Focus Group Opportunities
Join us for listening and brainstorming sessions and contribute your expertise! The information gathered will be used to design a cohesive strategy to expand, diversify, train, and retain the infant and early childhood mental health workforce. A report is due to the Washington State Legislature in June of 2025. Anyone providing support to young children and families in Washington State is invited to participate, including infant mental health specialists, home visitors, child care providers, community health workers, early intervention specialists, and other trusted community members. There are two opportunities to participate, based on your role.
Direct Service Provider Groups
This is for people who have direct engagement with individuals or communities. If you are an administrator or program supervisor, see the section below titled Administrators – that’s for you!
What to Expect
Participants will attend two 2-hour sessions over Zoom (4 hours total). Session A will focus on listening and storytelling about your experience working in the infant and early childhood field. Session B will focus on brainstorming ways to expand, diversify, train, and retain the infant and early childhood mental health workforce. Participants must be over the age of 18 and able to attend both sessions.
The information gathered at these sessions will be used to design a cohesive strategy to expand, diversify, train, and retain the infant and early childhood mental health workforce. A report is due to the Washington State Legislature in June of 2025. The plan will be a public document and will be shared widely, with possibility of publication in various journals and websites. Data gathered will be confidential and aggregated for the report. Individual quotes may be used but not linked to identifying information.
Compensation
All participants will receive a $100 gift card after attending each session ($200 total). Participant must attend the session to receive compensation. Payment will be in the form of a coupon code sent to your email. These gift cards can be redeemed for a Mastercard or at over 1,000 retail locations worldwide. You can view participating retailers in the rewards catalog.
NOTE: Individuals can only attend one focus group.
How to Register
Choose from any of the sessions listed below. If you would like to participate but none of the times work for you, or the sessions are full, please complete the waitlist form. We will be adding more groups based on demand.
NOTE: The registration system for focus groups has been temporarily suspended due to hacking. If you are interested in joining any of the sessions below that are not marked full, please email connect@peoplepoweredworkforce.org to receive instructions on how to register.
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Group One
This space is open to anyone who is a direct service provider working with young children and families.
Dates
Oct. 30 | 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. | Zoom (listening)
Nov. 12 | 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. | Zoom (brainstorming)
*Participants must be able to join both dates
Facilitators
Susan Barbeau and Domitila Morales
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Group Two
This space is open to anyone who is a direct service provider working with young children and families.
Dates
Nov. 1 | 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. | Zoom (listening)
Nov. 15 | 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. | Zoom (brainstorming)
*Participants must be able to join both dates
Facilitators
Susan Barbeau and Nucha Isarawong
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Group Three
This space is open to anyone who is a direct service provider working with young children and families.
Dates
Nov. 8 | 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. | Zoom (listening)
Nov. 15 | 9:30 - 11:30 p.m. | Zoom (brainstorming)
*Participants must be able to join both dates
Facilitators
Susan Barbeau and Brian Knowles
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Group Four - Tribal Affinity
This space is reserved for people who identify as Native American or Indigenous. The exact time will be determined based on group availability.
Dates
Nov. 11 | Time to be determined
Nov. 25 | Time to be determined
*Participants must be able to join both dates
Facilitators
Shivon Brite and Dr. Alison Ball
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Group Five - Male Affinity
This space is reserved for people who identify as male.
Dates
Nov. 12 | 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. | Zoom (listening)
Nov. 20 | 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. | Zoom (brainstorming)
*Participants must be able to join both dates
Facilitators
Nucha Isarowong and Brian Knowles
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Group Six - B.I.P.O.C. Affinity
This space is for people who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (B.I.P.O.C.).
Dates
Nov. 12 | 6:00 - 8:00 pm | Zoom (listening)
Nov. 25 | 6:00 - 8:00 | Zoom (brainstorming)
or
Nov. 19 | 12:00 - 2:00 pm | Zoom (brainstorming)
*Participants must be able to join both a listening and brainstorming session. Participants will be asked for their preferred date for the brainstorming session on the registration. The final brainstorming date will be chosen based on the availability of all participants.
Facilitators
Shivon Brite and Nucha Isarowong
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Group Seven
This space is open to anyone who is a direct service provider working with young children and families.
Dates
Nov. 13 | 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. | Zoom (listening)
Dec. 4 | 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. | Zoom (brainstorming)
*Participants must be able to join both dates
Facilitators
Susan Barbeau and Brian Knowles
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Group Eight - Spanish | Grupo Ocho - español
This group is reserved for Spanish-speaking providers and will be facilitated in Spanish.
Este grupo está reservado para proveedores de habla hispana y será facilitado en español.
Date | Fecha
Nov. 20 | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. | Zoom (listening/escuchando)
Dec. 4 | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. | Zoom (brainstorming/reunión creativa)
Facilitators | Facilitadoras
Catalina Angel and Domitila Morales
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Group Nine - Black or African American Affinity
This space is reserved for people who identify as Black or African American.
Dates
Nov. 15 | 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. | Zoom (listening)
Dec. 6 | 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Zoom (brainstorming)
Facilitators
Anastasia Greenmore and Brian Knowles
If interested in joining this session, email us to join the waitlist. We will notify you when it is available.
Administrator Focus Groups
This is for directors, program administrators, or anyone who supervises staff.
What to Expect
Participants will attend one 2-hour session over Zoom. The session will focus on sharing about workforce challenges you experience, what you are currently doing to solve them, and brainstorming ideas on how to expand, diversify, train, and retain the infant and early childhood mental health workforce. Participants must be over the age of 18.
The information gathered at these sessions will be used to design a cohesive strategy to expand, diversify, train, and retain the infant and early childhood mental health workforce. A report is due to the Washington State Legislature in June of 2025. The plan will be a public document and will be shared widely, with possibility of publication in various journals and websites. Data gathered will be confidential and aggregated for the report. Individual quotes may be used but not linked to identifying information.
Compensation
All participants will receive a $100 gift card after attending the session. Participants must attend the session to receive compensation. Payment will be in the form of a coupon code sent to your email. Gift cards can be redeemed for a Mastercard gift card or at over 1,000 retail locations worldwide. You can view participating retailers in the rewards catalog.
NOTE: Individuals can only attend one focus group.
How to Register
Choose from any of the sessions listed below. Choose from any of the sessions listed below. If you would like to participate but none of the times work for you, or the sessions are full, please complete the waitlist form. We will be adding more groups based on demand.
NOTE: The registration system for focus groups has been temporarily suspended due to hacking. If you are interested in joining any of the sessions below that are not marked full, please email connect@peoplepoweredworkforce.org to receive instructions on how to register.
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Group One - Behavioral Health
This space is reserved for directors, administrators, and supervisors working in behavioral health.
Dates
Nov. 1 | 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. | Zoom
Facilitators
Susan Barbeau and Sharon Shadwell
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Group Two - E.S.I.T.
This space is reserved for directors, administrators, and supervisors working with the Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (E.S.I.T.).
Dates
Nov. 6 | 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. | Zoom
Facilitators
Susan Barbeau and Sharon Shadwell
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Group Three - Home Visiting
This space is reserved for directors, administrators, and supervisors working in home visiting.
Dates
Nov. 22 | 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. | Zoom
Facilitators
Susan Barbeau and Sharon Shadwell
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Group Four
This space is open to directors, administrators, and supervisors in any field that works with young children and families.
Dates
Nov. 22 | 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. | Zoom
Facilitators
Susan Barbeau and Sharon Shadwell
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Group Five
This space is open to directors, administrators, and supervisors in any field that works with young children and families.
Dates
Dec. 2 | 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. | Zoom
Facilitators
Susan Barbeau and Sharon Shadwell
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Group Six - B.I.P.O.C. Affinity
This space is reserved for directors, administrators, and supervisors who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (B.I.P.O.C.).
Dates
Dec. 2 | 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. | Zoom
Facilitators
Shivon Brite and Nucha Isarowong
Questions or Can’t Attend?
If you would like to participate but none of the times work for you, or the sessions are full, please email us. We will be adding more groups based on demand. For all other questions, or to share your ideas directly, send us an email!