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Parent Leadership Blog – Effie Alofoje-Carr

Blog October 20, 2021

Effie Alofoje-Carr is a proud native of Detroit, MI who currently coordinates the Ingham Local Leadership, serving the Lansing, MI area in maternal, infant, and child health and education. She is an author, speaker, and women’s event host, inspiring women to make over their lives to live out their dreams. She has worked as a legal advocate for survivors of domestic violence and as an outreach coordinator of after school programming for young girls. Effie holds a B.A. from Michigan State University. She and her husband are parents of a brilliant and active 7-year-old son.

Parent Leadership Blog – Sarah Zyburt

Blog October 20, 2021

Sarah Zyburt, mother of a seven-year-old child, is from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and now lives in Flint. She serves on the Michigan Parent Leaders in State Government workgroup, and Postpartum Support International, Michigan. Formerly, she served as a parent leader on her Home Visiting Local Leadership Group, the Great Start Collaborative for Genesee County and the Statewide Parent Leaders group for home visiting in Michigan. Sarah enjoys volunteering as a co-facilitator for a local postpartum support group for new moms as well as with the Parent Coalition in Flint and Genesee County.

Parent Leadership Blog – Monica Gaines

Blog October 20, 2021

Monica Gaines lives in Wayne County, MI with her husband Nathaniel and their son Nate. She began her journey into home visiting in 2013 when she joined the Healthy Families program in Wayne County. She became a parent leader in 2015 when she joined the advisory board and the Local Leadership Group. She went on to also join the State Local Leadership Parent Leader Team. In 2017, Monica was hired as the Healthy Families Program senior program assistant and most recently has also taken on the role of parent coordinator with the Early Childhood Investment Corporation.

Latinx Leader Spotlight: Martina Rocha

Blog October 14, 2021

This spotlight highlights Latinx early childhood leader Martina Rocha, founder of the Together for Childhood Network. The Together for Childhood Network is a not-for-profit organization that provides resources and trainings in Spanish and English for early childhood educators, childcare providers, parents and community members.

In Recognition of Indigenous People’s Day

Blog October 11, 2021

The BUILD Initiative joins 17 states and the District of Columbia, as well as many cities, in recognition of the 60 million Native peoples who inhabited the Americas before Columbus’s arrival and pays homage to Native Americans in the US and its territories.

Relationship-Based Supports for Home-Based Child Care: What to Embrace and What to Avoid

Blog September 29, 2021

This blog explores the hallmarks of effective relationship-based supports for family child care educators. It is written with input from Juliet Bromer, Erikson Institute; Danielle Caldwell, a home-based child care educator in North Carolina; and Colette Masty, a Michigan quality support provider with Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care and license-exempt providers.

Before, During, and After COVID-19: What We can Learn from Illinois Head Start’s Family Engagement and Social-Emotional Learning Practices

Blog August 17, 2021

Through a longitudinal, qualitative study with 20 Illinois-based Head Start/Early Head Start directors, the author of this blog provides a look into the novel and creative approaches that can inform ECE practice as we seek to recreate a new and improved “normal” in a post-pandemic world. Educators, administrators, and policymakers are provided with several key learnings that they can apply in their engagement of families of young children and provision of social-emotional support.

The Potential—and Pitfalls—of Telehealth

Blog June 16, 2021

COVID-19 revealed that underserved families could access vital early childhood system resources virtually through the Internet and other forms of electronic communication. But realizing the potential of virtual service delivery requires policy makers to confront inequities faced by marginalized communities and families lacking access to broadband internet, computers, tablets, and smartphones.

The Need For Trauma-Informed Services And Policies In Early Care And Education: A Webinar Series

Blog June 16, 2021

With funding from the Irving Harris Foundation, the BUILD Initiative organized series of webinars and blogs in partnership with the Center for Law and Social Policy focused on how recent changes in immigration policy are presenting new and intense challenges to infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families, and the teachers and programs that work with them.