For more than three decades, the Family Resource & Training Center at Eastern Washington University has connected university learning, public systems and community partnerships with real-world child welfare and human-service needs.
We develop and implement programs, strengthen workforces, support children and families, build partnerships and help turn emerging challenges into practical solutions.
Who we are
The Family Resource & Training Center is part of Eastern Washington University.
FRTC works with public agencies, community organizations, professionals, caregivers, families, students and other partners to develop and deliver programs that respond to changing needs in child welfare and human services.
Rather than working within one narrow service area, FRTC brings together people, practice, university resources and partnerships to help address complex challenges.
Mission, vision & values
FRTC connects people, practice and resources to strengthen children, families and the systems that support them.
We do this through responsive programs, training and workforce development, family and permanency support, community engagement, technology, evaluation and partnership.
Our work is grounded in turning real-world needs into practical solutions through collaboration, learning and implementation.
Healthy families. Strong communities. Responsive systems.
We envision communities where children and families are supported by prepared professionals, connected caregivers, effective programs and systems that continue to learn, adapt and improve.
Where FRTC connects
FRTC sits at the intersection of university learning, public systems and the experiences of families and communities.
Interdisciplinary Expertise
Applied Learning
Evaluation
Students
Public Agencies
Workforce
Programs
Technology
Children & Youth
Caregivers
Community Partners
Family & Youth Voice
Our values
Recognize the worth, voice and humanity of every person.
Value different experiences, perspectives, strengths and needs.
Learn from lived experience, professional expertise and direct practice.
Act with accountability, transparency and responsibility.
Approach people, relationships and challenges with humanity and care.
How we work
FRTC's role may look different from project to project, but our work frequently follows a common pattern: understand what is happening in practice, build with partners, implement thoughtfully and learn from what happens next.
What we do
FRTC's work has grown across multiple areas of child welfare and human services. The individual programs change over time, but these areas reflect capabilities developed through decades of implementation.
Helping move programs from concept into practice through coordination, infrastructure, statewide delivery and implementation support.
Developing and delivering learning for professionals, caregivers, trainers and coaches through in-person, virtual, hybrid and online formats.
Recruiting, preparing, mentoring and supporting foster, kinship and adoptive families while connecting families with resources and community.
Supporting family connection through child-specific recruitment, family-finding approaches, media and other permanency strategies.
Working with technology partners to develop and refine tools informed by needs identified through direct practice and implementation.
Connecting real-world programs with evaluation, student learning, interdisciplinary expertise and continuous improvement.
Partnership in practice
Strong programs draw on the knowledge of agencies, communities, professionals, families and local partners. FRTC creates space for those perspectives to shape learning and implementation.
FRTC's work includes partnerships shaped by the communities where programs and events take place, creating opportunities for local leadership, cultural knowledge and community expertise to be part of the experience.
FRTC also brings outside practitioners and community partners into learning environments. This Children of Trauma and Resilience session was facilitated by community partner Katie Francis of The Shifted Mindset.
Our history
FRTC began through a university and public child welfare partnership. Over time, that small beginning grew into work spanning training, family support, workforce development, recruitment, permanency, evaluation, technology and systems improvement.
Eastern Washington University partnered with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to create opportunities for MSW students to gain real-world child welfare experience.
The work expanded into a broader Center providing child welfare services, training and partnership-based programming.
FRTC expanded its work with foster and adoptive families, caregiver preparation and professional learning.
FRTC and Idaho child welfare partners developed recruitment and peer-mentoring approaches that brought experienced foster parents into family recruitment and support roles.
FRTC's work grew across family engagement, youth services, recruitment and retention, permanency and child-specific recruitment, workforce training and coaching.
FRTC now works across program implementation, workforce development, family support, training, technology, evaluation, applied learning and strategic partnerships. Individual programs change, but the Center's role in connecting practice, people and solutions continues.
FRTC + Eastern Washington University
FRTC's place within Eastern Washington University creates opportunities to connect academic learning and university expertise with programs operating in real communities and public systems.
Students and university partners can contribute to authentic projects while FRTC programs benefit from interdisciplinary perspectives, evaluation, media, technology and applied learning.
The people behind the work
FRTC works across geographic boundaries, connecting staff, programs, and partners through distributed teams and collaborative technology development.
Director of Operations
Idaho/Washington
Provides organizational leadership and builds partnerships that connect FRTC’s programs, people, and opportunities, while supporting strategic direction, collaboration, and growth across the Center’s work.
Email T. Andrew
Associate Director of Clinical Practice and Social Work
Idaho
Provides clinical and social work leadership, connecting practice, training, workforce development, and program implementation across FRTC’s child welfare initiatives.
Email Melissa
Fiscal Specialist
Florida
Supports FRTC’s fiscal operations, budgets, and financial processes, helping programs manage resources responsibly and maintain the infrastructure behind the work.
Email Jeromy
Program Assistant
Idaho
Supports FRTC programs through coordination, administrative operations, communication, and day-to-day implementation that helps projects and teams stay organized and moving forward.
Email Shauna
CWWTD Program Coordinator
Idaho
Supports CWWTD program coordination, training activities, and day-to-day implementation, helping keep program operations organized and responsive to staff and participant needs.
Email Lindsey
Agency Field Instructor and FRTC Program Coordinator
Idaho
Supports training operations, workforce development, and program implementation, connecting systems, processes, and learning activities to help FRTC programs run effectively.
Email Rachael
Instructional Designer and QA/Operations Specialist
Georgia
Supports FRTC’s online learning systems, training operations, and digital delivery, helping programs move smoothly from planning through implementation and ongoing support.
Email Marty
Special Projects Coordinator
Texas
Bridges programs, technology, communications, and operations to help FRTC turn complex projects into practical, usable solutions.
Email AmyWhat connects the work
FRTC's work continues to change because the needs of children, families, professionals and communities continue to change. What remains consistent is our commitment to listening, collaborating, building practical solutions and learning from the work.