ECC Strategic Plan

Overall ECC Focus: To raise the educational achievement of children and youth
        under the supervision of the Departments of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and
        Probation to equal that of other youth.

Strategy 1: Ensure that the Dependency Education Pilot Project is successfully
        completed and introduced countywide.

Objective: Complete implementation of the pilot project now underway in the
        Montebello Unified School District and the Pomona Unified School District. Glean
        lessons learned through its evaluation process and develop strategies for rolling out the
        model in all DCFS regional offices.

Implementation steps:
        a. Continue partnership with the First Supervisorial District, Chief Executive Office,
            DCFS, Montebello Unified School District, Pomona Unified School District, and
            Casey Family Programs, serving as co-lead on the project, through September
            2009, the end of the pilot period.
        b. Use evaluation findings to determine the most effective model components for
            implementation countywide.
        c. Identify sources of funding to support expansion of project to other Los Angeles
            County school districts.
        d. Work with DCFS on how best to incorporate the model components into
            departmental practices.
        e. Train social workers on model components and how to routinely include
            educational planning into overall case planning.

Strategy 2: Work closely with the Probation Department to ensure that the
        Comprehensive Educational Reform for the Juvenile Halls and Camps is successfully
        institutionalized.

Objective: Assist the Probation Department in implementing the 35 recommendations
        outlined in the Comprehensive Educational Reform Report adopted by the Board of
        Supervisors on October 14, 2008.

Implementation steps:
        a. Continue to participate on the Comprehensive Educational Reform Committee
            (CERC) to provide guidance and feedback on the reform effort progress.
        b. Assist the Probation Department develop a plan for more successful transitions
            of probation youth from probation halls/camps into their local communities and
            mainstream district schools.
        c. Work with members of the CERC to design a charter school and/or a school to
            be operated by a neighboring school district that would be located at one of the
            probation camps and secure the necessary waivers/approval to allow for its
            creation.
        d. Help develop a plan for using multidisciplinary teams to conduct comprehensive
            educational case plans for every probation youth residing in the halls/camps.
        e. Train probation officers on effective educational case planning methods and
            educational advocacy.

Strategy 3: Partner with the Los Angeles County Office of Child Care to significantly
        increase the number of DCFS children under the age of six—and the children of DCFS
        and probation families—who are enrolled in high-quality early care and education
        programs.

Objective: Work with the Office of Child Care, DCFS, and the Probation Department to
        develop a set of procedures for enrolling DCFS children under the age of six, and the
        children of DCFS and probation youth, into high-quality early care and education
        programs.

Implementation steps:
        a. Secure commitments from DCFS and Probation Department leadership to
            significantly increase the participation of their children, and the children of their
            youth, in high-quality early care and education programs.
        b. Establish baseline data on the need for and the ability of DCFS and probation
            clients to access child care and developmental services.
        c. Based on the data findings, work with the Office of Child Care, DCFS, and the
            Probation Department to develop an effective referral mechanism to such
            programs and a process for tracking enrollment.
        d. Train DCFS and probation workers on the mechanism and process.
        e. Help develop a curriculum for training licensed child care staff in family child care
            homes and child care and development centers to meet the unique needs of
            children who have experienced abuse or neglect and their families.

Strategy 4: Collaborate with youth development programs, County departments,
        school districts and cities to significantly increase the number of DCFS and probation
        youth participating in after-school and summer extracurricular and enrichment
        programs.

Objective: Work with DCFS and the Probation Department to develop a set of
        procedures for enrolling DCFS and probation youth in after-school and summer
        extracurricular and enrichment programs.

Implementation steps:
        a. Secure commitments from DCFS and Probation Department leadership to
            significantly increase the participation of their youth in after-school and summer
            programs.
        b. Create a resource guide of existing youth development programs which have the
            capacity and training to work with system youth and hold resource fairs, as
            necessary, to connect youth, caregivers and workers to available resources.
        c. Work with DCFS and the Probation Department to develop a recruitment and
            referral mechanism to such programs and a process for tracking enrollment.
        d. Train DCFS and probation workers on the mechanism and process.

Strategy 5: Resolve remaining barriers to allow for the sharing of educational
        information between County departments and school districts throughout Los Angeles
        County.

Objective: Create an electronic data transferring process for sharing educational
        records with Los Angeles County case managers.

Implementation steps:
        a. Develop a vehicle for sharing educational records that is compliant with the
            Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
        b. Work with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to determine
            the ways in which this information can be shared without violating its Statewide
            Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS).
        c. Work with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and DCFS to
            ensure that the appropriate education fields are incorporated into the next
            generation of CWS/CMS (California’s SACWIS system).
        d. Work with the Probation Department to ensure that the appropriate education
            fields are incorporated into PCMS.
        e. Partner with a software company to develop software that allows for the
            electronic transfer of educational data.
        f. Work with DCFS, Probation, County Counsel, and Los Angeles County school
            districts to establish a protocol for sharing electronic education data.  

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