Registration

Event Description

In 2019, the California Department of Health Care Services released a comprehensive proposal to reform our state’s Medi-Cal program, California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM). Postponed by a year due to the pandemic, a revised proposal was released in January 2021, and implementation is now underway. This multi-year initiative​ will require significant investments in network infrastructure, capacity-building, and patient outreach and engagement in order to be successful. Long term, it stands to fundamentally alter how crucial health services are provided, especially for many of the at-risk populations that philanthropy supports.

In 2023, SCG’s Health Funders Group will take a deep dive into CalAIM, using our quarterly programming to explore how the initiative will intersect with other issues of concern including the healthcare workforce and clinic capacity-building, Black birth equity, street medicine and homeless services, and mental and behavioral health.

Join these sessions to hear updates on implementation, experiences of practitioners in the field, and ways philanthropy can be a collaborative partner in the process.

Maximizing CalAIM to Support the Behavioral Health of Children and Families

CalAIM presents an unprecedented opportunity to stabilize vulnerable children and families, prevent system involvement, and provide culturally responsive care and support. Successful implementation requires new systems, processes and coordination for all parties involved. Join us for a deep dive into how foundations can support the implementation of CalAIM to improve quality mental and behavioral health care for children and families, using one county, one managed care plan, and one non-profit organization as an example ecosystem. We’ll unpack the biggest challenges and opportunities related to the shifting landscape and consider how philanthropy can best fill in gaps and amplify opportunities for capacity-building and peer learning for nonprofit providers. This webinar is a joint program of SCG’s Health Funders Group and the Child and Family Well-being Funders Collaborative.

**PRE_WORK** In advance of this webinar, please watch SCG’s CalAIM overview webinar, presented in November 2022, for a high-level overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3dKnxbnzas 

Attendees are also invited to join the Child & Family Wellbeing Funders Collaborative on November 9th from 9–10:30am for a deeper dive on this topic as it relates to implementation for children in foster care. To register: Click here 

2023 Quarterly Programming

Topics and framing subject to change based on SCG member input.

About the Health Funders Group

The SCG Health Funders Group convenes multiple times a year to explore emerging issues in healthcare and health policy through an intersectional approach. The group hosts topic-based and peer-to-peer learning sessions. These facilitated sessions will provide a forum for updates on critical issues, highlights of promising programs and opportunities for collaboration.

About the Child & Family Well-Being Collaborative

Child & Family Well-Being Collaborative group convenes quarterly to focus on policy reform and related advocacy efforts in the areas of child welfare and foster care; and to explore opportunities for private support for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services related projects.

Speakers

Headshot photo of Mary Barraza, LCSW Senior Deputy Director for LA County DMH

Mary Barraza SCG Member

Senior Deputy Director, LA County Department of Mental Health

Mary currently serves as the Senior Deputy Director of Prevention and Child Wellbeing Administration for Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Mary oversees, the Prevention Division, Child Welfare Division, Anti Racism Diversity and Inclusion (ARDI) Division including the Underserved Cultural Communities stakeholder group.

Mary started her career with the Department of Mental Health in 2005 working in the Countywide Resource Management (CRM) Division where she was responsible for gatekeeping over 1500 IMD beds. She has served in a number of management positions within the Department of Mental Health including District Chief for Specialized Foster Care, North Region and the Countywide Medical Hubs, Contract Management and Monitoring Division, Transition Age Youth Division and Program Head for the Juvenile Justice Mental Health Program at Central Juvenile Hall, one of the largest juvenile justice facilities in the Country.

Prior to her employment with Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Mary served in both managerial and direct clinical services positions in California and Washington State. She has over 30 years of experience working with children, Transition Age Youth (TAY) and adults including with the forensic and child welfare populations. Mary has over 25 years of management experience in program administration, clinical over-site, and collaboration with County, State, Federal and community-based organizations.

Mary earned her Master of Social Work degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (1994) and a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University Northridge in Early Childhood Development (1990).
Dr. Erica Fener Sitkoff, Senior Advocacy Officer, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

Erica Fener Sitkoff

Senior Advocacy Officer, Conrad N Hilton Foundation

Erica Fener Sitkoff, PhD, serves as senior advocacy officer for Older Youth initiatives at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. In this role, Sitkoff manages the advocacy strategies of the Foster Youth and Opportunity Youth initiatives to ensure that youth have the resources and supports needed to thrive into adulthood. Sitkoff brings a wealth of experience advancing systems change as both a government and non-profit leader. Most recently she served as the executive director of voices for Georgia’s Children, the state’s largest child advocacy organization, where she helped make children’s mental health a key priority for the state. Prior to Voices, Sitkoff led the District of Columbia Public Schools’ student support division and implemented a host of reforms and partnerships that ensured students received the services they needed. Sitkoff then went on to advise school districts and early intervention programs at one of the nation’s top educational service companies, boosting educational outcomes for diverse populations across the nation. Sitkoff began her career working directly with children and families as a licensed clinical psychologist and received her Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from the George Washington University and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park.
headshot with navy blazer

Eugene Straub

Chief Operating Officer, Children's Institute

Eugene Straub is a seasoned finance and operations executive with nearly 30 years of experience working with organizations in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. He has held senior management positions at 20th Century Fox, Youth Policy Institute, Larchmont Schools, CWC Schools, Break the Cycle and Granada Hills Charter High School, and has used his financial and operational experience to support the growth, sustainability and profitable operations of these organizations. Mr. Straub has been involved in the development, launch and management of more than a dozen charter schools now serving more than 6,000 students, and programs that have served tens of thousands of low-income children and families. In addition to his professional responsibilities, he serves on the Board of YPI Charter Schools and has been a board member of Larchmont School, City Schools, Valley Charter, Citizens of the World, Para Los Ninos and AYSO Region 78.
Photo of white woman with curly reddish hair wearing a green shirt and smiling, with trees in the background. Photo is about 10 years old and I need to update it!

Catherine Teare SCG Member

Associate Director, People-Centered Care, California Health Care Foundation

Catherine Teare is associate director of CHCF’s People-Centered Care team, which works to ensure that Californians — particularly those enrolled in Medi-Cal — receive responsive, comprehensive, and coordinated care that supports their health and well-being. Her funding portfolio focuses on behavioral health care for people with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorder, and she also coordinates behavioral health work across the Foundation.
Catherine has worked at CHCF since 2011 and previously led the organization’s efforts on enrollment in public programs, with a particular focus on consumer experience. Before joining the foundation, she worked as a consultant for safety-net health care providers, foundations, and local government, providing research and policy analysis in the areas of health care financing and delivery, public and private health insurance programs for children, adolescent health, reproductive health, HIV, and youth development. She also worked as director of policy for Children Now and as a health policy analyst for the National Center for Youth Law.

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