Alliance Course Catalog

This session orients participants to the definitions of child abuse and neglect in Washington state, as well as practical guidance and considerations specific to how you might identify and respond to various types of child maltreatment. Policy and practical considerations for photographing injuries and conditions in children are reviewed. We briefly discuss forensic interviewing, child advocacy centers, and how to respond to a spontaneous disclosure of sexual abuse or serious physical abuse. We review indicators and dynamics of child torture and distinguishing these dynamics from those more common with malnutrition or failure to thrive cases. Throughout, emphasis is placed on the importance of collaboration with community partners, particularly medical professionals and law enforcement.

This session will provide a basic review of the Safety Framework and an overview of the Specialized Domestic Violence Assessment, focusing on the most salient issues in screening and assessment for child welfare workers.  Participants will then consider a case example of a family experiencing domestic violence (a live case or the case scenario provided in the attachment) and apply the safety framework to determine whether the children in question are safe or unsafe.  Important issues regarding best practices for visitation and other important decisions will be touched on but are not covered in depth in this brief session.

As a result of participating in this workshop participants will:

1. Know the child safety threats most likely to be present when domestic violence endangers child safety.
2. Know CA policy regarding screening for DV and managing cases where DV is identified, including what information workers must attempt to collect to properly assess child safety in families impacted by DV.

Improve skills at assessing child safety in cases where domestic violence is occurring.

This two hour In-Service builds upon information received in the Regional Core Training (RCT) on assessing parents, others in the family household, those who may have frequent unsupervised access to children, and Safety Plan participants.  Learners will review Children’s Administration policy, including who, when and what types of screenings are required.  Additional assessment tools, including the gathering questions and the Structured Decision Making Risk Assessment will also be explored.  The current CFSR and Case Review Tool compliance criteria for assessing all individuals in the home and those with frequent unsupervised access to children will be reviewed and practiced in small groups. 

This session will support staff in caring for and keeping children safe when children must be transported by or cared for by afterhours staff.  Participants will review basic considerations for caring for children across developmental stages, including children who have challenging behaviors or exceptional care needs.  An introduction to car seats, including recommendations and mandates for their use and overall installation process is provided to further support staff in keeping children safe.  Participants will identify and discuss general worker safety considerations, both in the field and while supervising youth in our care, as well as ways to respond early to support everyone’s safety.  Lastly, an overview of professional writing for case notes is provided.

This two-day in-service training will prepare new CFWS caseworkers and experienced CFWS caseworkers who wish to improve their practice to engage parents and families from the point of transfer or case assignment. Participants will learn how to make the most of the first meeting and monthly visits with the parent in building a working relationship geared toward safe reunification and timely permanency. Participants will explore engaging children and caregivers during monthly visits, best interest considerations and permanency planning. Participants will be provided tools to improve the quality of court reports in addressing policy requirements and good practice.

****All participants are required to bring their tablets to the training. ****

This in-service training will provide instruction on the principles and application of research-based child interviewing, effective testimony, and interviewing skills with cultural considerations. It will address the special challenges of working with vague allegations, resistant children and adolescents, non-offending parents and alleged offenders. The purpose of this training is to enhance child interviewing skills. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in intensive interview skill building exercises with trained actors. Training will provide individualized feedback concerning dealing with complex situations, and working with children who are reluctant to talk or have special needs.

Schedule for all locations listed below:

• Mon.: 8:15 am to 5:00 pm
• Tues.: 8:15 am to 5:00 pm
• Weds.: 8:15 am to 5:00 pm
• Thurs.: 8:15 am to 5:00 pm
• Fri.: 8:15 am to 9:15 am  (early start for test available at 8:00 am)

Coaching sessions are utilized to enhance a learner’s specific skill attainment in an identified area of practice.  Coaching sessions are provided to Children’s Administration workforce to help workers attain specific skills pertinent to their daily work/practice in child welfare.  Identified goals are created and progress towards those goals is measured by both the learner and the coach after each session. 

Ad Hoc field based coaching topics include:

Tasks such as AFCARS, redaction, case closure, and entering ICWA/NAIR information into FamLink, filing of documentation into case files.

Coaching sessions are utilized to enhance a learner’s specific skill attainment in an identified area of practice.  Coaching sessions are provided to Children’s Administration workforce to help workers attain specific skills pertinent to their daily work/practice in child welfare.  Identified goals are created and progress towards those goals is measured by both the learner and the coach after each session. 

Case Organization and Prioritization field based coaching topics include:

How to prioritize the daily work, including:  using outlook, desk calendars, and reminders; prioritization of caseload activities, assessments and due dates for different programs; reassessing safety and updating safety assessments at pivotal points in the case.

Coaching sessions are an opportunity for participants to receive training and support on critical topics that is flexible enough to respond to their current needs.  Coaching sessions can involve one or several workers, and may be delivered in person, on the phone or by other real time collaboration (face-time, etc).  Preferably, they allow material to be understood within a context of an actual case, and completion of current work.

This coaching session opportunity for staff will aim at compliance with ICWA, give recommendations for working with Tribes and Tribal families, revisit the Federal Act, State ICW codes and current policies/procedures when ICWA applies or is being considered.  

This session will revisit current practices in CA, specialized units and steps available for staff, including tailored topics such as:

1. Initial Intake (ICW Procedures at initial contact) 
2. Tribal/State Agreements 
3. Inquiry and Verification of Child’s Indian Status 
4. Disclosure of Confidential Records/Information to Tribes
5. Child Protective Services for Indian Children 
6. Casework Activities for Court Proceedings – forms Legal Notice, FamLink Response from NAIR eLearning, Monthly Progress report, 
7. Indian Child Placement Preferences and Relative Search
8. Adoption
9. Interstate Compact on the Placement of Indian Children
10. Local Indian Child Welfare Advisory Committees 
11. Payments for Services for Children in Tribal Care or Custody
12. Casework Services for Children and Families of Non-Federally Recognized Tribes and Canadian First Nations

This course provides information on the service contract process and the role of Social Workers, Fiduciaries, Program Managers, and Contract Managers. Participants will learn how to identify what types of services do and do not require contracts, how to determine if a contract is already in place, how to access contracted providers appropriately, how CA Contract Managers develop contracts and the Social Worker’s role in the process, as well as the process for paying for contracted services through FamLink.

This training is open to all DCYF workforce and provides certification in First Aid/CPR and Blood borne pathogens/HIV. Training made available for English and Spanish speaking participants.

This training is provided by certified trainers to provide CPR, First Aid, and Blood-borne pathogens/HIV training.

One of the most difficult decisions in child welfare is determining when a child requires placement to protect the child from an imminent safety threat or to mitigate ongoing harm.  The decision will have long-term ramifications for the child and family.  This training will cover the factors that go into making this decision including both harm to the child in their own home as well as the protective factors that can keep a child safe.

Qualifications of presenter: Dee Wilson has worked in the child welfare field since 1971. Mr. Wilson worked as a caseworker in public child welfare in Colorado Springs, Colorado from 1971-74 and in Canon City, Colorado from 1974-78. From 1978-2004, Dee Wilson worked in various capacities for Washington State's child welfare system: CPS caseworker (1978-85), CPS supervisor (1985-89), area administrator in the Spokane office (1989-1995), training director (1995-97) and regional administrator in southwest Washington (1997-2004).  Since 2004, Mr. Wilson worked at the University of Washington and then went to work at Casey Family Programs as a consultant in child protection.

During this six hour training, the dynamics of domestic violence will be discussed including the psychological and neurological impact of abusive/neglectful environments on children and family unit, advocacy and coordinated response, myths about causation, co-occurrence substance use, cultural stereotypes, accurate assessment and effective interventions.  Particular attention is paid to assessing the difference between anger management problems and domestic violence, and effective management of perpetrators and victims of domestic violence.

Instructor Contact Information
Rose M. Roberson MS, LMHC
(509) 249-0120
Choice_Counseling@msn.com

Ms. Roberson is a licensed mental health counselor who has been in private practice for the past 20 years in the Yakima area.  Her work has been weighted in providing counseling services to domestic violence perpetrators and their victims, and those suffering from single incident as well as complex trauma.  She entered to field of mental health counseling in 1995 after having served as a Sheriff’s Deputy for the Yakima County sheriff’s department for a period of approximately 10 years.  During her tenure with the sheriff’s department she spent several years investigating crimes against children, adult sex crimes and homicides.  She also served on the lower valley child protection team providing consultation from the law enforcement perspective.  She is a current member of the Washington state’s domestic violence treatment provider’s oversight committee which oversees the provision of domestic violence perpetrator treatment programs.  She has been a speaker for Heritage College, Eastern Washington University’s school of social work, Central Washington University’s criminal justice program, the University of Washington’s Alliance for Child Welfare Excellence, the Yakima YWCA, the Red Cross, local law enforcement and fire service’s agencies related to trauma, post trauma recovery, and domestic violence.  Ms. Roberson also serves as a crisis intervention specialist for two national and international crisis response teams. 

Participants in this two-day training will increase their knowledge and understanding of early childhood development, neuroscience associated with brain development in early childhood, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), attachment & relationships, and the effects of trauma and maltreatment on development. In addition, participants will gain skills to directly impact the development of this vulnerable population through case management activities and identifying resources and interventions available in communities across Washington State. The following six modules serve as the foundation of instruction, with a final focus on how to best support the development of young children in public child welfare, and locally accessible resources to support early childhood development in your community.

Module 1: Why Early Childhood Matters
Module 2: Understanding the Science of Brain Development
Module 3: Understanding the Science of Attachment
Module 4: Understanding the impact of maltreatment, stress, and separation on development.
Module 5: Helping Children Thrive
Module 6: Informing Child Welfare

If you have young children on your caseload, or you are caring for young children in your home, you will find the information in this training invaluable in supporting your work with children aged birth-five.

This is Section 1 of the 3-hour in-service level training for Social Workers that explores the principles of child development across the age ranges of birth to three years, three to five years, five to 11 years, and 11 to 17 years.  In each age range, factors that affect development across physical, social, emotional, cognitive and reproductive domains, as well as the developmental effects of abuse and neglect on those domains are examined through videos, worksheets, and case scenarios.  Information is provided about services and resources to support Social Workers and children in care.

Participants can view and get credit for completion of all or only specific sections of the elearning:

• Section 1: Foundational Concepts of Child Development (30 minutes)
• Section 2: Birth to Three Years (60 minutes)
• Section 3: Three to Five Years (30 minutes)
• Section 4: Five to 11 Years (30 minutes)
• Section 5: 11 to 17 Years (30 minutes)

This is Section 3 of the 3-hour in-service level training for Social Workers that explores the principles of child development across the age ranges of birth to three years, three to five years, five to 11 years, and 11 to 17 years.  In each age range, factors that affect development across physical, social, emotional, cognitive and reproductive domains, as well as the developmental effects of abuse and neglect on those domains are examined through videos, worksheets, and case scenarios.  Information is provided about services and resources to support Social Workers and children in care.

Participants can view and get credit for completion of all or only specific sections of the elearning:

• Section 1: Foundational Concepts of Child Development (30 minutes)
• Section 2: Birth to Three Years (60 minutes)
• Section 3: Three to Five Years (30 minutes)
• Section 4: Five to 11 Years (30 minutes)
• Section 5: 11 to 17 Years (30 minutes)

This is Section 5 of the 3-hour in-service level training for Social Workers that explores the principles of child development across the age ranges of birth to three years, three to five years, five to 11 years, and 11 to 17 years.  In each age range, factors that affect development across physical, social, emotional, cognitive and reproductive domains, as well as the developmental effects of abuse and neglect on those domains are examined through videos, worksheets, and case scenarios.  Information is provided about services and resources to support Social Workers and children in care.

Participants can view and get credit for completion of all or only specific sections of the elearning:

• Section 1: Foundational Concepts of Child Development (30 minutes)
• Section 2: Birth to Three Years (60 minutes)
• Section 3: Three to Five Years (30 minutes)
• Section 4: Five to 11 Years (30 minutes)
• Section 5: 11 to 17 Years (30 minutes)

This 90-minute Faculty Led course focuses on a review of the diagnostic criteria; what causes personality disorders, the difference between diagnoses and how trauma plays a role. The course will also review the impact of personality disorders on parenting and how social workers can best interact and provide services to an individual with a personality disorder. Additionally, what does this mean for the parent/child relationship.

Family Preservation Services, or FPS, is one option social workers have when assessing for the most appropriate in-home service.  This interactive eLearning will cover the service components of FPS, what to expect from the FPS provider and what is required of the referring social worker in the delivery of FPS services.

“Growing a Leader” In Service training for DCYF employees is designed for child welfare social service employees who are interested in advancing to leadership roles within the Department. Participants will learn about their potential new role, what it means to be a supervisor and a leader in the child welfare system, their leadership styles and the responsibilities of the supervisory or leadership positions.

The training focuses on gaining an understanding styles of leadership and management; hiring and on-boarding new employees; supervisory case management expectations; providing feedback and effective communication with employees; tracking and documenting employee performance; engaging with community partners; and managing and resolving conflict.

Growing A Leader is a comprehensive training program containing three (3) in person training sessions over a three month period, laying the foundation for continuous on-the-job learning and professional development critical to developing competent, confident, and effective child welfare professionals.”

This 7-hour course will provide participants with an overall understanding of the concept of Harm Reduction, substance use and how it affects the safety of children in the family, including inter-generational use. It covers how to utilize harm reduction plans and how to measure progress sufficiently to have mitigated the safety threats to the children with families who have children of all ages (0-18 years). The training provides an in-depth look at how workers can best support families and clients in recovery. Additionally, it will share how to connect families to appropriate resources.

Participants will be engaged to consider their own thoughts, beliefs, and biases about mental illness; understand basic definitions associated with parental mental illness and child safety; and identify family assessment strategies that can focus on the intersection between parental mental illness and child safety. Additionally, ideas and tools for drafting effective case plans and objectives to achieve child safety with parental mental illness is a factor will also be discussed. Finally, participants will receive resources for services and interventions that promote the reduction of risk associated with parental mental illness and enhance protective factors for family well-being.

Using objective evidence, recognizing patterns of behavior, considering families’ perspectives, and utilizing collaterals can improve decision-making in child welfare.  Skills to ensure incorporation of new information and to identify biases, including confirmation bias, will be examined in this course to improve decision making.

Qualifications of presenter: Dee Wilson has worked in the child welfare field since 1971. Mr. Wilson worked as a caseworker in public child welfare in Colorado Springs, Colorado from 1971-74 and in Canon City, Colorado from 1974-78. From 1978-2004, Dee Wilson worked in various capacities for Washington State's child welfare system: CPS caseworker (1978-85), CPS supervisor (1985-89), area administrator in the Spokane office (1989-1995), training director (1995-97) and regional administrator in southwest Washington (1997-2004).  Since 2004, Mr. Wilson worked at the University of Washington and then went to work at Casey Family Programs as a consultant in child protection.

This is Session 1.2 of the Intake In-Service course, which will support new staff working at Intake to gain the knowledge and skills they need to be effective in gathering and documenting information and in screening intakes. The course is divided into three modules which occur at different times during the employee’s first six months at Intake.

Participants will learn critical information about how to make screening decisions using the standardized tools in FamLink – the sufficiency screen and the SDM for Intake. Participants will learn about the state definitions of child abuse and neglect, and the SDM Intake tool, which helps ensure accurate and consistent screening decisions for screened in CPS Intakes. During much of the training, participants will be applying what they have learned to a series of intake scenarios, and will receive feedback on their work.

This is Session 1.4 of the Intake In-Service course, which will support new staff working at Intake to gain the knowledge and skills they need to be effective in gathering and documenting information and in screening intakes. The course is divided into three modules which occur at different times during the employee’s first six months at Intake.

This training will identify the problem of racial disproportionality in our state’s child welfare system, focusing on disproportionality at intake. The importance of Cultural competence for intake workers is presented, and practical tips related to Intake’s role in child welfare are provided. Participants will learn how they can work to best serve persons with Limited English Proficiency. Additionally, the training will provide guidance about Intake’s role in complying with the Indian Child Welfare Act and in supporting early identification of children who are Native American.

This is Session 1.6 of the Intake In-Service course, which will support new staff working at Intake to gain the knowledge and skills they need to be effective in gathering and documenting information and in screening intakes. The course is divided into three modules which occur at different times during the employee’s first six months at Intake.

This brief e-leaning will orient you to some basic considerations related to screening intakes which involve licensed or other state regulated facilities.

This is Session 2.2 of the Intake In-Service course, which will support new staff working at Intake to gain the knowledge and skills they need to be effective in gathering and documenting information and in screening intakes. The course is divided into three modules which occur at different times during the employee’s first six months at Intake.

This e-learning will help you ask the screening questions most likely to provide you with information about domestic violence if its occurring, identify domestic violence based upon the information you have gathered, consider the impact of identified domestic violence on the child’s safety, and adequately document the information you obtain.

This e-learning will introduce Intake workers to the new FamLink tools during the 5.0 release.

This training helps social workers understand the legal requirements that must be met in order for a court to terminate a parents’ rights to their children.   Social workers also learn to separate myths from facts in the area of termination and regarding their role in preparing and submitting a termination referral to their local Assistant Attorney General or other legal representative. A score of 80% is required to complete this course.

Upon completion of this course, participants will understand the primary threats to child, parent, and other adult’s safety from Domestic Violence (DV) that may occur before, during, or after parent-child visits, and will gain skills in implementing appropriate visitation plans, including identifying and preparing a visit supervisor and determining location and time.  Participants will learn and practice basic skills for intervention before, during, or after the visit.  The training provides principles for documentation of visits when DV is a concern, and addresses when and how to make recommendations to the court regarding modifications to parent-child visitation when safety issues related to the DV are present.  Lastly, participants will consider how and why to receive support regarding issues of concern regarding visitation in these cases, and have a chance to explore “theory vs reality” and to discuss current and former cases where the presence of DV significantly complicated parent-child visitation.

This eLearning covers the correct way to administer, log, store, and dispose of medications. In addition, this eLearning will provide information/protocol to revise agency policies and procedures with current information and best practice.

Following this in-service, social service specialists will understand the expectations for monthly health and safety visits with children as well as monthly visits with caregivers and parents. Topics discussed include the content of discussions (safety, permanency and well-being), why these discussions are important, documentation in FamLink, and tips for completing visits timely.

This eLearning will teach the participant the steps for identifying Indian Children, address practical steps to input information into FamLink, give CA staff tips on completing Ancestry Charts and submitting referrals to the Native American Inquiry Request (NAIR) unit to fulfill the requirements of the Federal ICWA, as well as reviewing State Law and CA policies.

The NCAST Parent-Child Interaction (PCI) Teaching Scales are designed for parents/caregivers and children age birth-3 years (36 months). The PCI Teaching Scales are an assessment tool which provides valid and reliable measurements of parent-child interactions. When used in child-welfare, these scales can provide recommendations for services to strengthen parent-child interactions, and serve as reliable pre-/post- measures of progress made through service engagement.

Once individuals become certified to use the PCI Teaching Scales, they must prove reliable through annual re-certification. This one-day course provides participants with the opportunity to achieve annual reliability in the use of this tool. Re-certification will allow individuals to maintain certification in the use of the PCI Teaching Scales.

Current Certification as an NCAST Assessor

This eLearning will help workers understand the process from the start to the finish around how to complete a visitation between a child and a parent at a DOC prison or electronically.

Participants will understand:

• how to apply the policies related to parent-child visitation when a parent is incarcerated
• how to ascertain the processes, which vary by facility, for scheduling a parent-child visitation in cases where the parent is incarcerated
• the requirements and steps to arranging telephonic and electronic visits
• how to prepare a child, caregiver, and visit supervisor in advance of a visit to an incarcerated parent

Case Workers are frequently faced with parents who use or abuse marijuana and the challenge to assess how this addiction impacts child safety. During this training participants will learn:

• How to assess for child safety when parents use marijuana (legally or illegally);
• The impact of second hand marijuana smoke and the science about impairment;
• The science about pre-natal exposure to marijuana use and its long term effects;
• Tips to assist workers to work with parents who use or abuse marijuana to promote child safety.

This course will provide participants with an overview of permanency planning for children in out of home care. This course will focus on the differences and similarities of adoption, guardianship and non-parental custody as concurrent plans. Participants will explore personal bias, how it influences their professional decision-making, and how to counter bias in making permanency decisions that reflect the best interest of children. All permanency options are explored and a case scenario will help participants understand the multiple factors to consider in determining the child’s best interest and best alternate plan.

***Supervisors: This eLearning may be completed individually or as a group during a unit meeting. If the eLearning is completed as a group, be sure to contact an Alliance coach to input completion of the eLearning training in LMS for all participants.

Supervisors may use the Supervisors Guide to Permanency Considerations eLearning (PDF) available here to promote a permanency discussion after caseworkers have taken the eLearning. (this is an optional activity)

This one-day classroom in-service will focus on the placement and dependency filing process policies rolling out in June, 2018.  Caseworkers will explore how to assess the information gathered during contacts with families in determining when a child can be safely maintained in the home or if placement is necessary. The course will discuss legal authority to place and to ensure that placements are made according to the law and department policy. Disproportionality at placement decision and decision to return home will be discussed. Reasonable and active efforts to prevent placement will be identified as well as the necessary communication with parents regarding the reasons for removal and what conditions need to be met for the child’s safe return home. Tips for reducing trauma at placement, ensuring placements are safe and can meet the child’s needs, and setting up initial visitation between the parent and child based on the safety assessment will be discussed.

Suggested reading prior to class:

The Sounding Board-Controlling Heuristic Biases

The Sounding Board-Thinking Fast and Slow

This e-learning on Prudent Parenting is for both Caregivers and Social Workers. This training discusses the parenting decisions that fall to the Caregiver according to the Prudent Parent Law, provides a few additional considerations when making prudent parenting decisions for children in care, and presents several scenarios that address frequently asked questions related to the Prudent Parent Law.

This eLearning is a component of Regional Core Training (RCT), it is recommended RCT participants complete this eLearning during their third week of RCT instruction.

This short eLearning will orient participants to the four means by which this legal authority to place a child may be granted: Law enforcement protective custody, hospital holds, court order, and a voluntary placement agreed to by the child’s legal parents. Legal, policy and practice consideration for each, as well as subsequent placement requirements are reviewed. In addition, the legal and policy preference for placing children with safe, suitable relatives is reviewed.

This eLearning can be completed outside RCT as a stand-alone eLearning to provide instruction around authority to place and placement priorities.

This eLearning is a component of Regional Core Training (RCT), it is recommended RCT participants complete this eLearning during their fourth week of RCT instruction. RCT Participants should check with their Alliance Coach prior to independent completion of this eLearning. Some Coaches will facilitate this eLearning during a classroom session in week 4.

The Dependency Petition eLearning is an interactive and independent learning activity integrating brief legal instruction and practical application/skill building regarding Dependency Petitions.

This eLearning can be completed outside RCT as a stand-alone eLearning to provide instruction around Dependency Petitions; users outside RCT should utilize an assigned case to complete their Dependency Petition rather than using the RCT Case Scenario. Upon completion, users outside RCT should have their Supervisor review their Dependency Petition.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the legal requirements for filing a dependency petition
• Learn to organize information for case presentation to AAG and court

This eLearning will teach the participant the steps to initiate and monitor efforts completed by the Relative Search unit.  When a child is in need of out of home care, the Department should be actively seeking placement of children with relatives. The centralized Relative Search unit assists staff to locate and identify relatives and this training will help staff learn about the process, required forms and how to gather detailed information from FamLink.

The RIGHT RESPONSE Level 3 Workshop is primarily prevention training.  This 11-hour certification provides basic fundamental skills including Prevention, De-escalation, Postvention, and Physical Safety skills. Attendees learn about self-awareness, reflective thinking skills, positive behavior support, basic and advanced de-escalation skills, self-protection, and proactive alternatives which can prevent dangerous incidents and increase safety.

Attendees that complete the workshop receive a 2 year certification.

Since 1993, Service Alternatives has been researching and developing best practices in the management of behavior and aggression problems in families, schools, group homes, hospitals, camps, detention centers and beyond.  Together, the staff team at Service Alternatives Training Institute has more than 200 years of experience within the company.    

This 3-hour course will help Children’s Administration social workers and supervisors who do ongoing work in the child welfare system with identification of and responses to secondary trauma. The training will increase knowledge and understanding of the levels of secondary trauma, its impact, and how to manage the impact in our environment.

Phoebe Mulligan, LICSW serves as the Clinical Program Director at HopeSparks Family Services in Pierce County.  Through her role as Clinical Director, Ms. Mulligan is committed to creating a team of therapists that are culturally responsive; current on best practices in the field; and building integrated systems that seek to respond holistically to children and adults who have been victims of trauma. Ms. Mulligan is regularly invited to speak regionally on Evidence-Based Practices (EBP), effects of trauma on children and adults; and as an expert on anxiety and trauma.  Her audiences range from clinicians to judges and she is often a guest lecturer in social work master's programs. A graduate of Social Work program at the University of Washington, Seattle, Ms. Mulligan is passionate about reframing the legal paradigm of response to child trauma victims to be child-centric and creating systemic partnerships that remove barriers for children.

Christina R Fajardo, MA, LMHC is a licensed Mental Health Counselor and a Child & Family Therapist at HopeSparks, Tacoma, WA. She is responsible for providing individual/ family counseling using evidence based and best practices for mental health treatment of children and families. She is a certified instructor for the Incredible Years parenting program. 

This 4-hour focused topic training for caregivers and Social Service Specialists is a life-saving program developed to prepare anyone over the age of 15, regardless of prior experience or training, to become a suicide-alert helper.

Most people with thoughts of suicide don’t truly want to die, but are struggling with the pain in their lives. Through their words and actions, they invite help to stay alive. safeTALK trained helpers can recognize these invitations and take action by connecting them with life-saving intervention resources, such as caregivers trained in ASIST.

Since its development in 2006, safeTALK has been used in over 20 countries around the world, and more than 200 selectable video vignettes have been produced to tailor the program’s audio-visual component for diverse audiences. safeTALK trained helpers are an important part of suicide-safer communities, working alongside intervention resources to identify and avert suicide risks.

Training features:

• Presentations and guidance from a LivingWorks registered trainer
• Access to support from a local community resource person
• Powerful audiovisual learning aids
• The simple yet effective TALK steps: Tell, Ask, Listen, and KeepSafe
• Hands-on skills practice and development

safeTALK helps expand the reach of suicide intervention skills in communities around the world.

The University of Washington READi Lab focuses on conducting research related to early identification and intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which is also referred to as autism. Their work is important because early intervention and detection can change the lives of those impacted by autism. 

The Alliance for Child Welfare Excellence is excited to partner with The University of Washington READi Lab to offer the training

to caregivers for training credit.

The training focuses on “caregivers of newly diagnosed children, and provides helpful tips and strategies for the journey that lies ahead.” … “This DVD was developed by the READi Lab, through a grant funded by the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, and in collaboration with Seattle Children’s Autism Center and Gigantic Planet. Many families and professionals contributed to its development…."

This course includes a welcome and five chapters; is available in English, and with Spanish subtitles:

• Welcome
• Chapter One: Understanding the Diagnosis  (Approximately 12 minutes)
• Chapter Two: Voices of Experience: Caring for Yourself and Your Family (Approximately 10 minutes)
• Chapter Three: Finding Help for Your Child (Approximately 11 minutes. Provides Washington State Resource Information.)
• Chapter Four: Setting Up a Treatment Program  (Approximately 22 minutes)
• Chapter Five: Voices of Experience: The Long View (Approximately 6 minutes)

Foster care youth face great educational disparities at both the K-12 and post-secondary education levels.  To address these disparities, there has been a surge of college access and retention programs that have been developed across the country to support the post-secondary aspirations of foster care youth. This presentation focuses on findings of one of the first college access and retention programs to be rigorously evaluated in the United States, Wayne State University's Transition to Independence Program (TIP).  Since program implementation (2012), retention rates have moved from 45% (2012) to 75% (2017).  This is on par with other first-generation, low income students who enroll at the University. TIP foster youth were significantly more likely to be retained than foster youth who were not enrolled in the TIP program at WSU. Information will also be shared on federal policy efforts that have been recently introduced to support both the growth and evaluation efforts of these initiatives. 

Learning objectives:

1. Understand the unique challenges of college enrolled foster youth
2. Understand what the components of one college retention model are (Wayne State’s Transition to Independence Program)
3. Understand student use/popularity of each programmatic component
4. Understand the effectiveness of program model in retaining foster youth and how these foster youth compare to other first generation, low income students in terms of college retention and graduation measures.
5. Learn about federal policies designed to support college going and retention rates of foster youth.

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Angelique Day
Associate Professor of University of Washington School of Social work

Angelique Day received her PhD in interdisciplinary health science in 2011 from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. She earned an MSW from Michigan State University in 2005 and a BS summa cum laude in sociology/psychology from Central Michigan University.  Much of her research focuses on foster care youth, including examining the differences in college retention rates between foster care youth and other low-income first-generation college students, and examining “youth voice” and its impact on child welfare, education and health policy reform. From 2011–2016, she was an assistant professor of social work at Wayne State University, where she taught both undergraduate and graduate classes. She’s been an evaluator, principal investigator or project coordinator on major studies funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and McGregor Fund, among others.  Day has received many awards and honors, including a year-long congressional fellowship awarded during the 2016–2017 academic year by the Society for Research on Child Development and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was assigned to the office of Congressman Danny K. Davis where she helped develop the congressman’s child welfare and higher education legislative portfolios.

In this course, participants learn the policies, procedures and best practices for using interpreter and translation services when working with CA clients with limited English proficiency.  Participants learn how interpreter services assist in helping families achieve permanency by enhancing communication between families and the social worker.  Participants also learn how to appropriately and accurately document the use of interpreter and translation services for LEP clients in FamLink, as well as how to navigate the CA Intranet to identify LEP tools and resources in order to best meet the language and communication needs of clients.