Grant Period:
2021-2023
Grant Type:
General Support
Other Funders:
Kresge Foundation
Amount:
$115,000 per year for 2 years
Location:
Detroit, MI
Focus Area:
Statewide
Mission
Mothering Justice is a grassroots policy advocacy organization that provides mothers of color in America with the resources and tools to use their power to make equitable changes in policy. We are dedicated to improving the quality of life for families in America by empowering mothers of color to take action on American policy on behalf of themselves and their families.
Partnerships
Community Change, 482 Forward
Contact
Project Summary
Mothering Justice has been working with early childcare educators and families for over 9 years. They work to build relationships, form connections, and achieve alignment around goals for investment in early childhood care and education. Their priority is to build a conversation around what parents, providers and children need by lifting the voices of the people most familiar with what needs to change. This conversation needs to happen on two levels, one in the public and two around policy making tables. They know that success it not measured only in child outcomes, employee pay, or workforce stability but all three, because without a holistic approach to a solution, our communities will not thrive.
This project focuses on equipping people in the childcare field with the knowledge of how the system is built and funded and creating opportunities to rebuild more just childcare systems for workers and families alike. Mothering Justice’s challenge is not one of government resources but of political will. To achieve equity in our society, we need equity in education, and to have that we need equity in early childhood experiences. This means additional investment on both state and federal levels. Mothering Justice believes the most compelling people to make this case are educational professionals.
Their goal with these resources is to first create digital training opportunities; secondly, conduct additional one on ones to recruit individuals into their fellowship cohorts; and thirdly, increase their cohort of childcare warriors, who will take action and be the voice for change. They employ several tactics to accomplish this, but their overall strategy is about building trusted relationships with their members. Their leaders live demanding lives. As advocates, they know it is their job to create real opportunities for leadership that will bring about the most change. Through digital outreach, resource sharing, and community building, they are able to focus on not only the long-term work of movement building but the indicate needs of their membership. Mothering Justice will also seek to build a larger, stronger coalition of organizations that share their values and mission for change. Additional support will help them staff their coalition building efforts so that they have diverse voices supporting the values of their early educators.
Selected Action Steps Related to RCCF Goals
Lift parent, child care teacher, home-based child care provider, caregiver and ally voices and increase their participation in crafting policy solutions in states and/or communities
- Engage 10,000 new childcare reform mothers of color in Michigan. This is the first step in involving people in the childcare fight.
- Conduct a survey of 50,000 likely mothers, make 2,000 phone calls to identified childcare voters, and conduct 200 one-one-ones.
- Take 500 actions for federal and state reform and enroll 100 people into fellowships and develop 3-5 early educator leaders by end of grant.
Build effective coordination among RCCF grantees and advocacy groups, community groups, parents, child care teachers, home-based child care providers, caregivers, and allies
- Find and interview 5 states that are further along in their campaigns or have similar political landscapes to identify a mentor state.
- Participate in coalition RCCF calls and join other childcare coalition calls. Identify horizon initiatives based on work of other states.
- Make 10 exploratory connections with state groups to ID potential partner organizations to focus on workforce in Michigan.
Expand financial resources to secure increased and equitable access to quality child care, including through intentional strategies to reach and prioritize children and families most affected by injustice and inequity
- Develop a digital campaign focusing on specific geographic areas and populations based on feedback from research.
- Create a 20-person bank of storytellers/ spokes people in order to build and effective advocacy campaign.
- Create a childcare warrior toolkit including monthly actions, sample tweets, sample LTO, and memes.
Updated June 17, 2020