Families in California are navigating an increasingly complex and uncertain environment. Fear of family separation, shifting political climates, and barriers to accessing care often leave parents and caregivers without clear options to safeguard their children.
Salud Para La Gente (Salud), a CIN partner organization, as part of the Pájaro Valley Collaborative, is working to address this gap by advancing the use of Child Safety Plans (CSPs) as a tool for families to prepare for emergencies. These plans allow parents to designate trusted adults in their communities who can assume responsibility for their children in the event of detention, deportation, or other crises. CSPs are not legally binding on their own as they require notarization and coordination with schools, courts, and other community systems to be effective. Salud has already supported the creation of more than 700 plans toward a collective goal of 1,000 within two months. This effort underscores both the urgency of the work and the community’s resilience and spirit of giving.
In this CIN webinar, Salud will share its approach to embedding Health Equity into its service line by integrating CSPs while addressing the challenges and successes of this work. Participants will learn how Salud collaborates with partners to build a supportive ecosystem around families—including notaries who volunteer their time, financial institutions that help families plan for stability, and local systems that recognize and honor the plans. The session will also explore the emotional weight carried by staff, many of whom reflect the communities they serve, and how Salud is working internally to balance responsibilities and prevent burnout.
This workshop is intended for organizational leaders, frontline staff, community-based partners, and policymakers interested in learning how coordinated, community-driven strategies can strengthen protective factors for families in uncertain times and advance Health Equity.
At the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Learn an approach from a Federally Qualified Health Center on using Child Safety Plans as a tactic toward advancing Health Equity.
- Gain insights into embedding a similar approach within organizations who have similar needs through frameworks and toolkits.
- Recognize the importance of cross-sector collaboration
The speakers will be:
- Darlene D. Torres, Director of Community Health Services, Salud Para la Gente
- Sigolène Ortega, Director of Health Equity, Salud Para la Gente
Register now to attend or to be notified when the recording is available for replay. Past participants overwhelmingly indicate CIN programming to be a worthwhile use of their time. See recordings of recent past CIN events.
This event is offered free of charge. Please share this invitation with your network!
For questions about this event, contact the CIN Program Office Team.
Learn more about the California Improvement Network, a project of the California Health Care Foundation that is managed by Healthforce Center at UCSF, and sign up for the CIN newsletter.
