The mission at the Child Care Resource Center (CCRC) is to cultivate child, family, and community well-being. The agency offers educational programs, removes barriers to success, and helps parents benefit from extra financial supports. CCRC also empowers caregivers and early childhood educators by coaching, training, and supporting their small businesses. As one of the largest nonprofits in California with a service area of 22,500 square miles, CCRC provides services to 50,000 children, families, and caregivers in Northern Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties every month.
CCRC believes in healthy and strong children and families living in thriving communities. Therefore, it believes diversity, equity, and inclusion fosters and supports such thriving communities. The organization is proud that its employee community is as diverse as those it serves. CCRC has a long history of advocating for our historically underrepresented clients. It embraces its mission-oriented workforce that creates a sense of belonging and collaboration.
To ensure that CCRC is supporting the families and communities it serves, the organization is committed to making sure its employees feel supported and uplifted to reach its mission. Supporting CCRC’s employees means valuing and celebrating their diverse identities. CCRC recognizes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in all its forms. Race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, and others are essential to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace.
CCRC shows its commitment to diversity by ensuring its recruiting practices reach diverse candidates who believe in the mission. To ensure equity, CCRC constantly considers ways each of its employees receives the support they need to thrive at the agency. Lastly, CCRC practices inclusion by celebrating the various identities of its employees through its internal and external platforms. CCRC understands DEI work is a continuous commitment, and routinely reflects on opportunities to demonstrate its commitment in innovative and thoughtful ways.
Adding to an already established commitment to diversity in recruitment, retention, and employment policies, CCRC developed its inaugural Employee Resource Group (ERG), The Anti-Racist Taskforce (ARTF). The mission of CCRC’s Anti-Racist Task Force is to improve the agency’s culture, policies, procedures, forms, communications, and advocacy through an anti-racist lens, as it relates to the agency’s mission to cultivate child, family, and community well-being. Today, the ARTF continues to push CCRC towards an equitable future through dialogues, programs, events, and assessments. As a part of educating all staff about DEI issues, CCRC’s ARTF conducted an internal equity assessment in addition to others routinely connected by HR, hosted book clubs, actively celebrated diverse populations internally and externally, and encouraged equity-minded dialogues amongst all divisions. CCRC continues to support its employees by expanding and prioritizing DEI initiatives.
There is no perfect training or book that an organization can complete to become excellent at practicing DEI. DEI is not a buzzword or check box. It is a journey. As established early care and education leaders, CCRC welcomes that journey. The agency has become increasingly aware that doing this critical work takes time. CCRC employees have experienced different upbringings and are encouraged to bring those identities into the workplace. Although DEI is a journey, CCRC embraces its strengths and acknowledges its growth areas. In a world filled with discrimination, CCRC is actively working towards educating its team, empowering its employees, and ensuring that all CCRC staff and clients are treated equitably.
Learn more at ccrcca.org.
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