Greetings All,

Welcome to the First Edition of the WADADS News.

It has been a very busy summer for the WADADS, so let's get started!

First off, what is a WADAD? Its another acronym, and it stands for "Washington Dads". Although our group has been active since 2005, things have really picked up since our appearance at the Georgetown Training Institutes, in July 2008. WADADS was extremely surprised that our proposal for a poster board presentation was accepted, and the response was incredible to our all dads group. We found out that we are the ONLY such model in the country, and that began a chain of events that is still moving forward.

So, earlier this year, WADADS, as a group, decide to start the process to become a 501 (c) 3 organization. With a small grant from SAFE Washington, we began the process. Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Policies and Procedures, Conflict of Interest Policy, creating a Board of Directors, and let's not forget that short little Form 1023 from the IRS.

After many emails, teleconferences, and a couple of face to face meetings, all the edits and corrections were complete. Our Board signed the papers, and Nelson sent them off to the IRS.

After an agonizing wait, we were approved as a non profit corporation. It only took a couple of months to get our approval, but in retrospect, it seemed like an eternity, waiting to get that approval letter.

While we weren't checking the mailbox for a letter from the IRS, we began working on overhauling our website. Nelson and myself have done most of the actual page building, but we have had input from many of our dads as to colors, layout, fonts, and other items. All in all, it has been a very collaborative effort.

If you haven't been to the site please visit soon! Its at the same "address" www.wadads.org

But there are several new improvements to see. The first thing you will notice is that every page has a Translator Box on it. This little widget will allow the webpage to be translated into one of 38 different languages. Also new, directly below the translator, is another cool feature. By simply clicking on either the + or - sign on the button, the text on the page can be made larger or smaller, to accommodate our visitors with impaired sight. And lastly, and you won't notice this at all, but all the images have a descriptive tag attached (alt tag for all you techies). This will allow visitors who use a text to speech reader, to enjoy all of the website's content, both text and images.

Now we haven't seen all of the non-profit group sites from Washington, but we are very pleased to say that the WADADS site is "508 compliant". And we hope that many more follow this example to ensure access for as many visitors as possible.

Other great features include this WADADS News that you are reading right now. All editions will be archived at the site for everyone to peruse or use as a reference tool.

There is also a dedicated blog, which allows you to see what has been added or changed from your last visit. Every change is dated and timestamped, to make it easier to find what you're looking for.

The WADADS Legislative Center has been updated and streamlined. Please feel free to link your sites to it, for easy reference, and to share the information with your visitors.

WADADS has also added two new chapters, which include the Yakima and Kennewick areas, and we have two new regional leaders, Robert Haffner, and Tom Cox respectively. And they have a Dads Support Group already in place, which brings our total to five dads support groups, across the state.

Nelson Rascon has completed the Certified Peer Counselor training, and passed his exam, bringing us to a total of three Certified Peer Counselors in the organization. And three dads have completed and are now certified for the Collaborative Problem Solving curriculum. Another is certified in the Right Response training, and Mental Health First Aid.

To see all the different training opportunities WADADS can offer, please visit our Training Institute.

WADADS also hosted our annual fall retreat October 2-4 at the Far A Way retreat center on the Olympic peninsula. It was our largest ever with 28 dads in attendance. As a result, there are plans to start a couple more support groups, and possibly name another regional leader, as well.

WADADS has also been focused on the effort to change/modify/improve the "Age of Consent for Mental Health Services". There are numerous other organizations involved, as well as legislators, and service providers, who are interested in changing this law for the better. WADADS will be co-hosting a symposium, where all involved parties can express their concerns, ideas, and proposed changes for this law. We will be sending out an announcement for the symposium, so watch your email.

And lastly, WADADS has been awarded two grants, one from DBHR, and the second from the MHTG, for several training weekends and workshops to occur after the busy holiday season. Again, keep an eye open for the announcements in your email.

I think that's about it for now, please feel free to forward this newsletter as you deem appropriate.

Have a great day,

Curtis Dennis

Executive Director - WADADS