蜜桃影视

This is part of our Community Cultivator series, which highlights how innovators across all sectors build and sustain global communities from the ground up.

When Indivar 鈥淚ndi鈥� Dutta-Gupta became president and executive director of the more than 50-year-old Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) this past June, he inherited 鈥渁n extraordinarily talented set of teams, including our child care and early education team鈥� from his predecessor Olivia Golden. He also inherited an organization advocating within a nation emerging from the pandemic in upheaval and a Congress unable or unwilling to take sufficiently bold action, not to mention an ever-certain climate crisis. Dorian Warren, co-president of , had this to say, 鈥淚ndi鈥檚 deep experience working on issues of poverty and unshakeable commitment have made him an invaluable leader in the fight to achieve economic and racial justice.鈥�

Here are five principles Dutta-Gupta keeps in mind while leading an anti-poverty organization dedicated to ensuring that policies, programs and practices advance racial equity.

1. Early learning sets the stage. In 1986, when he was three-and-a-half years old, Dutta-Gupta鈥檚 family emigrated from India to Atlanta with $80 to their name. 鈥淚 ate a lot of the same meals over and over,鈥� he recalls, 鈥淓ggs, potatoes, eggs, potatoes.鈥� While his mother completed her PhD, his father worked a variety of jobs, including bank teller and hotel front desk night manager. There were many afternoons when his sleeping father was the only adult in the house, and the only permissible activity was quietly playing Legos on the bed beside him.

鈥淥ne of the most important things my father did,鈥� Dutta-Gupta says, 鈥渨as he somehow got me off of a wait list for a local Presbyterian church preschool. That changed our lives.鈥� In addition to starting him on his ABCs and 123s, this arrangement allowed his mother to continue her education and his father to pursue his career ambitions. Today, Dutta-Gupta and his wife have a six-year-old and a 10-year-old. Washington, D.C.鈥檚 robust helped keep them from moving to the suburbs with lower housing costs.

2. Families benefit from a holistic policy mindset. Dutta-Gupta is proud of CLASP鈥檚 history of thinking in a cross-disciplinary way about how to support young children and their families. That is, while they conduct research and make recommendations for , they also focus on , among other issues. 鈥淚mproving job quality for early educators can be quite helpful for child development outcomes,鈥� he contends. 鈥淎nd we have the potential here at CLASP to bring together these disparate areas of expertise, which in real life are not at all disparate because children and families interact with our systems, services and support.鈥�

High-quality jobs and high-quality care matter for working-class and middle-class Americans alike. Similarly, the climate crisis doesn鈥檛 seem related, but . 鈥淛ust the pollution itself,鈥� he marvels. 鈥淣ever mind what it will do otherwise.鈥� In developing policy agendas and recommendations, all of CLASP’s teams aim to engage leaders and communities with recent or current experience. The Child Care and Early Education team, led by Stephanie Schmit, has a formal partnership with (UPLAN) where they provide support for the UPLAN parents on federal early childhood developments and strategy, but also benefit tremendously from their knowledge and deep expertise.

3. Implementation is how policy realizes its promise. And conversely, botched implementation can ruin the most brilliant and innovative policy. plays an integral part in what Dutta-Gupta calls a virtuous cycle: 鈥淚mplementation at the state or local level promotes analysis, which can inform the advocacy that then shapes policy development.鈥� This effect is critical since most programs are not actually run by the federal government. Block grants and other mechanisms devolve authority to states, localities and community-based organizations.

4. Democracy is good for children. 鈥淥ur theories of change,鈥� Dutta-Gupta explains, 鈥渄epend on a meaningful sense of democracy.鈥� He notes that some policies and programs can have an indirect but considerable impact on democracy. To illustrate this point, he cites that unions increase voter participation among union members as well as the people around them (鈥渁n effect that is lasting, that goes well beyond a single election鈥�) and Jamila Michener鈥檚 , which focuses on how people’s experiences with Medicaid affect even their voting rates. As midterm elections approach, CLASP is engaged in scenario planning to anticipate potential shifts in power at the federal and state levels, while simultaneously acknowledging that neither the Right nor the Left is monolithic. 鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of disagreement, even among like-minded folks,鈥� he acknowledges. 鈥淲e’re all humans; we’re not robots.鈥�

5. Relationships keep us together. Within and across partisan divides, human connections keep the social fabric from unraveling. In the policy world, allies may have different ideas about strategy, or different ways of saying it.  When people on the same side get in heated discussions, how do you keep it productive? 鈥淭he more that we can actually build those meaningful relationships,鈥� Dutta-Gupta counsels, 鈥渁nd I would go so far as to say actual friendships, the more we can work together.鈥�

Making the world better for families and children is a group project, and advocates must be honest with each other and have what he calls 鈥渃onstructive disagreements鈥� in order to move forward. It comes down to shared beliefs in structure, systems and processes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hugely important to be clear about values and goals,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e’re part of a larger ecosystem, and everyone has a useful role to play. I’m big on building teams that are more complementary rather than people with similar knowledge or personality.

鈥淲henever you’re pushing for social change,鈥� Dutta-Gupta continues, 鈥淭here’s inevitably going to be losses, heartbreak, grief. These are things people dedicate their lives to, and deeply and passionately believe in. We鈥檙e much more resilient and more likely to regroup and change tactics and strategies together when we are more meaningfully connected with each other.鈥�

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 蜜桃影视. Learn more here.