The Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) has two primary roles:
- Support the delivery of DCYF services that are of high quality and culturally sensitive.
- Ensure tribes can access DCYF services in a timely manner.
Our office coordinates, monitors, and assesses DCYF’s relationships with tribes and Recognized American Indian Organizations (RAIOs), working to enhance and improve government-to-government relationships. Our goal is to assist the collective needs of Tribal Governments and RAIOs to assure quality and comprehensive program service delivery in the areas of child welfare and early learning.
Grant Opportunities:
Tribal Early Learning Fund (TELF)
DCYF is excited to share a funding opportunity to support Tribal children, prenatal to five, in early learning programs around Washington state. The Tribal Early Learning Fund (TELF) is designed to provide resources to Tribal early learning programs and programs serving Tribal children so that they can better serve Tribal children in a culturally appropriate and inclusive manner.
Applications are due by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24, 2024.
Awards are broken into three categories. Category 1 has a maximum award amount of $250,000, category 2 has a maximum award amount of $100,000, and category 3 has a maximum award amount of $75,000. Categories 2 and 3 have subcategories for Tribal Home Visiting and Home Visiting programs serving Tribal children with a maximum award of $50,000. Category 2 also has an opportunity for Tribal Family, Friends and Neighbors (FFN providers) with a maximum award amount of $5,000. For more information about categories, please review the RFA Guidance document.
The FY 2024-2025 TELF grant period runs from the time of award until June 30, 2025.
The Office of Tribal Relations will be offering Technical Assistance office hours to assist with the application process and to answer any questions. Please join OTR for the following dates:
For questions, please contact Apolonio (polo) Hernandez, Tribal Early Learning Fund Specialist, at apolonio.hernandez@dcyf.wa.gov or (509) 564-5027.
Supporting documents: