Be on the Lookout for an

Important Announcement Next Month!

Dear ICS Friends:

In early 2022, ICS merged with EC PRISM. Over the past year we have been hard at work reshaping our organization to become an even stronger force impacting early childhood for the better. A central component of that work has involved deep introspection regarding the type of organization we aspire to be and what you, our many stakeholders, continue to challenge us to be.

Toward that end, please stay tuned for an important announcement in May about the mark we hope to make on this world!

Thank you,

Jamie Moon, CEO

April 2023 eNews Edition

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Inside this Issue

When Alarms are Silenced: Black Maternal Mortality and Kira Johnson's Story
The Update: ZERO TO THREE Features Early Childhood Workforce Brief, Additional Early Child Care Workforce Resources, ICS at NHSA Conference in May, and ICS to Present at Multiple 2023 Conferences
What We've Been Up To: Combating Gun Violence, Kaloni Goes to the SC State House, and Supporting Families by Informing

When Alarms are Silenced:

Black Maternal Mortality and

Kira Johnson's Story

by Mary C. Garvey, ICS Chief Equity Officer

“Sunshine personified,” is how Charles Johnson IV describes his wife, Kira. ^[I]

“We’re talking about a woman that raced cars, that ran marathons. She spoke five languages fluently. She was a skydiver. She had her pilot’s license. Everything she put her mind to, she did. She had this incredible infectious energy. She walked into a room and she would light it up. Yea, she’s just my earth angel. We just really were in such an amazingly happy place. We had grand plans of just raising kids that would change the world.” As Charles reflects on being first-time parents to their son Charles Johnson V, he explains, “We enjoyed it. It was a really, really cool time for us.” ^[II]

In April of 2016, Kira was in perfect health and had experienced a textbook pregnancy as she prepared to deliver their second child. Doctors recommended a cesarean section since that is what she had the first time around. Shortly after Kira and Charles’ son Langston was born, Kira began experiencing complications. Charles noticed that the fluid in her catheter was turning pink, indicative of blood being present. This was around 4pm and doctors stated that they would perform a CT scan. By 7pm, Kira was shivering uncontrollably, and ultrasounds showed that her abdomen was filling with fluid. Her CT scan had not been done yet. Increasingly concerned about his wife, Charles approached a nurse about Kira’s condition to ask for help and recalls being told, “Sir, your wife just isn’t a priority right now.” It was not until midnight that doctors took Kira in for surgery. The last thing Kira said to Charles was, “Baby I’m scared.” Having known Kira to be fearless, this was not a sentiment she had ever expressed or showed to him before. ^[III]

Harvard medical professor and obstetrician Dr. Neel Shah went so far as to state that doctors and medical professionals, “believe Black women less when they express the symptoms they are having, particularly around pain.” Kira, as a Black woman, was three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications.

Read the full blog to learn more about this heartbreaking issue.

The Update

ZERO TO THREE Spotlights Early Childhood Workforce Paper

ICS Policy Research VP, Megan Carolan and Policy Research Associate, Amber Posey Fishel's publication, "Early Childhood Workforce: Supporting the Professionals Who Support Our Families," has been adapted for the ZERO TO THREE Journal. ZERO TO THREE is a national center for infants, toddlers, and families whose mission is to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life.

ICS hopes that the increased exposure will mean more people who care about the child-serving professionals across the medical, education, social work, mental health, and child care fields learn about the persistent challenges they face...and hopefully, have the power to solve them.

Additional Early Child Care Workforce Resources

The ICS team has recently released additional resources on supporting the early childhood workforce, including:

ICS at NHSA Conference in May

Come visit our exhibitor booth #326 at the National Head Start Association 2023 Conference! This event will take place in Phoenix, AZ from May 8-11. We will be offering web demonstrations, answering questions, and giving away prizes! Register for your spot.

ICS to Present at Multiple 2023 Conferences

Mark your calendars! Our team has been accepted to present at various conference events in 2023, including the American Psychological Association Conference in August, the ZERO TO THREE Conference in September, and the Division for Early Childhood Conference in November. We look forward to sharing more details with you soon.

What We've Been Up To

ICS Joins the National American Academy of Pediatrics to Combat Gun Violence

ICS is a signatory of a newly released letter in support of increased federal funding for gun violence research (organized by the National American Academy of Pediatrics). ICS is among 400+ organizations across the nation that signed the Gun Violence Prevention Research Funding letter—one of five in South Carolina.

We are focused on the increased need and funding for gun violence research, as it applies to the well-being of children from prenatal to age 8.

Kaloni Goes to the SC State House

Investments in the first five years are essential, indeed! SC Senator, Mike Fanning (17^th District) recently heard from four-year-old Kaloni about the importance of early care and education.

Senator Fanning described Kaloni as the "[m]ost effective 4-year-old 'Lobbyist' EVER!"

Read more about the South Carolina Early Childhood Common Agenda, a framework for building a smart, comprehensive early childhood policy for the Palmetto State.

Supporting Families by Informing

On March 29, ICS Research Specialist-Impact & Practice, Allison Kimble-Cusano, EdD was invited by Square One in Springfield, Massachusetts to present an early childhood systems Q&A session to help young families living in poverty.