Day 1 – Monday, September 12, 2011

 

10:45 am – 12:00 pm

 

Early Childhood

Transitions - Ensuring Elected Officials become Champions for Early Childhood

Session Coordinator: Bruce Atchison, Rose Community Foundation, Denver, Colorado

Session Description: More often than not Gubernatorial and Mayoral candidates running for office do not embrace early childhood as a component of their public policy platform. When they are speaking about job creation and economic development early childhood is often not on the radar. What can foundations do to ensure that once elected and public officials are in office they understand and embrace an early childhood agenda? This session will examine and provide specific successful examples of how foundations, business leadership, non-profits, and early childhood advocates can work together to develop strategic plans for presenting a common early childhood agenda across all four domains (early education, health, mental health and family support) for a new administration. Examples will be given that provide tools for developing a common early childhood agenda for transition teams advising a new Governor or Mayor that build on the work of the past and present opportunities that a new administration can call their own. The presenters will show how effective a letter that outlines specific strategies in early childhood, with pages of signatures from supporters of the candidate, can be developed and presented in a way that it is understood and taken seriously. An Executive Order the Governor signed his first day in office establishing the Governors Education leadership Council that included the language "cradle to post-secondary", hiring three staff to be in the Executive Branch to work on early childhood issues and housing the newly established Early Childhood Leadership Commission (State Advisory Council) in the Executive Branch will all be discussed. Breaking down silos, speaking as one voice, and the work that needs to get done from Election day until inauguration to ensure early childhood has a place in the highest of elected officials policy offices will be the focus of this session. Additionally, there will be ample time for participants to share their own experiences with political transitions, lessons learned, and having a dialogue about what works and what does not work to ensure that Governors and Mayors have established early childhood as a high priority.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator, Bruce Atchison, Rose Community Foundation
• Elsa Holguin, Rose Community Foundation.
• Barbara O'Brien, Immediate Past Lt. Governor, The Piton Foundation

 

Youth

A Double-Edged Sword: The Opportunities and Challenges of Applying Youth Development Research to Grantmaking 

Session Coordinator: Jamie Allison-Hope, S.H. Cowell Foundation, San Francisco, California

Session Description: California has the largest public investment in after-school programs in the country and philanthropy has worked for many years to ensure that those programs are of high quality, are designed with youth development principles, and offer dynamic content to youth. More and more, foundations are also concerned with the impact of their grant investments and measuring progress toward foundation objectives.  Learn about how three California foundations focused on policy, practice and place-based grantmaking advance youth development in after-school and out-of-school time programs.  In addition, hear from youth development expert, Dr. Deborah Vandell Lowe, on how those foundations are succeeding and struggling with tracking their progress and applying research and best practices in real time.

Featured Presenters: 

• Moderator: Deborah Vandell Lowe, Professor and Chair Department of Education, UC Irvine, Irvine, California
• Arron Jiron, Program Officer, David and Lucile Packard Foundation
• Angie Chen, Program Officer, The S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and the Stephen Bechtel Funds
• Jamie Allison-Hope, Program Officer, S. H. Cowell Foundation

 

Family/Community

Beyond Twitter: How Youth and their Families are Using Media and Technology to Build Stronger, Healthier Communities 

Session Coordinator: Pamela Harris, Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media, Oakland, California

Session Description: Join philanthropic leaders and nonprofit innovators for an inside look at programming that is weaving the threads of health, media and technology together to strengthen place-based communities. Learn how funders from seemingly disparate sectors are collaborating to advance a framework that defines community health in broad terms - recognizing technological capacity, youth leadership and direct media access as crucial to community well-being. We will hear about The California Endowment’s 10-year “Building Healthy Communities” initiative to improve health outcomes in 14 underserved communities and their integrated approach that embraces new media and technology strategies as core competencies. Youth-led organizations are playing a central role in each of the sites, including a pilot project in Los Angeles mentoring their elders in the use of mobile phones to record community health data. ZeroDivide will discuss their role in “Building Healthy Communities,” as well as their GenZD project with youth media organizations across 6 Western states. Youth Radio will describe their nationally-recognized model for using media strategies to strengthen young people’s emotional and physical health, and their professional futures. Attendees will learn about the “Peer Health Education” and “Healthy Food Production” programs that are generating ground-breaking social outcomes. This session is for funders interested in learning how technology and media strategies can augment initiatives to improve the well-being of children, youth and their families.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator/Session Coordinator: Pamela Harris, Acting Executive Director, Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media, Oakland, California
• Laura Efurd, Vice President and Chief Community Investment Officer, ZeroDivide, San Francisco, California
• Mary Lou Fulton, Program Manager, Media,, The California Endowment, Oakland, California
• Lissa Soep, Senior Producer and Research Director, Youth Radio, California
• Asha Richardson, Project Associate, Mobile Action Lab, Youth Radio, California 
   

Cross-Cutting

Unexpected Messengers: New Voices for Children, Youth, & Families

Session Coordinator: Sara Watson, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Washington, District of Columbia

Session Description: Because of fiscal concerns and a more difficult policy environment, the next few years will demand new approaches to speaking out about investments in children, youth and families. The good news is that new messengers are combining with traditional advocates to win policy victories for children and families by appealing to both conservative and liberal decision-makers. Utilizing the best research available, new arguments for investments in children have been developed beyond the traditional, “soft” messages of social obligation, showing the impacts on workforce readiness, national security, economic vitality and job growth. New messengers have been mobilized to make these arguments and break through the noise and crowded policy agenda to get people to take notice and to reconsider their positions. This is a rare message of victory and hope in a tough policy environment. This session would explore best practices of mobilizing unexpected voices to affect the public debate, as well as foundation initiatives to seed and support such work. Specifically, this would examine recent successful organizational efforts to mobilize the actions of retired generals and admirals, law enforcement officials, business executives, and moderate faith leaders to engage in the policy and media arenas. Foundations will share their experiences on what works to make a difference in a difficult economic and policy environment. They’ll show how they collaborate with local and national organizations in this area.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Sara Watson, Senior Officer, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Washington, District of Columbia
• David Kass, President, Council for a Strong America, , District of Columbia
• Major General John Comstock, U.S. Army (Ret.), Mission: Readiness, Washington, District of Columbia

 

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm 

 

Early Childhood

Supporting Children 0-8: Balancing a Broad Vision and Focused Strategies

Session Coordinator: Deborah Stahl, Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, Cranford, New Jersey

Session Description: Although some funders focus on children from birth to age five, others on birth to age eight, some on the first three years and some on three-and four-year olds, we can all agree on the end result. We want a high quality education system that serves all of our children, makes effective use of public and private resources, and prepares our young citizens to live healthy and successful lives. Early childhood and early elementary education are still funded, envisioned and managed in distinct silos in most states. Only by taking a look at the big picture can we create the systemic linkages between disciplines that create smooth transitions for children and families as they move through our education system. But by taking a broad view, do we dilute the strategic focus that will help us solve the thorniest problems for our most vulnerable children? Building on the conference theme of "what counts, what works", funders in this session will discuss how to frame a focus on birth through third grade without losing momentum on any single piece of the puzzle - for example, losing sight of infants and toddlers while working on elementary education. How do we keep the strategy comprehensive, while addressing the issues specific to these age groups? The worlds of early childhood and K-12 have much to teach each other. What role can philanthropy play in making sure those lessons are shared and applied across disciplines? What are the best ways to create a seamless and efficient system of policies and practices? Reading at grade-level by the end of third-grade is a powerful proxy for what we need to do to put children on the path to academic success. A number of funders have embraced an initiative called the Campaign for Grade Level Reading. Session leaders will look at how the campaign is making a difference and how it relates to early childhood work across the birth to eight continuum. The experiences of the Foundation for Child Development, which has long focused on Pre-K-third grade, will also form a basis for this discussion. This session is co-sponsored by the Early Childhood Funders' Collaborative and by the Campaign for Grade Level Reading.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Sara Slaughter, Education Program Director, McCormick Foundation
• Ralph Smith, Executive Vice President, Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Ruby Takanishi, President, Foundation for Child Development 

 

Youth

Undocumented Students: Newcomers or New Leaders?

Session Coordinator: Marcia Quinones, Marin Community Foundation

Session Description: The past year has brought unprecedented national attention to undocumented immigrant youth and their efforts to secure passage of the federal DREAM Act. While media attention has focused primarily on the organizing and public actions of undocumented youth, less attention has been paid to the ways that undocumented youth are quietly but powerfully serving as leaders and role models in their own diverse communities and classrooms. In this workshop we begin with an overview of current federal immigration legislation, highlighting student advocacy efforts and then take it to a local level, where we demonstrate how undocumented students become effective leaders and cultural bridge-builders in daily interactions less overtly political in nature. We define and analyze the “cultural resiliency” that undocumented youth need to successfully navigate their lives and become leaders in their communities. And we share concrete strategies on how funders can evaluate their grantmaking portfolios and recommendations to be more responsive to the needs of undocumented youth whether it be for organizing for federal support of the DREAM ACT or in their own schools and communities on a daily basis.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Marcia Quinones, Program Officer, Education and Immigration, Marin Community Foundation
• JuanCarlos Arauz, Executive Director, E3: Education Excellence & Equity
• Katharine Gin, Executive Director of Educators for Fair Consideration  (E4FC)
• Jose Arreola, Youth Activist and Outreach Coordinator, E4FC
• E3 Youth Activist, TBD

 

Family/Community

Public and Private Funding Partnerships: Weaving a City-Wide Safety Net for Children of Incarcerated Parents

Session Coordinator: Nell Bernstein, Zellerbach Family Foundation

Session Description: Over the last ten years the Zellerbach Family Foundation has supported the San Francisco Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership (SFCIPP). The dozens of public and private agencies committed to this partnership have accelerated systems change, improved services, and expanded the quality and reach of public information on Children of Incarcerated Parents. At a time when government and CBO budgets are shrinking, the partnership continues to expand services and leverage resources to weave a city-wide safety net for Children of Incarcerated Parents. During this session participants will hear directly from leaders in San Francisco government who have partnered with SFCIPP to change policy and allocate resources to support children youth and families. Speakers will provide an overview of their participation in the partnership, and practical action steps required to make public/ private partnerships effective. In addition, each presenter will describe the challenges and successes of local policy reform efforts. Highlights will include exploring: Government as a Joint Funder; Systems Change; and Policy Reform.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Tara Regan Anderson, Senior Planner and Policy Analyst, Violence Prevention, San Francisco Department of Children Youth and Their Families
• Maria Su, Director, City and County of San Francisco Department of Children Youth and Their Families
• Wendy Still, Chief Adult Probation Officer, City and County of San Francisco Adult Probation Department
• Captain Parra, Juvenile Division, San Francisco Police Department

 

Cross-Cutting

Maximizing Impact: Strategic Leveraging to Transform Public Policy

Session Coordinator: Bill Pitkin, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Los Angeles, California

Session Description: Foundations have historically funded new, innovative practices to improve outcomes for at-risk families. These demonstration programs provide evidence that guide public investments in promising strategies and/or encourage shifts in the use of public funds. In a new paradigm shift, foundations are working with the public sector at the onset of pilot programs which maximizes the impact of their giving, increases their capacity to inform public policy and reduces delays in the application of promising approaches. Staff from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and The McCormick Foundation will share their strategies in partnering with the public sector to maximize support for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Speakers will address how their support is informing public policy and social programs to better serve at-risk populations.

The speakers will also share lessons from a national initiative to marshal private and public resources to improve housing and health outcomes and development of young at-risk and homeless mothers and children.  In particular, the session will focus on a promising approach from a joint-funded venture, FACT (Family Assertive Community Treatment), which supports young at-risk and homeless families in Chicago. This initiative leveraged national private funding, maximized local public and private funding and resulted in community-wide impact. By supporting a dedicated ‘systems integration specialist’ for FACT, funders and partners improved access, reach and effectiveness of services (such as housing and economic supports and early child development services) to all families, not just those enrolled in one project. This is an example of foundation support maximizing all resources – public and private – and demonstrates that foundation investment can result in systems change, with implications for addressing homelessness and other challenges facing children and families.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Bill Pitkin, Director, Domestic Programs, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, , California
• Bill Koll, Director, Communities Program, McCormick Foundation, Chicago, Illinois
• Nan Roman, President and CEO, The National Alliance to End Homelessness

 

3:45 pm – 5:15 pm 

 

Early Childhood

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: A promising strategy

Session Coordinator: Ronnie Bloom, William Penn Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Session Description: More basic than learning the ABCs—and as critical to school and life success—is a child’s ability to interact with others, follow instructions and work independently, know how and when to ask for help and get along with peers. Alarming preschool expulsion rates and a heightened understanding of the importance of the earliest years and of social and emotional well-being has driven early care and education leaders and child health and mental health experts and practitioners to develop new and promising programs and systemic initiatives. This Early Childhood Funders’ Collaborative-supported session will draw on the last decade of research and practice to help grantmakers understand the urgency of these preventive strategies. Session participants will share results of emerging practice models and state examples of the possibilities of embedding this cross-sector work in the overall development of statewide early childhood systems. The session will highlight early childhood mental health consultation—one strategy with many variations--including emphases on professional development of caregiver educators, outreach, education and referrals for family members, and program design. Panelists will: provide an overview of strategies being used to support the healthy mental development of young children; highlight the possibilities of connecting these efforts to the now-federally funded state early childhood advisory councils; draw on a recently completed 50-state study of mental health supports to early care and education programs; provide the research base both for the need and the effectiveness of mental health consultation strategies infused into child care and early education systems; draw from the preschool expulsion data that helped draw attention to the issue and evaluations in both preschool and infant/toddler settings and the cost-benefit analysis currently underway; share information about states that have been early adopters of mental health consultation and the role of philanthropy in piloting the strategy and bridging the divide between the fields of early care and education and child health/mental health. The moderator will ensure an interactive session. She will draw on session participants to hear about foundation efforts and challenges and help participants explore the variety of roles that grantmakers have played to spark innovation and promote promising practices.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Phyllis Glink, Executive Director, The Irving Harris Foundation, Chicago, Illinois
• Walter Gilliam, Associate Professor in the Child Study Center; Associate Professor of Psychology; Director, The Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy, New Haven, Connecticut
• Sheila Smith, Director, Early Childhood, National Center for Children in Poverty,  New York
• Kadija Johnston, Director of the Infant-Parent Program, University of California, San Francisco

 

Youth

The Drive to Thrive: Measuring Growth with Rubrics

Session Coordinator: Carol Welsh Gray, Thrive Foundation for Youth, Menlo Park, California

Session Description: We all want youth to grow into healthy, happy and successful adults. However, our current methods for measuring youth progress (grades, standardized tests, college entrance, reducing risky behaviors, etc.) do not gauge whether or not young people have learned the skills they need to develop and reach their life purpose. In this interactive workshop, the founder of See Change and the founder of Evaluation Access will present their views on a two-fold gap in the positive youth development field: 1) a lack of explicit techniques to grow skills to thrive; and 2) a lack of valid tools for youth and mentors to measure those skills, attitudes and behaviors. To address these gaps, the Thrive Foundation for Youth has partnered with Tufts Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development to develop a series of scientifically-validated rubrics for two phases of adolescence. The rubrics allow mentors and youth to develop a common language to reflect on complex youth skills, awareness, and behavior. Rubrics are supported with a suite of training materials that include videos of skill mastery completed by the Harvard Center on Media and Adolescence. Through hosting on Social Solutions’ web-based platform called Efforts to Outcomes, funders will experience an online way to record and communicate what counts and what works to diverse audiences. With a fall 2011 release date, funders will have early access to these rubrics. Participants will explore how pilot nonprofits are using the curriculum, conversations, media and rubrics to help young people thrive.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Carol Welsh Gray, Executive Director, Thrive Foundation for Youth, Menlo Park, California
• Melanie Moore Kubo, Principal, See Change Evaluation, San Francisco, California
• Kim Sabo Flores, Associate Director, Grantmaking & Evaluation, Thrive Foundation for Youth, Menlo Park, California

 

Family/Community

Engaging Parents from the Start: Improving Outcomes for the Youngest Latino Children

Session Coordinator: Marta Conner, Wellspring Advisors, Washington, District of Columbia

Session Description: Latino children are the fastest growing segment of the population in the United States. Many of these young children begin their lives with pronounced disadvantages: more than a quarter live in poverty, lack health insurance, and are raised in "linguistically isolated" households. Many of their parents did not complete high school, contributing to a lack of knowledge in how to help prepare their children for school. Further, many immigrant families face additional barriers to accessing needed services, which often adversely impact their child 's optimal health and overall development. Panelists will talk about ways to engage Latino parents as early as possible to increase the school readiness of young low-income Latino children. Panel members will include perspectives from the point of view of research, funding, and programs/initiatives. Dr. Gene Garcia, Vice President for Education Partnerships at Arizona State University, will provide facts and statistics on the status of Latino children and families to help set the context for the presentation. He will also talk about top programs around the country whose effectiveness in promoting parental engagement is well documented. Sandra Gutierrez, lead creator and director of the Abriendo Puertas /Opening Doors program (AP), will talk about AP as an example of a program initiated by a funder to engage low-income Latino parents of young children. AP is the nation’s first evidence-based, comprehensive training program for Latino parents with children from birth to five years of age. Sara Slaughter, Director of the Education Program at the McCormick Foundation, will discuss ways funders can elevate the issues of Latino children and families, particularly focusing on what foundations can do to engage parents in early childhood education and the school systems.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Marta  Conner, Program Officer, Wellspring Advisors, Washington, District of Columbia
• Eugene García, Vice President for Education Partnerships, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona
• Sandra Gutierrez, National Director, Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors, Chicago, California
• Sara  Slaughter, Program Director, Director of the Education Program, McCormick Foundation, Illinois

 

Cross-Cutting

Children's Movements at the Local, State and Federal Level  to Create a Tipping Point for Kids 

Session Coordinator: Larry Best, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Mountain View, California

Session Description: Even though elected officials and the general public say that addressing the needs of children should be a priority, public policy decisions don’t necessarily follow.  Unfortunately, our public policy decisions more often reflect the influence of powerful interest groups than what we value as a society.  While business interests are well represented in Washington DC and state capitals across the country, this is clearly not the case for children and youth.  Further, in our current fiscal climate of severe budget constraints, children’s advocacy groups are in even greater competition with one another for fewer and fewer public dollars. In the last couple of years, Children’s Movements have arisen to break through the stronghold of interest group politics. This panel will describe the movements taking place at the state and local levels and engage in a dialogue with grantmakers on what it will take for these movements to create a “tipping point” for children and youth so that children and youth “count” when policy decisions are made.  David Lawrence Jr. will describe how he is building The Children’s Movement of Florida by gathering grassroots strength as well as non-partisan political power.  Ted Lempert, President of Children Now, who leads the Children's Movement of California, will describe the "Don't Cut Kids!" Campaign and The Children's Agenda for California-- the comprehensive guide to education and children's health policy issues for the state's leadership.  He will also describe efforts underway to build the Movement throughout the state, including the creation of a Children's Cabinet. Michael McAfee, Ed.D., Director of Promise Neighborhoods Institute at Policy Link, will speak about the Promise Neighborhoods as a movement that starts at the neighborhood level and has the potential to affect public policy for children and youth at all levels of government. Modeled after the highly successful Harlem Children’s Zone, Promise Neighborhoods aim to ensure all children have access to effective schools and strong systems of family and community support that will prepare them to attain an excellent education and successfully transition to college and career. By broadening and deepening our understanding of children’s movements, this workshop will nicely complement Dave Lawrence’s separate presentation on this topic during the Tuesday morning plenary.  

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Larry Best, Executive Director, Peninsula Partnership Leadership Council, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Mountain View, California
• Dave Lawrence, Jr., President, Early Childood Initiative Foundation, Miami, Florida
• Ted Lempert, President, Children Now, Oakland, California
• Dr. Michael McAfee, Director, Promise Neighborhoods Institute at PolicyLink

  

Day 2 – Tuesday, September 13, 2011

 

10:45 am – 12:15 pm

 

Early Childhood

Partners in Progress: Aligning Philanthropy, Government, and Grassroots Advocacy to Improve Early Ed

Session Coordinator: Regan Gruber Moffitt, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Little Rock, Arkansas

Session Description: Quality early childhood education is a proven strategy for improving outcomes for all children, especially for low-income and at-risk children. Likewise, quality pre-K has been shown to have a wide range of important benefits from improving children’s language, reading, and math skills to improving high school graduation rates. For many years, however, Arkansas was ranked among the nation’s bottom in both access and quality of care. Recognizing the importance of early childhood education as a lever to Arkansas becoming one of the nation’s highest ranking states in measures of family and child well-being, numerous groups – including foundations, governmental entities, and grassroots advocates – joined together to champion efforts to expand access to quality pre-school in the state. With long term support from funders, including the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) led legislative advocacy in conjunction with many partners in the early childhood community and legislative allies. AACF, with sustainable funding and strong partners, was able to become a driving force in gaining strong support for quality pre-K in Arkansas. This advocacy resulted in an increase from $10 million to $111 million for the Arkansas Better Chance Program (ABC). This funding helped increase the number of at-risk three- and four-year-olds below 200% of the poverty level in the ABC program from 7,000 to about 21,000. As a result, pre-K services have enough funding to provide for nearly 70 percent of all at-risk three- and four-year-olds below 200 percent of poverty. In addition, today, Arkansas’s state funded pre-K program, ABC, is one of the best pre-K programs in the country, according to the National Institute on Early Education Research’s annual report on pre-K. Participants in this session will learn about the importance of collective effort in making systemic change and engage in a case study that demonstrates the long arc of policy change and its potential to move the needle for those most in need. The session will also be the national release of a report, “Partners in Progress,” highlighting the work of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Sherece West, President and CEO, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Little Rock, Arkansas
• Rich Huddleston, Executive Director, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Little Rock, Arkansas
• Janie Huddleston, Deputy Director, Arkansas Department of Human Services
• Don Crary, Associate Director, Policy Reform and Advocacy, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, Maryland

 

Youth

A Way Out of No Way: How the Black Men and Boys Wellness Movement is Creating Opportunities

Session Coordinator: Tiffany Price, Mitchell Kapor Foundation, San Francisco, California

Session Description: By nearly every social indicator – health, economic, educational, and justice among them – black men and boys are in deep crisis. Even with an African American president, the challenges facing black men and boys are daunting and all-too-well known; black men dying early and at the hands of violence is a narrative that has become “normalized" in the United States. While some view these issues as intractable, there is a growing community of funders and practitioners who, over the past five years, have worked steadily to provide community-based strategies and solutions that address black men and boys’ wellness. The changes aren’t all at the individual level; this wellness work also battles the institutional inequities that continue to stump the social and economic mobility of black men and boys.  In A Way Out of No Way, the presenters will review and discuss the people, practices, and policies that are at work to benefit black men and boys’ overall wellness through supporting direct service, learning communities, and advocacy. The three presenters represent funders using varied approaches to directly affect positive change for black men and boys – building a regional college access and readiness movement for young black men, creating statewide policy platform for all-encompassing health objectives, and working nationally with groups in three regions addressing employment, education, and family structure.  In addition to discussing their own work, they will present an overview of the wellness movement that could have a profound impact on individuals, families and communities in black America and beyond.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Cedric Brown, CEO, Mitchell Kapor Foundation, California
• Robert Phillips, Director of Health and Human Services, The California Endowment, Los Angeles, California
• Shawn Dove, Campaign Manager - Campaign for Black Male Achievement, Open Society Institute, New York, New York

 

Family/Community

How the Los Angeles Prevention Initiative Demonstration Project Created Community Partnerships to Prevent Child Maltreatment: The Road to Success

Session Coordinator: Peter Pecora, Casey Family Programs and University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Session Description: This workshop will describe how different approaches to community-based child abuse prevention, combined with innovative funding strategies and foundation support, helped county child welfare leaders shape the redesign of a $55 million dollar county-wide prevention services contracting approach through the Prevention Initiative Demonstration Project. PIDP is particularly significant for three reasons: (1) PIDP was designed to build on existing community capacity developed over the last decade or more, including: DCFS-funded Family Support and Family Preservation networks; DCFS contracts for services and funding from Preserving Safe and Stable Families - Child Abuse Prevention Intervention Treatment; and other community and philanthropic programs; (2) PIDP was designed to fill gaps in local family support and service delivery systems by highlighting social connections and economic opportunities for families, and encouraging partnerships with existing services to increase access to community services and resources; and ( 3) PIDP was designed to build relationships between leaders of DCFS Regional Offices and leaders of community-based networks serving families and children by encouraging joint planning to fill local gaps in services while promoting, joint problem solving and communication. The Year Two evaluation found that PIDP networks are making a continued difference for families.  For example, family survey data revealed that PIDP activities were helping children and families to find safety and stability. Findings show that engaging families with unfounded or inconclusive Emergency Response referrals in supportive services has decreased re-referrals in some areas, and that PIDP activities are helping speed the timeline to permanency for children in out-of-home care. Parents report significant initial gains in family support, connections to the community, and less parenting stress in a wide range of areas after six months of participating in various family action groups or neighborhood action councils. Those gains are powerful, meaningful to families and maintained over time.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Bonnie Armstrong, M.A., Director of Strategic Consulting LA County, Casey Family Programs, Pasadena, California
• Peter Pecora, Managing Director of Research, Casey Family Programs, Los Angeles, Washington
• Susan Kaplan, M.B.A., Executive Director, Friends of the Family, Los Angeles, California
• Marilynne Garrison, MA, LMFT, Division Chief, Community Based Services Division, Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, Los Angeles, California 
   

Cross-Cutting

Funding 21st Century Movements and Campaigns

Session Coordinator: Ronnie Wu, Arabella Advisors

Session Description: Organizing people, either through a short-term campaign or a long-term  movement, can be a catalytic force in social change. As technology changes, movement-building and campaigning has revolutionized and philanthropy can play a critical role in deploying the right tools in the right way to further important causes. New digital and mobile tools are allowing people to organize themselves online and offline like never before. These tools have allowed activists to source ideas, supporters, funds and resources, allowing ordinary people to band together and impact the direction and process of social change. Successful social movements in the 21st century are highly multidisciplinary endeavors, taking insights from political organizing, behavioral economics, cutting-edge technology, social gaming, and brand strategy to enable large numbers of people to come together and self-organize. Well-placed philanthropic dollars can catalyze this work. By providing the early stage funding to these 21st century movements and campaigns, philanthropists can incubate high-impact ideas that the public later takes up. This gives funders leverage and a clear exit strategy. This panel discussion, brimming with examples, will delve into both the theory and practice of 21st century movements and campaigns, helping donors identify when and how to support this kind of work, and presenting concrete tools and frameworks funders can use to increase their impact and leverage to seed social movements and campaigns on major issues.

Featured Presenters:

• Moderator: Hillary Cherner, Senior Director, Arabella Advisors
• Lee-Sean Huang, Designer and Strategist, Purpose, New York, New York
• Leslie Payne, Senior Director, Arabella Advisors, New York, New York