|
Sabrina Forte Sabrina Forte was appointed by Governor Newsom as the Assistant Director of Equity and Inclusion at the California .jpg) Department of Social Services in spring of 2023. In this capacity, she advises and assists CDSS leadership in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies and practices that promote equity and inclusion within CDSS and the programs it administers, with a primary focus on child welfare and foster care programs. Previously, Sabrina worked in several nonprofit organizations advocating with and on behalf of children and youth experiencing poverty, homelessness, and system involvement. Most recently, she served as the Director of Policy and Impact Litigation at the Alliance for Children’s Rights, where she developed and shepherded state and local policy efforts to remove barriers to family reunification, promote kinship placements, and strengthen transition supports for youth withdisabilities. Sabrina lives in Los Angeles and has a Juris Doctorate and a Master of Education degree from Stanford University. Cailin O’Connor  Cailin O’Connor is a Senior Associate at the Center for the Study of Social Policy, where she works to promote better outcomes for young children and their families, with a focus on promoting the protective factors that children, families, and communities need to thrive. This includes coordinating the Strengthening Families National Network of 35 states using CSSP’s Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework, and supporting cities and counties in their efforts to better support early learning throughout their communities as part of Early Learning Nation. Cailin’s work has addressed a wide range of issues, including adverse childhood experiences, resilience, early childhood system building, family support, and child abuse and neglect prevention. She is a graduate of Macalester College, and holds a master’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies and a graduate certificate in Prevention and Intervention Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Richard Speiglman  Richard Speiglman studied sociology before completing a doctorate in criminology and post-doctoral studies in public health. As a health and human services researcher, he has applied his research skills to pursue projects addressing the situation of low-income individuals, families, and communities in California and nationally. Research topics have included housing, homelessness, cash assistance (TANF/CalWORKs, SSI), child welfare, immigration, HIV/AIDS, and drug treatment in lieu of prison or jail. He’s written policy briefs, project reports and monographs, and book chapters and published in a dozen journals. Richard's child-only CalWORKs research projects took place while he was Senior Research Analyst at the Child and Family Policy Institute of California. Most recently Richard helped form and currently chairs the Interfaith Coalition for Justice in our Jails, a group in Alameda County that focuses on limiting reliance on incarceration and – for those detained in jail – decreasing harmful jail conditions. 31 millis |