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Webinar

Policy in Action – Building a Community that CARES for Young Adults: Mental Health and Well-Being

October 2024

Hosted by the CARES Initiative and the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), this session discussed youth-centered policy recommendations for mental health and well-being, co-designed with young people who have transitioned out of foster care. During the conversation, we heard reflections on the importance of policies for mental health and well-being and the Atlanta CARES mental health and well-being policy agenda.

This event was part one of a two-part discussion on reimagining a future where public policy empowers young people to pursue their goals and live fully.

Featured Speakers:

  • Malaka "Mali" Y. Nzinga, CHES, Program Manager in the National Center for Primary Care at Morehouse School of Medicine
  • Dimple Desai, MSW, Senior Policy Analyst, Voices for Georgia's Children
  • Jada Brigman, CARES Ambassador, Atlanta
  • Tiffany Cannon, CARES Ambassador, Atlanta
  • Shadi Houshyar, Senior Associate, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Header image for Policy in Action webinar - Building a Community that CARES for Young Adults - Mental Health and Well-Being
Webinar

Policy in Action – Building a Community that CARES for Young Adults: Housing Policies for NYC & L.A.

October 2024

Hosted by the CARES Initiative and the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), this session discussed youth-centered policy recommendations for housing—developed in collaboration with young people who have transitioned out of foster care. During the conversation, we heard reflections on the importance of housing policies and discussed the NYC and L.A. CARES policy agendas and the recommendations they elevate.

This event was part two of a two-part discussion on reimagining a future where public policy empowers young people to pursue their goals and live fully.

Featured Speakers:

  • Michael Santos, Associate Director, RESULTS Educational Fund
  • Jenny Pokempner, Policy Director, Youth Law Center
  • Cara Baldari, Vice President of Family Economics, Housing, and Homelessness, First Focus
  • Kayonda Branch, CARES Ambassador, New York City
  • Elizabeth Villa, CARES Ambassador, Los Angeles
  • Alex Citrin, Senior Associate, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Header image for Policy in Action webinar - Building a Community that CARES for Young Adults - Housing
Policy Paper

Advancing Culturally Responsive Services: Incorporating Community-Defined Evidence When Evaluating What Works

October 2024

Despite the body of research demonstrating the benefit of services that respect cultural and racial identity, government funders are increasingly favoring “colorblind” programs that have been approved by research clearinghouses as evidence-based practices (EBPs). This limited approach to evidence promotes services that may be non-responsive to diverse communities’ needs while hampering the development and dissemination of responsive services that have community buy-in. This publication outlines the concerns with exclusively relying on empirical data at the expense of community-defined evidence and identifies actions government agencies can take to ensure services are evaluated according to the standards set by the community members who are supposed to benefit.

(4 pp)

Advancing Culturally Responsive Services Incorporating Community Defined Evidence When Evaluating What Works
Report

Expanding the Perspectives and Research Foundation for the Strengthening Families & Youth Thrive Frameworks (2024)

February 2024

This report expands on the perspectives and research evidence that inform the Strengthening Families and Youth Thrive frameworks by addressing key issues not highlighted in the initial research foundation reports.

(38 pp)

Expanding the Perspectives and Research Foundation for the Strengthening Families & Youth Thrive Frameworks Small Cover
Publication

Using Demographic Data to Advance Equity: Insights from the Data 4 Equity and Action Lab

November 2023

This document reflects insights and lessons learned over the 12-month period of the Data for Equity and Action (D4EA)  Lab to help inform funders and organizations that are interested in convening partners and constituents to explore opportunities to leverage demographic data to advance equity.

D4ea Leveraging Demographic As Tool For Advancing Equity (final)
Report

Raising the Bar: Strengthening Capacity to Advance Racially Equitable Results

November 2022

This paper provides an overview of CSSP’s approach to working with partners and communities to advance racial justice through capacity building and leadership development.

(17 pp)

Cover Small Raising The Bar Strengthening Capacity To Advance Racially Equitable Results
Report

Anti-Racist Approaches in Health Care: Community Health Workers as Catalysts for Change in Health Systems

November 2022

This report examines the deeply entrenched systemic inequities and generations of discrimination and racism that have resulted in policies and practices that segregate, marginalize, and exclude people of color from opportunities to be healthy. In the health care system, these inequities have led to limited access to health coverage and care and differences in the treatment and quality of care for children and families of color.

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Report

Sustaining Board Engagement: Building Healthy Communities, 2010-2020

November 2020

This report outlines strategies employed by The California Endowment to maintain sustained Board engagement in order to support the Building Healthy Communities (BHC) program.

This is one of a two reports which synthesize themes and lessons about the necessary work The California Endowment (TCE), its partners, and the broader philanthropic communities must do to engage in long-term, social change work.  Read the other report, Foundation Role and Practice: Building Healthy Communities, 2010-2020, here.

(44 pp)

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Report

Asking the Right Questions: A Tool for Initiative Planning and Adaptation

November 2020

This tool and report develop a working definition for evidence, provide guidance for how policymakers, systems leaders, and leaders in organizations can make good use of evidence to develop, and make better use of a wide range of evidence to inform their decision-making, both as they develop new initiatives and as they make adaptations to their work based on what they learn from implementation.

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Report

Getting to the Heart of Equity: A Human Centered Design Case Study

April 2020

The application of a human-centered design approach by Del Norte and Tribal Lands (DNATL), part of The California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities (BHC) initiative, illustrates one strategy for engaging and partnering with community members to design an initiative that strives for health equity. This report explores how human-centered design was used in the BHC-DNATL work.

(16 pp)

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