The Southern Area Consortium of Human Services (SACHS) Directors, Southern Counties Child Welfare Directors, and additional county representatives/guests recently had the opportunity to attend a presentation on Building a Culture of Equity-Invest LA + 4DX (4DX=Franklin Covey’s The 4 Disciplines of Execution).

The presentation was provided by Mario Johnson, Division Chief, Office of Equity, Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (LA DCFS); Kimala Lewis, Eliminating Racial Disparity and Disproportionality (ERDD), Office of Equity, LA DCFS; and Wendy Wiegmann, Project Director, California Child Welfare Indicators Project (CCWIP), UC Berkeley.

Invest LA’s model is designed to build a culture of safety, equity, and community. Key strategies to achieve this are centered on: leadership; intention; community collaboration; California Child Welfare Core Practice Model (CPM) fidelity; data; coaching and training. 

LA also shared their efforts to respond to Black/African-American youth entering and exiting out-of-home care at disproportionate rates compared to their numbers in LA’s population. And they are already seeing positive outcomes! Since the start of the 4DX effort in October 2019, preliminary data shows a 46% reduction in the number of Black youth who entered foster care. (Please note: This is not representative of LA county-wide but represents data for the eight participating LA DCFS offices who were selected due to having the highest rates of disproportionality).