1 of 41

Interrogating LA County’s Child Welfare System: Shifting Structural Power, Community Organizing, & Raising Up Justice

Foster America Capstone Presentation

Cohort 3

Jermeen Sherman, MBA, MA

Sonya Soni, MPH, MTS

2 of 41

Journey Map

4. BEYOND LA: A CALL TO ACTION

Learnings for the broader child welfare community

1. JOURNEY FROM THE PERSONAL TO THE POLITICAL

From rural India and inner-city Atlanta to South LA

2. PHOTOVOICE

Our shared journey in community organizing with foster youth

3. INVEST LA & MLK CENTER

Our individual journeys to institutionalize community voice in LA

County

3 of 41

Sonya Soni

“I don’t want to be your icon for poverty or a sponge for your guilt. My identity is for me to build, in my own image. You’re welcome to walk beside me, but don’t stand in front to give me a helping hand. You’re blocking the sun.”

- Shahidul Alam

4 of 41

Jermeen Sherman

“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”

- Margaret Wheatley

5 of 41

Through Our Lens: Photovoice by Systems-Impacted Youth in South LA

Sonya Soni, MPH, MTS

Jermeen Sherman, MBA, MA

6 of 41

Hybrid Research Methodology

PHOTOVOICE : VISUAL & COMMUNITY PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

+

7 of 41

Community Organizing

8 of 41

South Los Angeles

Highest rates of low birth weight infants; highest number of child death; highest concentration of child poverty in LA County.
MLK Center for Child & Family Well-being – opportune time for design input.
4 offices; 24% of cases, 65% high/very high risk; history of Disproportionality
5-year strategic plan & Youth Advisory Body presented opportune time for sustainable co-design

9 of 41

Implementation

COLLABORATIVE PROJECT DESIGN

INTRODUCE YOUTH TO METHODOLOGY AND PROVIDE TRAINING

REVIEW & SELECT PHOTOS; DRAFT NARRATIVES

COVID-19:TRANSITION TO VIRTUAL IMPLEMENTATION

YOUTH DEVELOP A COMMUNITY DECLARATION

HOST EXHIBIT & PRESENT RECOMMENDATIONS TO COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT LEADERS

10 of 41

11 of 41

Home Play

12 of 41

Opportunities to Innovate

Research Approval Process
Participant Recruitment
Target Age Segment & Curriculum

Implementation Period
Caregiver Support
Post-research Program Linkage

Guest Speaker Recruitment
Flexible Program Design
Sustainability Initiatives

13 of 41

MLK Center for Child & Family Well-being

Confronting Structural Violence & Decolonizing the Child Welfare System in South LA

Sonya Soni

LA County Department of Mental Health

14 of 41

15 of 41

Social & Structural Determinants of Family Well-Being

Source: Redefining Global Health Care Delivery, Jim Yong Kim, Paul Farmer, & Michael E. Porter

16 of 41

Structural Vulnerability in South LA

Structural violence

Social determinants of family well-being

17 of 41

MLK Center for Child & Family Well-being

1

5

4

3

2

Hub infrastructure

Staff composition & training

Screening & referral processes

Community ownership

Decolonizing the data ecosystem

18 of 41

Hub Infrastructure

Design as activism, civic engagement, & community building
Voting booths in waiting room
Community organizing center
Demilitarization of space

19 of 41

Screening & Referral Processes�

20 of 41

Staff Makeup & Training�

Structural bias &

competency

Democratizing and

decentralizing community

care (community health

workers)

Integrating our spectrum of

child welfare service

providers (Medical-legal

partnership model)

21 of 41

Community Ownership�

Right to Resources Committee

Community representation at

hospital boards

Community participatory research and data collection

22 of 41

23 of 41

— Abigail Echo-Hawk, Chief Research Officer,� Seattle Indian Health Board

When we think about data, and how it's been gathered, is that, from marginalized communities, it was never gathered to help or serve us. It's always done from a deficit-based framework. Valuation, data collection, technology, science, and the way that we looked at the health of Native people weren't serving my people, because they didn't have the indigenous framework. Decolonizing data means that the community itself is the one determining what is the information they want us to gather. Why are we gathering it? Who's interpreting it? And are we interpreting it in a way that truly serves our communities? Decolonizing data is about controlling our own story, and making decisions based on what is best for our people.

24 of 41

Centering Community Perspective to Strengthen Strategic Cross-Sector �Collaborations �

Jermeen Sherman, MBA, MA

LA County Department of Children and Family Services

25 of 41

Strengthening Children, Youth and Families

We believe all children and youth deserve a place to call home and our families have access to high quality, universally available and timely services delivered with respect and integrity.

Workforce Excellence

We believe our community deserves a highly skilled, culturally competent, trained and supported workforce to improve outcomes.

Community and Cross-Sector Partnerships

We believe in the shared commitment and collective impact of public and private organizations and community members to ensure children are safer, families are healthier, and communities are stronger and more supportive places for all to thrive.

Safe Children. Healthy Families. Strong Communities.

26 of 41

Activities & Goals

100+ STAKEHOLDERS

SMART MODEL OF RECOMMENDATION DEVELOPMENT

ADVISORY BOARD

27 of 41

Advisory Board

24 representatives from government, advocate organizations, philanthropy, providers, CBOs and representatives with lived-experience
Help balance conflicting priorities and resources
Ensure efforts are not duplicative and aligned with DCFS’ core competencies
Provide input, refine and review DCFS strategic plan

28 of 41

Diverging Priorities

29 of 41

Shared �Purpose

It is intended that the Advisory Board leverage the experiences, expertise, and insight of key individuals at organizations committed to the success of every child and family in Los Angeles County. Advisory Board members are not directly responsible for managing project activities but provide support and guidance for those who do.

30 of 41

Shared Priorities & Decision Making

SUSTAINABLE

IMPACTFUL

OUTCOME MEASURES

SYNERGY

BEST PRACTICE

31 of 41

Community Engagement Forums

1-YEAR

INITIATIVE

2-DAY LISTENING TOURS

8 SERVICE PLANNING AREAS

400+ DIVERSE

STAKEHOLDER GROUPS

32 of 41

High Need Communities

36% of cases
SPA 1: isolated, high provider turnover, under resourced
SPA 6: community mistrust, poverty, high staff turnover, heavily impacted by disproportionality
Opportunity to repair community relationships & reimagine service delivery

1

6

33 of 41

Community Engagement�Activities

Faith-based communities

Transition-age youth

Law Enforcement

Bio and resource parents

Educators

Providers

DCFS staff

34 of 41

Our Way Forward

Podcasts & virtual convenings
Technology support for children and families

Community Engagement Forums

Recalibrate IAT recommendation

Re-entry Planning

35 of 41

Beyond the LA Context: Innovations to Sustain Systemic Reform

36 of 41

Institutionalizing Community Voice + Shifting Power Dynamics

Public-people partnerships

Community organizing in digital spaces

Re-imagining human-centered design in the social justice sector

The prevalent use of tokenism in our community engagement strategies

37 of 41

Decolonizing the child welfare system

Revolution vs. reformation in child welfare : From child welfare/protection to child well-being model
Conflation of abuse/neglect and poverty
Western traditional family structure

38 of 41

The Diagonal Approach to Systems Strengthening

Value-based Service Delivery Chains

Adapting Public Health Equity Frameworks to South LA’S Child Welfare System

39 of 41

HOW WILL WE CONNECT?

Reverse Innovation

40 of 41

COVID-19 Insights

Centering Community Perspective in Strategic Cross-Sector Collaborations

Strategic Utilization of Community Resources

41 of 41

Contact & Resources

Jermeen Sherman, MBA, MA

Sonya Soni, MPH, MTS

shermj@dcfs.lacounty.gov

ssoni@dmh.lacounty.gov

Sonya’s Photo