Grantee Portfolio

Children's Institute, Inc.

The Children's Institute Inc (CII) is a multiservice organization serving children, youth and families involved in the foster care and juvenile justice systems in two low-income neighborhoods in Los Angeles, CA: Central Los Angeles and Watts. Its services are grouped into four domains: clinical (intensive family-based services and mental health services), family support (parent education), enrichment (arts and recreation), and early education (Early Head Start). Across all four domains, CII treats trauma experienced by economically disadvantaged young people and tries to address an entire family’s needs (not just the youth’s) by providing wraparound evidence-based practices so a young person and his/her family receive all the treatment and services they need.

Evaluation Status: High Apparent

CII implements evidence-based practices such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Functional Family Therapy and Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care whose outcomes include reduced gang involvement, academic improvement, improved school attendance, and family reunification and preservation. Adherence to these practices is currently assessed by program supervisors rather than by third-party evaluators, and based on internally reported outcomes such as school attendance, grade promotion and risk avoidance. CII is considering several options for rigorous evaluation and expected to reach demonstrated effectiveness by 2014.

EMCF Investment

EMCF has approved a three-year investment in CII, with a first-year award of $2 million, to support implementation of its plans to significantly increase the number of youth ages 9-24 it serves and evaluate its evidence-based programs. Awards in years two and three, which are contingent on grantee performance and renewal of federal SIF funding, will provide up to $3 million, for an overall investment of $5 million over three years.

For information on what this grant will support, see Details of 2012-2014 Investment.

For more information on the Children's Institute, Inc., see www.childrensinstitute.org.

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In the Spotlight

Nine Organizations Selected to Receive Social Innovation Fund Awards

The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation is investing up to $42 million over three years in nine organizations whose evidence-based programs promise to transform the life trajectories of thousands of low-income youth. In support of these grantees, the Foundation is establishing the True North Fund to leverage public money from the SIF and private money from the EMCF and institutional and individual philanthropic partners to effectively capitalize and expand programs that can serve more vulnerable young people.

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