Quarterly Report_Q1 FY2026
Program Updates
Core Trainings
Workforce Core
Workforce Core (WFC) launched with the Sept. 16 cohort. This foundational course is required for all child welfare case-carrying social service specialists and consists of 9.5 weeks of training using multiple modalities. This training follows the life of a case, which allows the learners to practice job-related skills associated with each role in child welfare, including initial assessment, voluntary cases and what to do when the court is involved. The foundational training team at the Alliance spent the summer training the facilitators and coaches to support WFC while they delivered the last two RCT cohorts. Regional Core Training will be sunset with the completion of the Aug. 16 cohort in October 2025.
Caregiver Core Training
All six eLearnings of Caregiver Core Training are designed and in review at varying stages. Two of the six sessions have been approved and sent out for Spanish translation. This training will launch in January 2026, with both an English and Spanish version available for Washingtonians who wish to become licensed out-of-home caregivers.
Internal Processes and Policies
The CQI team has finalized multiple documents recently to support curriculum development and facilitation.
Curriculum Development Resources
Training Activities Charter/Terms of Reference: The Master Agreement notes the Training Activities Charter is the umbrella charter from which other charters and/or Terms of Reference are developed. See this document to understand the intersection between the Master Agreement, Training Activities Charter, terms of reference and scopes of work.
ADDIE Group Learning Development Process: The ADDIE model documents provide an overview of the group learning (in-person and webinar) curriculum development process. There is also an abridged version available.
ADDIE eLearning Development Process: This document contains the entire process for eLearning development at the Alliance. It aims to identify the project team, their roles and responsibilities, and the deliverables and tasks they will complete while working on an eLearning project.
Course Review and Audit Protocols: All courses are subject to full review three years from the launch date. However, prior to the required three-year review, the Alliance conducts early exploration of data from participant surveys, fidelity forms, partner feedback, and other informal collection efforts several times a year.
Facilitation Resources
Training of Trainers Process for Group Learning: Training of Trainers (TOT) is a process of getting facilitators prepared to deliver curriculum content. The main goal of the TOT is to prepare facilitators to present information effectively, respond to participant questions, and lead activities that reinforce learning
Washington State ICW
The Alliance is currently producing a new training around Washington State ICW. The draft has been shared with DCYF for input, with a goal of January 2026 launch. Feedback is due Nov. 10 and The Alliance has tentatively planned a dry run in December.
The two-day Washington State ICW training is designed to deepen participants’ understanding of the Indian Child Welfare Act’s legal foundations, its historical significance, and its vital role in ensuring that American Indian and Alaska Native children remain connected to their tribal communities. Participants will learn about Washington State’s historical and continued commitment to serving Native American families who are involved in the child welfare system. Importantly, participants will also learn where and how to access helpful resources while doing this work and upholding the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and Washington State Indian Child Welfare Act.
Meaningful Cultural Connections
The first cohort for Meaningful Cultural Connections was held in August 2025.
This training focuses on increasing learners’ commitment to, and skills for, engaging with Tribes so that children, youth and families have cultural continuity and culturally relevant safety, permanency and wellbeing.
Learning objectives center on understanding resources and supports; knowing how to document efforts made to support families; and supporting a commitment to uphold and facilitate cultural connections for the safety, permanency and wellbeing of the child, family and Tribe.
Learners found the exploration of where to find and how to use resources especially helpful.
Suggestions for improvement included having an elder in the training and how to navigate relationships with tribes. Learners noted the facilitator/s were patient though some asked for better explanations.
By the Numbers
Administrative Professionals Conference
The 2025 Administrative Professionals Conference was a virtual two-day event held Sept. 17 and 18.
This year’s event featured 16 sessions on topics related to compassion fatigue, time management, trauma and technology. Keynotes included:
- “Leading from the Middle,” with organizational development consultant Lee Riley;
- “Empowering Efficiency: M365 and Emerging Tech Trends,” with DCYF IT Training Manager Sara Games;
- “When Helping Hurts: Understanding Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and How to Buffer the Impact,” with Lori Eastep of Grassroots Therapy; and
- “How to Make Networking Not Feel Gross,” with Daniel Hallak, strategic advisor at The Sage Group and chief commercial officer at WiLD Leaders Inc.
The event capitalized on the virtual format by offering a lunchtime “Indigenous Radio Hour” compiled by KEXP DJ Tory Johnston, as well as a set of wellness-focused sessions.
"This session by far was my favorite. The speaker was very engaging with us and honestly so hilarious. I could not stop laughing and wanting to learn. The session went by so fast and wish he had more time presenting to us."
"I think the topics were great. There were far more that were centered to what we do, even though so many of us do different things. This year you really covered all the bases with topics and I appreciate all of the hard work and herding of cats that it takes to put these on for all of us."
By the Numbers
Course Launches
Click each title for a description of courses launched this quarter.
Participants will examine how adverse childhood experiences become normalized and perpetuated through social construction, how it can and does inform decision making, and ways they can partner with 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 participants 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, participants 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 session of Engaging Youth in Group Care equips learners with practical strategies to support youth in developing strong, positive identities. Participants 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 course will help supervisors learn and strengthen skills in conflict management and resolution while using proven 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 this eLearning, developed for Workforce Core (WFC), learners will be introduced to the primary child welfare concepts that guide case work from initial case assignment to case closure.
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.
This training will increase participants’ 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 offers 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. Participants 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.
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, participants will deepen their understanding of the alternative permanent plans of Guardianship and Adoption in Child Welfare. They 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.
This eLearning focuses on DCYF’s Tribal Inquiry process. This training addresses the procedures for Caseworkers, Active Efforts Specialists, and NAIR Specialists. The eLearning covers the forms needed to initiate the process, the steps to take in FamLink, and shares tips on how to gather more detailed information from families about a child’s tribal heritage or Indian ancestry.
Workforce Core Training (WFC) is Washington state’s redesigned foundational training for all newly hired social service specialists for child welfare for the State of Washington, Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
Training Summary
* A unique learner is each individual learner who has taken any class this quarter, whereas the total number of learners will count a learner each time for each course they complete. The number of unique learners includes eLearning learners.
Training Attendance and Feedback
View Workforce and Caregiver Registrations and Completions by Course here.
Note: The Alliance transitioned its LMS from Ethos to Intellum between July and September 2025. The gray lines are records from the caregiver LMS (both Ethos and Intellum), not necessarily caregivers. Those lines that pertain to the same course are not combined.
View Survey Completions here.