Council for Children & Families Washington

Governor Gregoire released her budget on December 18. CCF was not one of the human services programs included in the budget announcement.

We thank you so much for your questions and concerns regarding CCF’s elimination as proposed in the Governor’s budget. As the budget process plays out over the next months, please be assured that we welcome your questions, and plan to continue supporting our funded programs and other partnerships by investing in the achievement of our shared goals of promoting well being, safety and school readiness for all Washington’s children.

For additional information, please contact CCF Policy Director David Beard at 206-518-0236. He will be able to answer your questions regarding the budget situation and the legislative process.

If you have not already done so, you may want to sign up for our Legislative Update e-newsletter at the following link: https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:2202. This e-newsletter will provide the primary means we will use to communicate with our stakeholders during the legislative season.

Early Childhood Mental Health Institute Provides Materials from Recent Training

Community teams recently participated in a 3-day Institute, to focus on strategies to provide local mental health consultation for young children. The Institute included research and practice-based training, technical assistance, peer sharing and time for teams to develop next steps to take in their community to advance mental health consultation to early learning organizations and providers.

CCF Announces Grant Opportunity

Submission Deadline: November 14

We are pleased to announce that funding will be available beginning July 1, 2009 for community-based family support and child abuse prevention programs throughout Washington.

CCF provides funding for community-based programs serving Washington State. Funding is available to any private, non-profit agency, government entity or faith-based organization.

New identity signifies ongoing evolution and focus on prevention

We are proud to announce our new agency identity, the Council for Children & Families.

After 26 years as the Washington Council for Prevention & Child Abuse & Neglect (WCPCAN) / Children's Trust of Washington, we now have a new identity, which we think accomplishes two important goals: It builds on our history as an early leader in the field of family support and optimal child development, and reflects our evolving understanding of how better to frame our work.

The prominent ampersand (&) in our new name and logo reinforces our strong ongoing commitment to collaboration -- with children, families, communities and many partners. The welcoming new name, look and 'feel' we think also much better reflects the fresh approach to prevention that is driving us here and in the field nationally.

The transitional site up now will continue to evolve as we further develop our online resources with exciting new features such as interactive program mapping, enhanced grant resources and social media options.

We hope you are as excited about our new identity and what it stands for as we are! On behalf of the Council for Children & Families leadership and staff, thank you for your interest and ongoing support.

Department of Early Learning issues results of parent needs assessment

The Department of Early Learning (DEL) issued the results of a statewide survey that offers an unprecedented look at what Washington parents want and need when making early learning decisions for their families. The survey of more than 900 Washington parents of children ages birth through 5 is among the most comprehensive surveys of its kind conducted in the nation.

View DEL's press release and the 2008 Parent Needs Assessment report documents here:

Council for Children & Families To Become Newest State Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America

Council for Children & Families has entered into a process to formally affiliate with the national organization Prevent Child Abuse America. This affiliation will strengthen our access to national expertise and resources to share with our partners here in Washington, and complement our existing relationship with the National Alliance of Children's Trust Funds. The PCAA chartering process takes about four to six months to complete, but in the meantime, we will be able to share resources PCAA has to offer, including its "Economic Impact of Child Maltreatment" report.

Other PCAA initiatives that should benefit Washington State include: guidance (based on new research) on how best to reframe child abuse and neglect, access to new funding streams through PCAA's corporate partnerships, connection to public awareness and education campaigns, and information for advocates and policy makers.

What's in Store for Children and Families in 2008?

If one of your resolutions is to stay better informed about policies that affect children and families in Washington State, consider signing up for the Council for Children & Families Legislative Update. This once-weekly e-newsletter covers legislative policies concerning Washington families in plain speak and will inform you about which bills are being introduced and where they are in the process.

To start subscribing, click here

Council for Children & Families Becomes Newest State Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America

Council for Children & Families has entered into a process to formally affiliate with the national organization, Prevent Child Abuse America.

This affiliation will strengthen our access to national expertise and resources to share with our partners here in Washington, and complement our existing relationship with the National Alliance of Children's Trust Funds. The PCAA chartering process takes about 4-6 months to complete, but in the meantime we will be able to share resources PCAA has to offer, including its Economic Impact of Child Maltreatment report which will be released on January 29. We will make this available in next month's Resource Update.

Other PCAA initiatives that should benefit Washington State include: guidance (based on new research) on how best to reframe child abuse & neglect; access to new funding streams through PCAA's corporate partnerships; connection to public awareness & education campaigns; and information for advocates and policy makers.

WCPCAN's Name Change

The Washington Council for Prevention of Child Abuse Neglect (WCPCAN) was renamed Children's Trust of Washington by an act of the 2007 legislature. While Children's Trust was the name chosen by the legislature, that name will likely change again in the 2008 legislative session.

Please bear with us while we go through a thoughtful process to update our new name and agency identity to better align with our mission, vision, values and statewide partnerships.

We will be moving forward with a new logo and brand identity in the very near future.

Current List of Evidence Based Programs

Council for Children & Families (formerly WCPCAN) and the Research Advisory Group have recently updated the list of evidence based programs that impact parenting behaviors. There is empirical evidence that these programs reduce known risk factors and/or enhance known protective factors or (for promising programs) there is a sound theoretical basis for believing that the program's effects are causally related to the reduction of child abuse and neglect.

We began compiling this list based on programs that Council for Children & Families has had experience funding through community-based agencies across the state. It is our intention to continue to grow this list as the body of research on effective prevention of child abuse and neglect programs develops. We will use the criteria outlined to determine which programs to include on our list, and at what level of support.

The updated matrices include information related to evidence based home visiting and parent education programs:

Programs:

Matrix of the evidence based home visiting programs

Matrix of parent education and skill building models

Criteria:

To view the criteria used to evaluate programs and the list of programs based on their level of evidence, click here

More Information:

For a description of each of the evidence based programs on our list, click here

Strengthening Families through Early Care & Education Washington

(SFECE WA)

Expands National Early Childhood Program
Visit our new website at www.strengtheningfamilies.wa.gov
Early childhood professionals have known for decades that they play a unique role in protecting and nurturing young children as well as promoting their social and emotional development. Now there is evidence to suggest that early childhood programs that reach out to parents may also be the best child abuse and neglect prevention strategy. [More]

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