Diversity, Racial Equity, and Inclusion (DREI) in Early Childhood Policy

Diversity, racial equity, and inclusion (DREI) resources are a collection of materials that seek to disrupt traditional early childhood policy assumptions by highlighting diverse voices. Rather than categorize by the type of document being produced, the resources in DREI include an array of policy briefs, research reports, and academic papers germane to the topic of DREI in early childhood policy (ECP). If you are interested in learning about diverse perspectives and innovative approaches to racial equity in ECP, we invite you to explore these resources.

Currently Reading

Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (2025). California’s History of Discrimination and Exclusion Haunts Early Care and Education Today. Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, University of California, Berkeley.
Meek, S., Bucher, E., Soto-Boykin, X., Gordon, L., Powell, T., Cardona, M., Catherine, E., Alexander, B., Blevins, D., Palomino, C., & Mihirbhai Jayswal, P. (May, 2025). Head Start’s Footprint: A Focus on Rural Communities, Children with Disabilities and Vital Health Services. The Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University.
Meek, S.E., Iruka, I.U., Soto-Boykin, X., Blevins, D., Alexander, B.L., Cardona, M., Castro, D. (2021). Equity is Quality and Quality is Equity: Operationalizing Equity in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems. The Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University.
Papakosma, M. (2025). Policy responses to diversity in early childhood education and care: Setting the agenda and meeting the challenges. European Educational Research Journal, 24(1), 48–67.

Previously Shared

View Past Diversity, Racial Equity, and Inclusion (DREI) Resources

Alliance for Early Success (2023). State Levers to Impact Family Economic Security.
Butler, A., Teasley, C., & Sánchez-Blanco, C. (2019). A decolonial, intersectional approach to disrupting whiteness, neoliberalism, and patriarchy in Western early childhood education and care. Handbook of theory and research in cultural studies and education, 1–18.
Capper, C. A. (2015). The 20th-year anniversary of critical race theory in education: Implications for leading to eliminate racism. Educational Administration Quarterly, 51(5), 791–833.
Children's Funding Project (2023). Find Federal Funding in Your Community Database.
CLASP. (Oct 2022). A COMMUNITY-DRIVEN ANTI-RACIST VISION FOR SNAP: Executive Summary.
Coburn, K., Keating, K., & Jennings-Schaffer, J. (2022). Addressing bias and advancing equity in state policy. DC: Zero to Three.
Diem, S., Young, M. D., & Sampson, C. (2019). Where critical policy meets the politics of education: An introduction. Educational Policy, 33(1), 3–15.
Dutta-Gupta, I. (Aug 2023). The Enduring Effects of Childhood Poverty. Center for Law and Social Policy.
Escayg, K. A. (2020). Anti‐racism in US early childhood education: Foundational principles. Sociology Compass, 14(4).
Falgout, M. K., & Gibbs, H. (Mar 23 2022). 5 strategies for equitable implementation of public investments in child care. Center for American Progress.
Haider, A., Goran, A., Brumfield, C., & Tatum, L. (Oct 2022). Re-Envisioning TANF: Toward an Anti-Racist Program That Meaningfully Serves Families. Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality.
Kim, Y., Austin, L. J. E., & Hess, H. (2024, February 12). The multilayered effects of racism on early educators in California: An examination of disparities in wages, leadership roles, and education. Center for the Study of Child Care Employment.
King, C. (Jul 2022). Integrated Early Childhood Data Is an Essential Tool for Advancing Racial and Ethnic Equity. Child Trends: Washington, DC.
King, C. (Jul 2022). Using Integrated Data to Increase Equitable Access to Early Childhood Programs. Child Trends: Washington, DC.
Lloyd, C. M., Carlson, J., Barnett, H., Shaw, S., & Logan, D. (Sep 2021). Mary Pauper: A historical exploration of early care and education compensation, policy, and solutions. Child Trends.
Lloyd, C.M., Sanders, M., Shaw, S., Wulah, A., Wodrich, H., Harper, K., & Balén, Z. (2024). A 100-Year Review of Research on Black Families. Child Trends.
MacNevin, M., & Berman, R. (2017). The Black baby doll doesn’t fit the disconnect between early childhood diversity policy, early childhood educator practice, and children’s play. Early Child Development and Care, 187(5–6), 827–839.
Meek, S., Iruka, I. U., Dunbar, W., Williams, C., Cardona, M., Gilliam, W., Soto-Boykin, X., Alexander, B., & Catherine, E. (2022). 10 Ways the Biden Administration Can Advance Equity for Young Learners Today.
Meek, S.E., Smith, L., Allen, R., Catherine, E., Edyburn, K., Williams, C., Fabes, R., McIntosh, K., Garcia, E., Takanishi, R., Gordon, L., Jimenez-Castellanos, O., Hemmeter, M., Gilliam, W., Pontier, R. (2020). Start with Equity: From the Early Years to the Early Grades. The Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University.
Nickelson, R. S., Wheeler, C., Brafman, S., & Dawson, K., (Mar 2022). Centering the Experiences of Black Mamas in the Workplace: How the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Can Support Black Maternal Health. Black Mammas Matter Alliance.
Pandey, P. (Jul 2022). Poor Job Quality Keeps Women of Color from Economic Opportunity. The Center for Law and Social Policy: Washington, DC.
Shaw, S., Li, W., Sun, S., & Crockett, E. (2024, June). More than 130,000 households with housing vouchers have been burdened by child care costs since 2017. Child Trends.
Smith, L., Ehlers, C., & Rosen, S. (Feb 24 2022). Findings from BPC's Survey of American Indian/ Alaska Native Parents. Bipartisan Policy Center.
Smith, L. & Rosen, S. (April 2022). Righting a wrong: Advancing equality in child care funding for America Indian & Alaska Native families. Bipartisan Policy Center.
Soto-Boykin, X., Meek, S., & Iruka, I. U. (2022). Advancing Equity through Head Start’s Program Information Report.
Souto-Manning, M., & Rabadi-Raol, A. (2018). (Re) Centering quality in early childhood education: Toward intersectional justice for minoritized children. Review of Research in Education, 42(1), 203–225.
Start Early (2023). Equity and Inclusion for Children with Disabilities: Policy recommendations to advance equity and inclusion for young children with disabilities and developmental delays.
- State Policy Recommendations Full Report
- State Policy Recommendations Executive Summary
- Federal Policy Recommendations Full Report
- Federal Policy Recommendations Executive Summary
Start Early; Division for Early Childhood. (2024, June 21). Building inclusive state child care systems.
Stewart, S. K., Ray, A., & Wright, M. S. (Jun 13 2022). Implications for Racial Equity Leadership Development: Lessons from the Equity Leaders Action Network. BUILD Initiative: Washington, DC.
Strive Together. (Jun 2021). A guide to racial and ethnic equity systems indicators. Cincinnati, OH.
Tucker, J. & Vogtman, J. (Mar 2022). Resilient But Not Recovered: After Two Years of the COVID-19 Crisis, Women are Still Struggling. National Women's Law Center, 1–18.
ZERO TO THREE (Aug 2022). Hand in hand: A Community Framework for Early Childhood Collaboration Developed by the Model Convening Project. ZERO TO THREE.

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Diversity, Racial Equity, and Inclusion (DREI) in Early Childhood Policy