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Celebrating Recent Successes and Future Visions

ISSUE 2 • July 2024

Welcome to the second edition of the quarterly newsletter, Commissions Connection: Celebrating Recent Successes and Future Visions. You can expect to see updates on Commission Services achievements and highlights of the boards and commissions the Executive Office oversees.

At the Quality & Productivity Commission's Leadership Conference (from L to R): Second Vice Chair Dion Rambo, Executive Director Jackie Guevarra, Commissioner Huasha Liu, Commissioner Nancy G. Harris, Commissioner Edward McIntyre, Chair William B. Parent, Commissioner Teresa Dreyfuss, Commissioner J. Shawn Landres, and Commissioner E. Scott Palmer.
Photo: Martin Zamora/BOS Photographer 

Quality & Productivity Commission Leadership Conference

Los Angeles County Looks Forward to Hosting Major Sporting Events, Including the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games

The Los Angeles County Quality and Productivity Commission hosted the Leadership Conference, “LA County on the World Stage” on June 20, 2024. True to the Conference theme and objective — to foster collaborative leadership as the County engages on the world stage — speakers focused on the impact of the upcoming major sporting events heading to Los Angeles County, including the 2026 Men's FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics & Paralympic Games.

Led by Commission Chair William B. Parent as Master of Ceremonies, attendees listened to discussions centered in collaborative leadership that fosters excellence, equity, inclusion, and opportunity. Speakers included First District Supervisor Hilda Solis; Fesia A. Davenport, Los Angeles County Chief Executive Officer; Susan Goldsmith, Principal for Deloitte Consulting LLP; Kevin McGowan, Director of the Office of Emergency Management; Kelly LoBianco, Director of the Department of Economic Opportunity; Kristin Sakoda, Director of the Department of Arts and Culture; John T. Cooke, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of the Asset Management Branch of the Chief Executive Office; and Vic Nol, Director of Venue Cities Relations for LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games.

In anticipation of the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games and other global sports events, Los Angeles County is poised to face challenges to infrastructure, safety, and equity. From traffic concerns to housing the homeless, there's a lot of work to be done before the Games. However, where there are challenges, there are ample opportunities to lay sustainable foundations for the future of Los Angeles County from creating a legacy of arts, diversity and creativity; to making a lasting impact on sustainability and innovation, infrastructure, and improvements; and engaging with working communities by creating youth development opportunities in sports and work, focusing on local and targeted worker hiring, and forging career pathways with major sports entertainment venues.

No matter the challenges, Los Angeles County leadership proves that being on the world stage can also bring a lasting legacy of leadership, opportunity and equity for the history books.

To view conference resources, visit the Quality & Productivity Commission's website.

Youth Commission Aims to Reach Youth Across L.A. County

The Youth Commission's 2024 goals focus on empowering youth voices and fostering community engagement across the five supervisorial districts. Through district listening sessions, public meetings, collaborations and special projects, the Commission collects essential data to offer advisory insights and facilitate systemic improvements in youth services. Key events include impactful listening sessions in Districts 2 and 5, roundtable discussions with county departments and partnerships with organizations like the Los Angeles County Department of Probation, Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the Youth Civic Leadership Academy, the Los Angeles Rams, and Los Angeles Unified School District. Notable projects include developing an evaluation tool for DCFS’s Independent Living Program. Recently, the Commission concluded a mid-year retreat on June 8, focusing on capacity building, team building, bonding, peer-to-peer leadership and raising mental health awareness. Upcoming plans include listening sessions in Districts 4, 1, and 3, and an end-year Strategic Planning Retreat to identify focus areas, plan special projects and enhance youth engagement for systemic improvements. The Commission remains dedicated to supporting commissioners' roles by enhancing their skills, providing resources, and fostering collaboration. Overall, the Youth Commission anticipates a successful year of engagement, community involvement and impactful system enhancements through collaborative efforts. Stay tuned for updates on our upcoming events by visiting their website – we eagerly await your participation! Next meeting date: Thursday, August 29, 2024.

LGBTQ+ Commission Holds Historic Inaugural Meeting

The inaugural meeting of the LGBTQ+ Commission on June 11. Photo: David Franco/LACBOS.

The Los Angeles County LGBTQ+ Commission held its inaugural meeting on June 11, marking a historic day during June's Pride Month celebrations.

Led by Executive Director Sunitha Menon (she/her/hers), the LGBTQ+ Commission will meet regularly to review and discuss policies and budget priorities affecting the LGBTQ+ community, along with working with community organizations to build a framework for a better future for the community.

The members of the commission are: Jerry P. Abraham, M.D.; Nic Arnzen; Steven Fisher; Talha Khan-Valbuena; Eddie Martinez; Hector Trinidad Plascencia; Ed Reece; Sydney Rogers; Terra Russell-Slavin; H. Eric Schockman, Ph.D.; Alejandro Soria; and Luis Vasquez.

Sign up to receive LGBTQ+ Commission agendas and information by clicking here. 

Next meeting date: Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at 9:30 a.m.

SPOTLIGHT: Office of Child Protection

Improving Child and Family Well-Being The Office of Child Protection was created by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Chief Executive Office in February 2015 to improve communication, coordination, and accountability across agencies involved in the child-welfare and family well-being networks so that vulnerable children have a better chance of growing up safer and healthier.   The Office of Child Protection leads multi-agency collaboratives across the County’s child- and family-serving System of Care partners in the areas of prevention, safety, well-being, permanency, and cross-cutting approaches that support child and family well-being outcomes. Examples of the Office of Child Protection’s key initiatives include: The implementation of Community Pathways to services for families before they touch systems; Piloting federally required Plans of Safe Care to support substance-affected newborns and their families; Increasing placement stability and supports for youth in foster care — especially those with the most complex unmet needs — and ensuring permanency for them; Improving educational outcomes for youth in foster care and on probation through the Education Coordinating Council Enhancing health care coordination for youth involved in the child-welfare system, including strengthening behavioral health supports and healing-centered approaches to supporting youth The Office of Child Protection reports progress on achieving its strategic plan quarterly to the Board; all of the Office of Child Protection’s reports are available on its website’s Reports & Communications page. Please contact EHughes@ocp.lacounty.gov to be added to the email communications distribution list.

About the Commission for Children and Families

Created by the Board of Supervisors in 1984, the Commission for Children and Families is the only Commission in Los Angeles County that focuses solely on issues impacting at-risk and systems involved children and families. Appointed by the Board of Supervisors, members of the Commission bring additional experience and expertise to government deliberation, they support the Office of Child Protection and other stakeholders in creating more effective systems of care, they facilitate the development of community, faith-based and philanthropic partnerships, and advise the Board on key opportunities and challenges concerning vulnerable children and families.

The Commission’s recent focus has been on reducing disproportional racial representation in the child welfare system and supporting efforts to create a safer and more just experience for youth involved with the County’s Probation Department.  This focus is reflected in the work of the Commission’s ongoing Racial Justice Committee.  The Commission also has a longstanding commitment to strengthening the County’s system of care for children zero to five years old, and expanding housing resources for Transition-Aged Youth, particularly those aging out of foster care.

This fall, the Commission will recognize its 40 years of vital work promoting the health and welfare of children and families in Los Angeles County!

To learn more about the work of the Commission for Children and Families, recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, and how to participate in their meetings, visit their website at https://ccf.lacounty.gov/.

Next meeting date: Monday, September 9, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Learn More About Commissions

There are over 200 legislative bodies established in the County of Los Angeles that are created and governed by County Charter, County ordinance, Board motion or State and Federal law. The Board of Supervisors Executive Office provides oversight and administrative support to a portion of these commissions, committees and boards; learn more about them here. The remaining bodies generally receive their administrative support from various County departments or outside agencies.

To view and learn more about these commissions, task forces, special districts, agency boards and joint powers authorities, please visit the Membership Roster.

Attend an Upcoming Commission Meeting

Find upcoming Commission Meetings, which are open to the public, and take a look at agendas to get details and join us.