Why celebrating diversity isn’t enough

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 137 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 information, resources and training opportunities, and the 4Cs webinars, which are courageous, caring, collaborative conversations held quarterly via Zoom and led by topic-specific experts to build cultural competency and empower solutions.

I am proud of the leadership role CFF has taken to boldly go beyond our walls so everyone can access valuable research and insights to become advocates and allies in positive social change.

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.