CORE TRAININGS

This year The Alliance devoted significant resources to the development of two of its foundational offerings: Workforce Core and Caregiver Core Training.

Workforce Core: The Workforce Core design began in FY2024 and a 13-week pilot was held from Jan. 1 to March 29, 2025. The training is divided into four blocks: Foundation, Engagement, Assessment, and Case Planning & Service Delivery. Each block builds on previous blocks. 

The Alliance has been working closely with various DCYF stakeholders throughout the process, with each curriculum sent for review prior to finalization. The steering committee, made up of DCYF and Alliance members, met monthly to discuss the project process and any potential barriers to completion.

RCT will be sunset when Workforce Core launches. RCT cohorts through summer 2025 were reduced to one per month to support Workforce Core facilitators being trained in June 2025 to deliver this new training.

The curriculum is in its final stages of revision and is on target to launch in September 2025.

Caregiver Core Training: The development of Caregiver Core Training moved into the design phase in FY2025. The curriculum was one of the first courses to go through The Alliance’s new table read process, with developers and instructional designers finalizing the flow of content based on feedback from internal and external partners in each session. Each table read was attended by no fewer than four DCYF participants, including representation from the Office of Tribal Relations (OTR).

CCT is being redesigned to a six-eLearning series from an eight-eLearning series. Each session is in development, although at different stages. Three of the six have gone through their initial review by DCYF.

Both the English and Spanish eLearnings are set to launch in Q2 FY2026.

CONFERENCES

The Alliance planned and hosted five conferences this year:

• Supervisors Conference: 210 registrants
• Administrative Professionals Conference; 171 registrants
• Area Administrators Summit; 71 registrants
• Program Managers Conference; 122 registrants
• “Choose Your Own Adventure” Caregiver Conference; 261 registrants

Workforce conferences are guided by planning committees of DCYF staff from within the respective audience. The fall events (Supervisors and Administrative Professionals) were held in person while the spring events (AAs and Program Managers) were moved to virtual platforms to accommodate travel restrictions. While attendees missed the in-person elements they were overall satisfied with the adjustment.

The Caregiver Conference was a contract-based event made possible by a state grant, which was awarded to The Alliance. The event was guided by surveys and focus groups of external stakeholders, including caregivers (foster, kinship and adoptive), DCYF stakeholders and community partners.

Highlights from this year’s program included:

• The Caregiver Conference featured 17 virtual learning sessions, including one keynote. The 16 sessions on Saturday were built in a way that let caregivers choose a track to focus their learning or jump between tracks to best suit their needs. These were complemented by two in-person, family-friendly events.
• Dr. Chan Hellman presented at two conferences on “The Science of Hope,” creating opportunity for synergy between audiences around this initiative that has gained traction in multiple departments within DCYF.
• A session called “Silo Demo” was brought forward at each workforce event in an effort to address a foundational issue brought up by all the committees around feeling siloed from their colleagues across the agency.
• The virtual events capitalized on the format by offering a lunchtime “Indigenous Radio Hour” compiled by KEXP DJ Tory Johnston.

MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING

As part of a larger DCYF initiative, The Alliance brought in-house the courses “Foundations of Motivational Interviewing” and “Advanced Practice in Motivational Interviewing,” which launched in FY2024. Classes were held until January 2025, when budget and other considerations necessitated the move of MI education to DCYF.

In a six-month period, The Alliance trained 140 learners and coded 10 to competency.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

As noted above in the Caregiver Core Training update, The Alliance implemented a new internal practice of table reads, which bring stakeholders together to read through a new curriculum to gather feedback.

Table reads support a higher level of understanding of the curriculum because when it is read out loud, needed edits become more apparent, as developers can hear tone, jargon and other elements. Table reads also offer the opportunity for conversation and discussion. DCYF stakeholders are invited to participate, primarily the SMEs for a given project.

Table reads and dry runs have generated helpful feedback about:

• The amount of content/too much lecture;
• Fine tuning with WACs, DCYF policy and language;
• Smoothing out the flow and sequence; and
• Enhancing equity and inclusion lens throughout.

IN-OFFICE POLICY

The Alliance continued to evolve its in-office policy, which encourages staff to have a consistent presence in DCYF offices. The focus is on building relationships and enhancing partnerships. Being physically present in offices allows more accessibility for DCYF staff, especially those who began in 2020 and beyond.

The office time can include a variety of activities or opportunities, including meetings, coaching, or simply answering questions about trainings or work challenges.

While recent federal Executive Orders have placed new constraints on equity-focused initiatives, The Alliance remains committed to upholding inclusive values and ensuring continued progress for all. In partnership with DCYF, we will be monitoring IV-E guidance around language and other impacts on our work.

EBEs: EXPERTS BY EXPERIENCE

A foundational element of curriculum development at The Alliance is the incorporation of a variety of perspectives, particularly if a specific community is the focus of the curriculum. This year, we formalized the process for engaging with experts by experience (also known as lived experience experts).

In FY2025, an overview of the program was developed that includes a schedule of tasks/events and the total budget for the program for a year. This includes milestones around which EBEs would engage in the development process and what that engagement would look like. A group called the “EBE Council” made up of the EBEs The Alliance is working with in a given year would come together for an initial meeting and then meet a few times throughout the year to ensure clarity and equity, and to support relationship-building.

Budget for this program will be assessed in FY2026.

STAFF COORDINATION

The Inclusive Practice team was originally envisioned to focus on curriculum specific to DEI. The purpose of this team has changed over time as The Alliance has lived in to its 2023 reorganization and now supports DEI across the agency. Given this evolution, the team was reorganized and dispersed among the Foundational and Continued Learning teams to better give development and facilitation staff access to staff with ICWA, diversity, equity and inclusivity experience.

This move allowed the Director of Equity and Belonging role to elevate to focus more on strategic planning and organizational initiatives, and to ensure inclusive practices are applied in all areas.

CULTURE SURVEY

Launched in October 2024, a new internal culture survey will inform the strategic planning that The Alliance will engage with in FY2026. The survey data gained highlight opportunities to improve support of staff, which in turn creates a stronger organization.

Themes that emerged have already begun to inspire progress. There has been movement around improving communication flow, streamlining processes, and enhancing onboarding and training (see Operations and Innovation section), while creating a collaborative work environment and strengthening external advocacy are key priorities for FY2026.

TRAINER STANDARDS

The Trainer Standards were developed in collaboration between the Alliance and the DCYF Office of Practice and Professional Learning (OPPL) to capture essential knowledge and skills necessary to be an effective trainer. They offer clear expectations for individuals who are in this role and those who aspire to it and offer shared language for partners involved with trainer workforce preparation.

These standards should be used to support individual practice, guide professional development planning, inform the development of new learning opportunities for trainers and develop quality assurance processes for training programs. The QA protocol now in place supports determining areas of strength and areas of growth as an organization. 

POLICIES AND PROCESSES

Multiple SOPs were designed and launched this year to improve clarity and efficiency:

• Cancellation Policy
• Course Development Process
• Course Review and Audit Protocols
• Curriculum Templates
• Kickoff Meeting Checklist
• Participant Guidelines
• Partner Feedback Form
• TOT Process for Group Learning
• Updating Curricula Following Policy Changes

INTRANET

The internal Alliance website has been in development since FY2024 and was launched in FY2025. The site organizes internal staff documents, policies and resources with the goal of increasing efficiency and transparency.

Our teams are managing growing volumes of content, tools, and updates across departments. The intranet serves as a single, secure destination where staff can easily:

• Find what they need—faster: Policies, forms, team pages, and updates all in one place.
• Stay aligned: Company-wide announcements and leadership communications will be shared consistently and transparently.