NBCDI (Outline) week4

The National Black Child Development Institute

Name

Institution

The National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI)

The National Black Child Development Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and supports workshops, programs, as well as resources for African American children, their parents plus the communities. Some of the programs which the organization involves itself in include education, welfare of the child, health, parenting as well as elementary and secondary education. The organization with its headquarters in Washington DC in the United States of America was established in the year 1970.

The NBCDI was launched by Community Development Foundation, an association of Black Women, whose leadership was deeply concerned about the poor conditions faced by black families who were determined to raise healthy Black children at the start of the Civil Rights Movement in the US. Through establishing NBCDI as a national group for advocacy, they were able to create a cohesive movement aiming to develop approaches to improve situations of life for the Black child through a change of policy (Bardige, 2012). Four years after the incorporation of NBCDI, its leaders started the National Affiliate Network which aimed to mobilize people who were willing to volunteer at the grassroots level. As we speak, Affiliates operate in more than twenty communities within the United States and are composed of vibrant individuals who implement programs that are nationally driven for the betterment of way of living for African American children and families on the ground.

What the Organization Believes In

The belief of The National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) is that African-American children need to experience good health, support from family, an environment that is safe, to build a positive self-image, as well as to be proud of the culture of African American community. The organization achieves this by making sure that there are trained professionals and parents who in one way or another are helpful to African American children. They give children more resources and teaching so as to get done with success, giving parents and providers of human service enough resources to help children of African origin living in the United States of America.

Historically, National Black Children Development Institute has built a strong reputation for its distinguished work in education and early care and child welfare. Over the years, their sole mission has done something good to millions of black children including their families. As the most leading organization, functioning on behalf of children of color, the future of NBCDI is about development and sustainability, counterfeiting new boundaries. It also promotes strengths-based programs as well as policies that help in the upkeep of African American children in the perspective of their families, communities, and cultures for that matter (Billingsley, 2012).

As one of the only national organizations categorically committed to the achievement and well-being of children of color in the United States, the National Black Child Development Institute together with their National Affiliate Network have been a very influential and operative voice on matters touching on the welfare of African American children. Issues mostly addressed without fear are related to the health, education, and care, and of Black children plus their families.The organization has a precise and relentless emphasis on the strengths and basic needs of communities where black children live in the United States (Dreher, 2013). The organization also has a lens of cultural proficiency which enables it to serve as a national agency for resource providing publications, advocacy, programs, as well training associated with the early care for children and education; health and wellness; literacy and family engagement etcetera.

NBCDI Community Partnerships with other Organizations

National Black Child Development Institute engages in supporting and working predominantly with African American children birth through age eight plus their families. They also do this through building partnership with other community-based organizations, corporations’ foundations, various school systems, Head Start, the government, political leaders, and child care in addition to many other private and public partnerships.

Programs and activities of NBCDI range from their exciting Annual Conferences to T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood DC©; to run programs all over the United States purely focused on health and wellbeing, family engagement, literacy, and preparation for college. The organization also engages in federal and state advocacy, with a wide variety of partnerships and collaborations. The cardinal aim for this is to protect and promote policies and investments that support children’s ability to access, quality care and education birth through age eight, empower parents and families, as well as to ensure funding and resource equitability.

Involvement in Cross-cultural Challenges and Humanitarian Consideration

The organization involves cross-cultural challenges and humanitarian concerns in their mission in such a way that they do not hinder it from achieving its desired goals. The manner in which the organization addresses cross-cultural challenges makes it stand a unique entity which has for years managed to meet the needs of the group it offers services to (Gaquin, 2014). Given that the United States is known for multicultural and multiracial interactions, NBCDI has been able to bring everybody to the attention that children of African origin living in the United States together with their families need to be given the care and services they deserve by all without considering their color. The organization has taken advantage of humanitarian considerations in the United States of America to champion for the basic needs of black children. Through NBCDI efforts and engagement with many organizations, humanitarian groups have also been vibrant in the mission to better the lives of black families in the US. Such groups have in various ways been offering education and health services to the children of color. The old thoughts by a subsection of white Americans that black people are inferior compared to them have been eroded by activities of National Black Child Development Institute. This is because the organization has never had boundaries in its mission. Everyone irrespective of color or cultural background since the early days of NCCDI has always been welcome to join the organization in its operations to better lives for the needy black families living in the United States (Klein, 2014).

The Organization’s Strategy to Overcome Challenges

Just like other nonprofit organizations, National Black Child Development Institute has faced roadblocks as long as it has been in existence. One of such roadblocks can be the opposition from some of the groups of people who in its first days thought the organization was not to last for a long time. However, NBCDI has proved them wrong since it has been able to survive all amounts of threats to be where it is today. Additionally, the organization has experienced harsh economic times. Funds and grants have differently constructed making it hard for the team to manage them in a single financial management system very tricky. It should be known that the organization receives its funding from many different sources, each of who has their reporting requirements. The CFO of the organization through the accounting system has managed to respond quickly to the needs like tracking different categorizations of funding dollars (Pekkanen, 2014). By understanding the very potential potholes; the organization’s CFO has been able to navigate their environment to make sure that the organization maintains stronger perceptibility into its funding data.

Organizations’s Plan for the Future

The organization has a clear vision for the black children in the United Sates. It is determined to work tirelessly to ensure that all black children living in America have a share of the country’s national cake. It determined to deal with hunger which is a common problem in itself, particularly among African American children. The organization has found that children growing up in households with no food security are most likely to be in poor psychological and physical health (Marable, 2015). Furthermore, the organization has established that such children have more behavioral challenges and perform poorly in school. The organization has a plan for these black children, and it is determined to make sure that they do well in class. Nonetheless, these improvements in academics are not likely to happen when more and more black children are being brought up in hunger stricken households. That said, The National Black Child Development Institute has formulated strategies to ensure that the households for the black children and families at least enjoy three meals a day in the next ten to twenty years (Pynes, 2016).

Due to the recent economic research which is more accurate about adverse educational outcomes to be expected in the coming years, the organization is well prepared to face the challenge. NBCDI believes that in good economic times Black children times can have a high rate of grade retention. The vision for the organization is clear such that it is set to include all stakeholders so as to counter all possibilities of danger in proper way. It plans to use all resources at its disposal to address the common problems that face black children, families, and communities (Sciarra, 2016). The organization believes that this is the only way to bring about the desired equitability in the United States. NBSDI also plans to add an extra gear on its campaign to ensure that children of color get treatment equal to white children when it comes to employment in both public and private sector.

Alternative Way to Address Concerning Children of Color

The National Black Child Development Institute needs to teach the children of color the best way in which they can air their grievances to the authorities. There is need for the black communities in the US start looking for their place in the political arena. The organization should encourage them to engage themselves in politics since it is one of the most important avenues to address the plight of different groups of people within a society. NBCDI should even start sponsoring many black candidates to contest for elective seats. They should be let to know that their current representation in the political leadership is less than enough. Even though there are roadblocks to this, there is only one way to maneuvre, and it is very easy. To persistently press for what they think is fundamental right for them. Through participation in active politics, the current problems that face children of color are likely to be dealt with significantly (Strickland, 2017). Since politics is not a beauty contest, no one should expect favor. To claim their place in the politics of US, the blacks need to rise about inferiority complex and make their voice heard by the authorities. With the help of National Black Child Development Institute, I think this can be achieved through it requires a lot of sacrifice by the blacks themselves.

Reference

Bardige, B. L. (2012). At a loss for words: how America is failing our children and what we can do about it. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Billingsley, A., & Giovannoni, J. M. (2012). Children of the storm: Black children and American child welfare. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovannovich.

Dreher, K. L. (2013). Dancing on the white page: Black women entertainers writing autobiography. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Gaquin, D., & Ryan, M. M. (2014). Families In America. Lanham, MD: Bernan Press.

Klein, A. G. (2014). The debate over child care: 1969-1990: a sociohistorical analysis. Albany: State Univ. of New York Press.

Pekkanen, R., Smith, S. R., & Tsujinaka, Y. (2014). Nonprofits and advocacy: engaging community and government in an era of retrenchment. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Marable, M. (2015). The new Black renaissance: the souls anthology of critical African-American studies. Boulder, CO: Paradigm .

Pynes, J. (2016). Effective nonprofit management: context and environment. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

Sciarra, D. J. (2016). Developing & Administering a Child Care and Education Program. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Strickland, R. (2017). Growing up postmodern: neoliberalism and the war on the young. Lanham: Rowman et Littlefield.