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Message from the Dining Room Table

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Tribal Terms

Reflective Practices

CQI Spotlight

NFP Graduation

in Washington StateSeptember 2020

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My dining room table hasn’t been used to dine for months now, sound familiar?

This part of my home has been a centerpiece for gatherings of my extended family and friends since we have lived in our home in Lacey. Our table has an extender leaf – allowing large groups to gather and eat on its rustic surface. Many memories on this table are carried on its surface and legs.

Now, the dining room table, this trusted friend in our home, has a new role as my “office,” our Kindergarten distance learning

station and arts and crafts toddler station.

I know that you, too, have experienced tremendous changes to cornerstones in your life and daily routine as well. These changes sometimes feel like losses and other times gains – or both at the same time.

Nonetheless, they are changes and changes are often difficult as it requires new things from us.

For me, seeing the opportunity in change does not always come naturally, sometimes I first focus on the discomfort of the shift in my routine and fear

GENERALLY, CHANGE

IN OUR SOCIETY IS INCREMENTAL, I THINK.

REAL CHANGE, ENDURING CHANGE, HAPPENS ONE STEP

AT A TIME.

-Ruth Bader Ginsberg

world shifting together. Like my dining room table, the things it is supporting are slightly different – but its fundamental role remains unchanged. Thank you – thank you – for being fundamental supports for families in your community and we know the way you are doing this work is often uncomfortable and challenging, at best – frustrating and disappointing at worst.

While you navigate change, thank you for pacing and modeling ways to slow down and seek supports you need during this time so families, in turn, can continue to access supports. Throughout this newsletter, we hope you find inspiration from your colleagues, information about ways to approach CQI and opportunities for connection to continue as materials to support your work with your teams and families.

Action ItemsSept. 30:August 2020 Monthly Invoice

Oct. 9:Consenting Client due to DOH

Oct. 21:Sept. 2020 Monthly Enrollment Data ReportSept. CQI PDSA ReportQ1 Progress Report

If you have any questions, please reach out to your contract specialist.

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of the new. And more change is around the corner as we peer ahead to fall. In this new season, as the colors change and temperatures drop, I hope to seek stillness to reflect on these changes and those to come and how I am or am not embracing change.

As I reflect, I continue to hold you in mind - managers, supervisors, home visitors, colleagues at DCYF, DOH, Ounce and the roles you fulfill in your personal lives as well. I (and many others) are holding in mind the impact the new school year has on your family, your work and your community, the impact of ongoing wildfires, the impact of continued racial inequity and my own privilege as a white person. We see the incredible support you are providing to the families in your community as you and they experience the

Message cont....

Save the Date!: The fall All HVSA (virtual) meeting is Nov. 18-19 from 9 a.m. to noon each day. During the virtual Fall HVSA meetings we will gather all HVSA programs to connect and build relationships within Washington State.

Please register for the event online here.

We will continue to update you as we get closer to the event, including a full agenda prior to the event.

Laura AlfaniSFWA Administrator

It’s a Boy! We want to welcome the newest member of the team, Calais Jiles! Calais’s mom, Courtney, our Home Visiting Project Manager, will be snuggling and bonding at home until January, when she returns part time with Calais.

In the meantime, here are contacts in her absence:• For questions related to MIECHV or state-wide

systems contracts, please contact Kasondra Kugler

at Kasondra.Kugler@dcyf.wa.gov• For questions related to workforce

development, please contact Nina Evers at Nina.Evers@dcyf.wa.gov

• For questions related to local home visiting programs, please contact Rene Toolson at Rene.Toolson@dcyf.wa.gov

• For any other general inquiries, please contact Laura Alfani at Laura.Alfani@dcyf.wa.gov.

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Letter to a Graduating Mom

The Nurse Family Partnership program at SeaKing shared a graduation letter given to one of their moms who recently graduated from the NFP program. We wanted to share with you to remind you of what an incredible impact you have on those in your programs. Thank you for all you do. (Names are changed for privacy.)

Dear Veronica, It has been an honor and a privilege to be your nurse over the past two and a half years. Letting a stranger into your home and into your life takes a lot of courage, and I really appreciate your openness and willingness to let me be there with you through your journey into parenthood.

When we met at the office at Southlake, you were so shy that you kept your eyes on the ground and were almost swimming in your hoody. After having faced a lot of challenges in your childhood, your trust in people was very low; yet you reliably met with me weekly to talk about your pregnancy and your hopes and goals for the future. You also got involved in Young Lives, and started to trust in the education and support that your school was offering as well. When baby Alicia was born, a new motivation to succeed began to grow within you.

Because of the daycare at your school, you were able to continue with your classes and stop in and breastfeed Alicia whenever she needed you. As if high school and parenting weren’t enough of a challenge, you also began working part time at a daycare. With your ever developing child development skills, you began to identify issues within the daycare and instead of complaining, you began re-organizing your classroom and curriculum to take a more child centered approach and advocated fiercely for the changes you wanted to see. As you excelled at balancing school, work, parenting and your involvement with Young Lives, your confidence began to grow as well. You began to hold your head high, and your pride showed in your commitment to school, work, Alicia and most of all to yourself. Among the adults who supported you, none of us were surprised when you were named class valedictorian and asked to give a commencement speech at your upcoming graduation. Although you were reluctant at first, you finally agreed and seeing you confidently take the microphone and deliver your speech is a moment that still gives me happy chills to remember.

Now, you are almost unrecognizable from the scared 17-year-old I met. You exuberate confidence, you go after what you want and know what you deserve. Although your dental assistant program was postponed by Covid-19, there’s no doubt in my mind you’ll be right back on your path when in person classes re-open. Meanwhile, you’re working full time and being an amazing mama to Alicia, who takes after you in being sweet, smart and confident.

I feel so lucky to have been able to witness your growth into the loving, attentive and thoughtful mom that you are to Alicia today. Your family will be in my thoughts and in my heart for years to come. Remember that there is no mountain too high and no challenge too great; you can do anything you set your mind to!

“Failure” is Key to CQIDuring our August CQI Webinar we explored the idea of “failure” as a key component of CQI. While it might feel negative or uncomfortable to focus on failure, in the context of CQI failure is actually a really important part of the learning and improvement process. “Failing forward” is the idea that when a new idea doesn’t work the way we thought or hoped, it can actually be an opportunity to dig a little deeper and get curious about what might be happening. Failure is an expected part of the process, especially when testing innovative or ‘out-of-the-box’ ideas. Instead of feeling discouraged, we want to approach failure as an opportunity for growth and deeper understanding. A few ideas to remember about “failure” in CQI: • Embracing failure can help create a culture of psychological safety, where it is safe to fail and learn• “Failing forward” is part of the process – failure is expected• We talk about failure in connection to systems or processes, not people

One tool that can be helpful for thinking about failure in the context of CQI is called a Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA). Despite the technical sounding name, it can be a simple tool to use. This tool helps us think about potential modes of failure in a particular system or process – basically asking the questions “What could go wrong?” and “What can we do to prevent this?” To start, it can be helpful to think first about the components of success. For example, if we’re thinking about a home visit, we would reflect on what contributes to a successful home visit.

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Another way we can consider “failure,” is to think about the factors that might hinder success. One way to do that is through a Force Field Analysis. This is a visual tool to help us reflect on “driving forces” or the factors that help or support, and “restraining forces” or those factors that hinder or get in the way.

Update: SFY21 PDSA Reporting • We will continue to use PDSA Logs for monthly CQI reporting through the remainder of SFY21. As

COVID-19 continues to impact our work and communities, we hope that CQI can be a resource to help us think creatively about sustaining virtual engagement and addressing Continued on page 5

CQI Spotlight cont....

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other challenges that come up. Please continue to use the PDSA Log to document and reflect on changes/strategies implemented in response to COVID-19.

• The PDSA Log will be submitted each month. Please submit these PDSA logs to Elisa Waidelich at ewaidelich@ounceofprevention.org and cc your DCYF Program Specialist.

Monthly CQI Webinars: We will continue to host monthly CQI webinars to provide opportunities for peer connection and learning. Each month we will dive into different topics related to sustaining family engagement and team support during this unusual time. In September, we will focus on “Breathing Life into Virtual Visits” -

• Wed. 9/23 1:30 – 2:30 pm

https://zoom.us/j/93472501637?pwd=bjdNMU8xVWd2VWRJY3FRQ0ErOGxIZz09 Meeting ID: 934 7250 1637Password: 212746

hvsa reflective practicescompetency • capacity • workforce wellbeing

What Are Reflective Practices? Reflective practices are the ways in which home visitors and supervisors create safe, dedicated “spaces” for reflection and inquiry in order to grow home visitors’ use of self in relationships with the families they serve. Most typically, this happens in individual and group Reflective Supervision settings and it may involve one or more supports such as the FAN (Facilitating Attuned Interactions) Framework or the use of the Region X Reflective Supervision Guidelines and Self-Assessment tools. It also happens organically, in the conversations and relationships one has with peers and colleagues.

As home visiting staff navigate current circumstances and challenges at state, country and cultural levels,

Reflective Practices are more vital than ever to individuals, teams and organizations. They help individuals maintain self-compassion; grow capacity to explore personal implicit biases and better meet the cultural needs of families served; reduce secondary trauma and build resilience - especially important given this year’s ever-changing landscape of personal and professional unknowns.

A recent article posted on Zero to Three’s website is just one example of how the use of multiple reflective practice approaches can make a difference:https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/3010-mindful-practices-to-enhance-diversity-informed-reflective-supervision-and-leadership.

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Why Do Reflective Practices Matter?While high quality reflective practices may use different approaches, they share one common outcome: they strengthen relationships. And high quality relationships lead to positive relational health* outcomes. At the heart of HVSA Reflective Practices is the understanding that the relational health goals we hold for families are parallel to the relational health goals we hold for our field. The chart below describes this:

How Can I Learn More About Relational Health?Considerable research and science supports the positive impact relational health and reflective practices can have on infant and early childhood mental health and brain development. That is why HVSA programs have been invited to participate in two different upcoming prototype trainings facilitated by our home visiting partner WA-AIMH. These trainings are prototypes because we are “testing” them for the first time, targeting participants by their roles, and assessing the interest in the topics and the experience of trainees.

As of this writing, there may still be spots available for both trainings. To sign up, please email Nina Evers at nina.evers@dcyf.wa.gov or reach out by phone at 360.522-0982. Here are the offerings:

The Growing Brain Online Training Series for Home VisitorsOctober 6 - November 17, Tuesdays, 1-4 p.m.

The Foundations of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Online Training Series for SupervisorsOctober 15 - November 12, Thursdays, 9am-noon

Is Gratitude a Reflective Practice?Absolutely! Thank you to everyone who participated in the August webinars on SFY21 Reflective Practices; thank you to those who shared their reflections on the equitable participation considerations that we used to ensure access and inclusion of all HVSA programs; and thank you and CONGRATULATIONS to our First Supervisor FAN Cohort. We learn and grow from you all!

Reflective Practice cont....

*For more information on relational health:https://cssp.org/resource/early-relational-health-community-level-strategies/

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Tribal Key TermsBrian Frisina is the Tribal Program Consultant for our Early Support for Infants and Toddlers team. Brian will be regularly sharing key terms to help support us all in getting to know our Tribal Nations partners better.

Tribal GovernanceCurrently, 573 sovereign tribal nations (variously called tribes, nations, bands, pueblos, communities and Native villages) have a formal nation-to-nation relationship with the U.S. government. These tribal governments are legally defined as “federally recognized tribes.” Of these tribal nations, 229 are located in Alaska and the remaining tribes are located in 35 other states. In total, tribal governments exercise jurisdiction over lands that would make Indian Country the fourth largest state in the nation.

“The Congress shall have the power to…regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.” - Article 1, Section 8, U.S. Constitution

Tribal governments are an important and unique member of the family of American governments. The U.S. Constitution recognizes that tribal nations are sovereign governments, just like Canada or California.“Sovereignty” is a legal word for an ordinary concept — the authority to self-govern. Hundreds of treaties, along with the Supreme Court, the President and Congress, have repeatedly affirmed that tribal nations retain their inherent powers of self-government. These treaties, executive orders and laws have created a fundamental contract between tribes and the U.S.Tribal nations ceded millions of acres of land that made the U.S. what it is today and, in return, received the guarantee of ongoing self-government on their own lands. The treaties and laws create what is known as the federal “trust responsibility,” to protect both tribal lands and tribal self-government, and to provide for federal assistance to ensure the success of tribal communities.

Treaty LawsWhat are treaty laws?

A treaty is a constitutionally recognized contract between sovereign nations. These legally binding

contracts are protected under the U.S. Constitution, which states that they are the “supreme law of the land.”

Indian CountryIt is important to understand that the term “Indian Country” is leveraged broadly as a general description of Native spaces and places within the United States, and it is inclusive of the hundreds of tribal nations that occupy these spaces. The term is used with positive sentiment within Native communities, by Native-focused organizations such as NCAI, and news organizations such as Indian Country Today. In law, the term Indian country (lower case “c”) is found in several areas of the United States Code, and is also an official legal term referenced in many Supreme Court opinions, collectively articulating the meaning as it pertains to federal law relating to American Indian land and people.

When used appropriately, Indian Country takes on a powerful meaning, legally and symbolically, for all tribal nations. Indian Country is wherever American Indian spirit, pride, and community are found. It resides not only in law books, legislation, and historical treatises, but also on ancestral homelands, within our homes, and in the hearts of American Indian and Alaska Native people everywhere.

What’s Happening Next Month?

Consenting Clients to

DOH

Enrollment CheckBy the

NumbersIn June we had 2,970 home visits across the state to 1,556 families for an average of 1.91 visits per family.

Our statewide enrollment for June was 1,869 families, putting us at 77%.

You are continuing to serve families despite the challenges of COVID-19. Thanks for all you do!

Monthly Enrollment, Report, CQI PDSA and Q1

Progress Report due

Monthly Invoice due

Halloween

International Coffee Day

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