Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
Illinois Collaboration on Youth’s mission is to champion the safety, health, and success of Illinois’ children, youth, and families by acting as a collective voice for policy and practice, and by connecting and strengthening the organizations that serve them. We believe that children and youth have the right to enter adulthood with the tools and capacity to succeed, and that Illinois only succeeds when ALL its children, youth, and families thrive.
Our mission is best achieved when we embrace our values of boldness, collaboration, equity, innovation, and strategy, with an enduring commitment to inclusion that must find full expression in our organizational culture, values, norms, and behaviors.
Throughout our work in policy, advocacy, and capacity building, we will advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its forms, encompassing but not limited to age, ability, economic circumstance, ethnicity, gender expression, gender identity, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
As an association, we will make diversity, equity, and inclusion a core and abiding strength of the nonprofit sector by leading through our words and actions.
Our approach to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is more about embracing the differences that bring us together for the betterment of our mission. As we prioritize fostering and cultivating a healthy work culture, we acknowledge that when we are vulnerable and humbly transparent about our individual journey there is room for significant impact on the lives of the children, youth, and families that we serve. ICOY encourage our members to cultivate a culture where all employees can bring their best selves to work to deploying diversity initiatives that support all, we’re doing what it takes to build a more equitable workplace and world.
If you are interested in hearing from our committee and how we’ve navigated our DEI journey, complete the form here to schedule a time to discuss the goals of your organization.
ICOY's DEI Timeline
ICOY decided to undergo our consultation search to begin our journey in becoming a DEI-informed organization back in 2020. During a time when tentions were high among staff and leadership, civil unrest became so loud it could no longer be ignored, ICOY made an intentional effort to integrate equity in our practice. This allowed for us to acknowledge as a that we were not where we needed to be to move the community-based providers who are under the umbrella of our membership along in the process as a policy and advocacy focused organization.
We have since made substantial progress in our efforts to continue to move the needle and inspire through the work that our members are doing around the transformation of child and family well-being in Illinois through a DEI lens. Below you will find some milestones that we have achieved in the past four years on behalf of becoming a better staff, board, and partner to those in the field.
