Our Background and Strategic Plan

Officially launched in 2012, the LA County Perinatal and Early Childhood Home Visitation Consortium (the “Consortium”) evolved out of a Perinatal Home Visitation Advisory Committee that had been convened in 2010 by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Programs to provide direction for the LA County home visitation and early childhood agencies as they pursued application for federal funding that had been made available as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Through the ACA, the federal government created the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visitation (MIECHV) grant program to invest $1.5 billion in quality home visiting programs, and has extended this investment twice since 2010.

Participating agencies in the Advisory Committee recognized the value of and need for a body that could give voice to important issues, advocate on behalf of collective concerns, and work together to develop needed cross-county data tracking mechanisms and peer resources in support of high quality services.  With the sponsorship of First 5 LA and the co-leadership of DPH and Los Angeles Best Babies Network, the Consortium was born.

In 2014, the Consortium commenced a full strategic planning process in order to solidify members’ common vision and create measurable, actionable goals to focus its work in the coming years. The eight-month process resulted in the development of a Consortium Charter and five-year Strategic Plan, detailing a cohesive Mission, Vision, Goals, Objectives, and Metrics:

Mission: The Los Angeles County Perinatal and Childhood Home Visitation Consortium convenes and coordinates organizations to strengthen collective capacity around advancing racial equity, centering family voice, sustaining quality practices, influencing policy, and growing funding, so that all expectant and parenting individuals have access to support, and LA’s children are healthy, safe, and ready to learn.

Our membership’s vision is that LA County children will be healthy, safe and thriving, their families will be supported, connected, resilient, and self-sufficient, that our communities will be strengthened for generations to come, and that our workforce will be supported, sustainable, trained and collaborative.

Bearing this Mission and Vision in mind, the Consortium developed five-year Strategic Goals:

  1. Racial Equity: Build and nurture a culture and practices among membership that’s grounded in the Consortium’s racial equity values and approach

  2. Family Voice: Develop and grow model for engaging families with experience of home visiting

  3. Consortium Effectiveness: Self- govern effectively, impactfully, and sustainably

  4. Strengthen Organizations & Home Visiting Workforce: Provide vision, technical assistance, and other resources that enhance the quality, sustainability, and wellbeing of system orgs and home visitors

  5. Strengthen Home Visiting System: Advance advocacy and collaboration within the system and related systems in support of the shared vision

  6. System Growth: Increase access to home visiting for families with children prenatal through age 5, especially those with the highest need

  7. System Sustainability: Build long term and sustainable funding model for home visiting in LA County that allows for program consistency & growth

The first step of the Consortium’s 2022 – 2026 strategic planning process was a racial equity audit, which involved a materials review, focus groups, and a Consortium-wide survey. Following the racial equity audit, Consortium members participated in a reflection session and were offered opportunities to participate in smaller racial equity grounding sessions. The strategic plan was guided by a Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, made up of Consortium Workgroup co-leads and other members. This group met monthly throughout the strategic planning process to provide input and feedback. The 2022-2026 Strategic Plan was formally adopted by Consortium membership on April 19, 2022.

View the full Strategic Plan and Charter, which details the Consortium’s organization, governance, expectations of members, and the 6 topical Workgroups created to meet the five-year Strategic Goals. Also, see the Strategic Plan Infographic and Implementation Infographic.

For a brief introduction to the Consortium’s history, structure and Workgroups, see our Consortium Workgroup Infographic and Consortium Timeline Infographic.