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.
FIELD NOTES | By Brian Schmidt | With debate swirling about “tri-share” and other child care cost-sharing models, Kids Win Missouri’s Executive Director makes the case that states should focus less on debating models and more on designing to the state’s unique needs and landscape.
FIELD NOTES | By Helene Stebbins | As state policymakers work to address the huge budget shortfalls created by the federal government’s enactment of H.R. 1, state early childhood policy advocates are the next line of defense. And they need big investments in capacity to get the job done.
FIELD NOTES | By Courtney D. Lee | A recent visit to the civl rights sites in Montgomery crystalized for me the role of law, policy, and institutional choices in codifying racial control. These weren’t unintended outcomes. They were options. Design decisions. Legal architectures. It became painfully clear to me that oppression isn’t accidental. It’s designed. Engineered. Rehearsed. Reinforced. And that clarity brought forth questions—not only “how do I live with this knowledge,” but how do I interrupt it? How do I design for inclusion, for truth, for liberation?
FIELD NOTES | By Jacy Montoya Price | When a state ally recently brought on its first-ever Statewide Engagement Director, the organization’s leadership reached out for input as they developed an engagement plan. Jacy Montoya Price, the Alliance’s Senior Director of Advocacy and Issue Campaigns shared these tips that are useful grounding for anyone taking on theis work for the first time.
