First Year Reflections: Illinois Early Childhood Fellowship
It’s been a little more than a year since I walked into Erikson Institute to begin the Illinois Early Childhood Fellowship.
The Fellowship founded in 2008, makes a long-term investment in the field of early childhood to recruit emerging leaders of color. The program establishes a talent pipeline that addresses the need for leaders who reflect the communities they serve. This initiative is especially critical as the state’s zero-to-eight population is in the process of undergoing a dramatic demographic shift.
During orientation, I remember feeling the weight of expectation— both from funders and the Latino Policy Forum— based on their significant financial and mentoring investments. I was unsure about transitioning from my direct service experience at UCAN, to working directly with powerbrokers that shape and influence policy in Illinois.
As a case manager working with youth under the guardianship of the Department of Children and Family Services, I followed policy and procedure that at times felt out of touch with the needs and abilities of participants. It was through my experience with the Latino Advisory Committee of DCFS that I was able to understand the context, structure, and influencers of policy. While I was not at the larger decision making table, I was able to exert influence and advocate on behalf of youth I worked with during child and family team meetings, drafting administrative case reviews, and providing oral testimony at court hearings to supplement my court report. My goal was to model a DCFS case manager that is a change agent who advocates for youth, treats participants with dignity, and engages them in problem solving.
After my first year however, I find the fellowship's provided many opportunities to leverage my personal and professional experience as well as my formal education. The fellowship has helped me shed light on the unsung narrative of families that engage in early childhood education. From my direct service experience I bring a strength-based perspective to the Forum, helping to change the story of Latinos in Illinois, highlighting assets that contribute to advocacy efforts.
One of my first assignments at the Forum was to create one page fact sheets on behalf of the Forum to synthesize information on bilingual funding and the growing English Learner population across the state. While these are building blocks in the Forum’s knowledge base, the objective was to make the Forum’s analysis relevant and accessible for elected officials and the public. We challenged the narrative of English learners being only a “Chicago phenomenon” and revealed that the majority of statewide growth has occurred outside of Chicago. I found the process to be informative for grounding me in the knowledge base necessary to do this work. Once completed, I was able to broadly distribute these fact sheets during legislative visits to Springfield. These visits provided invaluable insight into the legislative process, day-to-day politics, and how to navigate a conversation with an elected official.
During one of these visits to Springfield I met Governor Quinn. In fact, it was on the day of his State of the State speech in which my family’s story was referenced in his remarks. I was both proud and humbled by the recognition of my family’s trajectory. It was a moment not to celebrate the exceptionalism of being one of the kids that “made it,” but a moment to contribute to the narrative of success and that there are many types of success for families.
Children and families who engage in early childhood programming are breaking the cycle of poverty every day. I have met these success stories as coworkers of mine at the Latino Policy Forum, as board members of The Carole Robertson Center for Learning, and attendees at the National Head Start Association conference. For families similar to mine, it takes a significant amount of grit and dedication to escape and stay out of reach of the clutches of poverty.
As I embark upon my second year, I am transitioning to focus on birth-to-three issues. My research will explore infant mental health, specifically barriers to access and supports within the Latino and immigrant communities. Building on my experience of working with unaccompanied minors at Heartland Alliance, this brief will explore long term effects of the trauma experienced on the journey to the United States for young children and families— which is timely due to the current national attention on this “humanitarian crisis”. The Forum’s Executive Director Sylvia Puente recently reflected on the cross-section of trauma and the influx of children immigrating to the United States. This brief will also highlight the experience of being raised in a mixed immigration status family and the impact of toxic stress on child development.
Additionally, this year I have the honor of managing the Forum’s education Acuerdo, a convening of community leadership in Latino-serving early care and education organizations across the Chicagoland area. Managing the Acuerdo will provide opportunities to convene city officials, submit testimony on behalf of the Forum, and enhance the Forum’s advocacy efforts in Springfield. My goal is to continue to elevate the voice, concern, and community-driven solutions at decision making tables.
It is time to step up to the plate to embody the Forum’s special blend of research, analysis, community engagement. The Latino community requires a significant public investment beginning in early childhood to capitalize on the resiliency and vitality of the growing Latino population in Illinois. I will be there to ensure the Latino perspective is represented at decision making tables, because we are a segment of the population that policy makers can no longer afford to overlook.