Fostering Change WA

09/02/2026

How safe are these safety plans?

Art Dahlen from Battlefield Addiction joins us on the podcast this week.

A former addict and now owner of a recovery non-profit, Art has dedicated the last 12 years to helping others in the recovery process. Along with his wife, they specialize in teaching families how to create environments that allow sobriety and recovery to grow and give insight into what addicts truly need to flourish and become sober.

Check out the full episode on our YouTube channel or listen in on Spotify & iTunes. Link in bio 🔗

09/02/2026

Art Dahlen from Battlefield Addiction joins us on the podcast today!

A former addict himself, Art and his wife created Battlefield Addiction with the mission of helping families navigate addiction and the challenges facing youth and young adults today. Using a Family-First approach, they teach families how to take action—reconnect, reengage, and guide their loved ones into full recovery and independence. Since its founding in 2014, Art has helped thousands find recovery from addiction.

In this episode, Art shares with us how a healthy environment is essential to sober living, the real meaning of "tough love", how asking more of people is actually a way of showing love and inspires people to do more for themselves as well, and what he would change in our government to bring real help to those suffering with addiction (hint: it isn't providing clean needles and lock boxes).

Tune in for an incredible episode and leave a comment below with your favorite stand out moment 💚

Thank you, Art, for the incredible work you're doing in Washington state and for fighting for true recovery and freedom for so many. We appreciate you!

Resources Mentioned--
Battlefield Addiction Website:
https://www.battlefieldaddiction.com

Battlefield Addiction page:
https://www.facebook.com/BattlefieldAddiction

Key To Change Necklace:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/merch-for-our-mission



https://youtu.be/cGDVrIF2FhQ

Art Dahlen from Battlefield Addiction joins us on the podcast today...

09/01/2026

Are your representatives actually voting in your best interest?

Regardless of Left or Right, voting for a caucus win rather than caring about your citizens is the incorrect priority. How many children are being left in abusive and negligent homes because your representatives are being bullied around?

It made us sick to our stomachs that these bills weren’t even heard or prioritized. There was time; there just wasn’t care.

We must care about our families in Washington. We must care about the children in our state and give them a chance at a bright future. We must care for the parents and give them the real help and resources they need and help them not break up a family through losing a child.

Travis Couture

08/30/2026

An audit by the WA State Auditor just found that DCYF "lacked adequate internal controls and failed to comply with state law or agency policies in several areas, including unlicensed child care and child abuse and neglect investigations."

With DCYF unable to even deal with unlicensed daycares, why should the public believe they are ensuring licensed ones are valid?

An interesting read:https://komonews.com/resources/pdf/7b9907e5-16d9-4318-a15a-dcb7b1ccabbd-ar1040247.pdf

KOMO News
'State audit finds problems with DCYF child abuse, neglect investigations'
Article: https://komonews.com/news/local/state-audit-finds-problems-with-dcyf-child-abuse-neglect-investigations-department-of-children-youth-families-child-care-investigations-caregiver-support-contractsa-gift-cards

08/28/2026

Like a whole town disappearing overnight…

We cannot keep being casual about this. The amount of deaths happening because of this drug crisis should be shocking us. Our desensitization is costing people their lives.

We cannot keep turning a blind eye.
We cannot keep sweeping it under the rug.

People are dying and they need real help and real resources.

Travis Couture

08/28/2026

We are honored to fight alongside Travis Couture and other brave representatives in Olympia.

08/27/2026

Wholeness is what we want.

We want families to be whole and healthy.
We want to see parents whole and healthy.
We want to see children whole and healthy.

But that means not tolerating the addiction that is keeping parents down, but real services to help them get clean.
That means making sure children actually have the chance to grow up and do so in safe homes.

What are our current policies creating? Families that are whole and healthy? Or families that remain fractured and addicted?

Travis Couture

08/26/2026

Now is not the time to bury our heads in the sand.

Are these stories difficult to hear? Yes.
But ignoring them, plugging our ears, or turning a blind eye does not change the story.

If we truly do not want to hear about these cases, then we must stop them at the root. If we truly want to change the story, we must change our current policies.

Full episode available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

Travis Couture

08/25/2026

Welcome to Season 2, everyone!

Travis Couture joins us on the podcast today!

We cover this past legislative session and the disappointing losses for those fighting for an improvement in child welfare in Washington State along with the improvements he's fighting to make (that include bypassing Olympia and working with local governments), what citizens who want to see change can do in the meantime, and what the implementation of these current laws have continued to do to families in our state.

You won't want to miss it!

Resources Mentioned:
Defender App
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/washington-defender/id6736606391

Child Fatality Reports
https://dcyf.wa.gov/practice/oiaa/reports/child-fatality/child-welfare



https://youtu.be/Dn5er_4WN5U?si=HWbar-Sn0F5nVfOS

Welcome to Season 2, everyone!Travis Couture joins us on the podc...