Mission Report 2024
VISION MISSION
A world where every student is healthy and successful.
Bridging health and education to achieve student wellness.
Many young people face barriers to accessing essential health services, impacting their academic performance and well-being. In underserved communities, these barriers are even greater. The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health helps young people succeed by increasing access to physical, oral, and behavioral health services in schools. We facilitate screenings, referrals, and student-led education on health issues. We provide technical assistance to schools and districts on peer-to-peer campaigns and the implementation and growth of the community schools model. Through our groundbreaking Data xChange, we collect and analyze data to help drive policy change. We bring educators, healthcare providers, students, and community agencies and leaders together to address urgent youth issues.
A Year of Transformation and Growth
MARYJANE PUFFER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ABRANDON BURRISS PRESIDENT
s we reflect on another transformative year at The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health, I am filled with immense gratitude for our dedicated staff, board, partners, and supporters who have made our progress possible. This year has been marked by significant achievements and inspiring growth, underscoring our commitment to enhancing the well-being of students across Los Angeles County.
We are thrilled to welcome several new team members whose expertise and passion will help us drive our mission forward. Their addition reflects our expanding vision and commitment to ensuring students have access to comprehensive health services.
This year, we have made great strides in our various initiatives. Our Student Engagement program has successfully implemented a new curriculum, gathering valuable data that highlights the positive impact on student participants. We celebrated our students’ dedication through numerous recognitions and partnerships, including impactful collaborations with UCLA and Kaiser Permanente. Our annual Youth-to-Youth (Y2Y) Health Summit reached new heights, empowering students to take charge of their health with unprecedented participation and student-led activities.
Our Oral Health initiative has seen remarkable progress, with a significant increase in kindergarten students receiving screenings due to the new opt-out consent model. This shift has enabled us to serve children more effectively, ensuring better oral health outcomes.
In Policy & Advocacy, we and our partners have been at the forefront of championing youth mental health and policy change. Partnering with California Children's Trust, we released the Peer Power workforce brief and engaged in legislative advocacy to
restore crucial funding for youth mental health services. Our efforts have reinforced the importance of early intervention and comprehensive health education.
Mental Health remains a critical focus, and this year we trained 300 L.A. Unified teachers and community partners through our Youth Mental Health First Aid grant. We are excited about our new initiatives under the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) grant, which will further integrate mental health support across our programs.
The launch of our Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Technical Assistance Program, in collaboration with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), marks a significant milestone. This program will equip teachers and students with essential skills to promote wellness and leadership within their communities.
Our Data xChange platform continues to be a cornerstone of our efforts, providing actionable insights to improve student health and academic outcomes. The release of our latest Data xChange Impact Report and our presentations at key conferences have showcased the transformative potential of our data-driven approach. As we look ahead, we are excited about the future and the continued growth of our programs. Together, we will build a brighter, healthier future for all students in Los Angeles.
Thank you for your unwavering support.
With gratitude,
Maryjane Puffer
Executive Director
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Maryjane Puffer
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President
Brandon K. Burriss
Vice-President
Toyomi Igus
Secretary
Patrice Marshall McKenzie
Treasurer
Keith Pew
Brandon Burriss President
Leadership
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Rebecca Dudovitz, MD
John M. Edelston
Evelyn González-Figueroa, PhD, MPH
Sylvia Hurtado
Julie Park, MD
Michael Shannon
Ron Tanimura
DIRECTORS EMERITUS
Helen DuPlessis, MD, MPH
Rick Ellingsen, JD
Rene Gonzalez
Jan Kern, MA
Joel Polachek
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Empowering Youth Voices and Leadership
This past year marked the pilot implementation of a new curriculum, and we have seen remarkable progress. The curriculum was enhanced to include content particularly in the areas of advocacy, systems navigation, and outreach, establishing the program as a pre-career pathway for the SB-803 Peer Support Specialist role. We gathered pre- and post-Student Advisory Board (SAB) survey data from all students, which showed an improvement around knowledge of campus services, health advocacy, and attitudes around mental health. To highlight student excellence, each student was recognized by their respective School Board Member and received a certificate for their contributions.
We also continued community partnerships, such as with UCLA Psychiatry, which has been conducting monthly webinars on topics including school mental health, eating disorders, and trauma-informed care. This year, more students delivered presentations at tabling events on various healthcare topics than in any previous year, highlighting their elevated engagement and dedication. Additionally, 83 SAB members received training in the suicide prevention curriculum Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) method to identify and refer peers to services around mental health.
In collaboration with Kaiser Permanente and LAUSD, The L.A. Trust launched a media campaign aimed at raising
awareness about the importance of the Medi-Cal renewal process. SAB members from Mendez High School played a key role in crafting the materials, creating social media posts, flyers, a public service announcement, and a comprehensive toolkit. By empowering these students, the campaign gained an authentic voice, aiming for greater reach and impact.
In April 2024, The L.A. Trust hosted its annual Youth-to-Youth (Y2Y) Health Summit, aimed at empowering students to prioritize their health. This event offered a platform for students to showcase their work, connect with peers, and address holistic aspects of well-being. The summit saw unprecedented participation, becoming the largest event in its history with 122 students attending.
Early in the year, Mendez High School SAB members participated as panelists at the LAUSD Health Collaborative held at the California Endowment. They discussed barriers to access school-based healthcare, highlighted prevalent health concerns in their communities, and provided valuable feedback on making healthcare more accessible to youth. Their contributions underscored the importance of early access to healthcare services through schools and emphasized the need for better education on comprehensive dental health coverage enrollment.
ORAL HEALTH
Expanding Oral Health Access through Opt-Out Consent
At the start of the 2023/24 school year, The L.A. Trust saw a significant increase in kindergarten oral health screenings, reaching 3,276 students. In the first half of the school year,
we served 410 students through the Kindergarten Oral Health Assessment Opt-In program. In the second semester of 2024, we shifted to the Opt-Out consent model, which automatically includes students unless parents choose to opt out. This change streamlined the process by eliminating the need for individual parental signatures and significantly expanded our reach to 2,866 students. The rise in screenings is attributed to this more inclusive approach.
MENTAL HEALTH
Advancing Mental Health Initiatives
This year, we continued our Youth Mental Health First Aid grant provided by Dignity Health, training approximately 300 L.A. Unified teachers and community partners. This training enhances their ability to support students facing mental health challenges.
We have continued to establish youth mental health as a foundational component of our student engagement work, which contributed to us becoming a grantee for the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) grant in March. This initiative advances a mental health component not only within LAUSD but also in the broader community. This school year, we focused on planning, understanding our community resources, and asset mapping to leverage these resources effectively.
POLICY & ADVOCACY
Championing Youth Mental Health and Policy Change
This year, The L.A. Trust partnered with California Children‘s Trust to release a brief titled Peer Power, highlighting an innovative way to expand school-based peer support programs. The brief encourages schools to develop programs in partnership with career education, expanded learning, and workforce development staff and partners. This approach utilizes sustainable funding to address immediate student needs while helping build a more empathetic workforce. We hosted a successful webinar demonstrating how investing in peer support can improve mental health services while fostering economic opportunities and diversity in the healthcare sector.
We also developed a Policy Platform outlining our vision, values, and strategic priorities for school health. Our platform focuses on increasing student access to health services, elevating youth leadership, and integrating health and education. These objectives drive The L.A. Trust’s mission and contribute to the broader school health movement.
In response to Governor Newsom’s proposed $30 billion cuts to youth mental health and core services, we joined a coalition of 28 organizations advocating for the restoration of funding. We conducted five legislative visits, called, and emailed representatives, and emphasized
that investment in prevention saves lives. Our collective advocacy efforts resulted in full restoration of funding for the Public Education and Change Campaign grant—a testament to the power of collective impact.
Additionally, we initiated staff learning sessions to enhance both hard and soft advocacy skills. These sessions, inspired by a policy survey of staff interests, aim to better equip our team to navigate the environment impacting student health.
Our School-Based Health Policy Roundtable, which includes diverse stakeholders such as healthcare providers, school districts, youth leaders, and advocacy organizations, has also expanded to include a new cohort of Youth Advisors. These new members will join Roundtable participants in developing case studies that demonstrate effective, replicable strategies for workforce development and school health financing.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Empowering Students Through Peer-to-Peer Mentoring
The L.A. Trust has been awarded a contract by L.A. Unified to expand its successful Student Advisory Board model into a new Peer-toPeer Mentoring Program. This initiative aims to equip teachers with training across 11 curriculum modules, enabling them to serve as Adult Allies to Peer-to-Peer Clubs after school. The program will initially span three years, with the potential for a two-year extension.
Adult Allies will support students in their journey toward healthy and successful lives, helping them apply wellness strategies in their interactions with peers and family members. Peer-to-Peer Club members will emerge as health advocates, refining their leadership abilities by mentoring and educating their peers on topics such as mental health, substance use, wellness and resiliency, and crisis reduction.
COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
Strengthening Community Schools and Expanding Wellness Services
The L.A. Trust, in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) and the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools, launched the Regional Technical Assistance Center (R-TAC) under a California Department of Education grant to support the implementation and growth of the community school model across Los Angeles County. R-TAC focuses on empowering community school grantees throughout the greater LA area. Our mission is to tackle inequities and disrupt the cycle of poverty by transforming schools into community hubs that connect students and families with essential resources.
This year, The L.A. Trust and LACOE hosted the Wellness Center Bus Tour Experience, providing grantees
of the California Department of Education Community Schools grant with a comprehensive view of three innovative school-based health models. The initiative aimed to inspire educators to adopt these successful practices at their own schools. Additionally, the tour sought to strengthen county-wide support for community schools, aligning with our policy goals to enhance and expand school-based health services across the region.
We also had the opportunity to present at the California Community Schools EMPOWER Summit, where we highlighted our work on student engagement, including our peer-topeer initiatives, Data xChange, and the Substance Use SBIRT project.
DATA xCHANGE
Enhancing Student Well-Being Through Data
The L.A. Trust ’ s Data xChange platform integrates student health and academic data, transforming schools into centers of wellbeing. This year, we continued to deliver our Data Report Cards, providing administrators, parents, and students with crucial information to make informed decisions. Our goal remains to distribute this data widely and raise awareness of available services through a datadriven approach.
The L.A. Trust released a new Data xChange Impact Report in June 2024, highlighting the positive effects of wellness centers and school-based health centers on students, families, and community members in L.A. Unified‘s high-need areas. The report underscores the connection between chronic absenteeism and health issues such as obesity and mental health disorders.
Additionally, this year we presented our data at the Southern California Grant Makers and the California Community Schools EMPOWER Summit. We also published an article in the Journal of Adolescent Health, demonstrating that students who visit school-based health centers show significantly improved attendance over time, with even more substantial improvements seen in students diagnosed with mental health conditions.
SUBSTANCE USE
Reintroducing the SBIRT Project
This year, we reintroduced the SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) project to better understand the needs and enhance our support for campuses. We conducted environmental scans at five schools: Crenshaw High School, Washington Preparatory High School, Fremont High School, Jefferson High School, and soon, Jordan High School.
These scans aimed to assess available substance use prevention services and the collaboration between schools and wellness centers to increase the visibility and effectiveness of screenings. The findings revealed a significant lack of service providers, low parent involvement, and student reluctance to engage in educational efforts to prevent substance use and accidental overdoses. Additionally, many parents are also substance users, complicating efforts to support students. These insights are essential as we enhance the SBIRT project and ensure comprehensive support for students.
SEXUAL & REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Promoting sexual health awareness
During the 2023-2024 school year, The L.A. Trust and our SABs partnered with FCancer to raise awareness about HPV and the vaccine to prevent it. SAB members organized social media campaigns and table events to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STI) and support student health. Student-led tabling campaigns promoted Wellness Centers and services like STI testing, birth control, and education on consent, healthy relationships, and confidentiality.
COVID-19 & WELL-BEING TASK FORCE
The evolution of data knowledge
This school year, the Task Force adopted a new name and entered its fourth and final year, continuing its focus on data analysis.
The L.A. Trust trained 11 students in data interpretation through multiple interactive sessions, where participants analyzed, discussed, and interpreted data in a collaborative environment. This year, the students were particularly enthusiastic about learning all the information offered, making it a memorable and impactful conclusion to the Covid-19 & Well-Being Task Force‘s efforts.
WELLNESS CENTERS
Expanding Wellness and Reconnecting In-Person
The L.A. Trust works closely with a diverse group of partners and funders to expand the number of Wellness Centers on L.A. Unified campuses. This year, we celebrated the reopening of Locke High School‘s dental office in the wellness center, which had been closed since 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
We were thrilled to host the Wellness Network Learning Collaborative conference in person at LAUSD Headquarters in June 2024. The event gathered administrators, clinicians, and student health advocates to exchange best practices, foster collaboration, and promote collective growth to enhance student health across L.A. Unified.
Belmont High School
Carson High School
Crenshaw High School
Elizabeth Learning Center
Fremont High School
Gage Middle School
Garfield High School
Hollywood High School
Hyde Park Elementary
Jefferson High School
Jordan High School
Locke Early Education Center
MaCES
Maclay Middle School
Manual Arts High School
Mendez High School
James Monroe High School
Santee Education Complex
Washington Prep High School
EVENTS
& PARTNERSHIPS
Honoring Leadership and Advancing Health Awareness
In September 2023, The L.A. Trust continued its tradition of honoring exceptional individuals at the Salute to Student Health gala. This year, we celebrated the leadership and dedication of Patricia Anton and Reggie Jones Sawyer, with over 200 attendees coming together at Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles to recognize their contributions to student and community health.
In February 2024, in alignment with National Children‘s Dental Health Month, The L.A. Trust once again hosted the Brush It Up! campaign. This annual initiative aimed to raise awareness about the importance of dental hygiene and fund high-quality oral health care and education. The online campaign, featuring engaging videos of students, teachers, and administrators, successfully continued our tradition of promoting fun and effective dental care practices. We look forward to enhancing next year‘s campaign.
FUNDERS
The work that we do would not be possible without the support of our funders. Your commitment to student health, your friendship and your generosity inspire everything that we do. Thank you to all our partners for helping make this an incredible year. We look forward to working with you throughout 2024 and beyond.
Ballmer Group
California Community Foundation
California Department of Education
California Department of Public Health
California Health Care Foundation
California Mental Health Services
Authority
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Children‘s Hospital Los Angeles
Dignity Health - California Hospital Medical Center
Dignity Health - Northridge Hospital Medical Center
FCancer
FundaMental Change
Good Hope Medical Foundation
GPSN
Health Net
Kaiser Permanente
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Los Angeles Department of Mental Health
Los Angeles Department of Public Health
Los Angeles Unified School District
Max Factor Family Foundation
National Institutes of Health
Pritzker Foster Care Initiative
Ruth & Allen Ziegler Foundation
Satterberg Foundation
Smile America Partners, Big Smiles
The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation
The Carol and James Collins Foundation
The Green Foundation
The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
U.S. Venture Schmidt Family Foundation
UniHealth Foundation
W. M. Keck Foundation
Weingart Foundation
William M. Keck, Jr. Foundation
STAFF
Maryjane Puffer
Executive Director
Mary Abouakl
Program Manager
Noah Banfield
Program Associate
Anna Baum
Director Of Development & Communications
Ariana Carter
Administrative Assistant
Jasmine Cisneros
Program Associate
Karla Debray
Program Assistant
Julie Edens
Fundraising & Events
Erika Hernandez
Associate Director of Training
Nekhoe Hogan
Advocacy Manager
Mariam Jimenez
Communications Manager
Taylour Johnson
Program Coordinator
Hailey Jures
Grants & Development
Lizette Patron
Community Schools Program Director
Nancy Ripoly
Oral Health Program Manager
Noe Rivera
Associate Director of Programs
Sabrina Rodrigues
Community Schools Program Manager
Patricia Salmeron
Senior Program Manager
Kelly Shieh
Associate Director of Administration
Jimmy Sianipar
Communications Coordinator
Anell Tercero
Data & Research Assistant
Gabrielle Tilley
Associate Director of Policy & Partnerships
Suleyma Villa
Program Associate
Esther Yepez
Program Manager
Jason Yu
Director Of Finance
Alex Zepeda
Senior Research & Data Analyst
FINANCIALS
The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health relies entirely on grants and individual donations for support, and we thank everyone who supported our work.
2023
2022
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Short-term cash investments
Grants receivable
Other current assets
Total Current Assets
Property and Equipment, net
Total Assets
Current Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
Total Current Liabilities
Net Assets
Without donor restrictions
With donor restrictions
Total Net Assets
Total Liabilities and Net Assets
Revenues and Support
Contributions (including in-kind contributions of $424,076)
Interest and other income
Special events
Net assets released from restrictions Total Revenues and Support
Expenses
Program services Support services Fundraising Total Expenses
Change in net assets
Net Assets at the Beginning of the Year Net Assets at the End of the Year
2023
Without Donor Restrictions $1,651,706 8,508
1,358,200 3,259,116 3,070,865
3,712,502 (453,386) 483,618 $30,232 With Donor Restrictions $1,024,834(1,358,200) (333,366)
(333,366) 1,118,507 $785,141 Total $ 2,676,540 8,508 240,7022,925,750 3,070,865 310,167 331,470 3,712,502 (786,752) 1,602,125 $815,373
