The month of April is observed as Celebrate Diversity Month. But is a celebration enough? In short, no. Building equitable, diverse, inclusive communities requires commitment and hard work – and our children’s futures depend on it.
Children & Families First is one of Delaware’s oldest and most trusted leaders in meeting the needs of children and their families. A commitment to protect and ensure the health, safety and well-being of all children and families has been the core of our work for more than 138 years. Yet systemic racial and social inequities, in both perception and access to opportunity, continue to harm child and youth well-being.
The goal of CFF’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee is to create a culture of inclusion and respect that values diversity. Internally, this means training, education and ongoing review of programs, policies, and procedures to ensure practices that promote equity, diversity and inclusion for employees and service recipients alike.
Externally, it means creating accessible avenues to engage and educate the community at large, including Kaleidoscope, a monthly newsletter sharing EDI related information, resources and training opportunities. To join the mailing list please email info@cffde.org.
Additionally, the committee has launched the 4Cs Learning Series - courageous, caring, collab
orative conversations, open to the public, free to attend, and held quarterly via Zoom. Each session is led by topic-specific experts with the goal of building cultural competency, seeking solutions, and
empowering action that makes us all advocates and allies in positive social change. For a list of upcoming workshop dates, times, and topics please visit cffde.org/edi
Research proves that when our children thrive, our communities grow stronger. We need to do more than celebrate diversity. We need to champion it through accountability and action, because that is how we will create a healthy society and stronger economy for us all, now and in the future.