Strategic Plan: First 5 LA's Path to Success

In doing so, they've learned that successful efforts to enhance the well-being of children in specific areas often are built on the achievement of a series of milestones, or short and intermediate outcomes that help pave a road that ultimately meets the goals.  Such milestones are embedded in the "theory of change" -- or "pathway to change" - outlined in First 5 LA's new strategic plan. (Click here to see a visual of the pathway and the priority measures chosen.)

First 5 LA's pathway to change calls out each of these incremental steps or intermediate outcomes and shows how they lead to achieving our four long-term goals for young children:

• To be born healthy

• To maintain a healthy weight
• To be free from abuse and neglect
• To be ready for kindergarten

To stay focused and consistent with what research and experience tells us, most of the new funding in the strategic plan will be directed toward strategies that have demonstrated the greatest potential for improving outcomes delineated in First 5 LA's pathway to change.

Like any road that's built to last over time, First 5 LA's pathway to change requires a solid foundation based on building blocks of systemic and community level changes that are needed to reach the four goals and sustain those results. Rooted in evidence-based practices, the building blocks that support First 5 LA's pathway to change are:  

• Children have access to health insurance.

• County services systems are better integrated to serve at-risk families.
• Collaboratives between and among traditional and non-traditional partners are present in communities.
• Informal community supports are in place.

EXAMPLE OF A PATHWAY TO CHILD SAFETY

What does a pathway to achieving one of First 5 LA's goals look like?  The path to prevention of child abuse, for example, shows the following, based on research:

• When informal community support are in place, such as churches and mom's groups, parents are more likely to rely on these supports.
• When parents rely on community supports, they are more likely to build their knowledge of parenting and child development and develop protective capacities.
• Parents who are knowledgeable and have protective capacities are more likely to be resilient and bond with their child.
• Children who are bonded with resilient parents are more likely to be safe from abuse and neglect.

To learn more about the prioritized pathway contact Varisa Patraporn at (213) 482-7558.

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