Child & Family Well-Being

The Center for Strategic Partnerships helps philanthropy and LA County government partner to transform systems, promote equity, and improve the lives of children and families. Supporting cross-sector initiatives and fostering a culture of collaboration, the Center is a first-of-its kind venture in LA County, with homes in both the County’s Chief Executive Office and Southern California Grantmakers. Today, it is funded by eight County departments and more than 20 foundation partners.

Established as a pilot by the LA County Board of Supervisors following the tragic death of a child, the Center soon garnered leadership investments and thought partnership from Parsons, and ten other founding partners, including Ahmanson, Annenberg, Ballmer, Blue Shield of California, Bohnett, California Community, California Endowment, Hilton, Pritzker, and Weingart foundations. In 2018, the LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to establish a permanent home for the Center within the County’s Chief Executive Office (the CEO’s Office). Learn more.

Co-launched in 2017 by Parsons and First 5 LA, and now housed within the Center for Strategic Partnerships, the Foster Together Network (FTN) is a collective impact initiative working to support child and family well-being. As a public-private partnership designed to improve the quality and availability of nurturing care for foster youth in LA County, FTN focuses on four broad efforts: partnering with faith communities to support youth with lived experience, parents, and caregivers; integrating systems among County and nonprofit providers to improve recruitment; improving data, dashboards, and research tools to inform and drive strategies; and ensuring racial equity is embedded in placement and stability. Since its inception, FTN has made significant strides by incubating new ideas and models to more effectively recruit and support foster families and improve outcomes for children and caregivers.

FTN’s success rests on the strength of its partnerships, which include the County departments of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Mental Health (DMH), and Probation, as well as the county Commission for Children and Families, local foundations, foster family agencies (FFAs) and other nonprofits, and the children’s deputies for the County Board of Supervisors. Learn more.

Launched in 2003 by philanthropic partners, First 5 LA, the LA Area Chamber of Commerce, and key government agencies, the LA Partnership is a public-private collaborative that invests in and promotes innovations advancing the lifelong health and well-being of LA County children ages 0 to 5. Through a blend of education activities, thought leadership, and community investment, the Partnership pilots solutions that leverage public investments and create catalytic change in LA. Today, Parsons President & CEO Wendy Garen currently serves on the Partnership’s Executive Committee.

The Partnership’s many accomplishments include: strengthening and building the capacity of home visitation programs; supporting the creation of full-time early childhood development programming at KPCC; developing a family engagement network for LA County; and investing in the local activation of “Vroom,” a tech-based initiative translating leading-edge brain science into actionable directives for parents and caregivers to interact with their young children. Addressing a critical need in 2017, Parsons joined Partnership members, Childcare Alliance of LA, and the San Fernando Childcare Resource Center to pilot an Emergency Childcare Bridge Program for Foster Children. Closing the gap between Child Welfare and Subsidized Childcare systems, the program provides emergency vouchers for families and Trauma-Informed training for providers, and recently became a line item in the State budget. Additionally, the Partnership serves as the philanthropic liaison for the African American Infant and Maternal Mortality (AAIMM) Prevention Initiative Learn more.