Children of Color Sessions
To date, the following sessions, associated with the Children of Color initiative, have been conducted:
Native American Families
Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie -- Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan
Listen to Podcast
Rural, Low Income Residents
Northern Lower Michigan
Boyne Falls -- Boyne District Library
Listen to Podcast
Urban, Native American Issues
Southeastern Michigan
Dearborn -- American Indian Health & Family Services
Listen to Podcast
African American Issues
Detroit/Wayne County
Detroit -- A Family Place
Listen to Podcast
Hispanic/Latino Issues
Detroit/Wayne County
Dearborn -- Cecil Center
Listen to Podcast
Hispanic/Latino Issues
Southeastern Michigan
Detroit -- Holy Redeemer Church
Listen to Podcast
African American Issues
Pontiac/Oakland County
Pontiac -- Oakland Family Services
Listen to Podcast
Migrant Community Issues
Southwest Michigan
Conklin -- Conklin Migrant Head Start Center
Listen to Podcast
African American Issues
Southwest Michigan
Kalamazoo -- Kalamazoo Public Library
Listen to Podcast
Arab American Issues
Southeast Michigan
Dearborn -- Arab American National Museum
Listen to Podcast
At each of these sessions, participants engaged in passionate and thoughtful discussions about both the strengths in their communities as well as the challenges they face in supporting families with young children. At each facilitated community conversation there were 4 topics that framed the discussions.
- Issues and concerns about current early childhood programs and Ideas about how communities' assets could be tapped to better serve families
- Recommendations on what it will take to make the changes necessary to better serve children and families
- How ECIC might best include participants in leadership roles on early childhood issues
- Ideas for how ECIC can partner with communities to make quicker progress on Great Start vision.
Already the work is beginning to shape our thinking as we advocate for a more comprehensive statewide early childhood system in Michigan, and in the ways we support the work of the local Great Start Collaboratives.
There were several themes that emerged from these community conversations.
