FFCR Receives DEI Capacity Building Grant from United Way Miami

In Miami-Dade County last year, Black children comprised only 20% of the county’s children under the age of 18, while Black children made up 41% of the children confirmed by DCF as maltreated, 56% of the children who entered foster care, 65% of the children in foster care for two or more years, and 57% of youth who aged out of foster care upon turning 18. According to a 2013 report submitted to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 50% of children of color in foster care for a period of at least 18 months were considered to be in poor health.

Thanks to a generous grant from United Way Miami, we have engaged Dr. Issac Carter of Coaching Imperative to serve as our guide, consultant and coach as we individually and collectively work to develop a more equitable and culturally responsive organization. With over 25 years of experience, education, teaching, coaching, and consulting, Dr. Carter’s customized, competency-based approach supports the development of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and Cultural Intelligence (CQ) capacities that equip people, organizations, and communities with the power to take on the challenges of our collective humanity and become champions for diversity.

Our Racial Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Task Force has prioritized achieving the following 4 goals: 

  1. Our leadership, staff, board and volunteer ranks hold a critical mass of people of color whose perspectives help us fulfill our mission and reinforce our commitment to race equity;
  2. Our staff, volunteers, and leaders are confident and skilled at talking about race and racism and its implications for the organization and for society;
  3. Our programs are culturally responsive and program policies and practices explicitly address race, racism, and race equity; and
  4. Our resources are spent on services, vendors, and consultants that reflect our organizational values and a commitment to race equity.

By pairing psychometrically validated tools, such as the Intercultural Development Inventory, with Dr. Carter’s unique expertise and skillset, FFCR’s DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) + SEI (social emotional intelligence) Initiative will increase the intercultural competence and emotional intelligence of staff and board members to better equip them to:

  1. Use intercultural competence and emotional intelligence to improve interpersonal behavior, communication, and organizational practices to serve clients, volunteers, and partners
  2. Recognize and respond to individual and institutional power to improve outcomes for FFCR clients and partners
  3. Effectively manage intercultural conflicts that lead to restorative outcomes
  4. Disrupt dominant relationships and redirect our individual and collective time and energy towards co-creating new, mutually informed relationships with staff, volunteers, and the children and families we serve.

Ultimately, the Initiative will improve our organizational capacity to meaningfully address racial disparities – particularly physical and mental health disparities – faced by the children, families and young adults we serve. We are truly grateful to United Way Miami for serving as funding partners in this work.

Dr. Issac Carter