Stronger starts for Mississippi families
March 26, 2026
Mississippi is addressing high infant mortality through doula support, home visiting and extended postpartum Medicaid coverage for mothers and babies.
Mississippi is addressing high infant mortality through doula support, home visiting and extended postpartum Medicaid coverage for mothers and babies.
Home visiting programs in New Mexico are helping children and families thrive through research-backed, relationship-based support during the first five years of life. First Born and More, supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, pairs trained home visitors with parents to promote healthy pregnancies, early literacy, social-emotional development and school readiness. Serving more than 1,000 families in 2024, the program connects caregivers to vital resources, strengthens parent-child relationships and improves outcomes for babies and young children across rural and urban communities.
Sixteen leaders from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Global Fellows Network (GFN) in Mexico recently gathered in Mexico City to explore healing-centered leadership practices based on empathy and accountability.
What began as a parent advocating for her children grew into leadership helping families influence the systems meant to serve them. Her story highlights the power of parent voices in shaping early childhood policy.
Louisiana’s first universal home-visiting pilot in New Orleans shows how early, in-home support improves outcomes for mothers, babies and families.
A Mississippi mother found a new opportunity through Women in Construction, a tuition-free program from Moore Community House that combines skilled trades training with child care, transportation and job placement to help women build stable careers and support their families.
Libraries, parks unite communities for the 10th National Day of Racial Healing, fostering connection.
Louisiana and Mississippi face some of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the nation. Programs like Family Connects in New Orleans, Delta Health Center’s home visiting model, Medicaid and SNAP help families access care, afford groceries and prevent costly emergencies.
From dance and art to ceremony and service, communities nationwide marked 10 years of racial healing in vibrant ways.
When the people most impacted by systems come together to support one another and heal, they often go on to effect powerful change — from the ground up. This grassroots approach is at the heart of the work of Bold Futures, a Las Cruces, New Mexico, nonprofit. The organization’s “touchstone groups” showcase how communities can channel lived experience for good, with powerful impacts for the next generation.
This post was originally published on Common Ground. Recent federal and state policy changes tied to the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act have created uncertainty for early childhood systems across the country. In Detroit, where many families already face high child care costs and economic strain, adjustments to programs such as SNAP and Medicaid are raising concerns among providers, advocates, and families about access, affordability and continuity of care. Leaders involved in Hope Starts Here, Detroit’s citywide early childhood framework, say the city’s response is being shaped by work that began years before the current policy. The initiative is organized
Music, spoken word and the sharp cadence of youth-led dance filled the DoubleTree by Hilton ballroom in downtown Battle Creek, Michigan, reverberating through a packed space and prompting multiple standing ovations from community members. Performances by local poet Deja Excel-Johnson, the Sojourner Truth Gospel Choir, and students from Lakeview High School’s Black Student Union and Burma Club Dance Group set the tone for Battle Creek’s 2026 observance of the National Day of Racial Healing on Jan. 20, an annual gathering centered on storytelling, cultural expression and belonging. “I am just so touched by the number that are here, from kids