Government and philanthropy often share common goals and a capacity to enable wide-scale systems change. When they work together, they make ideal partners—philanthropy contributing nimbleness and a spirit of experimentation, while government commands the resources to sustain what works. In Los Angeles County, such collaboration was catalyzed by the murder of an 8-year-old boy in 2013. This tragic death prompted the Board of Supervisors to empanel a commission of notable child welfare experts to examine systemic failures.
Since then, an increasingly durable and agile spirit of collaboration in L.A. has fueled an ability to test new ideas, assess their effectiveness, and bring them to scale in ways that significantly impact child welfare reform. As a result of these efforts, the previously siloed and reactive child protection system is moving toward becoming a more integrated countywide child well-being system. Cultivating Hope Through Action: How Public-Private Partnerships Are Strengthening Child and Family Well-Being in L.A. County, is a report chronicling the work that drove increased collaboration and funding in L.A. County. It also addresses ways to grow similar collaborative ecosystems for child and family well-being in the future. Read the executive summary and full report below.
Beth Lowe has a deep and abiding commitment to children’s issues. She served as chair of the LA County Commission for Children’s Services and on the boards of the Children’s Institute, Inc. and Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP). As vice-chair of the First 5 LA Commission, she spurred the effort to allocate $600 million for preschool education. She is a member of the board of trustees of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and a former member and president of the Los Angeles Fire Commission. Beth has a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University. She joined the Parsons board in 2002.