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Webinar

Strengthening Families Webinar: “I Just Want to Be a Father”

December 2024

Join us on Thursday, December 12, 3-4 pm ET / 12-1 pm PT for our Strengthening Families Webinar: "I Just Want to Be a Father."

During the webinar, young parents in foster care will share recommendations on addressing systemic barriers to young fathers’ involvement with their families and how to support co-parenting for young parents in foster care. The webinar is based on our recently published paper, “I Just Want to Be a Father: Protecting the Rights of Young Fathers in Foster Care and Promoting Family Well-Being,” co-produced with two young parents who recently aged out of foster care.

The paper was produced by the Brighter Futures Workgroup, a multigenerational, cross-sector New York City-based network led by young parents who are or have been in foster care in NYC. The paper focuses on the experience of young fathers and mothers in New York City who received little to no father-focused and co-parenting casework or support. 

Register Today

Tags: Building Strong Communities, Child Welfare, Racial Equity & Justice, Young Children & Their Families
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I Just Want To Be A Father (1)
Webinar

Policy in Action – Building a Community that CARES for Young Adults: Mental Health and Well-Being

October 2024

Hosted by the CARES Initiative and the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), this session discussed youth-centered policy recommendations for mental health and well-being, co-designed with young people who have transitioned out of foster care. During the conversation, we heard reflections on the importance of policies for mental health and well-being and the Atlanta CARES mental health and well-being policy agenda.

This event was part one of a two-part discussion on reimagining a future where public policy empowers young people to pursue their goals and live fully.

Featured Speakers:

  • Malaka "Mali" Y. Nzinga, CHES, Program Manager in the National Center for Primary Care at Morehouse School of Medicine
  • Dimple Desai, MSW, Senior Policy Analyst, Voices for Georgia's Children
  • Jada Brigman, CARES Ambassador, Atlanta
  • Tiffany Cannon, CARES Ambassador, Atlanta
  • Shadi Houshyar, Senior Associate, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Tags: Addressing Poverty, Building Strong Communities, Child Welfare, Learning & Evidence, Racial Equity & Justice, Young Children & Their Families, Youth, CARES: Creating Actionable and Real Solutions
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Header image for Policy in Action webinar - Building a Community that CARES for Young Adults - Mental Health and Well-Being
Webinar

Policy in Action – Building a Community that CARES for Young Adults: Housing Policies for NYC & L.A.

October 2024

Hosted by the CARES Initiative and the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), this session discussed youth-centered policy recommendations for housing—developed in collaboration with young people who have transitioned out of foster care. During the conversation, we heard reflections on the importance of housing policies and discussed the NYC and L.A. CARES policy agendas and the recommendations they elevate.

This event was part two of a two-part discussion on reimagining a future where public policy empowers young people to pursue their goals and live fully.

Featured Speakers:

  • Michael Santos, Associate Director, RESULTS Educational Fund
  • Jenny Pokempner, Policy Director, Youth Law Center
  • Cara Baldari, Vice President of Family Economics, Housing, and Homelessness, First Focus
  • Kayonda Branch, CARES Ambassador, New York City
  • Elizabeth Villa, CARES Ambassador, Los Angeles
  • Alex Citrin, Senior Associate, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Tags: Addressing Poverty, Building Strong Communities, Child Welfare, Learning & Evidence, Racial Equity & Justice, Young Children & Their Families, Youth, CARES: Creating Actionable and Real Solutions
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Header image for Policy in Action webinar - Building a Community that CARES for Young Adults - Housing
Policy Paper

Advancing Culturally Responsive Services: Incorporating Community-Defined Evidence When Evaluating What Works

October 2024

Despite the body of research demonstrating the benefit of services that respect cultural and racial identity, government funders are increasingly favoring “colorblind” programs that have been approved by research clearinghouses as evidence-based practices (EBPs). This limited approach to evidence promotes services that may be non-responsive to diverse communities’ needs while hampering the development and dissemination of responsive services that have community buy-in. This publication outlines the concerns with exclusively relying on empirical data at the expense of community-defined evidence and identifies actions government agencies can take to ensure services are evaluated according to the standards set by the community members who are supposed to benefit.

(4 pp)

Tags: Addressing Poverty, Building Strong Communities, Child Welfare, Immigration, Learning & Evidence, Racial Equity & Justice, Young Children & Their Families, Youth
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Advancing Culturally Responsive Services Incorporating Community Defined Evidence When Evaluating What Works
Digital Resource

Parent Leadership & Advocacy Cohorts: How to Join 2025

September 2024

The ELN Parent Advocacy & Leadership Cohorts are an exciting opportunity for parents of young children to build their leadership and advocacy skills while working to strengthen childhood and family systems in their communities. This six-month virtual program is designed to empower parents to become influential voices and leaders in shaping early childhood initiatives where they live. We define parent as anyone who is the primary caregiver for a child, whether they be the biological, adoptive or foster parent, or other relative.

Participants in the cohort will come together as part of a supportive learning community, where they will grow as leaders, explore community-building strategies, and learn how to design and lead impactful, parent-driven projects. The next cohort is set to launch in March 2025, and a Spanish-language cohort will follow in April 2025.

Si usted es hispanohablante y está interesado en ser parte de esta oportunidad, consulte esta página: Grupos de liderazgo para padres y madres de ELN: Cómo participar 2025

Tags: Building Strong Communities, Early Learning Nation Collective
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Eln Parent Cohort
Digital Resource

Grupos de liderazgo para padres y madres de ELN: Cómo participar 2025

September 2024

El programa, Grupos de Liderazgo y Defensa de los Padres y Madres de ELN (ELN Parent Advocacy & Leadership Cohorts en ingles), ofrece una oportunidad para que los padres, madres, y cuidadores de niños pequeños. Estamos buscando personas interesadas en desarrollar sus habilidades de liderazgo y defensa mientras trabajan para fortalecer los sistemas infantiles y familiares en sus comunidades. Este programa virtual de seis meses está diseñado para empoderar a los padres/madres para que crezcan como líderes y creen iniciativas para mejorar sus comunidades, con un enfoque en los niños desde la etapa prenatal hasta los 8 años y las familias.

Los participantes de la cohorte se reunirán como parte de una comunidad de aprendizaje de apoyo, donde crecerán como líderes, explorarán estrategias de desarrollo comunitario y aprenderán a diseñar y liderar proyectos impactantes impulsados ​​por los padres. La próxima cohorte en español se lanzará en abril de 2025.

Tags: Building Strong Communities, Early Learning Nation Collective
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Eln Parent Cohort Spanish
Digital Resource

Early Learning Community Cohorts: How to Join 2024-2025

September 2024

The Early Learning Community Cohorts are an exciting opportunity for communities to advance local early childhood initiatives through a collaborative, six-month virtual program. This program is designed to empower local leaders to transform early learning systems and improve outcomes for children and families. Communities participating in the cohort will use the Early Learning Community Action Guide and Assessment Tool to build customized action plans that address the unique needs of their local context. The next ELC Cohort will launch in November 2024, with additional cohorts launching in 2025.

Tags: Building Strong Communities, Early Learning Nation Collective
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Elc Cohorts
Policy Paper

Strategies to Compensate Unpaid Caregivers: A Policy Scan

March 2024

Caregiving is essential work, but this work too often falls on individuals with little or no support from society as a whole. As a result, many caregivers experience severe economic security and hardship—especially women, and Black, Latinx/e, and other women of color and immigrant women in particular, who provide the most care. To better understand the current policy gaps and how we might better support unpaid family caregivers moving forward, this new report summarizes the policies in place to compensate family caregivers in the United States and abroad and offers recommendations for ensuring future policies more effectively support unpaid caregivers and their families.

(29 pp)

Tags: Addressing Poverty, Building Strong Communities, Racial Equity & Justice, Young Children & Their Families
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Strategies to Compensate Unpaid Caregivers Small Cover
Video

Culture is Healing: Removing the Barriers from Culturally Responsive Services (Webinar)

January 2024

In this webinar, community providers discuss the challenges they face in providing responsive services, including building evidence and operating in the context of restrictive “evidence-based” standards, as well as recommendations for actions state and federal policymakers can take to ensure all families have the support they need through expanding access and availability of programs that are developed by and for communities of color.

Read the report here. 

Tags: Addressing Poverty, Building Strong Communities, Child Welfare, Racial Equity & Justice, Young Children & Their Families
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Culture Is Healing Webinar Small Cover
Policy Paper

Culture is Healing: Removing the Barriers Facing Providers of Culturally Responsive Services

January 2024

Ensuring child and family well-being requires a radically different, anti-racist response of supports that center the voices of diverse children and families of color, are dignified and strengths-based, and that are offered in spaces they trust. As this brief highlights, community-based organizations across the country are striving to answer that call despite numerous barriers. This brief lifts up the voices of those community providers, with the goal of highlighting and addressing the barriers that stand in the way of all families having the support they need.

Watch the webinar here. 

(19 pp)

Tags: Addressing Poverty, Building Strong Communities, Child Welfare, Racial Equity & Justice, Young Children & Their Families
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Culture Is Healing Small Cover
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