The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe: Agency Collaboration Empowers Staff and Supports Community Healing

The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe (PGST) in Washington State has established strong, collaborative partnerships and utilizes a strengths-based approach to support children and families. As a result, their Tribal Home Visiting program, Together for Children (TFC), is considered a pillar of the community that empowers generations of families using tools provided in the Parents as Teachers model.

The PGST Administrative Campus is positioned along the shores of Port Gamble Bay. In the heart of the campus lies the Child and Family Services building, where the TFC program is housed. The TFC program is funded by a grant from the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. The program’s placement provides access to several Tribal programs and important community events. As a result, it has allowed the TFC program to engage partners and develop an effective system that holistically delivers services.

The TFC program is deeply connected to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Indian Child Welfare (ICW) Department, with one project manager supporting both the WIC and TFC programs. This structure has provided a unique relationship between the programs and across the departments to leverage resources to allow effective communication for families. TFC Project Manager Sanda Hankins, explains, “We have a strong partnership with ICW, and we have worked diligently to ensure the trust of the clients by setting boundaries and maintaining that we are our own distinct program.” The establishment of these collaborative relationships has served as a successful recruitment tool and referral model with prenatal, early childhood, education, and human services programs in the community.  Since TFC has been in operation, ICW placements have decreased significantly. The rate of opened ICW dependency cases dropped from 20% to 8%, and ICW cases with children under five years old decreased by 50%. ICW Program Manager Joylina Gonzalez, states, “This program [TFC] has been a resource for the Child Welfare Department in providing preventative care services. The partnership between Together for Children and the Child Welfare Department have been beneficial to prevent out-of-home placement in a number of  our families. They have been a vital part of our success in working with our parents and community in promoting a healthy family environment.”

TFC Family Support Specialist Judy DeCoteau shares a story of a young mother admitted to the hospital who tested positive for heroin while pregnant. Because of the trust and strong relationship that TFC built with the mother, the ICW Director requested that someone from the TFC program visit the mother. Judy responded to the after-hours request and had an honest conversation with the mother about the severity of the situation and her possible options. The mother had to choose to receive an open ICW case or enter into a detox facility that allows a mother to care for a child during recovery. The mother agreed to join the detox facility. As of today, the mother maintains her sobriety and continues to care for her child. This family’s success is directly connected to the relationship with Judy and TFC. The TFC program staffers spend quality time with their clients, with openness and acceptance, and have developed strong relationships with entire families. Judy describes, “I have provided services across generations. I have home visited with the grandmother, mother, and now their kids.” Over the years, the Together for Children team has worked with an intention to develop a program that will meet people where they are, without casting judgment or implying that they need to be fixed. They have successfully created an atmosphere of collaboration and advocacy that empowers families.

Learn more information about the Together for Children Program at Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe or contact Sanda Hankins via email shankins@pgst.nsn.us or at (360) 297-9688.

ACF's Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program awards grants to tribal entities to develop, implement, and evaluate home visiting programs in American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities. The grants help build and strengthen tribal capacity to support and promote the health and well-being of AIAN families, expand the evidence base around home visiting in tribal communities, and support and strengthen cooperation and linkages between programs that serve tribal children and their families. Find out more about the Tribal Home Visiting program and grantees.