2024 Indigenous Children, Youth & Families (ICYF) Conference
October 16-17, 2024 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Achieving the Gold Standard: Tribal Champions and Best Practices
The ICYF conference is a free, online event which gathers caregivers, tribal partners, caseworkers, early learning providers, and juvenile rehabilitation staff to learn together and improve our shared practice. Over this two-day conference, champions in the field will have an opportunity to share with participants the innovative work that they are doing to support Native families.
To register:
DCYF Employees
Register via the WA State Learning Center.
Community & Tribal Partners
1. Log in or Create an Account on the UW Alliance catalog.
2. Under the Courses tab, search for DCYF Indigenous Children, Youth and Families Conference 2024.
3. Click on the blue “Take course” button to register.
Please note: Zoom links will be shared via email closer to the event date.
For more information, contact the Office of Tribal Relations at dcyf.tribalrelations@dcyf.wa.gov.
Recordings of past presentations are available on DCYF’s YouTube channel.
Positive Indian Parenting
The Positive Indian Parenting (PIP) training prepares tribal and non-tribal child welfare personnel to train Native parents using a culturally specific approach. Developed by the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA), this culturally based training is grounded in traditional Native teachings about child rearing.
DCYF will be offering PIP in partnership with NICWA. Please fill out the Interest Form to receive email updates regarding upcoming training dates.
For more information about PIP, visit NICWA's PIP flyer.
Indian Child Welfare (ICW) Policy Roll-Out Trainings
DCYF, in partnership with The Alliance, is excited to launch the much-awaited in-person Indian Child Welfare (ICW) Policy training beginning April 30.
The training reviews the recent revisions that have been made to Washington State ICW policies and procedures, anticipated to go live on July 1, 2024. The training also covers the history of ICW in Washington State, including the state’s 40-year partnership with our 29 Federally Recognized Tribal Nations and our shared goal of improved outcomes for Indian children and families involved in the child welfare system.
How to access the training:
Visit The Alliance’s training page for a list of training dates in your region. Non-DCYF staff will need to request enrollment to register.
Tribal partners are encouraged to complete the 30-minute online ICW training prior to attending the in-person training. Sign into The Alliance website and search for "DCYF Indian Child Welfare (ICW) Policy Roll Out (eLearning)" to take the course. We recommend using Chrome to access this online training.
For more information, please contact Brandy Otto at brandy.otto@dcyf.wa.gov.