Four New States Work Together for Parent Leadership
In the second year of a groundbreaking initiative intended to transform how parents lead in early childhood systems, four states are collaborating under the banner of the “Who’s at Your Table” 9-month capacity building series. The National Center for Family & Parent Leadership, powered by the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC), co-leads the 2024-2025 cohort alongside parent leaders from last year’s cohort. Their shared goal is to transform early childhood systems by embedding family and parent leadership at every level.
Who’s at Your Table is made possible by funding from The Pritzker Foundation. ”Who’s At Your Table is a critical component to helping advance our goals of centering the voices of parents and families in PN-3 (Prenatal-To-Three) decision-making,” said Amilcar Guzmán, PhD, Program Officer at Pritzker Children’s Initiative. “It is vital that systems leaders create the conditions for sustained parent leadership. Through this effort, we are partnering with ECIC to achieve this goal.”
Each state team brings its unique perspective, current practice and hopes for the future to the series. Early childhood organizations, government, and parent representatives from California, Louisiana, Texas, and Utah meet monthly around actionable topics such as:
- Supporting Your Parent Councils/Groups through Strong Orientation
- How to Co-Create Equitable Structures and Roles for Your Organization or Family and Parent Councils
- Representation Matters: Creating Equitable Recruitment Practices
Structured monthly sessions, regular individual team check-ins with the National Center staff, and individual action plans support these states in designing equitable engagement plans, co-creating training resources, and measuring their progress by sharing their activities with each other. By pooling their insights and resources, they lay the groundwork for sustainable change.
The current cohort will also build on last year’s cohort expertise. Last year’s parent leaders are contributing as co-facilitators and collaborators for this year’s sessions, bringing a wealth of knowledge, enthusiasm and real-world insights. Their role as co-facilitators not only highlights the importance of family leadership, but also serves as an example of how to embed parent leadership into systems.
“I’m not as seasoned as many parent leaders, but I have been at this since 2019 or so. It is so valuable to have parents at the table. Cultivating relationships between family leaders and systems leaders is so important to ground the work in lived experiences of families. Creating a space for policy and systems leaders to connect with families is critical to impactful work.” ~Fredricka Tabor, parent leader.
Parent leaders from the previous cohort have connected with new participants to share resources, successes, and how their voices shaped statewide early intervention policies. These accounts resonated deeply with new participants, demonstrating the positive impact of family leadership in systems that affect families.
“There is power in connections,” said ECIC’s Program Manager of Equity and Leadership, Sarah Zyburt. “My favorite outcome from the first cohort, and I already see it happening with the second, is the cross-state relationships that form. They last beyond the nine months of the series and continue to benefit the entire system.”