Dear Children’s Trust Community,

Last year, we made a public statement of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and all those demanding justice and change. As part of that, we committed to listening and learning how we can do better to be part of the solution. We promised to take action to fight against injustice of all kinds and promote change through our work.

Since then, we have taken the following actions toward becoming an antiracist, equity-focused organization:

• As the urgency around racial equity and representation became more widely understood nationally in 2020, the Board of Directors of the Children’s Trust established a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Board Committee.* The Board is committed to increasing the diversity of the Children’s Trust Board membership and to ensuring that the Board culture encompasses a learning community, openness, curiosity, and active listening. It must provide a safe space for sensitive conversations, and for examining the impact of racism on the populations we serve, on ourselves, and on the work we do.
• We also created and entrusted an ongoing DEI Staff Committee focused on ensuring internal Children's Trust practices and external support provided to partner agencies are anti-racist and promote equity and empowerment. In the next year, we are undertaking a broad assessment of our current practices in collaboration with consultant(s) who specialize in this field.
• All Children’s Trust staff members have participated in 16 hours of professional development focused on race and equity.
• We have secured two outstanding keynote speakers, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Dr. Jessica A. Pryce, to speak about advancing racial justice, equity, and inclusion through our work at our upcoming “View from All Sides” conference. 

Many of our colleagues and the families we serve continue to be negatively impacted by unequal treatment of various kinds. There is still much work to do and we remain committed to doing our part to advance social justice, equity, access, and inclusion for all. In the coming year and beyond, we will continue to act on that commitment, from listening to and amplifying the voices of those who have been historically marginalized to disrupting systems of oppression.  

In steadfast solidarity, 

Suzin Bartley
Executive Director

George Atanasov
Chair of the Board of Directors