Equity & Justice

One of the core values of CHILDREN AT RISK is Racial Equity. We desire to improve equity and justice for all children and families in Texas and to find solutions for problems that disproportionately affect communities of color. As such, we have made many strides toward our goal through tangible, measurable steps.

In 2021 we created the Texas Racial Equity Collaborative (TREC) with a 3-prong plan to:

Educate about racial disparities that hurt children and families and highlight opportunities and solutions that dismantle systemic racism;

Collaborate with individuals, businesses and organizations who are actively working to dismantle systemic racism; and

Advocate for legislation that closes racial gaps, eliminates systemic racism and tracks the effects of policies on BIPOC children and families. Additionally, we pledge to oppose legislation that feeds systemic racism and inequity.

In 2022, we continued our commitment to equity, internally and externally, through the following activities:

• Adding a Chief Equity Officer to our senior leadership team.
• Holding quarterly DEI trainings and workshops for our staff.
• Creating a TREC internship program for students attending a Texas Historically Black College or University.
• Partnering with Prairie View A&M University to study and make recommendations for the sustainability and recruitment of BIPOC early childcare providers in the Quest for Equity and Quality Report.
• Hosting a TREC summit with statewide partners to develop goals for research and advocacy.
• Holding 8 Racial Equity Rapid Roundtable discussions on a variety of topics with national and statewide experts.
• Hosting free, accessible virtual programing that included, The State of Black Children, Summit on Basic Needs and Child Success, The State of Latinx Children, Health in the Borderlands and Creating an Equitable Path to STEM Careers.

Our commitment to racial equity for children and families will continue in 2023 with advocacy during the Texas Legislative Session with an Equity Rally Day at the Capitol and the release of a State of Inequities report that will highlight issues and offer solutions designed to breakdown barriers to success for all Texas families. We have much work to do, but we are grateful for the opportunity to make a difference and we won’t take this opportunity for granted.