Alliance convenes ECE stakeholders

The Children’s Opportunity Alliance partnered with Montgomery Moving Forward (an initiative of Nonprofit Montgomery) to host an Early Care and Education Systems-Building Organizations Convening on February 23 at the Universities at Shady Grove. More than 35 individuals representing 15 systems-building groups and the Alliance’s Board came together to discuss how the Alliance can work toward stronger coordination within the early care and education system in Montgomery County. Participants contributed to a better understanding of services in the County and the systems-level coordination activities already taking place. They discussed opportunities to coordinate with an equity framework; barriers related to duplication of efforts; and inefficiencies around addressing real disparity and significant needs.

As the Children’s Opportunity Alliance begins efforts to develop a common agenda, participants recommended concrete action steps, including (but not limited to):

• Improving knowledge and understanding through data collection and landscape analyses

• Creating space for diverse voices throughout all aspects of Alliance work

• Building trust and consensus toward a common unifying vision while reducing duplicative structures

Once strategic planning efforts are underway, the Alliance will continue to engage stakeholders to inform the coalition’s development of strategies and to continuously improve action.