In a recent article in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, ChangeLab Solutions’ vice president of policy Kimberly Libman; vice president of law Sabrina Adler; and vice president of programs Pratima Musburger discuss cooperative ownership as a health justice intervention in the US child care system.
Their work builds on the article “The Civil Rights of Health” by Angela P. Harris and Aysha Pamukcu, who offer a framework at the intersection of public health and civil rights law to address the root causes of unjust health disparities that stem from subordination based on race, gender, or other social or economic differentials. Furthering this idea, Libman, Adler, and Musburger propose worker-owned child care cooperatives as a health justice intervention with the power to dismantle subordination through democratic distribution of assets and benefits as well as centering of community values. Given that early childhood education is a social determinant of health, they advocate for partnerships between child care workers, community leaders, public health professionals, and legal advocates to develop both research and policy innovations in support of child care cooperatives.
3/8/2023