists and NAIR Specialists. The eLearning will cover the forms needed to initiate the process, the steps to take in FamLink, and share tips on how to gather more detailed information from families about their tribal heritage or Indian ancestry.

This training is designed to deepen your understanding of the Indian Child Welfare Act’s legal foundations, its historical significance, and its vital role in ensuring that Native American/Alaska Native children remain connected to their Tribal communities. Learners will also explore Washington State’s Indian Child Welfare Act, in addition to DCYF’s Indian Child Welfare policies and procedures. Through the use of case scenarios and videos, you will be provided with multiple opportunities for practical application of topics such as Reason to Know, Active Efforts and Tribal collaboration.

Workforce Core Training (WFC) is Washington state’s redesigned foundational training for all newly hired social service specialists for child welfare for the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).