BCC Commits to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At the beginning of our EDI journey, we wanted the Board of Child Care to be an organization that not only enriched the lives of the families we served but also uplifted those who are doing this mission-focused work at every level of the organization. With an employee population of 800+, BCC’s stance on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion needed to be prioritized and clearly communicated.

We started with a simple question: As an organization, what does EDI mean to us? This guiding question led us down a path to understanding our staff’s individual visions about the legacy for the agency. Through individual interviews, formal data collection, and commitment from executive leadership, the Board of Child Care released an official EDI statement and updated Core Values in May 2021 to display to our entire community our commitment to ensuring inclusive and equitable experiences for all our stakeholders. This is what we believe…

Our Commitment

The Board of Child Care is committed to honoring differences, acknowledging uniqueness, and amplifying all voices. A culture of inclusivity empowers individuals at every level to enrich communities, one family at a time.

Diversity statements are not to be created by one single person or group. It is important to be as collaborative as possible and use the words, vision, and experiences of others to guide how the statement should sound and come together. Once we created this statement, we literally toured this statement around to various groups (EDI Committee, Executive Leadership, Senior Leadership) to ensure that the statement felt realistic, relevant, and represented all stakeholders in our community.

An Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion statement demonstrates an agency’s commitment to building an inclusive, varied workplace welcoming people of all backgrounds. Much like a mission and values statement, the diversity and inclusion statement are, ideally, more than just a marketing exercise. It should guide your hiring, employee benefits, customer service, and workplace culture. Keep in mind that a good statement is:

• Direct and Concise
• Around 20-75 words,
• Is on an 8th-grade reading level
• Uses positive and inclusive language
• Relates to the agency mission and purpose statement

Creating and publishing an EDI statement was a significant first step in the EDI journey, here at BCC. It provides us with direction and refocuses our vision to incorporating EDI principles, initiatives, and standards into our functionality and strategic planning. With an established commitment to all things Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion the real work begins to bring this statement to life in a real and palpable way.

Amplifying All Voices through Intentional Data Collection

Continue reading…

To the communities BCC serves, our staff, and stakeholders,

I am disgusted and appalled at the murders that took place in Atlanta, Georgia recently.  The news of what appears to be targeted killings of Asian women and reports of increased violence against elderly Asians prompts me to reiterate condemnation of racism in all of its forms.

At BCC:

• We will condemn racism, inequality and oppression in all of its forms
• We will work to fundamentally change systems that perpetuate racism, inequality and oppression
• We will continue to encourage and promote dialogue about racism, inequality and oppression with all of our stakeholders utilizing our core values of empathy and relationships creating a culture where we can engage with joy and purpose
• We will use the lens of equity, diversity and inclusion to guide and structure our special work of enriching communities one family at a time.

As CEO, I continue to actively participate as a member of our equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts.  I will continue to update the wider BCC community and public via the BCC Compass blog and other channels of our work pursuing an environment that we all – regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, religious beliefs, disability or age – can engage fully with joy and purpose in our special work.

My heartfelt prayers are with all those impacted by the recent events.

Warmly,

Laurie Anne “LA” Spagnola
President & CEO