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.

Recommended Readings From Our Policy Connect Colleagues:

Alliance for Early Success (2023). State Levers to Impact Family Economic Security.

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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.

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Butler, Teasley, & Sánchez-Blanco contest the common narrative that early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a socio-politically neutral space, and use frameworks of intersectionality, decolonization, feminism, counter-hegemony, and culturally sustaining pedagogy to explore the ways children are socialized with and to reproduce global socio-political hierarchies. This paper hopes to impart ways to resist such systems of privilege and disprivilege in ECEC spaces.

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.

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This paper presents a brief history of the six core tenets of CRT and their applications to education policy and practice. This paper’s purpose is to introduce CRT as a framework to guide educational leaders in the leading of equitable, socially just schools and to help leaders choose among the plethora of conflicting race initiatives and federal and state policies. While not focused on policy, some website users might be program leaders and, in light of the current spotlight on CRT, this might be a helpful resource for immediate reference.

Children's Funding Project (2023). Find Federal Funding in Your Community Database.

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CLASP. (Oct 2022). A COMMUNITY-DRIVEN ANTI-RACIST VISION FOR SNAP: Executive Summary.

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This CLASP report analyzes the racist narratives of welfare reform that SNAP is built off of, thereby reinforcing structures of oppression. The report is written to try to identify systemic barriers, root causes of poverty, and solutions for ending poverty. The specific SNAP recommendations included are:

SNAP benefits must be sufficient
SNAP must be available to ALL who need it
SNAP must use a trauma-informed lens
Must be trust and respect in the application/renewal process
Must be trust and respect from policymakers
Promote opportunity among recipients
Value SNAP participants’ perspectives

Coburn, K., Keating, K., & Jennings-Schaffer, J. (2022). Addressing bias and advancing equity in state policy. DC: Zero to Three.

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This article explores the many ways in which states can and are addressing racial equity in problem solving and policymaking, using the State of Babies Yearbook 2021 and Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development in Early Childhood (RAPID-EC) Project data. It explores national data that make the case for addressing bias and advancing equity in state policy; share strategies and best practices for engaging families and communities; and provide examples of policies that can disrupt and dismantle institutional racism, promote equity, and ensure all babies get a strong start in life.

Diem, S., Young, M. D., & Sampson, C. (2019). Where critical policy meets the politics of education: An introduction. Educational Policy, 33(1), 3-15.

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Diem, Young, & Sampson (2019) outline basic elements of critical policy analysis (CPA) as compared to traditional policy analysis (TPA). While TPA is linear and objectively regards traditional research as the rational and deliberate evaluation of policies, CPA differentiates between policy rhetoric and policy realities, regards policies within the contexts of their development and implementation, and emphasizes a social justice orientation. This article is an updated take on the route policy development, analysis, and evaluation should aim to take in the future.

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).

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This article outlines a potential foundational framework for anti-racism in early childhood education (ECE). Using these proposed ECE anti-racism principles, Escayg explores how the field can begin to transform its current understanding of ECE in the United States, disrupt normalized Euro-centric paradigms of knowledge, and promote more equitable learning opportunities for racially minoritized children.

Falgout, M. K., & Gibbs, H. (Mar 23 2022). 5 strategies for equitable implementation of public investments in child care. Center for American Progress.

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A policy brief on the ways state policy makers can spend their ARPA money, with a focus on building parts of the early childhood system that will most effectively reach historically excluded and under resourced communities. These recommendations included compensating the workforce adequately and fairly, improving data infrastructure, leveraging partnerships with providers and families, targeting funding towards under-invested communities, and, finally, developing a child care cost model that reflects a more accurate cost of quality care.

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.

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After first acknowledging the racist roots of TANF and the racist history of “welfare” in the US, broadly, this report outlines how TANF continues to produce and reproduce inequitable outcomes. The authors then offer a vision for an anti-racist TANF program, including new goals and tangible policy recommendations, particularly to advance racial justice. These particular recommendations include:

Developing new statutory goals for the TANF program
that advance racial equity;
Transforming the current fixed block grant structure to an uncapped federal funding stream to help ensure equitable access to benefits for all eligible families;
Implementing policy changes that advance racial equity, such as federal eligibility standards and minimum benefit levels; and
Banning harmful program policies with racially disparate impacts, such as work reporting requirements, asset limits, and sanctions.

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. https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/report/effects-of-racism-on-california-early-educators/

King, C. (Jul 2022). Integrated Early Childhood Data Is an Essential Tool for Advancing Racial and Ethnic Equity. Child Trends: Washington, DC.

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A part of Child Trend’s Early Childhood Data Collaborative (ECDC) efforts, ECDC consulted with experts in early childhood, racial equity, and early childhood data systems to assess how efforts to collect, integrate, and share data can support the creation of more equitable systems and outcomes for young children and families. This brief first establishes the need for integrated data, and then offers three recommendations for policymakers intended to improve the collection and use of integrated data to address families’ intersecting needs and remove barriers for communities.

King, C. (Jul 2022). Using Integrated Data to Increase Equitable Access to Early Childhood Programs. Child Trends: Washington, DC.

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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.

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While on the older side, this report includes two papers. One is a thorough landscape analysis on the history of systemic racism in the early childhood education and care field, and the deeply entrenched racism and sexism that pervades our current ECEC system, values, and perspectives. The second paper is a White Paper, issuing several recommendations to begin redressing the racial and gender inequities in the compensation and preparation of the ECEC workforce.

Together, the papers aim to achieve three things: (i) to understand the historical origins and landscape of systemic racism and sexism, and how these inequities pervade the contemporary early childhood workforce system; (ii) to propose a “research-to-action” plan to advance racial, economic, and social justice in early childhood workforce policies; and (iii) to establish a shared foundation of knowledge for the entire ECEC field regarding major racial and gender equity issues impacting the early childhood workforce.

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.

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Using analyses of policy documents, interviews with early childhood professionals, and observations of children’s play, MacNevin & Berman explore how early childhood policy approaches to multiculturalism have historically focused on physical materials in the classroom; yet, children’s play often still reproduces stereotypes, systems of power, and systems of oppression, regardless of the physical materials they are provided. The paper ends with recommendations for early childhood practitioners and policy makers to reconceptualize how we address race and inclusion.

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.

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This brief recommends 10 key policy actions the current federal administration’s executive branch can enact to promote equity for young children, understanding that our children cannot afford to wait for Congressional action:

Require equity plans for all applications for new funding
Update existing and publish equity policy statements to guide state policy o Update and strengthen monitoring systems
Improve data systems
Grow EHS-Child Care partnerships and expand this model to preschool children, too
Publish guidance on building equitable QRIS
Develop a federal equity TA strategic plan
Develop a robust research agenda that addresses inequities and their historical roots
Prioritize bilingualism and biliteracy for DLLs o Plan for equity in ECEC expansion

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.

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A collaborative report by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) and A Better Balance, this piece centers black pregnant and postpartum workers’ first-hand experiences. These narratives are then contextualized in the history of systemic oppression in health and reproductive care, and the contemporary challenges exacerbated by current policies (i.e., the Pregnancy Discrimination Act). Finally, this report outlines a series of cogent policy recommendations, on top of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

Pandey, P. (Jul 2022). Poor Job Quality Keeps Women of Color from Economic Opportunity. The Center for Law and Social Policy: Washington, DC.

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This brief presents evidence on how women of color are inequitably barred from economic mobility, and offers some initial policy recommendations for federal and state policymakers to expand economic opportunity for women of color – including affordable high-quality child care, access to paid leave, and more. This resource emphasizes a holistic approach to early childhood, by focusing on the effects of poor ECP on and opportunity for better ECP for adults/parents.

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. https://www.childtrends.org/publications/housing-vouchers-child-care-2017

Smith, L., Ehlers, C., & Rosen, S. (Feb 24 2022). Findings from BPC's Survey of American Indian/ Alaska Native Parents. Bipartisan Policy Center.

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This Bipartisan Policy Center survey reports findings on American Indian/ Alaskan Native families’ challenges in accessing child care and generally recovering economically from COVID. Compared to others demographics, AI/AN families have disproportionately limited access to child care, even pre-COVID. With the impact of COVID, tribal families reported high rates of resorting to informal care, in lieu of accessible and affordable child care and as a result of economic hardship. This report calls for more federal funding for AI/AN child care services, particularly to the 78% not living on tribal lands (and therefore without access to tribal child care).

Smith, L. & Rosen, S. (April 2022). Righting a wrong: Advancing equality in child care funding for America Indian & Alaska Native families. Bipartisan Policy Center.

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This report is an expanded policy analysis and recommendation piece, building upon last month’s American Indian and Alaska Native child care survey and analysis of all 184 FY2019-2022 Tribal CCDF Plans.

BPC found that federal programs for AI/AN families are systemically underfunded; federal agencies have not used the Tribal Plans to incorporate the voices of AI/AN people, manifest as a lack of culturally/linguistically appropriate CCDF-funded child care options; there are large inconsistencies in tribal-state coordination, reporting requirements, and Tribal Plan information; and Congress does not use child count data to determine tribal funding levels, leaving many eligible AI/AN children and families unable to access federally funded supports. Recommendations fall into these categories: Congress, Federal Agencies, Tribes, and States

Soto-Boykin, X., Meek, S., & Iruka, I. U. (2022). Advancing Equity through Head Start’s Program Information Report.

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This report recommends a series of policy recommendations for Head Start to better address and achieve equity, particularly modifying, and then making publicly accessible, HS Program Information Report (PIR) to include a new equity section, that captures indicators on: Programmatic features that disproportionately affect the experiences of underrepresented children (Black, Indigenous, Latine, and Asian American and Pacific Islander children, dual language learners and speakers of other varieties of English, and children with disabilities). It highlights the need for indicators and data on language equity for dual language learners and speakers of other varieties of English, intersectionality and children with disabilities, equitable workforce wages and positions, disproportionalities in discipline and transitions, equitable services and positive experiences for families.

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.

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Souto-Manning & Rabadi-Raol suggest that “traditional notions of quality in early childhood education are exclusionary, rooted in White monolingual and monocultural values and experiences, and apply deficit paradigms” to minoritized children who do not fit the Western developmentally appropriate stages (204). To resist this single-story quality paradigm, the authors utilize “counter stories” – i.e., frameworks of intersectionality, critical race theory, culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogies, and translanguaging – to reject the “one-size-fits-all” approach and embrace minoritized children’s voices, narratives, and cultures as sources of knowledge.

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

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.

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This report pulls together key takeaways from a Racial Equity Leadership session with ELAN and BUILD, and introduces four levels of change – personal, interpersonal, institutional, and structural – to achieve racial equity in early childhood systems. This particular report outlines five foundational concepts that these leaders believe need to shape racial equity leadership efforts, core racial equity leadership competencies, and racial equity leadership capacities that need to be nurtured in racial equity leaders.

Strive Together. (Jun 2021). A guide to racial and ethnic equity systems indicators. Cincinnati, OH.

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While from 2021, this framework – developed by StriveTogether’s Racial and Ethnic Equity Action Team – was elevated to the BUILD Initiative in June 2022 as a framework for measuring systemic equity in systems that surround young children (i.e., education, health, housing, financial well-being, food security). This report represents approaches early childhood as a broader, multidisciplinary field.

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.

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This is a report, based on federal data, on the wellbeing (mental, health, and economic) of women in 2022. While this is centered on women, rather than children/families specifically, it makes explicit connections to how gender equity is inherently tied to and supported by child care and early childhood policies. This report helps bring a “two-tiered” perspective to early childhood policy, and re-emphasizes the reality that early childhood policy is more than just policies for children’s education. It reinforces the linkages between publicly-funded child care, the Child Tax Credit, and UPK to women’s and families’ overall wellbeing; the report reaffirms the connections between the early childhood and health care systems; and it supports the importance of protecting mothers/parents as a means to holistically protect children, and vice versa.

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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A part of a larger project (Hand in Hand) to advance racial equity in early childhood systems, this framework focuses on communities as the foundation for achieving positive and equitable outcomes for all young children and their families. This framework is accompanied by a Hand in Hand guide, associated policy briefs exploring the alignment of ECP, early childhood systems, and racial equity, and narratives from communities implementing parts of the framework.

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