Cradle-to-Career: New Report Outlines Multiyear Investment in the Livelihood of Birmingham Youth

By Shauna Stuart | For the Birmingham Times

Approximately 73,000 children in the city of Birmingham are living in poverty. According to Birmingham data, a child born into poverty in Birmingham has a 6% chance of reaching a top income level as an adult, and in some neighborhoods, that number falls below 2%.

A new report from the Birmingham Children and Youth Commission aims to create a blueprint for multi-year investment in the city’s youth. The report, released Thursday, is a public roadmap for the city’s first cradle-to-career vision: a comprehensive plan to align public systems, community organizations, and educational institutions to improve opportunities for the city’s children, with the ultimate goal of improving economic mobility.

The 64-page report found that while a number of Birmingham organizations are pursuing similar goals to improve the livelihood for children in the city by collecting data about children and families, that data isn’t shared and presented with a clear picture of whether children are accessing opportunities and achieving desired outcomes.

Birmingham’s North Star

According to officials, the city’s cradle-to-career plan, dubbed Birmingham’s North Star, outlines a plan to prepare children for kindergarten, reduce chronic absenteeism, and ensure students graduate from high school prepared for a career or college.

During a Thursday press conference, Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin stressed the report wasn’t just a summary of observations, but a strategic plan with immediate action items.

“I want you to know this is not another report,” Woodfin said. “I think Birmingham, Alabama is good at reports. Let me tell you what we’re also good at. We’re also good at getting a report and then letting it go sit somewhere on the shelf and collect dust. We’re not doing that. We cannot do that. Our children cannot afford that. What this is is a commitment to action, coordination, and my favorite, which should be your favorite as well, accountability.”

During the conference, Woodfin outlined the plan’s five goals:

• More quality childcare options for children under the age of three, noting that 87% of childcare centers in Birmingham only have one star or fewer.
• Access to high-quality after-school programs
• Triple eighth-grade math proficiency rates
• Close the third grade reading gap
• Ensure that young people in Birmingham are connected to a job, a paid internship,  apprenticeship or a degree by the age of 24.

Pilot neighborhoods, next steps

The commission plans to launch the program in two historic Birmingham areas:  Woodlawn–Kingston and Smithfield–North and South Titusville. In the report, the commission noted the legacy of A.H. Parker High School, an institution that has shaped generations of Birmingham families. During the mid-1900s, A.H. Parker was one of the largest Black high schools in the nation.

According to the report, the commission selected the two areas for their “combination of significant need, deep community leadership, and existing momentum.”

“The goal is not to concentrate Birmingham’s commitment in two neighborhoods, but to prove what coordinated, cradle-to-career implementation can achieve and scale it citywide,” the report said.

The next phase of the project moves from planning to implementation with the Birmingham Cradle to Career Coalition under the leadership of Zhaundra Jones. Jones is a philanthropic strategist with more than 20 years of experience working in equity and community impact, according to a press release. 

“In these first few months, we’ll talk to teachers and young people,” Jones said during the press conference. “We’ll bring organizations serving the same folks around the same table and we’ll talk and we’ll turn these goals that you heard about from the mayor into shared action and more importantly shared accountability, that radical collaboration.”

Birmingham Children and Youth Commission: A Timeline

Investing in Birmingham Youth has been a cornerstone of Woodfin’s third term.  In March, the Birmingham City Council unanimously approved Woodfin’s proposed $31.8 million spending plan aimed at supporting his Cradle to Career Initiative and investments in public infrastructure, neighborhoods, and cultural institutions.  The center of that spending plan is the $3.5 million Cradle to Career Initiative.  In April, Woodfin and Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Sullivan announced the creation of the Birmingham Children and Youth Commission, a compilation of 75 leaders across the fields of politics, education, philanthropy and community development.

During a 90-day planning process to craft a strategy and review citywide data, the commission worked in partnership with the Harlem Children’s Zone, a nationally recognized New-York based nonprofit known for innovating its cradle-to-career program.