Our Babies Can’t Wait: CITE Supports the Statement from the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health
The Coalition of Infant/Toddler Educators stands in support of the following statement from the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health
As part of the global infant/early childhood mental health community, we are committed to deepening conversation and promoting reflection and action to address ongoing bias, structural racism, and racial violence that impacts the health and wellbeing of all our babies and their families.
We believe in the power of relationships to raise a collective voice against racism. We stand in solidarity with communities of color across the nation and the world and commit ourselves to mitigating the chronic trauma that racism has had on generations of children of color, their families, and the infant/early childhood workforce.
We hold in mind parents and caregivers of color who are tasked with protecting and creating a safe space for their babies while also managing their own emotions, as we also hold in mind the infant/early childhood mental health workforce of color who strive to hold and comfort families while managing their own emotions.
We believe that change and healing starts with each one of us. We must intentionally examine the ways we contribute to the continuation or dismantling of racial trauma and structural oppression.
We must respond with purpose and action. Our babies can’t wait.
With hope and love,
Staff and Board of Directors
Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health
State Board of Directors 2020 – 2021
The following State Board members were elected based on the recent survey to members, conducted in lieu of an in-person vote at the postponed conference. Terms began on June 1, 2020.
Officers (serve for 1 year)
| President | Cynthia Soete |
| 1st Vice President | Angie DeFazio |
| 2nd Vice President | Michele Gregorio |
| Secretary | Melissa Rivera-Serna |
| Treasurer | Daisy Linares (Appointed) |
At Large Members (serve for 2 years)
| Linda Carter | Nicole Garibaldi-DeNude |
| Beverly Lee | Lorri Sullivan |
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Virtual State Conference 2020
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you to those members who were able to attend Friday’s Webinar “Everyday Care from Everyday Heroes”. In addition to celebrating our Eighth Annual June Handler Awardee and New Jersey Infant/Toddler Credentialed Educator, Ivet Perez. See Video
We also shared new tools, both in a mailing and now on our website. Please share these with your colleagues.
To access the Keynote recording and the rest of the presentations we call “Everyday Heroes Conversations”, please use the password sent to your email!
Each week in October we will release five new sessions for your review and participation. Complete each follow up survey and access additional 1.5 hours of professional development. With each weekly release, you will still have 30 days to review each presentation.
We ask that you share our resources but please keep your password confidential to give all of our early bird registrants preferred access. Please note Conference Resources are located below.
I hope you’re able to view and enjoy each and every one.
Best regards,
Cynthia Soete MS Ed, IMH-E® President
Access the videos here »
A Pandemic within a Pandemic: How Coronavirus and Systemic Racism Are Harming Infants and Toddlers of Color
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), released a new brief, A Pandemic within a Pandemic: How Coronavirus and Systemic Racism Are Harming Infants and Toddlers of Color, that unpacks the harm of systemic racism to children’s development and describes how the coronavirus pandemic has magnified pervasive inequities in health, education, employment, and other factors across race and ethnicity.
Programs that help families meet their basic needs urgently need immediate shoring up. And policymakers must prioritize families of color who are most harmed by the coronavirus. We make the case for focusing on the needs of families of color with infants and toddlers in coronavirus relief and systemic policy reform efforts to ensure that policies do not continue or add to inequities.
Report Examines Adverse Childhood Experiences in Early Childhood
A recent report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) examined U.S. Census Bureau’s National Survey of Children’s Health to better understand the prevalence of ACEs specifically in young children. CAP’s analysis found that more than 1 in 4 young children in the United States have been exposed to at least one ACE. Reflecting the societal patterns of America’s racial bias, the researchers also found that children of color are disproportionately more likely to have exposure to ACEs in early childhood.
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In Memoriam – June Moss Handler
CITE founder, June Moss Handler, 94, died on November 6, 2017 at her home in Hackensack, NJ. (read more...)