The Alliance for Early Success is a 50-state resource for early-childhood advocates as they pursue the big, sustained impact that will ensure every child in every state, birth through age eight, has an equal chance to grow, learn, and succeed.
FIELD NOTES | By Shannon Jones | Former Ohio state legislator and advocacy leader (and current Alliance Board Member) Shannon Jones encourages advocates to step back and think about their solution’s design before moving to persuasion. In policy environments of conservative-led states, it could be the key to advancing their cause.
Explore cross-cultural communication, tribal protocol, and consensus-building strategies for respectful collaboration with Native Nations and communities.
Serv and Return highlights how Alliance allies responded to Ohio anti-vaccine legislation with coalition-building, health messaging, and narrative strategy.
This webinar focused on Native American communities and examined how power operates within early childhood systems—and within ourselves. Understanding the policy landscape and the historical harm experienced by Native American children, families, and communities was essential, but meaningful partnership also required examining bias, positionality, and the ways institutions continue to shape access, authority, and decision-making.
Allies responded to a listserv request from an advocate in Illinois about rising liability insurance costs and licensing data concerns. This question prompted many responses and perspectives, showcasing the unique expertise within the Alliance Network.
The majority of Native people now live in urban areas, yet systems often continue to center reservation-based narratives. We will explore the legacy of federal relocation policies, the rise of Urban Indian Organizations, gaps in funding and service eligibility, and the strengths of intertribal networks that sustain culture and kinship across cities.
Alliance allies often request information from peers in the network through the Listserv. Recently, our advocates in Maine recently asked their peers for state examples where “there has been policy or investment initiatives made that bring together housing and child care.” This question prompted many responses and perspectives, showcasing the unique expertise within the Alliance Network.
The separation of Native children from their families was not accidental—it was policy. In this session, we examine specific policies designed to break apart Native families—and their direct connections to contemporary early childhood, child welfare, and family services advocacy.
The Alliance for Early Success has released it’s annual report on state early childhood policy progress, and it shows—while headwinds are increasing—early childhood advocates are working together and adding capacity to get hard-fought wins for young children and their families.
Learn more about how Native communities have always understood childhood—as inherently relational, community-centered, and rooted in place. We explore kinship systems where children are raised by many, the connection between land and early learning, and contemporary examples of cultural transmission and community-driven care models.
