Regional Resources

Mentors help you by providing emotional support, sharing their experiences, and connecting you to regional and state resources.  They are experienced caregivers who are familiar with the supports and services available in your region. Mentors are generalists who can help all types of caregivers statewide find the resources and support they need for successful placements. Mentors do not  offer legal, medical, or mental health advice.

Sylvia Cardenas

CaRES Mentor Region 2 & Spanish Speaking Community Specialist
sylviac1@uw.edu
Sylvia holds a Master of Science in Management and Leadership. A lifelong resident of Eastern Washington, she embraces the diverse range of outdoor activities the region offers. In 2017, Sylvia and her husband assumed the role of kinship caregivers, sparking a deep commitment to make a positive impact. Motivated by this experience, they both chose to become licensed foster parents. Recognizing a specific need within limited English-speaking communities, she has taken on role as a mentor, specializing in assisting monolingual Spanish-speaking individuals.

Tyann Whitworth

tyannw@uw.edu
CaRES Mentor Region 2

Tyann and her family began their fostering journey in 2008 while living in Utah. There they specialized in fostering older youth specifically struggling with addiction and/or behavioral support needs. They relocated to Yakima in 2013 and within a year were licensed as foster parents in Washington State and switched their focus from teens to elementary aged kiddos- specifically wanting to open their home to sibling groups in order to provide kiddos with as much connection to their own family as possible. In total the Whitworths have fostered over 60 children and in 2018 they were blessed to have the opportunity to adopt their youngest daughter. The Whitworth’s have 4 children in total and one amazing daughter-in-law!
In 2014 Tyann began working as a foster parent mentor and led the mentoring program in Region 2 from 2015-2020. Tyann also has experience working with a local private agency supporting youth with Behavioral Rehabilitation Services (BRS) and briefly worked for DCYF as a social worker. Caregiver support has become part of her DNA and she loves to help families navigate through their fostering/kinship caregiver journey.

We know relatives and foster parents feel more successful in their journey when they are connected to others who “get it.”  That is why Alliance CaRES is in the community to help you get connected with local foster and kinship families to share common challenges, feel heard, and solve problems.

CaRES Connectors are foster and kinship caregivers themselves; they organize in-person events and community groups to bring families together for support, resource sharing, and connection. You might even build a new respite opportunity! Meet your region’s Connectors below.

Ashley 
CaRES Connector
Yakima County

Heidi
CaRES Connector
Kittitas County

April

(4/3) Kittitas County Community Group

Community Connector and foster parent Heidi will be attending the Early Learning Coalition’s monthly event and would love to meet you and offer support and connection. The Early Learning Coalition hosts Free Activities for Parents & Children 0-5 years (older siblings welcome). There will be lots of great activities, free books, and educational tools. Located at Hal Holmes Community Center in Ellensburg, April 3rd, between 3:30pm – 6:00pm.  

This event is held the first Wednesday of every month at the Hal Holmes Community Center. 209 N. Ruby Street, Ellensburg.    

Actividades gratuitas para los padres y los hijos de 0-5 años.  Los Hermanos mayores son bienvenidos. El primer miérocoles de cada mes. Abierto entre las horas 3:30pm-6:00pm. 

If you’d like to connect with Heidi about this event email her at: ellensburgcares@gmail.com. 

We want to know how to support you best! If you live in the Ellensburg area and have an idea for an event or gathering for foster and kinship families, we’d love to hear your ideas! Reach out to Heidi at ellensburgcares@gmail.com. 

(4/21) Yakima Valley Community Group

This month, the caregiver support group in Yakima invites you to spend an evening putting yourself first! Let us guide you in a conversation about how to care for yourself and build an actionable plan for ensuring your own well-being while also navigating the challenges of foster caregiving. 

Join follow foster parent and CaRES Mentor, Tyann, as she hosts a session of the CaRES Topic Support Group: Boundaries as Self-Care. As usual, your Community Connector, Ashley, will be there to greet you and offer support. Two hours of training credit will be available for all attendees who sign in.  

This session will be hosted at Westside Church (get directions here) on April 21st, from 5:00pm-7:00pm. Dinner and childcare are provided on site and free of charge. The Threads of Haven clothing closet at Westside Church will be open from 4:30-5:00pm. You can visit the closet, enjoy the evening session on self-care, or both!   

Kinship and licensed foster parents are all welcome regardless of placement or case status. While the church has graciously provided space for this event, the group has no religious affiliation and all families on this invitation are welcome to attend. When you enter the church parking lot turn left, continue past the playground, up and around the back of the church.   

RSVP needed to help get an accurate dinner and childcare count. Do that here or by emailing Ashley at yakimacares@gmail.com. We hope to see you there! 

Drop-in Discussions

Caregiver Continuing Education (CCE)

Visit the Caregiver Continuing Education (CCE) webpage to learn more about the ongoing training requirements to maintain your home’s foster license and find training recommendations. 

Topic Support Groups

Topic-based conversations bring caregivers with similar needs together to find solutions while earning training credit. Caregivers’ knowledge is the foundation for shared problem-solving and self-advocacy skills.
Check the calendar below for current listings or, for a complete list of our Topic Support Groups, click here.

Join us for a CaRES Book Club!

TBRI Book Club: Relating through the senses (The Connected Therapist): This 3-week book club is an extension of the Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) modules or the TBRI book clubs: The Connected Child and The Connected Parent. Based on selections from “The Connected Therapist” by Marti Smith, discussions during the three sessions will focus on understanding sensory processing challenges, developing sensory processing strategies, and the practical application of those strategies in everyday caregiving. This TBRI book club is an encouraging and welcoming space for foster parents and kinship caregivers to engage in a next step in peer-to-peer support, problem-solving, and learning facilitated by a TBRI practitioner. 
Caregivers who have completed either both TBRI book clubs or the TBRI modules can register. Register here!

And

Dancing with a Porcupine: The CaRES team leads you through a reading and discussion of “Dancing with a Porcupine” by Jennie Owens. This book shares the compelling story of the author’s struggle to save her own life while caring for three children she and her husband adopted from foster care.
During the three sessions, you will discuss themes including: self-care; trauma-informed care; expectations and hurt feelings; compassion fatigue; and balancing real life with the outside pressure to look like you are doing it all well.  Register here!

Most of these are available to foster and kinship families, some require proof of caregiver status, usually in the form of a foster care license. This is noted whenever we are aware of it. The Alliance CaRES program does not support or endorse any of the listed items; they are compiled for your convenience. We make every effort to keep these up-to-date, if you know of a correction or an item not listed, please let us know by emailing notifycares@uw.edu

Click here for resources available statewide, special event recordings, guides for licensure, and more.  

Check out these places in your area that offer discounts or free opportunities or items to families in the care system:

Compassion Closet: Compassion Closet is a resource for Kittitas County foster and kinship families located in Ellensburg. They stock children’s clothing newborn to size 14/16. If you need clothing for older children, they often have gift cards to local stores where families can purchase new clothing for teens and young adults. They also have cribs, toddler beds, car seats, highchairs, diapers, formula, school supplies and other essentials. Compassion closet is housed in Foursquare Church and is open for drop-in shopping Tuesdays from 12:30-2. If you need immediate assistance, they can make a special appointment for you to access the closet. 

Embrace Washington: Embrace Washington offers several programs for children experiencing foster care. Through their education program, Embrace Washington can provide financial and practical support to help children access tutoring. Their other programs can provide beds and bedding and will also sponsor a child’s special wishes. Available to all children residing in Eastern Washington (DCYF Regions 1 and 2). Caregiving families can self-refer but will need to indicate their child’s DCYF worker’s name for verification of their status as a foster child. 

Mo’s Place: Mo’s Place provides support to foster youth and their caregivers in the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla and surrounding areas. Their services are available to all licensed foster homes and kinship providers who are caring for children placed in out-of-home care. Mo’s place supplies tangible household goods such as beds and bedding. They also can offer diapers, wipes, formula, bottles, hygiene items and clothing and shoes for children aged newborn to young adult. Mo’s place primarily helps children newly entering the foster care system but is dedicated to helping all caregivers so reach out to them if you have a specific ask.

Splash & Swim School: Splash & Swim school offers a 20% discount code for licensed foster parents. Caregivers should provide their foster parent license or card to receive the discount. 

Threads of Haven: Threads of Haven offers new and gently used clothing for children in foster and kinship care throughout the Yakima Valley. Their physical clothing closet is located in Yakima. Threads of Haven regularly stocks clothing from preemie to adult extra-large. They also have concrete goods like baby sleep sacks, swaddles, bouncers, bottles and pacifiers. They are open for drop-in from 1pm-3pm on Thursdays or by appointment. If you have an emergency or unplanned placement, the closet will work to accommodate you in less than 24 hours! Threads of Haven is headed by a local foster parent who is also an Alliance CaRES Community Connector.  

Voices for Children: Voices for Children offers concrete support to children in out-of-home placement with open DCYF cases. The Voices for Children IDentity closet is a free, retail shopping experience for children 0-18 where they can select new and gently used clothing of their liking. Shopping is by appointment only and requires a referral from a child’s social worker or Child Advocate. The store is located at 24th and Nob Hill in Yakima. Voices for Children also provides funding for children’s “wishes.” This can provide a child with sports equipment, camp fees, driver’s education, musical instruments and funds for special activities. They will also help a child get the technology and access to special supplies needed to thrive in school, all with the goal of helping children out-of-home care thrive.

Mentors and Specialists can help you by providing emotional support, sharing their experiences, and connecting you to regional and state resources. Specialists can help caregivers by providing emotional support, sharing their experiences, and connecting them to resources.  They have an area of dedicated knowledge that may be especially important for a caregiver looking for understanding.  Mentors and Specialists do not  offer legal, medical, or mental health advice.

Would you like to have one of our wonderful mentors reach out to you for individualized support? Send us an email or leave a voice mail with your contact information, a sentence or two about what general areas you need support in, and if you need language support or interpretation.  

If you are sending a referral on behalf of a caregiver, please also let us know if they are expecting a call from us. Mentors will respond within 48 hours.

alliancecares@uw.edu or call 206-221-4913

If you are a caregiver going through an investigation, be sure to visit our page on support for allegations and investigations.

If you are a caregiver experiencing challenges in your fostering journey, visit our page on caregiver challenges for training suggestions.