In a March 18th op-ed, Convergence Collaborative on Supports for Working Families participant and Executive Director of First Five Years Fund, Sarah Rittling wrote on her experience in the Collaborative and on the consensus solutions the cross-partisan group came up with in their Blueprint for Action noting that,

“Over the course of a year, we talked. We listened. We disagreed (a lot). But at the end of the day, we found shared ground and a commitment to action on behalf of American families with young children.

The end result was a Blueprint for Action, a cross-partisan plan with a shared set of principles and actions, calling for a “new, holistic care agenda for young children.” As much as the group may have differed in ideology and experience, we were united in believing that more must be done at the governmental, employer and community levels to help families flourish.”

Rittling’s piece offers much hope for further family policy and underscores the importance of collaborating across differences.