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Our
History: The CPC Story
Over the last decade, Los Angeles County government has begun
intensive work with communities to improve outcomes for children
and families. In fact, many observers note that the commitment
to active partnerships between communities and government,
as well as collaboration across public and private agencies,
is more intense here than anywhere else in the country. Much
of the credit belongs to the Los Angeles County Children's
Planning Council, which has:
- Organized thousands of community members throughout L.A.
to engage in planning with local government.
- Demonstrated the value of data-based planning to county
departments that are increasingly using data to plan for
new and improved services.
- Developed agreement on five outcome areas and a results-based
decision-making and accountability framework.
- Developed and implemented common Service Planning Areas
(SPA) as a shared structure for cross-departmental planning,
information sharing and resource allocation. (In addition,
grant makers such as United Way, the California Endowment,
and the California Community Foundation are using the SPAs
to guide resource distribution.)
- Organized nine Service Planning Area Councils as a community
infrastructure to engage citizens in planning and monitoring
the delivery of services.
- Facilitated commitment by key public agencies to implement
an integrated services approach across agencies.
- Laid the groundwork for change so that new initiatives,
such as welfare reform and Proposition 10, could "hit
the ground running."
Background
In 1991, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors created
the Children's Planning Council to serve as its principal
planning body to help improve conditions for children and
families in Los Angeles by improving the integration, coordination,
and accessibility of health and human services. The Council's
primary task was to develop a strategic plan for the county
that would help end the unfocused use of resources that, without
better planning, coordination, and tracking, had little promise
of making an impact on the lives of disadvantaged kids and
their families.
The Council is established as a public-private partnership
composed of critical decision-makers with respect to children's
services. The Council's members include representatives from
both the public and private sector, such as United Way, League
of California Cities, the L.A. Chamber of Commerce, the Business
Roundtable, Southern California Association of Philanthropy,
members of the community - including service providers, the
County's Chief Administrative Officer, and the directors of
the six county health and human services departments. The
Chair Pro-Tem of the Board of Supervisors is the Chair of
the Children's Planning Council.
The Children's Planning Council has established itself as
a respected planning body for the Board of Supervisors and
for the Los Angeles community, its work carried out primarily
by volunteers supported with funding from public and private
sources. The Council has focused on helping county government
move away from a culture of silo decision-making and competing
interests to one that values results, accountability, collaboration,
and integration of services. In addition, the Children's Planning
Council has established a local government-community partnership,
providing a regional infrastructure that connects countywide
and neighborhood planning efforts that engages citizens in
the planning for services to children and families across
eight regions in the County.
Key accomplishments, all endorsed by the Board of Supervisors,
include:
Vision for Children
Five Outcome Measures & Corresponding Indicators to Track
Progress
- Geographic Planning Structure: Service Planning Areas
(SPAs)
- Children's Score Card & Children's Budget
- Los Angeles County's First Action Plan for Children, Youth,
and Families
- Directions, Strategies, and Recommendations for Improving
Outcomes
- Community Partnership: Eight SPA Councils & the American
Indian Children's Council
Going to the "Next Level"
Although we have much more work to do, our work to date has
had an enormous impact on how L.A. County plans for and utilizes
its resources for children and families. We can say with confidence
that we work differently and smarter, we embrace community,
and we have a laser-like sharp focus on improving the lives
of children and families. These accomplishments - and the
work, input, and contributions of hundreds of people over
the past nine years - position the Council to move to the
next level: demonstrate specific impacts on the lives of children
and families in Los Angeles.
The Council is preparing to implement a practical demonstration
of how the key elements it has worked so hard to develop -
vision, credibility, organized and accessible data, and relationships
at multiple levels - can be linked to results for children.
Over the next three years, the Council will engage its partners
in joint action on one area of child well-being that incorporates
the five outcomes for children. This area - school readiness/school
success - will result in mobilizing schools, cities, businesses,
community organizations, faith-based groups/organizations,
advocates, parents, and others toward improving the lives
of children in Los Angeles.
Moving to this next level of work will require greater organizational
capacity, focus, and committed partners. More specifically,
the Council will:
1. Mobilize the system of councils and County partners around
the priority areas of child well-being
2. Implement a communications plan to engage new partners
and build public will
3. Provide resources, training, and technical assistance to
the councils and county partners
4. Help build linkages to cities and schools and other key
partners
5. Develop measures and indicators to track and measure our
progress over time.
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