In this blog, Eva Morrison, Communications and Influencing Manager at Race Equality Foundation, outlines how the innovative parenting programme Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities helps to address racial inequities in public services by focusing on early childhood development: For more than two decades the programme has been empowering Black, Asian and minority ethnic parents with evidence-based skills. The curriculum promotes strong families and gives infants, children and young people, a more equitable start in life by tackling inequality where research shows it can begin – in childhood. Our grassroots approach brings public health knowledge on early childhood into homes to help reduce inequality gaps.
Background
The Race Equality Foundation works to promote the equal treatment of all races in social services and caregiving – and in all public services. We do this in three main ways:
- We study what causes discrimination and unfair disadvantages for Black, Asian and minority ethnic people.
- We create plans and programmes to get rid of barriers and promote fairness.
- We spread good ideas and practices through our training programmes, conferences, and published reports.
Our goal is to make sure people of all racial backgrounds receive equal, respectful support from families, friends, and professional caregivers. We want to remove unfair biases and disadvantages in these support systems.
Our Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities (SFSC) programme was created out of this philosophy of fairness. SFSC parenting programmes are designed with a focus on cultural understanding, diversity, and inclusion and contribute to our charity’s mission to address racial inequality in public services.
Strengthening Families
SFSC is a key part of the Race Equality Foundation’s mission in many ways:
- Cultural Sensitivity: Our parenting programme, which recognises and respects diverse cultural backgrounds, can be more effective in reaching and engaging families from different racial and ethnic groups than some traditional parenting programmes. It’s designed specifically for minority ethnic families, and helps ensure their unique needs and experiences are understood. This helps build trust and increase engagement with wider institutions.
- Tailored Resources: We create parenting resources that are tailored to the specific needs and challenges faced by families from different racial backgrounds. This includes, for example, addressing cultural nuances, language preferences, and unique family structures.
- Community Engagement: A parenting programme that actively involves and engages communities can help build trust and rapport with institutions. We partner with community leaders, organisations, and advocates from diverse backgrounds to enhance the SFSC programme’s reach and impact. We proactively reach out to and recruit families from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, people that often face barriers accessing services.
- Addressing Inequalities: Our parenting programme is designed to address and mitigate existing disparities in access to resources and support. This involves helping to identify and support removing barriers that some racial or ethnic groups may face when accessing parenting services.
- Cultural Competence Training: Training programme staff and facilitators in cultural competence is essential. This ensures that they can effectively communicate and understand the diverse needs of the families they serve. It also addresses biases and discrimination by training parenting providers on recognising and mitigating any conscious and unconscious biases that negatively impact minority ethnic families.
- Research and Data Collection: Incorporating research and data collection methods that specifically focus on racial disparities in parenting outcomes and access to services can help tailor interventions and measure the programme’s impact on different communities.
- Advocating Systemic Change: While helping individual families, the SFSC programme also lobbies for and informs policies that address institutional inequalities faced by minority ethnic parents and children.
All of these principles enable the SFSC parenting programme to contribute to the broader mission of the Race Equality Foundation by actively working to eliminate racial inequality and promoting equity in the delivery of public services.
