Highlights From Our First In-Person Home Visiting Day Event in L.A. County

On April 25, 2025, LA Best Babies Network and the L.A. County Perinatal and Early Childhood Home Visitation Consortium hosted our very first in-person Home Visiting Day event. It brought together nearly 100 attendees at the California Endowment in downtown Los Angeles to celebrate the power of home visiting services across the county.

This year’s theme was Supporting Parents, Nurturing Bonds: The Core of Home Visiting, and we heard from a variety of leaders and partners in our network — all of whom made it clear why these free services are especially important now.

Anna Ghukasyan, Consortium Coordinator and LABBN’s Senior Policy Research Associate, kicked things off by introducing our opening speakers: Laura Kainsinger, Program Officer at First 5 LA, Ashley Skiffer-Thompson, Director of Home Visiting Systems at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and Anthony Cespedes, Senior Advisor for Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis — who surprised us with a special scroll from the Supervisor’s office. (See video below.)

Dr. Barbara Stroud lit up the room with her keynote, “You Are the Soul of the Work” — a powerful reminder of the heart and purpose of home visiting.

Our panel shared moving stories and deep insights. It featured: Catherine Chavez, an amazing Parent Educator from The Whole Child, and her courageous and inspiring client Dani Lopez; Leticia Casillas Sanchez, the Early Childhood Director at Children Now and a strong advocate for home visiting services; and Edith Avalos, a leading Welcome Baby Outreach Specialist from Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. (See video below.)

We also had resource tables from PHFE WIC, the Birth to Five program at L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services, and the County’s AAIMM Initiative — all bringing helpful information and resources directly to attendees.

The co-leads of the Consortium’s Advocacy Workgroup — LABBN Public Health Research Associate Kathryn Ewing and Children’s Partnership Advocacy Director Eva Rivera — closed out the event with a call for each of us to push for more support for home visiting at all levels. (See video below.)

We’re so grateful to everyone who made the day a success!

Check out pictures, videos, and resources from the event:

Opening remarks:

Panel session:

Closing remarks: