Sean Anders, the writer and director of last year’s hit film Instant Family, addressed an audience of high school seniors dressed in matching maroon gowns at Children’s Institute’s third annual Dream BIG Graduation last Friday. At the end of each school year, graduation scenes like this play out across Los Angeles, celebrating young people marking this important milestone on the path to adulthood. What’s different about the group listening to Anders is that every single graduate was earning their diploma while in foster care.

Anders, who created Instant Family after he and his wife Elizabeth adopted three siblings from the foster care system, understands the challenges and remarkable achievement of the 107 graduates. Nationally, youth growing up in foster care are three times likelier than their peers to drop out of high school, fewer than 13 percent will attend college and only 3 percent will earn a college degree. By contrast, every student participating in the 2019 Dream BIG Graduation was heading off to college in the fall.

“The truth is you have a lot of mountains ahead of you to climb, but you have already climbed incredible mountains to be where you are today,” Anders said. “You have already proven so much.”

This year’s Dream Big Graduation was full of such affirmations from foster youth advocates like Jessica Chandler, an LA County social worker and former foster youth who was recently featured in the HBO documentary Foster, joined Anders in celebrating the Dream BIG Graduates. Other speakers included former foster youth Sandra, currently a student at Pasadena City College, and Candi Marie and Maraide Green who worked with Anders on Instant Family.

At the end of the ceremony CII’s Board Chair Paul Kanin presented the graduates with a fully loaded dorm kit to ensure the students begin their college journey in style. The rolling suitcases filled with bedding and other supplies were provided by Random Act Funding, founded by Susan and Robert Downey Jr, and CII’s support group The CHIPS, who also sponsored the event. The evening concluded with a celebratory BBQ dinner catered by Donny Joubert of the Watts Gang Task Force.

I hope you all will come back here and have the opportunity to show people what you are capable of.

Jessica Chandler, DCFS Social Worker and Foster Youth Advocate

Each graduate at Dream BIG participates in CII’s Individualized Transition Skills Program (ITSP)which supports academic and professional success for teens and young adults who are aging out of foster care.

Due to instability and a lack of support, youth aging out of foster care are far likelier to be chronically unemployed with almost 40 percent experiencing homelessness within 18 months of leaving the system. Yet this year’s Dream BIG Graduation boasted a 94 percent graduation rate for youth in CII’s program. Each plan to attend a variety of colleges and universities next fall that include UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley.

ITSP Supervisor Julio Cruz said the Dream BIG Graduation serves as a reminder that youth in foster care can accomplish their goals when they receive proper support and guidance. Cruz said youth often fall behind academically in the foster care system because they move homes and schools frequently. It’s not uncommon for a foster youth to move between four different schools in a single year, which sets them up for failure. For those who do graduate high school without the support of ITSP, they receive little guidance on navigating the complexities of the college admission process or accessing financial aid.

When youth enter ITSP, they are behind in school and usually at risk of dropping out. They are assigned a counselor who serves as their personal advocate, partners with DCFS social workers to limit moves between schools and foster homes, and works with school officials to make sure all previous academic credits are counted. Counselors provide individualized support such as helping youth get a driver’s license or reviewing transcripts to determine the right course selection to graduate. As the youth get closers to finishing high school, ITSP counselors guide them through the process of college applications, financial aid and freshman housing.

The truth is you have a lot of mountains ahead of you to climb, but you have already climbed incredible mountains to be where you are today. You have already proven so much.

Sean Anders, Creator of the 2018 film Instant Family

Broadly, Cruz said the program emphasizes a culture where graduating high school and attending college is seen as achievable. He said the Dream BIG Graduation is the perfect example of this culture where younger youth in the program attend and see how many kids in the 2019 class were able to do it.

“We help show them that being a high school graduate and attending college is possible,” Cruz said. “We take them on college tours and have current students meet with older youth who have graduated.”

Sandra, a sophomore at Pasadena City College and 2017 Dream BIG Graduation alumnus, spoke at this year’s ceremony and credited ITSP for where she is today. She was on the verge of dropping out of high school after entering foster care mid-way through her sophomore year. At the time, Sandra said she felt isolated and alone before her ITSP counselor helped turn things around.

“I didn’t have anyone to help me with applying to school or jobs,” she said. “I would never have got this far without CII’s program.”

Jada, a 2019 Dream BIG graduate attending USC next year, said she was proud of her own accomplishments, but more importantly saw her experience as an opportunity to inspire others. USC ranks as the 22nd best undergraduate university in the country according to US News Best College Rankings. Jada said foster youth have a tendency to put a ceiling on their own potential when in fact they have the ability to accomplish a lot.

“It’s always a constant battle with ourselves,” she said. “It can be hard to cope with what we’ve experienced, but one of our major focuses should be on attending college and building our own personal support systems where we can succeed.”

It can be hard to cope with what we’ve experienced, but one of our major focuses should be on attending college and building our own personal support systems where we can succeed.

Jada, 2019 Dream BIG Graduate attending USC in the fall

Many of the youth participating in this year’s Dream BIG Graduation were first generation graduates in their own families. With the average college graduate expected to earn an average salary of $44,000 (compared to $25,000 for those without a high school diploma), Jada said it has never been more important to hold a college degree as a way of breaking the cycle of generational poverty. She said college isn’t only a pathway to higher earnings but it also offers foster youth a chance to enrich their lives by discovering what they are passionate about both academically and professionally.

Jessica Chandler, the social worker for the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services who was featured in the HBO documentary Foster, spoke to the graduates about her own doubts earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work after she grew up in foster care. Chandler told them that they have the ability to earn degrees and be successful regardless of the path they took to get there.

“It doesn’t matter what you had to overcome or how close you were to not being here today, because you all made it,” she said. “I hope you all will come back here and have the opportunity to show people what you are capable of.”

Nathan, a 2019 Dream BIG graduate attending El Camino College this fall was ready to get started on his own college career and eventually earn a degree, but said being able to rely on ITSP will make a huge difference during his freshman year. While he has appreciated the extra guidance on applying to things like financial aid, he said having people he can call regardless of what is happening in his life will be the most important resource.

“It’s nice to have someone I can rely on whenever questions comes up,” he said. “And I know they will be checking in to make sure I’m not slacking, because everyone needs someone to keep you on track.”

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic events that children experience before age 18, such as violence at home, neglect, abuse, or having a parent with mental illness or substance dependence. High or frequent exposure to ACEs can dysregulate children’s stress response. Fortunately, the support of a caring adult can help buffer against stressful events for children.

Most of us – no matter who we are or where we come from – have experienced some level of adversity in our lives. However, there are wide ranges in the type, severity and frequency of adversity. If it is severe or chronic, it can cause changes to our bodies and may lead to significant health problems.

While 60% of the population reports having one or more ACEs in their own lives, families who grow up in neighborhoods plagued by violence and poverty tend to have more frequent and damaging exposure.  Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first-ever Surgeon General, recently appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom, has said childhood adversity “literally gets under our skin and has the potential to change our health.”

Stress responses are overactive in situations where ACEs are common and persistent like growing up in neighborhoods with high rates of community poverty and violence, or in a home where there is prolonged abuse, neglect or a parent with criminal or substance abuse issues. This affects brain development, immune systems and other parts of the body. The results over time are health problems, substance abuse and other high-risk behaviors, trouble staying focused, or completing tasks, school dropout and difficulty getting along with others – challenges that appear in childhood and last throughout adulthood. Often children who grow up with high ACEs scores also have parents who faced persistent childhood adversity leading to a cycle of trauma and intergenerational poverty.

CII engages children and families from an early age and provides practical skills and relationship-oriented interventions to promote self-regulation, instill hope, foster resilience, and build protective factors that limit the effects of ACEs.

Jesús Parra, Vice President of Behavioral Health & Wellness at CII

Research shows that some individuals with a high number of ACEs do not experience these health risks because they received support in the form of therapy or protective home environments, which points to the importance of early intervention, family strengthening and easy access to mental health and wellness programs.

Children’s Institute supports communities across Los Angeles where children and families are facing adversity caused by poverty and community violence. We provide high-quality Early Childhood Education in nurturing environments that support healthy development for children and offer a wide variety of supports for parents.  We work with kids who may have experienced trauma and connect them with counselors to promote emotional wellness.

Jesús Parra, Vice President of Behavioral Health & Wellness at CII, said early intervention paired with emotional and social support are key in preventing and healing trauma. He said that a high number of ACEs won’t dictate a child’s life as long as children receive loving support and feel safe in their family and community.

“Neuroscience helps us to understand how the presence of at least one healthy relationship can serve as a buffer for adversity that promotes self-regulation and builds resilience,” Parra said. “CII engages children and families from an early age and provides practical skills and relationship-oriented interventions to promote self-regulation, instill hope, foster resilience, and build protective factors that limit the effects of ACEs.”

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. If you are interested in learning more about mental health and wellness at Children’s Institute or need access to mental health services, please contact 213.807.1998 ext. 3433 or fet8@childrensinstitute.org.

Donny Joubert knew it was hard growing up in South Los Angeles, but he had not anticipated how bleak it was until the winter of 2005 when seven men were murdered over the span of one month. Joubert had always called Watts home. He was born and raised at the Nickerson Gardens housing development, and at the time, worked there as a member of the housing authority team.

In the weeks following the murders, neighbors shared with Joubert how little faith they had about living in Watts. Older residents said they never left their homes for fear of being victimized and children as young as seven told Joubert they didn’t envision a future where they made it to adulthood – and some didn’t even imagine living another year.

“These kids had seen their older siblings get shot so why would they want to invest any time in school when they felt like they wouldn’t make it to their next birthday?” Joubert asked.

As a response, Joubert led a coalition of residents to create the Watts Gang Task Force, which brought positive changes to policing and policy development by creating a space where all levels of the community worked together to make Watts safer. The last 14 years have seen a major drop in violent crimes thanks in part to the task force. Yet with persistent violence and residents who have trouble imagining a brighter future in Watts, Joubert and other residents see mental health services and wellness as a crucial piece to improving safety in their community.

Marion Dave, Vice President of Community Innovations at Children’s Institute, has been overseeing the next chapter in supporting safe and healthy families in Watts. CII’s Watts Campus is located in the center of the community and partners closely with the Task Force, LAPD, the city attorney’s office, and other nonprofits and faith-based groups that serve the region. From preschools in each of the neighborhood’s five housing developments, to early childhood home visitation services, to immediate support for children exposed to gun violence, CII has programs working at different levels in the community with a focus on mental health and well-being.

These kids had seen their older siblings get shot so why would they want to invest any time in school when they felt like they wouldn’t make it to their next birthday?

Donny Joubert, Co-founder of the Watts Gang Task Force

Dave said CII staff are focused on transforming Watts from a community struggling with the weight of toxic stress to partnering with residents, neighborhood advocates, and other organizations to enhance resiliency and self-sufficiency around mental health and wellbeing. While Watts and other parts of South LA have come a long way from the early 1990s when homicides peaked at over 1,000 annually across the city, there is a great deal of potential in emphasizing wellness to improve safety.

“Intergenerational trauma is what is happening in this community,” Dave said. “Kids are dealing with grief and loss that are not being addressed while parents are struggling with their own adversity and are not necessarily able to provide support for these challenges.”

Recent investment and public support for mental health and wellness have been bolstered by a growing body of research that has shown childhood trauma to be a public health crisis. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first-ever Surgeon General who was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom last January, has described childhood adversity as something that “literally gets under our skin and has the potential to change our health.”

Beginning with a groundbreaking Kaiser Permanente study from the 1990s that linked adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to serious and long term health consequences, research in the last decade has included Dr. Burke Harris’ own transformative work. All demonstrate the correlation between traumatic early experiences, including community violence, leading to serious and persistent mental and physical health conditions.

Dr. Todd Sosna, Chief Program Officer at CII, said persistent stress can affect brain development in children and lead to lifelong health issues. Prolonged exposure to physical or mental abuse, parents struggling with substance abuse, or witnessing violence during childhood releases adrenaline and other hormones that impact healthy development.

“Our minds are designed to be self-healing,” Dr. Sosna said. “If a negative event persists, there is no opportunity to recover, and it becomes problematic if sustained for long periods of time.”

Toxic stress throughout childhood can result in behavioral issues for adults including substance abuse or struggling with education, employment and relationships. Challenges with depression, heart disease and severe obesity can plague mental and physical health. Dr. Sosna said toxic stress can make someone easily agitated, withdrawn or distracted as a reaction to the trauma they endured.

Kids are distressed when they hear about people getting shot. It is very difficult to quantify how many encounters they have with trauma and how many of those traumas they are dealing with at any given time.

Marion Dave, Vice President of Community Innovations at CII

Dave said in Watts, along with other marginalized communities, toxic stress and childhood adversity are higher and many residents fear being the victim of or witnessing a violent crime.

Since January, South LA has endured a spike in violent crime including a one week period where 29 people were shot and seven killed in gun-related incidents across the city. Many of the shootings happened around the housing developments in Watts, leaving residents on edge and facing increasing levels of toxic stress.

“Kids are distressed when they hear about people getting shot,” Dave said. “It is very difficult to quantify how many encounters they have with trauma and how many of those traumas they are dealing with at any given time.”

LAPD Captain Louis Paglialonga, the commanding officer for Southeast LA, said he has seen firsthand how inadequate support for mental health creates a cycle of violence in areas with high rates of crime.

“When kids are exposed to violence and think that it is normal, and they are unable to cope with what has happened, they are likelier to wind up on corners as members of gangs or become victims of crimes,” he said.

Dave said that to support the healing process, the cycle of trauma must be uprooted by helping people get support for their mental health needs while encouraging residents to practice mental wellness.

Just like many children, I began avoiding certain parts of my neighborhood out of fear of falling victim to gun violence. My family and I weren’t aware of any programs, where to go, or who to contact for assistance with coping with the anxiety and stress.

Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán

“Mental wellness means you recognize what is happening to you and recognize what is happening to other people around you,” Dave said. “We’re trying to flip the script on what is considered ‘normal’ and show people that everybody deserves to be well.”

When Dave describes a trauma resilient community, she is talking about a place where residents get adequate support when they experience trauma, and providing services that prevent toxic stress.

Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán, who represents California’s 44th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Watts, Compton and Florence-Firestone, said she remembers ducking under her kitchen table as a kid when she would hear the sounds of gunshots nearby.

“Growing up in the Harbor Gateway community, the sounds of gunshots, police sirens and helicopters were all too familiar,” Barragán said. “Just like many children, I began avoiding certain parts of my neighborhood out of fear of falling victim to gun violence. My family and I weren’t aware of any programs, where to go, or who to contact for assistance with coping with the anxiety and stress.”

Barragán said services that expand access to mental health and wellness support has led to South LA becoming a stronger and safer community.

Dave agrees with Barragán and said services like early childhood, mental health and family strengthening programs have been especially important in reducing the stigma around seeking out help. Dave said these higher levels of engagement reflect staff listening to the community and developing trust while learning directly from clients. She said this level of support around mental health and wellness points to a healthier South LA that is headed in a positive direction.

“Everybody needs support – everybody,” Dave said. “And everybody deserves to be well.”

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. If you are interested in learning more about mental health and wellness at Children’s Institute or need access to mental health services, please contact 213.807.1998 or fet8@childrensinstitute.org.

On May 18, over 1,000 kids and their families participated in family-friendly activities like yoga and rock climbing at Ted Watkins Memorial Park in Watts at the first ever Power of Wellness: Community Connections Kickoff Event. Participants also perused a resource fair of more than 55 providers, programs and services, including free HIV testing. The event was organized as part of Mental Health Awareness Month, promoting the role of prevention, social support and connection in overall wellness.

Robin Leach, Community Education & Outreach Supervisor at CII, said the Community Connections Kickoff event was designed to reduce stigma around accessing mental health services by showing residents they are not alone in experiencing pain or stress from community violence. More importantly, she said residents have the tools to support each other as they heal and help make South LA a safer place.

Over 1,000 kids and their families participated in family-friendly activities at the Power of Wellness: Community Connections Kickoff Event.

“There are resource fairs almost every week in South LA, but this one is different because residents are driving the process to connect and find community solutions,” Leach said. “They are the difference and we’re all working together so everyone can learn how to support each other.”

Gustavo Medrano, Community Affairs Specialist for CII, works on the team that organized Saturday’s event and said there shouldn’t be a stigma around mental health. He said it is important for everyone to see the process of prioritizing good mental health as a positive.

“We really want to reduce the number of people who might feel isolated and unsure about needing help,” he said. “We’re here to show our families they’re not alone. We’re ready to support and collaborate with them.”

Families participated in a number of activities that promoted health and wellness like yoga and rock climbing at Ted Watkins Park in Watts.

Reggie Simms, a life-long resident of Watts who attended the event on Saturday, said that he has personally noticed that when violence is high, people are too scared to do simple tasks like take out their garbage for fear of becoming the victim of a crime. He said the Kickoff worked as an opportunity to remind people that they are not alone in wanting to live in a neighborhood where they feel safe.

“Crime and violence have kept people in their houses, so this type of event brings people outside and brings hope and faith to the community,” Simms said.  

In addition to the 50-plus community resource providers, the event was co-organized by Power of Wellness and Project ABC, both child-focused collaborations led by CII. Project ABC is a partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) designed to create a system of care for children living in LA who would benefit from mental health services. The group normally holds a mental health event in May, but decided to combine this year’s event with the Power of Wellness, which is a newly formed collective of organizations with the shared purpose of empowering communities and building resiliency by promoting wellness and connection. The partners include CII, Partners for Children South L.A., St. John’s Well Child & Family Clinic, Watts Leadership Institute, and the Department of Mental Health.

The Power of Wellness collective works together to build trauma-resilient communities in South LA, meaning residents can recognize trauma and adequately address those experiences through social and therapeutic support and community resources. The collaboration is also designed to better connect different services across South LA so nonprofits work together when serving a family.

More than 50 community resource partners serving South LA participated in the event.

Research shows that adults who experience higher levels of traumatic events during childhood struggle in adulthood with education, employment and personal relationships. Trauma can also affect their physical health with increased rates of depression, diabetes and heart disease cause my stress. With early intervention, the impact of trauma can be reduced and children can protect themselves from the damages of future traumatic events.

Liza Bray, Director of Partners for Children South Los Angeles, helped organize Saturday’s event and defined wellness as a way of moving families from a place of crisis to where they can be self-sufficient. She said accomplishing this involves all organizations combing resources and working together.

“Collaborating at events like this is so important for us to serve the whole family,” Bray said. “It’s really powerful for organizations to come together and work outside their silos for the better good of the children, family and for the community.”

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. If you are interested in learning more about mental health and wellness at Children’s Institute or need access to mental health services, please contact Ginger Lavender Wilkerson, Clinical Program Manager, 323.523.8608 or glavender-wilkerson@childrensinstitute.org.

The focus of the C.H.I.P.S. annual Spring Fashion Luncheon was the combined impact of philanthropy and community activism in South Los Angeles. Known as the setting for the Golden Globe Awards and frequent celebrity sightings, the Beverly Hilton Hotel instead was abuzz yesterday with celebrations of those who have dedicated their lives to combating gun violence, trauma and poverty.

The C.H.I.P.S. raise funds and awareness for Children’s Institute and its programs that promote resiliency and growth in communities plagued by poverty. The group, founded in 1966, has increasingly featured hard hitting subjects at its elegant events, and attendees leave wanting to do more in their community, according to Bridget Gless Keller, a CII Trustee and longstanding member of C.H.I.P.S.

The Watts Gang Task Force accepts the C.H.I.P.S. Inspiration Award at the Spring Luncheon.

Keller, who presented the C.H.I.P.S. Inspiration award to the Watts Gang Task Force, said the group has continued a positive tradition of selecting honorees who are inspiring, selfless and investing their time and resources in unique ways. By honoring philanthropists Alex Tuttle and Tiffany Tuttle, and the Watts Gang Task Force, Keller said they were putting a spotlight on the challenges poverty creates in South LA while applauding people who are working to support these communities.

“It was a very authentic day,” Keller said. “By celebrating the Watts Gang Task Force here, we are bringing Watts closer to the rest of Los Angeles.”

The Watts Gang Task Force, which was founded in 2005 during a period of intense violence, loss and grief, was honored for helping to broker peace between residents and law enforcement. Their efforts, which continue to this day, resulted in substantial drops in homicide and other violent crimes. In recent years, CII has worked closely with the task force to expand support for mental health and trauma resiliency.

It was a very authentic day. By celebrating the Watts Gang Task Force here, we are bringing Watts closer to the rest of Los Angeles.

Bridget Gless Keller, CII Trustee and longstanding member of C.H.I.P.S.

Joining the task force on stage during the award ceremony was Michelle Chambers, Senior Field Deputy for Assembly Member Mike Gibson, Norchelle Brown, Policy Assistant for Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán, and Ami Field-Meyer, West Area Representative for Mayor Garcetti.

Donny Joubert, who cofounded the task force and grew up in the Nickerson Garden housing development in Watts, said the group was launched after hearing residents say they were scared to leave their houses due to high levels of crime. Over its 14 years of existence, he said there has been a 90% drop in crime around Watts and better dialogue between the city and residents. While he is proud of these accomplishments, he never imagined it would lead to recognition and awards.

“We are really honored to be selected because an award like this means we are making change in the community,” Joubert said.

Philanthropists Tiffany Tuttle (left) and Alex Tuttle (right) pose with CII President & CEO Martine Singer before being honored with the C.H.I.P.S. Philanthropic Service Award.

In addition, Alex and Tiffany Tuttle received the C.H.I.P.S. Philanthropic Service Award. The sisters were recognized for their longstanding philanthropic support of CII along with their hands-on involvement with kids and families. The Tuttle sisters have been involved in multiple CII initiatives, including recent support for youth who are ageing out of foster care and need tools and support for a stable and successful transition to adulthood.

Tiffany Tuttle said receiving an award is great, but more importantly it provides a platform to encourage others to come together and support nonprofits like CII.

“This award is really about getting young people involved,” she said. “Alex and I believe in this work wholeheartedly and it was great to see so many different CII programs highlighted.”

Lisa Morgan, President of C.H.I.P.S., said, “It is both humbling and inspiring to see the dedication of our honorees. Each one of them offering the best of themselves with no expectation of anything in return and purely out of love and a desire to help others.”

It is both humbling and inspiring to see the dedication of our honorees. Each one of them offering the best of themselves with no expectation of anything in return and purely out of love and a desire to help others.

Lisa Morgan, President of C.H.I.P.S.

The C.H.I.P.S. have a long history of honoring community-based groups and individuals at their annual luncheon, which past years included police lieutenants, public officials and philanthropists. The group chose to open this year’s luncheon with an introduction from LaRae Cantley, a CII program participant who shared her story about the support she received through CII.

Martine Singer, President & CEO of CII, said the longstanding support from the C.H.I.P.S. has been important to addressing poverty in South LA. The group is currently helping with the Dream Big Graduation at the end of May, an event that celebrates foster youth from across Los Angeles who are graduating high school and attending college in the fall. The C.H.I.P.S. are helping to provide essential items like backpacks to outfit the kids and their dorms for freshman year.

“Groups like the C.H.I.P.S. are about supporting CII and believing in our mission,” Singer said. “It doesn’t matter how different the programs are, they rally behind CII and make a major difference in our work.”

There are currently more than 400,000 children in foster care in the U.S., a number that continues to grow each year. Drawing on unprecedented access, the documentary FOSTER traces a complex path through the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), interweaving first-hand stories of those navigating the child welfare system with insights from social workers, advocates and others working in the justice system.

Last night, as part of National Foster Care Month, CII teamed up with Film Independent to co-present a screening of the new HBO documentary FOSTER at the ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles. Following the screening, CII’s President & CEO Martine Singer was joined by Oscar-winning filmmakers Deborah Oppenheimer and Mark Jonathan Harris, as well as film subjects Jessica Chandler, a DCFS social worker who grew up in foster care, and Mary Montoya, a transition-aged foster youth navigating college. The discussion was moderated by Film Independent Curator Elvis Mitchell.

From left: Oscar-winning Director Mark Jonathan Harris, transition-aged foster youth Mary Montoya, DCFS social worker Jessica Chandler, Oscar-winning Director Deborah Oppenheimer, and CII President & CEO Martine Singer.

Oppenheimer, who won an Academy Award with Harris for the film Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of Kindertransport, said the two approached FOSTER wanting to provide an accurate portrayal of the foster care system that differed from how it is often unfairly cast in pop culture and media. She said much of the general public has very little information on how the system operates or the stories of those who are navigating it.

“I was very aware that I had never encountered a foster youth,” Oppenheimer said. “I had never encountered the system or a social worker, and a lot of the people in my life hadn’t either.”

The filmmakers captured more than 150 hours of footage and spent 10 years making the film. While the run time is just under two hours, Oppenheimer said she and Harris felt the movie could have easily been over three hours because there are so many different and important perspectives involved in the foster care system.

I was very aware that I had never encountered a foster youth. I had never encountered the system or a social worker, and a lot of the people in my life hadn’t either.

Deborah Oppenheimer, producer, FOSTER

Harris said it was a privilege to get such honest and intimate access during the filming process.

“They’re working through their stories as we are making this film,” Harris said. “The stories emerge and you try to be faithful to your experience as a filmmaker, and you try to communicate what you discover in the process of making the film.”

One of the perspectives the filmmakers felt was important to share involved CII’s Family Preservation program, which offers support to families who are at risk for entering the system. In the film, the family is referred to CII after their infant tests positive for traces of cocaine at birth. The mother is required to seek treatment for substance abuse while the father needs support for parenting their daughter alone. At the time, he was working the night shift at Walmart and didn’t have the schedule or resources to support his child.

Allyson Manumaleuna, CII’s Family Preservation Supervisor, worked directly with the family and is featured meeting with them at CII’s Watts Campus in the film.

Two clients in CII’s Family Preservation Program that were featured in the HBO documentary FOSTER who needed support to keep their daughter out of foster care.

According to Manumaleuna, CII worked with the father while the mother was in treatment. When the family was first referred to Family Preservation, the father was commuting on public transportation with his child during unsafe hours because he had zero child care options. Only 24-years-old, he lived with his grandfather in a small apartment and had never taken a parenting class.

“As soon as we received the case, we started weekly in-home services to get to know the family and understand what resources they would need,” Manumaleuna said. “We were able to get him free child care so he could continue to work, but also get enough sleep to be a great parent.”

Family Preservation also worked to get the father essential items like diapers and wipes while working to get him stable housing. As part of Family Preservation, he enrolled in Growing Great Kids, a class offered through the program that teachers parenting skills. While the father took these classes, the mother successfully completed her substance abuse course.

There is no big mystery around it, there is just not enough political will or money. We can stop the cycle, we can help people, and there are plenty of things that work if only our politicians will listen.

Martine Singer, President & CEO, Children’s Institute

While not every story has a happy ending, Manumaleuna said the family was able to complete crucial steps and get connected to resources that prevented their child from entering foster care. She believes the family gained tools to ensure their child grows up supported and loved.

In this instance, she said the Family Preservation program worked as it was designed to. Success stories like this family’s not only prevent children from entering foster care, but also create happy and healthy home environments that break the cycle.

“We provide consistent support in-home every week to families who don’t have the resources,” she said. “The families do all of the work – we just help them along the way.”

CII partnered with Film Independent to hold a special screening and Q&A that was moderated by Film Independent Curator Elvis Mitchell.

Singer said FOSTER does a good job of capturing the root causes that lead to families needing programs like Family Preservation or other services in the foster care system. She said communities featured in the film have been redlined, isolated and lacking investment, which lead to violence and crime.

“There are a lot of causes for the problems we see in the movie like poverty,” Singer said. “Not to take away from personal responsibility, but there are a lot of forces that cause the circumstances to be what they are.”

Singer said this movie will hopefully allow people to have a better understanding of the foster care system and judge the people involved less harshly. She said there are a lot of programs that are effective in addressing the underlying issues, but they need better funding.

“There is no big mystery around it – there is just not enough political will or money,” Singer said. “We can stop the cycle, we can help people, and there are plenty of things that work if only our politicians will listen.”

FOSTER debuted May 7, 2019 exclusively on HBO and is currently available on HBO On Demand, HBO NOW, HBO GO and partners’ streaming platforms.

Children’s Institute is celebrating teachers everywhere in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week from May 6-10. Read stories from the people involved in Early Childhood Education at CII.

Early childhood education has been a focus for Children’s Institute for decades. It’s the best investment we can make to maximize children’s lifelong well-being – particularly for kids experiencing the impact of poverty and trauma. High-quality early learning is critical to healthy development, and prepares children to learn and thrive in kindergarten and beyond.

CII’s committed teachers and home visitors help our youngest children to learn and grow. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we are sharing perspectives from teachers, volunteers and parents connected to our early education programs.

CII has 32 Head Start, Early Head Start and Home Visiting sites in L.A County that are supported by 213 teachers, substitute teachers and home visitors along with in-classroom parent volunteers who contributed 6,078 total hours last year. Each day, teachers create and implement lesson plans that set kids up for success, but their reach extends beyond the lesson. CII’s teachers and home visitors are often the first to spot developmental delays or behavioral challenges, and refer families to crucial services like counseling and regional center services.

I hope you will join me celebrating CII’s teaching staff and their lifelong impact on children.

Warmest regards,

Martine Singer
President & CEO

A Quarter Decade Teaching Head Start

When Silvia Serrano was hired as a teacher in 1994, CII had just two preschools. Over the next 25 years, Serrano worked in four different locations as Early Childhood Education at CII grew to 32 early education centers. Along the way, she would become CII’s longest active serving teacher.

Serrano was just starting her career as an educator when she came to CII.  A single mother, raising her young daughter with limited support, Serrano was drawn to CII’s mission because she could relate to the challenges experienced by families receiving services. She immediately appreciated how nurturing and invested her fellow teachers were with every student.

“I liked the way we were helping the community,” Serrano said. “We were treating every child like they were our own and we were welcoming families in a way that showed them that we are people they can trust.”

From her very first day, Serrano’s teachers mentored her and provided valuable advice when it came to her own family. There was a sense of community in which everybody was there to help each other – a culture Serrano said has been consistent over her 25-year tenure.

We were treating every child like they were our own and we were welcoming families in a way that showed them that we are people they can trust.

Silvia Serrano, Head Start Teacher

Serrano’s own daughter went on to earn an M.D. from Columbia University before moving back to practice medicine in South LA at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital.

“CII gave me support, and I try to give that support to our families,” she said. “I tell everybody how important CII is to the families we work with.”

Serrano doesn’t approach education with the expectation that her own students will attend Ivy League universities or become doctors. She said success is understanding the individual needs of each child and empowering them to grow in their own way.

Serrano encountered a student recently who did not know how to write his name and had a very limited understanding of numbers. His parents were first generation Americans from South Korea, and he spoke little English. Drawing from her many years of experience as an early childhood educator, Serrano was nurturing and supportive as they worked through activities each day. Overtime, he exceeded many of the expectations and is in a much better place.

“Little by little, he learned letters and numbers that will be important in kindergarten,” she said.

Hundreds of other students have received this same support from Serrano through the years. This includes one former student, Concepcion Amy Mateo, who was in Serrano’s 1998 Head Start class. Her positive experience inspired her to return to CII as an adult and apply to be a substitute teacher. Serrano remembered Mateo and helped her navigate being a new teacher.

With plans to continue in her role, many more kids will benefit from her teaching.

From Early Childhood Education Parent to Substitute Teacher

Before they ever led a class, many of CII’s current teachers first interacted with the organization as parents accessing services for their own children. This career trajectory applies to Daisy, a long-term substitute teacher at CII who works in classrooms for one- or two-week periods. Prior to starting at CII in late 2018, she was a parent with multiple children enrolled in Head Start.

Daisy first connected with CII while attending a health fair in her neighborhood. After visiting CII’s booth, she decided to enroll her daughter in Head Start. It didn’t take long for Daisy to be inspired by her daughter’s teachers as they worked together on writing, speech and numbers.

“They have helped me so much,” Daisy said. “They are special because they make a unique impact and provide a different perspective than what I could have done at home.”

Every teacher has been very welcoming and helped me with the things I didn’t know when I started. They are great resources, and every day I learn something new.

Daisy, Head Start Substitute Teacher

During her daughter’s first year, Daisy had been pursuing a degree in early childhood education. When an opening came up for a substitute position, the teachers at her daughter’s Head Start encouraged her to apply. Daisy interviewed and got the job.

The transition from parent to teacher has been a natural one thanks to support from other teachers. Daisy said she received training and mentoring that made for a smooth first six months.

“Every teacher has been very welcoming and helped me with the things I didn’t know when I started,” she said. “They are great resources, and every day I learn something new.”

Daisy hopes to become a full-time teacher and  enjoys being part of the growth and development of her students. She is supporting students in their progression toward important milestones that she saw her own daughter reach.

“I like how children acknowledge you when you help them,” she said. “They remember what you teach them.”

A Parent Benefits from Committed Teachers

Behind every successful teacher is a larger group of volunteers who help ensure a classroom runs smoothly. More than 6,000 volunteers fill support roles across every classroom at CII.

Jeanette enrolled her two youngest children in Head Start to help them with writing and art. She noticed how invested each teacher was in helping her children. She wanted to do something to support the program.

“They really helped my kids and prepared them for kindergarten,” she said. “I wanted to become more involved and give back.”

All of the teachers work so hard. They take responsibility for the kids during the day and give them the attention they need.

Jeanette, Head Start Parent Volunteer

Jeanette started by volunteering in the classroom and helped teachers with lesson plans and organized activities. During her second year of volunteering, Jeanette joined the Head Start Policy Council and encouraged other Head Start parents to get involved as well.

Jeanette said the volunteering is worthwhile and greatly benefits the kids in the program. She said the teachers invest so much in their work that it is helpful to have a larger group supporting them.

“All of the teachers work so hard,” she said. “They take responsibility for the kids during the day and give them the attention they need.”

Jeanette is in her fourth year as a parent volunteer and is looking forward to continuing her involvement with the teachers at her Head Start site.

More than 500 families and staff attended the 2nd Annual Movie Night & Car Show at CII’s Watts Campus in early May. The event is a partnership with PBS SoCal and designed to prepare kids for success in school while encouraging group activities with families. The earth science and astronomy series Ready Set Go! was screened and families combined engineering and art skills to create homemade cars.

Families worked on the homemade cars over multiple weeks as part of an activity with their local Early Childhood Education program.

The cars provided an opportunity to promote STEAM curriculum, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics. The cars challenged kids to work on each of these subjects where they designed, built and decorated their own cars.

Early Childhood Education also uses this activity as an opportunity to engage parents around improving their own parenting skills. Families spent multiple hours together where they improved communications techniques and bonded together.

At the conclusion of the event, every child in attendance received a backpack that will be used next year in school. Families in the program live below the poverty line, making school supply purchases challenging.

The backpacks were donated by the corporate team at Age of Learning who volunteered to collect and organize the backpacks. CII’s Board Member Sunil Gunderia is the Chief Strategy Officer at the company.

The Annual Movie Night & Car Show featured other activities where kids could practice STEAM curriculum like experimenting with science projects.

Art was also featured throughout the event where kids showed off their artistic side.

Due to the event’s success, staff is already working to ensure next year’s event grows in the number of families participating. PBS SoCal continues to be an amazing partner for the event along with the support from strong corporate partnership in Age of Learning.

Elizabeth Vasquez runs into her students and their families outside of school all of the time. When filling her gas tank, eating dinner in a restaurant or shopping for groceries, it’s common for her to look up and see one of her students waving at her. Every time this happens, she enthusiastically stops to catch up, even if she saw them just an hour ago in class.

For Vasquez, each encounter is a chance to embrace her neighbors. As a Head Start teacher at Children’s Institute at Jordan Downs, seeing her students in the community is just one of the many things Vasquez considers a highlight of her job.

Vasquez grew up in South LA and has lived and taught in the same neighborhood for the past five years. With such close ties to her community, she is especially welcoming to every student she teaches. This commitment to serve her own community exemplifies EQUITY, one of CII’s four core values. 

All of CII’s early education sites welcome diverse populations and communities, and classrooms are a gathering place for different races, religions and cultures. As a teacher, maintaining an inclusive and equitable atmosphere is essential to a rich educational experience.

When I come into class each day, I treat everyone with the same level of respect

Elizabeth Vasquez, Head Start Teacher at Jordan Downs

Vasquez views schools as a place where all children should be seen as equals and given a fair shot at success. When this doesn’t happen, she says, students suffer and learning is impacted.

“When I come into class each day, I treat everyone with the same level of respect,” she said. “All of my students are different so I do everything I can to meet them at their level and address their needs.”

Vasquez has held this belief since starting her career in early childhood education in 2003. When she moved to CII in 2014 for her first role in a Head Start classroom, she appreciated the program and organization aligning with her values of classroom equality, while giving her additional opportunities to build strong connections with her students and their families.

This level of familiarity gives her the ability to make referrals to other community-based services when she notices a family is facing challenges. If a family is struggling with food insecurity or needs help finding a therapist, Vasquez connects them with a family services worker, who links them to needed resources.

This type of understanding and influence aligns with the philosophy of Head Start. Created as an anti-poverty initiative in the 1960s, Head Start programs go beyond teaching the basics to kids who are living in poverty. Studies show that kids growing up in poverty were far behind their peers before their first day of kindergarten, setting them up for major challenges throughout their academic career.

Head Start by design is a program that is anchored in equity and closes the education gap by giving kids free access to early education in communities with limited access so when Vasquez creates a classroom where children feel equal and supported, she is reducing the impact of poverty and setting kids up for success.

She’s always there for the students and has a lot of love to give .

Monique Anderson, Site Supervisor at Jordan Downs

Monique Anderson, Site Supervisor for Vasquez’s Head Start at Jordan Downs, said Vasquez does all of this work naturally. Anderson said Vasquez does a great job balancing different needs and backgrounds through flexibility and an altruistic view of education.

“She’s always there for the students and has a lot of love to give,” she said. “Her energy and loving personality comes through with everything she does.”

This energy and investment in her community is why Vasquez stays involved in the lives of her kids, even after the school day is over and she has left the classroom. Running into a student and saying hello while picking up dinner isn’t a hindrance – it’s another opportunity to support her community.

For 10 weeks, kids in Children’s Institute’s PowerUp! after-school program were introduced to the Olympic Games to learn about other cultures while developing team building skills. As the kids wrapped up the curriculum and reflected on their experience, many felt they had learned a lot while also having fun in the process.

“Because of the Olympics, we’ve learned about partnership and sportsmanship,” said Arleni, 10 year-old while Bryan, an 11-year-old, said, “It’s the best program. I want to stay forever.”

This enthusiasm was on display last week at CII’s Otis Booth Campus as the kids showcased their knowledge and celebrated the previous day’s Olympic Games. More than 100 families and community members cheered as the kids represented their assigned nations of China, Egypt, Greece and Mexico. Dressed in clothing that reflected their respective countries, the kids took to the stage and presented aspects of culture through dance. The day before, they had competed in relay races, balloon tosses, and a basketball shoot-off. At the end of the ceremony, they smiled with pride as they received participation medals for their hard work.

Children in CII’s PowerUp! spent multiple months learning about art, culture and athletics through curriculum modeled after the Olympic games.

In early January though, this celebratory atmosphere wasn’t on display when the kids learned they were going to spend their entire winter on the Olympics.

Nawal Salim, Experiential Learning Manager who created weekly lesson plans for the Olympics curriculum, said it was mostly groans and complaints when the kids first heard about the concept for the Olympics. She said they weren’t in favor of being placed into groups where they could not select their country or teammates.

The PowerUp! after-school program works with children who have been exposed to trauma and encourages them to learn from a variety of activities and processes – and then asks them to reflect on what they’ve learned in order to build resilience and continue the healing process. Until the Olympics, the kids had never done curriculum that would last multiple months and cover so many different areas.

Children showcased what they learned during a two-day Olympic-style competition where more than 100 friends and families arrived to cheer them on.

PowerUp! normally has two different groups of kids who attend the program twice weekly on different days. The kids split time between completing homework and taking part in what the staff call a daily enrichment activity. These activities have included practicing yoga, programming robots, art and nutrition classes, or making their own hip hop beats.

To adjust for the lukewarm attitudes toward the Olympics, Salim said they spent the first few weeks focusing solely on team building activities and exercises that promoted the positives of each country participating in the Olympics.

“It probably wasn’t until the third week that they understood why we were doing this,” Salim said.

Mary Brougher, Director of Experiential Learning & Volunteer Services, developed the core curriculum for the Olympics and understood kids may not understand its importance right away. She had implemented the Olympics at other organizations and encountered similar challenges.

From learning what it means to be part of a team to signing up for the final games, they have immersed themselves in the lessons and activities, and have enjoyed seeing it all come together in such a magical way.

– Stephanie Argueta, Program Supervisor in PowerUp!

For PowerUp!, the program encourages academic success, increased physical activity, and improved social skills. Brougher said the Olympics are the perfect vehicle for promoting all three of these areas. She said kids usually come around and eventually appreciate the education and life lessons that the Olympics can offer.

“The reason why I selected the Olympics is because it is multifaceted,” she said. “We’re trying to promote cultural tolerance, team work, healthy lifestyle choices and much more.”

Similar to the real Olympics, many of the activities revolved around athletic competitions that promoted mobility and teamwork. But unlike the real Olympics, Brougher’s version pulls from various subjects like art, history and culture and even food to incorporate academics and cultural awareness.

In addition to cultural education, the Olympic curriculum taught kids about team work and working through challenges.

One activity challenged the kids to use creativity and art as they designed costumes and flags for their country. Another involved geography as the kids learned about their country’s different regions.

Stephanie Argueta, Program Supervisor in PowerUp!, said she was amazed by the Olympics and the positive response from the kids. Argueta, who was one of the many PowerUp! staff implementing the Olympic curriculum for the first time, said it exceeded her expectations for aligning with the program’s goals.

“From learning what it means to be part of a team to signing up for the final games, they have immersed themselves in the lessons and activities, and have enjoyed seeing it all come together in such a magical way,” she said.

While the kids have now returned to their regular weekly schedules of homework followed by stand-alone enrichment activities, the Olympics appears to have added to the ongoing success of PowerUp! while highlighting the importance of after school programs and how they can support the kid’s individual needs.

The reason why I selected the Olympics is because it is multifaceted,” she said. “We’re trying to promote cultural tolerance, team work, healthy lifestyle choices and much more.

-Mary Brougher, Director of Experiential Learning & Volunteer Services

From a recent report that surveyed families who have kids in PowerUp!, 95 percent reported their child was doing better in school as a result of the program and 94 percent reported their child is better at handling daily life. Of the kids who ranked low on physical activity when they entered the program, 83 percent reported they had increased daily activity to a healthy level.

Each positive outcome signals to staff that they are achieving program goals of helping kids right now, while setting them on a path for future achievements in life and academics. The program builds a foundation where kids will continue to seek out new ways to learn and grow.

“The whole purpose of this program is skill building and progression,” Salim said.

Ismenia Platero, a parent whose kids have been in PowerUp! for multiple years, said she has seen exactly this type of transformation with her family. At the closing ceremonies, she described a positive change in the ways her sons Jeffrey and Deemar approach academics and wellness.

“The program is so important to our family,” she said. “My sons used to fight a lot and weren’t focused, but now they see the purpose in doing school work and are excited to go to PowerUp! each week.”

Victor, an 8-year-old echoed what many of the kids in the program have said – the program has made a positive impact and he enjoys being a part of the program.

“PowerUp! is so cool because you get to learn about new things and you don’t even have to pay one penny!” he said.