Spaulding Joins the Race Equity Challenge

Melissa-Jenovai

In honor of Black History Month and in alignment with the President’s Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government, the Children’s Bureau kicked off a 2024 Race Equity Challenge.

The Race Equity Challenge is a multi-part endeavor. Each team creates their own identity, with goals and plan to accomplish them. The components are:

  • Building on Protective Factors: Family Networks
  • Understanding Disproportionality in Child Welfare
  • Culture in Child Welfare
  • Shared Trauma, Collective Resilience, and Healing

Source: Associate Commissioner Aysha E. Schomburg, Arleen Rodriguez, and Tabitha Temple

Spaulding for Children signed up to participate in the challenge. Here, President/CEO, Melissa Jenovai, shares the process and progress.

Staff of Spaulding for Children attended the live kick off meeting and were excited to see that our previous Director of the MPLD project, Arleen Rodriguez, was part of the team leading the challenge. We discovered that these modules were a perfect fit to begin to have conversations with staff about race equity. While this topic can be uncomfortable to address, it is critical as an employer and service provider that our agency makes the time, space and resources to dedicate to race equity.

After completing the first module we developed a plan to present it as a large group at the All-Staff meeting. Our staff received a Reflection Journal prior to our meeting and on 3/15/24 the first module was completed together.  By using the facilitator guide there were valuable and honest conversations. Subsequent dates have been set to meet as a group in order to complete new modules as they are released.

Personally, I have walked away from each meeting having a deeper understanding of myself and continued awe and respect for my coworkers. I’m incredibly honored to work with a team of people who are committed to this work.

Learn more at Welcome to the Children’s Bureau 2024 Race Equity Challenge – CBLCC (hhs.gov)