WestEd is holding a RFQ to find trainers, facilitators and other knowledge sharers for a project with King County Best Starts for Kids. We wish to identify and engage an array of consultants to develop and/or provide trainings/workshops/learning communities and other learning opportunities on topics and practices focused on three foundational topics:

1. Healthy Child Development
2. Racial Equity Training
3. Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health*

Best Starts for Kids Workforce Development Strategy

Every child is born full of possibilities. The vision of Best Starts for Kids, a community-driven initiative, is to support every baby born or child raised in King County, WA so they reach adulthood happy, healthy, safe, and thriving.

In order for children and their families to have positive experiences and form trusting relationships with the workers who serve them, the workers themselves must be supported—through ongoing opportunities for knowledge-building as well as self-care and reflective time with supervisors and peers. The latter is especially crucial for those workers serving children and families who have experienced trauma, institutional racism, and lack of opportunity—and who might themselves have experienced these adversities.

Best Starts recognizes that there are many reasons for present-day challenges in the early childhood workforce with recruitment, morale, and retention. We must support and grow the incredible people, who together form a wide continuum of care, and who dedicate themselves to caring for our youngest children and their families. The challenges require a broad, systemic, policy solution that involve multiple partners across sector and at different levels. Currently, Best Starts is currently seeking to support prenatal to five workers to achieve three overarching goals:

1. Increase knowledge of healthy childhood development and other relevant topics to improve the quality of their services and foster trusting relationships with the children and families they serve.
2. Increase worker capacities to strengthen equitable outcomes for children and families by promoting understanding of and engagement with racial equity concepts and practices.
3. Increase knowledge and familiarity with concepts of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health

Equity and Social Justice

Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) is foundational to the work of Best Starts and WestEd. Our goal is to ensure that all people, regardless of who they are and where they live, have the opportunity to thrive, with full and equal access to opportunities, power, and resources.

We seek to recognize and address the disparities that exist in our communities, particularly supporting agencies that serve families with low income, families of color, families who are immigrants and refugees, families with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) members, families with people who have varying abilities, families supporting foster children, and those geographically isolated – furthering Best Starts’ commitment to Equity.

One aspect of this work includes understanding – both at a program and system level – structural and institutional racism as it plays out for individuals served through Best Start-funded services, and the disparate impacts on individuals’ collective experiences and outcomes compared to the population as a whole.

Summary

The purpose of this RFQ is to identify and engage an array of applicants who have expertise leading in prioritized topic areas, are qualified to play particular roles, and are willing to provide a variety of consultation services to prenatal to five providers in King County and have a strong foundation in equity and social justice.

If this sounds like something you would want to be a part of, please complete this application to be considered to join our pool of trainers!

*If you applied for the recent Infant and Early Childhood Strategy RFQ, please note a new application is not required.

Any questions, please contact - Diana de la Lanza at bsk-wested@wested.org.