December 11, 2020 - ESIT Weekly

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

ESIT HEADER

Welcome to the ESIT Weekly


Pausing the ESIT Weekly

This is the last ESIT weekly for the month of December as we take time to pause and reflect on the direction of the ESIT Weekly communication. We appreciate and value all of our readers. We will be back in January.

Questions? Please contact Sue Rose, ESIT Stakeholder Engagement Manager at sue.rose@dcyf.wa.gov.

ESIT Fireside Chats

Mon., Dec. 14 | Jan. 11 | Feb. 8 12:30 – 1:15 p.m.
Phone: (253) 215-8782
Meeting ID: 815 8363 9027 Passcode: 000111
Click Here to Join


Networking Sessions

PT/OT Statewide
Networking Sessions

Second Wednesday
of each month 
Jan. 13 | 8-9 a.m.
Click Here to Join


Statewide FRC
Networking Sessions 

Third Thursday of every month Thurs., Dec. 17 | 1-2 p.m.
Click Here to Join


State Connect:
Feeding Therapy Group
Thurs., Dec. 17 | 9-10 a.m.
Click Here to Join


Quote

snail-stroll_JB

Snail Stroll. Digital art by Jahla Brown, DCYF ESIT Stakeholder Engagement Specialist

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."
-Ruth Bader Ginsburg


Tribal Term of the Week

pictograph

Kiowa winter count by Anko, covers summers and winters for 37 months, 1889-92, ca. 1895. National Archives and Records Administration[1].

My name is Brian Frisina, DCYF ESIT Tribal Program Consultant. Each week I will provide a key term to help support us all in getting to know our Tribal Nations partners better.

This week’s term is: Winter Count.

A winter count is a record of history. For generations, Plains Indians drew pictographs to document their daily experiences. The Lakota term for winter count is wniyetu wowapi. The word Wowapi translates as “anything that can be read or counted.” Waniyetu is the Lakota word for year, which is measured from first snow to first snow.

Usually drawn on buffalo skin or deer hide, Lakota winter counts are composed of pictographs organized in spiral or horizontal rows. Each pictograph represents a year in history of a Lakota community. The pictographs were organized in chronological order so that the winter count provided an outline of events for the community’s Keeper or oral historian.

Winter counts were also used by individuals within the tribal community to record specific events in their own lives. Tribal communities made up of members of extended family or tiyospayes also recorded their story and experiences on a winter count so it was not uncommon to have multiple copies of winter counts within a community.

Winter counts were dynamic documents of recorded history. Variations between similar counts occurred if a community historian chose to emphasize a different aspect of an event or select another event all together. Differences among winter count narratives may also be the result of inaccurate translation from Lakota to English. The winter count, like history, is selective representation of a people’s past. The narratives usually reflect both the community’s history and culture.

Sources: The Lakota Winder Count. Carkeek-Cheney, Roberta; Sioux Winter Count: A 131-Year Calendar of Events, Naturegraph Publishers, Inc., Happy Camp, CA, 1998.

“In Lakota, there is no word for domination, and no word for exclusion…”
-Tiokasin Ghosthorse

In this easy-to-understand publication, learn more about the oral culture and history-keeping about the practice of making winter counts Count:

Long Dog's Winter Count


Tribal Corner

Suggested Books

  • The World We Used to Live In: Remembering the Powers of the Medicine Men, by Vine and Philip Deloria
    ISBN-1555915647
  • God is Red: A Native View of Religion, 30th Anniversary Edition, paperback, Sept. 1, 2003, by Vine Deloria Jr. (Author), Leslie Silko (Foreword), George E. Tinker (Foreword)
    ISBN-1555914985
  • The Legal Universe: Observations on the Foundations of American Law by Vine Deloria Jr. (Author), David E. Wilkins
    ASIN:B007O0MW5A
  • Quiet Revolution West: The Rebirth of Metis Nationalism by John Weinstein, Paul Martin
    ASIN:B00T3IZASM

Suggested Videos to Watch


NEW GUIDANCE: Cross-System Partnership for Children in Out-of-Home Care

ESIT is pleased to announce the release of this much anticipated practice guide. This guide is meant to support providers who are working with infants and toddlers who reside with a parent and are receiving child welfare services, or are living in an out-of-home care setting.

We wish to express thanks to all of the partners who helped create this updated document, formerly known as “Identifying Parent” practice guide.  

You can find the guide with a recorded overview on the Practice Guide page of the ESIT website.

Please contact your regional Program Consultant if you have questions about the guidance.

Information regarding a webinar to discuss the new guidance will be provided in January.


UPDATED GUIDANCE: Telepractice Resources for Early Intervention Providers Now Available

An updated version of the Telepractice Resources for Early Intervention Providers can be found on the ESIT COVID-19 page, on the right-hand side bar, under Resources


The Stohr Family: Emergency Planning in a Pandemic

Whitney_Stohr

Check out this cool article on our former Parent Institute for Engagement (PIE) Cohort 2 member, Whitney Stohr, as she shares her story about emergency planning in a pandemic for her family:

As a “Medical Family,” our 2-year-old son Malachi is medically complex and falls into the high-risk category of those most vulnerable to the health impacts of COVID-19. Every few days, I would look at my husband and begin to vocalize the question on both our minds. “But, what if —” 

Read about the Stohr family's pandemic planning, article by Whitney Stohr:

Emergency Planning in a Pandemic


Access Training Through the DCYF Training Portal

Early Intervention Provider Agencies and County Lead Agencies: *Please share widely*

Historically, training required by ESIT has been accessed through Educational Service District (ESD) 112 and the ESIT website. All required training is now accessible through the DCYF Training Portal.  Visit the Training Page of the ESIT website for:

  1. A link to the Training Portal.
  2. A description of required trainings based on your role and how much of your required training is already completed.
  3. Instructions for creating an account in the Training Portal.

If you have been identified as having an “admin role” which will allow you to track training completion for your staff, you will receive separate communication and instructions.

Questions regarding access to the Training Portal? Please contact MERIT@dcyf.wa.gov.

Questions regarding required training? Please contact your Regional Program Consultant.


Joint DCYF & OSPI IDEA 45th Anniversary Celebration Webinar

Celebrating 45 Years of Special Education

DCYF and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) are pleased to join together to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA is the nation's federal special education law that ensures public schools and state agencies provide all children with disabilities with the services they need to thrive in school and beyond.

This hallmark legislation significantly changed the educational trajectory for all children with disabilities. IDEA ensures that all children – regardless of ability – have equitable opportunities to grow, play and learn in inclusive settings.

Virtual Celebration

Join DCYF and OSPI on Wednesday, Dec. 16, from 3-4 p.m. for a virtual celebration of Washington State’s journey over the last 45 years of providing education, resources, supports and services to infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities and their families. The webinar will feature state, regional and local panelists to informally stroll down memory lane and reflect on successes, challenges and potential next steps needed to continuously improve systems to support increases in child, youth and family outcomes. 

Dec. 16 | 3 - 4 p.m.

Register here for the virtual celebration

Read the full media release

If you have questions about the webinar, please email Sue Rose, ESIT Stakeholder Engagement Manager. 


Introduction to Reflective Practice Training - Washington Association for Infant Mental Health

Direct service providers and supervisory staff:

Reflective practice is the regular consideration of how one’s beliefs, values and responses impact behavior, interactions and relationships with others, and supports professionals in enhancing their ability to serve families and children with a high level of quality and integrity.

ESIT is offering a free training for anyone interested in learning more about the benefits of reflective practice and the skills and methods for integrating reflection more regularly into their daily work. The training is for providers serving infants, young children and their families in a variety of service settings who want to learn more about reflective practice. Training content focuses on purpose, best practices and navigating challenges in implementing reflective practice, and is based in part on the Region X Reflective Supervision Guidelines for Home Visiting Programs (2018) which you can find here.

Jan. 26, 2021 | 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Register Here

Space is limited to 25 so please register early.


Comments Needed: Statewide Early Learning Coordination Plan

For the past year, parents, child care providers, early learning advocates, pediatricians, staff from state agencies and many others have worked together to develop goals and strategies to inform the future of Washington State’s early learning system for children prenatal through 3rd grade and the adults who care for them. 

We hope that you will take a few minutes to review the goals and strategies that will be the heart of this plan and provide your comments. Your input will be used to inform the final plan.

Learn More – Statewide Early Learning Coordination Plan Goals and Strategies Documents

When you have completed your review of the plan, please complete our short survey. You only need to take the survey once. Please be as specific as possible with your comments. The survey closes on Jan. 31, 2021.

Take the survey in EnglishSpanish or Somali.


Resources

Unsung Heroes: Please Submit Your Unsung Hero Nominations!

Please help DCYF in honoring 28 more unsung heroes in February 2021 by nominating a parent, primary caregiver or guardian for the Unsung Hero award. For more information on how to submit nominations:

Recognize an Unsung Hero for Parent Recognition Month

All nominations must be submitted by Jan. 11, 2021.  For more information, contact strengtheningfamilies@dcyf.wa.gov.


Subscription Spot

For more updates, subscribe directly to these great newsletters:

  • Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) eNotes
    To get updates Subscribe Here. ECTA eNotes newsletter shares the new resources from ECTA Center as well as news items related to early intervention and early childhood special education gathered from a variety of reliable sources. 
  • Washington Hands and Voices
    To get updates, subscribe to the Newsletter sign up at the very top left of the screen, then scroll down to the quick sign-up on the bottom right of the screen.