Quarterly Report_Q2 FY2025
Program Updates
Focusing on supporting culture, communities
This quarter we launched multiple inclusive practice-focused courses in support of DCYF and The Alliance’s mission and strategic priorities.
The new Comprehensive Qualified Expert Witness Training was a collaborative project between Alliance curriculum developers and OTR partners. Initial survey results were positive and The Alliance will continue their work in partnership with OTR to ensure the training is reflective of practice changes/updates.
Feedback elements included strengthening talking points around:
- Case scenario
- Purpose of the simulation and learners role
- Participant guide and what it contains
"This was one of the most impactful and informative trainings that I have ever participated in. I truly enjoyed the lecture/interactive training on Day 1 and the dependency court simulation on Day 2. The combination of classroom and direct service experience was very helpful."
— Compehensive QEW attendee feedback
In Q2 we also launched:
- Strategies for Effectively Engaging in Cross Cultural Conflict, which was formerly Advanced Racial Microaggressions for Supervisors by Cultures Connecting.
- Working with Immigrant Communities, which is a new course by Cultures Connecting, with one offering this fiscal year.
- Strategies for Interrupting Oppression, formerly Racial Microaggressions by Cultures Connecting. Feedback is being incorporated to include more time for skills practice.
Mandatory Reporter update
The revised version of Mandatory Reporter was launched in Q2 and received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
The course is designed to guide learners through the essential steps of mandatory reporting and is divided into three key sections — Recognize, Record, and Report.
Learners felt the eLearning successfully explained their role and imparted thorough, relevant information. Opportunities for improvement include length of the course and clarifying knowledge checks.
"Training was presented and laid out well. Very informational and may be quite useful, especially for community partners/external stakeholders (school staff, medical professionals, even any community member who may make an intake report)."
— Attendee feedback
By the Numbers
Table reads of curricula
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 the process because when people can hear the whole of the curriculum, it helps with editing, allowing developers to hear tone and jargon and other elements. Table reads also offer the opportunity for conversation and discussion.
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
- Enhancing equity and inclusion lens throughout.
DCYF stakeholders are invited to participate, primarily the SMEs for a given project.
The team revising Caregiver Core Training has been using table reads with a lot of success. Five curricula in development are scheduled for table reads.
Administrative Professionals Conference
The Alliance hosted this year’s Administrative Professionals Conference on Nov. 5 and 6 at the Silver Cloud Point Ruston in Tacoma. You can view the agenda here.
- General session topics focused on success, resilience and bias.
- Breakout content included a look at Tribal government relations, tech, court processes, benefits and approaching difficult conversations.
“(DCYF IT Training Manager) Sara is awesome! Thank you for bringing her to the conference. IT is always a big part of our positions, and it's great to hear about new and improved tools.”
— Attendee feedback on "Tech Training"
“This was an exceptional session and I love that you included this option for all of us. I hope that you include something like this at future conferences. Deborah was AMAZING and everyone I spoke to that attended one of the sessions really loved it. Please consider this for our future conferences!!”
— Attendee feedback on sound bath session
By the Numbers
Course Launches
Click each title for a description of courses launched this quarter.
This training is intended to give you the information you 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. You will review two precedent-setting cases for Washington state and understand how QEW testimony can impact court cases. You will also have an opportunity to practice the knowledge and skills presented in this training. This training is composed of 9.5 hours of group learning, including 3.5 hours of in-person simulation for court testimony.
These two-hour sessions provide participants who have attended any TBRI Principles classes (there are four classes) or the TBRI for DCYF class an opportunity to expand their TBRI knowledge and work within live cases. These sessions will provide opportunities to apply strategic responses to move children/youth, caregivers and staff toward change and increasing the parent, caregiver and staff’s protective capacities to ensure child safety, well-being, and permanency.
This course explores the critical concept of the best interests of the child in child welfare. You will learn to identify factors such as the child’s wishes, needs, safety, permanency, and well-being. Through case analyses, you will apply this framework to various scenarios, developing skills to advocate effectively while navigating legal, ethical, and cultural considerations, essential for articulating to the courts. Join us to become a more impactful advocate for children’s rights in the child welfare system!
This eLearning course provides a foundational understanding of Chronic Neglect, a complex yet common issue within the realm of child welfare. Chronic Neglect refers to ongoing failure by caregivers to provide for the basic needs of individuals under their care, such as food, shelter, clothing, medical care and supervision, leading to serious physical, emotional and developmental harm.
This course reminds you how to critically examine race and racism, how implicit bias can negatively impact an organizations culture and efficacy, and how to effectively employ strategies to interrupt them. It also helps you learn how to employ Courageous Conversations to better address and mitigate racial bias.
This course will use kin-first culture principles to help DCYF workers engaging with kinship and relative caregivers to prepare them for successful placements of youth.
The fundamental concepts, tools and frameworks used will be:
• Trauma-informed engagement skills
• Incorporating the lived experiences of both kinship caregivers and youth
• Tools, forms and processes that will help workers provide support throughout the life of a case
• Consideration of family dynamics, culture, age and implicit bias existing that are unique to a relative or kinship caregiver placement
During this 1.5-hour topic support group, you will listen to a 30-minute, trauma-informed podcast from a variety of child welfare, child development and caregiving experts. After the podcast, you will talk through your questions, aha! moments, and new strategies in a guided conversation with fellow kinship and foster caregivers.
Join us for one podcast episode or all of them. Each session provides 1.5 hours of training credit.
Emotion Coaching® is a research-based method from the Gottman Institute that gives caregivers a way to help children learn about emotions. Research shows that when caregivers value and guide emotions using this important method, children do better in many ways. These children tend to:
• Form stronger friendships with peers
• Have higher self esteem
• Regulate their moods more easily
• Be more successful in their problem-solving skills
• Bounce back from emotional events more quickly
• Get sick less often
This course will help you recognize how trauma impacts emotional development and provides opportunities to practice identifying and responding to emotion. You will evaluate your parenting style and emotional intelligence and practice the 5 Steps of Emotion Coaching®. By learning and practicing the 5 steps of Emotion Coaching, you can make an important investment in a child’s future.
Participants will consider effective ways to engage and assess families where neglect is present and how to evaluate each child’s unique characteristics, including how each child’s needs are impacted by neglectful behaviors and conditions in the home. We will look at how the impacts of substance misuse, unaddressed mental health concerns, domestic violence and cognitive challenges may interrupt the parent/child relationship resulting in unmet child needs.
Specific child vulnerabilities, parent characteristics and home conditions identified in the SDM-RA will also be a focal point. Participants will learn about how they can support children and families where chronic neglect is present to reduce risk and increase safety using formal and informal supports.
Finally, participants will also spend time exploring when risk becomes a safety threat in chronic neglect cases and how to share that information in staffings and court proceedings that effectively express the concerns regarding the family.
People born outside of the United States often face challenges when adjusting to life in a new culture. Immigrant communities may encounter xenophobia, racism, discrimination and bigotry.
This workshop helps you better engage and support immigrant communities by looking at different factors related to human migration and race. You will learn how to anticipate core challenges immigrant communities typically face and integrate skills to improve cross-cultural communication.
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.
Foundational/Core Training data for Q4 FY2024 was not available.