How Detroit Delivered Investments in Child Care

No One is Coming to Save Us

The tour stops in Detroit to highlight how advocates are expanding quality child care and education options for Michigan families; and how they’re advancing historic state investments in child care by promoting early childhood education as a public good, not a private benefit.

We meet panelists Denise Smith, the implementation director for Hope Starts Here, a coalition and framework to transform early childhood education and services in Detroit; Danielle Atkinson, founder of Mothering Justice, a leadership development and advocacy organization; and State Senator Mallory McMorrow, the Senate Majority Whip who is serving her second term in the Michigan Senate.

The three panelists speak with host Gloria Riviera about centering the experiences of mothers of color in the work of improving early childhood education and about the importance of seeing state funding for child care expansion as an investment in Michigan’s future.

Show Notes

Presented by Neighborhood Villages. Neighborhood Villages is a Massachusetts-based systems change non-profit. It envisions a transformed, equitable early childhood education system that lifts up educators and sets every child and family up to thrive. In pursuit of this vision, Neighborhood Villages designs, evaluates, and scales innovative solutions to the biggest challenges faced by early childhood education providers and the children and families who rely on them, and drives policy reform through advocacy, education, and research.

This season was made possible with generous support from Imaginable Futures, a global philanthropic investment firm working with partners to build more healthy and equitable systems, so that everyone has the opportunity to learn and realize the future they imagine. Learn more at www.imaginablefutures.com

This episode is made possible through the sponsorship and support of the Kresge Foundation. We’d also like to thank the Marygrove Conservancy for hosting our live event in their beautiful space.

Check out these resources from today’s episode:

Visit Mothering Justice to learn about the work of centering the experiences of mothers of color in social change and policymaking.

Learn more about Hope Starts Here's work with residents to identify priorities for the city’s early childhood development system.

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