Engaging Families in Policy Change
Families’ lived experience gives them critical expertise in the services and support they need for their children to thrive.
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Outdated policies and systems built on racism and discrimination continue to hold back many families and children.
Babies from marginalized communities consistently have had less access to quality services, affordable child care and effective education programs.
Black and Brown babies have less positive outcomes than their white peers in nearly every metric used to assess early childhood well-being.
If we don’t work toward achieving equity for all babies, the systemic racism and trauma that has permeated for generations will continue. We need to start before birth to give the next generations of Black and Brown babies the same chance to thrive.
A child’s race affects their access to a quality life.
The rate of poverty for Black and Brown children is nearly twice that of white families, putting them at risk in every way.
Black and Brown children are 60% more likely to be removed from their home by child welfare, despite similar rates of abuse and neglect across races, due to implicit bias of child welfare staff.
Black and brown children are less likely to have access to stable housing than their white peers and more than 17% of Black children live in crowded housing.
Source: ZERO TO THREE. State of Babies Yearbook: 2022.
We manage a resource library of videos, articles, and training aimed at antiracist parenting, anti-bias training for early childhood educators and equitable advocacy for policymakers.
Through our role within the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning, we focus on the development and implementation of equitable practices in Head Start and Early Head Start settings nationwide. Additionally, our State of Babies Yearbook is a comprehensive, critical tool for advocates to use in showing how race impacts every aspect of a child’s future.
Young children will not fall behind, and the country will be stronger if we offer parents and caregivers a safety net… Justice for children and families is the communal face of love.
Dr. Alicia Lieberman
The only way we will achieve true racial equity, diversity, and inclusion for Black and Brown babies in the United States is through collective action, particularly from white advocates.