Why We Exist
Our Creation
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Chief Executive Office created the Office of Child, Youth, and Family Well-being (formerly the Office of Child Protection) in February 2015 to improve communication, coordination, and accountability across agencies involved in the child protection network so that vulnerable children have a better chance of growing up safer and healthier.
The OCFW’s mission is to lead a broad partnership that implements meaningful solutions to improve the lives of our children and families.
The OFCW has built upon the work of the 2014 Board-adopted Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Protection’s final report that recommended several improvements to the County’s child protection network.
Our Approach
The OCFW works to advance child, youth, and family wellbeing outcomes through cross-system coordination, strategic planning, policy development, systems improvement, prevention-focused initiatives, stakeholder engagement, and accountability efforts across the County.
Our Vision
The OCFW serves as Los Angeles County’s strategic hub for advancing child and family wellbeing outcomes – aligning systems, supporting upstream prevention, and centering those most impacted to build a more coordinated and compassionate ecosystem.
We envision a future where every child grows up safe, supported, and thriving, and where all families – regardless of their starting point – have what they need to flourish long before crisis occurs.
Our Core Values
Shared Responsibility
We believe responsibility for child and family wellbeing is collective. We work across agencies, systems, and communities to create coordinated, root-cause solutions and hold ourselves accountable for meaningful outcomes.
Generative Service Delivery
We facilitate interagency collaboratives to ensure that service delivery to children and families addresses multiple issues based on actual needs after uncovering root causes.
Transparency + Integrity
We act with honesty, openness, and clarity, ensuring that our processes and decisions are accessible and accountable to our Board of Supervisors, systems partners, and most importantly, the children, families, and communities we serve.
Child-Centered and Family-Focused
We consider the impact of policy implementation through the eyes of children and families and are committed to supporting a continuum of care that is both preventative and provides long-term support.
Equity
Our work is anchored by the Racial Equity Principles articulated in the County’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan. We embed the countywide guiding equity principles and strategies in our work and across our focus areas by using data to effectively assess and communicate equity needs; emphasizing a promotion and prevention framework to serve families as upstream as possible; and developing and implementing strategies that prioritize and effectively support the most disadvantaged populations and communities.