Family Resources

All parents have questions about their children’s behavior, growth, and development. The challenges of parenting seem never-ending and constantly evolving. On this page we  provide resources for parents that answer many of the questions that will inevitably arise when raising children.

The following brochures "Licensed Child Care in Washington State" (English)  and "Programa con licencia para el cuidado del niño en el Estado de Washington" (Spanish) answer frequently asked questions about child care. Visit the DEL web site for more answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

Adoption

The State of Washington Adoption web page. Click on the Introduction, How to Adopt and Resources links in the orange bar for information.

Foster Care

Visit the State of Washington web page on Foster Care for information on training, resources, working with laws and rules. It will also explain how to become a foster parent, kinship or respite provider.

Neglect, Child Abuse or Violation Concerns

If you have concerns about your child's care or questions about licensing rules violations or child abuse or neglect in the program you can:

• Get background information about a child care provider;
• Contact your local Children's Administration office by phone or email; or
• Visit the Children's Administration website for information on how to report suspected abuse or neglect. An intake worker will listen to your concerns and refer them for investigations if necessary.
• The mission of the Washington State Office of the Family & Children's Ombudsman is to protect children and parents from harmful agency action or inaction, and to make agency officials and state policy makers aware of system-wide issues in the child protection and child welfare system so they can improve services

Special Needs

Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) was formerly known as the Infant Toddler Early Intervention Program (ITEIP). The ESIT directs the coordination of the statewide system of early intervention services for families with children age birth to three that have developmental delays. Early intervention in Washington State is a collection of services families may need for their infants or toddlers with disabilities. Early intervention during the first years of a child's life can make a big difference in the future of that child.

The Center for Children with Special Needs The Center for Children with Special Needs was formed in 1998 as a program of Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. The Center focuses on improving systems of care for children with special needs through education, research and evaluation. Our work impacts policy, quality of care, education and family partnerships in health care.

Early Brain Development

• Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) formerly known as the Infant Toddler Early Intervention Program (ITEIP). Early intervention provides services to families and infants and toddlers, birth to three, who have a disability and /or delay.

• Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) -  a "whole-child," comprehensive, family-focused preschool program designed to help low-income children and their families to prepare for and succeed in school. Because many factors affect a child's learning ability and development, the program has four interactive components: education, health and nutrition, parent involvement and family support.
• Early Childhood Education Career Development Ladder Pilot Program - We can build a ladder into the middle class for early childhood education teachers and in doing so insure our children grow and develop with the help and nurturing of committed and caring professionals.
• Early Connections Technology in Early Childhood Education - Connecting technology with the way young children learn: resources and information for educators and care providers.
• National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL) - focuses on enhancing the cognitive, social, & emotional development of children from birth through age eight.
• Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) - Our mission is to help local school districts give children hope and skills for their future, and to lead and serve school districts so that all children can: read, write and communicate; know and apply math, science, history, civics, geography, arts, health, and fitness; think, make reasoned judgments, and solve problems; and understand the connection between learning and opportunities in life and work.
• Washington Association for the Education of Young Children (WAEYC) - promotes interest, study and action concerning the well-being and education of all young children, with an emphasis on those birth to 8 years old, and their families.
• Washington Learns - This site, sponsored by the Governor's Commission on Early Learning, I Am Your Child Campaign and Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center includes links to sites on early learning and brain research. Includes links to Washington State agencies.

General Internet Links

• Access Washington Resource Directory -  Access Washington is the virtual business center for interactive government services. Designed as a World Wide Web portal to Washington State, Access Washington provides a coordinated view of government information and services.

• Baby Sign Language: This site is a collection of free resources created to teach baby sign language through:

• Tutorials
• Video dictionary
• Flash cards that parents can print out at home
• Wall chart
• Behavior Tips for Parents: As children begin to explore their abilities and the world around them, they will also begin to test limits. Parents can be solely charged with setting and reinforcing the limits that will provide the paradigm for a well-adjusted adult. It's not uncommon for children to act out in ways like refusing to obey, misbehaving in public, having temper tantrums, becoming aggressive, or even lying and stealing. Below are common ways that children may act out, and corresponding disciplinary methods that can help curtail disagreeable behavior. While each method has its proponents and critics, it can be up to you to determine what is best for your child.
• Born Learning: Everyday life is a learning experience for children. Born Learning is a public engagement campaign that helps parents, grandparents and caregivers explore ways to turn everyday moments into fun learning opportunities. Visit their web site to find out how children learn, get tips on creating opportunities for learning and learning on the go.

• BraveKids.org is a website that links families of special-needs children with the community resources that can help them. Our extensive online resource directory contains over 11,000 resources for children with special needs. You are one of those resources!

• Casey Family Programs- provides an array of services for children and youth, with foster care as its core. Casey services include adoption, guardianship, kinship care (being cared for by extended family), and family reunification (reuniting children with birth families). Casey is also committed to helping youth in foster care make a successful transition to adulthood.
• Child Care Aware: Find and learn about high quality child care, network with other parents, watch videos about high-quality child care, and print out our child care glossary.

• Children's Home Society Through adoption support services, family support and parent education, early childhood development, school-based services, advocacy, counseling and out-of-home care, Children's Home Society of Washington has served Washington state's children and families for more than 100 years.

• Community Resources On-Line (2-1-1)

• Council for Children and Families Prevention of abuse and neglect.

• Department of Early Learning (DEL) Publications page has quality information for child Care providers on many different subjects.

• NACCRRA's Disaster Planning, Response and Recovery - An important article for all families and child care providers to ensure that thier homes and child care settings are sufficiently prepared in the event of a disaster.
• National Association for the Education of Young Children - (NAEYC) Choosing a quality preschool for your child.
• National Network for Child Care (NNCC) - Our mission is to increase and strengthen the quality of non-parental care environments using the expertise of Cooperative Extension's nationwide dissemination system; make quality research, resources and best practices available nationally for direct local access and provide leadership to the nation's Cooperative Extension System in partnership with other organizations on child care issues.
• Parent Help 123 - a program of WithinReach
• Parent Trust for Washington Children - creates lasting change and hope for the future by promoting safe, self sufficient, healthy families and communities.
• Parenthood.com
• Safe Kids worldwide -check for children's product recalls.
• Social Security Disability Help - Social Security Disability benefits are not isolated to adults who are unable to earn an income to support themselves. Children can, and do, qualify for Social Security Disability benefits in certain cases.
• Social Security Resource Center - Many individuals will have the need to file for Social Security Disability benefits. The Social Security and Disability Resource Center website provides information on the federal government's two disability benefit programs, title II social security disability benefits and title 16 SSI disability benefits.

Covered topics include disability applications, denials on claims, the filing of appeals, and how the disability claim evaluation process works.

• The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) is the compilation of all permanent laws now in force.

• Visual Learning Disabilities - Vision and learning disabilities are intimately related. Roughly 80% of what children learn is gained from visual acuity. Consequently, vision plays a significant role in a child’s retention of knowledge.
• Washington Administrative Codes (WAC) State agencies adopt rules, also known as Washington Administrative Code (WAC), to implement state and federal law. Click this link to see DSHS-related Minimum Licensing Requirements for Family Child Care Homes.
• Washington Government Telephone Directory - Through this site you can locate Washington State Agency staff and their phone numbers, educational institutions, and many local government organizations.