The Power of Presence: Caring for Families, Caring for Ourselves, Strengthening Our Communities: The 2026 Family Strengthening Network Summit

The Family Strengthening Network’s annual Summit was held virtually on June 9, 2026 (scroll down for photos and video recordings). This year’s theme, “The Power of Presence: Caring for Families, Caring for Ourselves, Strengthening Our Communities,” highlighted the importance of showing up fully for families by first caring for ourselves and each other.

Funded by First 5 LA, the event brought together staff at the nine Welcome Baby hospital programs, along with the more than two dozen agencies affiliated with Healthy Families America and Parents as Teachers home visiting programs across L.A. County.

LA Best Babies Network hosted the event, in partnership with First 5 LA, Work2Live Productions, California Hospital Medical Center, and L.A. County’s Department of Public Health and Department of Public Social Services.

Patrick Flippin-Weston, Senior Training Coordinator at LABBN and our Summit’s emcee, opened the event with a message highlighting the power of presence in home visiting. He spoke about the privilege of walking hand in hand with families and communities, supporting them through both joyful milestones and difficult moments, and the meaningful connections that make this work so impactful.

We then heard remarks from Karla Pleitéz Howell, Executive Director of First 5 LA; Joselyn Gaitan, Program Manager of Home Visiting at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health; and Sharlene Gozalians, Director of LABBN.

The theme came to life throughout the day with video entries from staff featured in our Self-Care Series, showcasing the ways they practice self-care in their daily lives. These videos served as a reminder that caring for ourselves is not separate from caring for families, it is an essential part of sustaining the work and strengthening our communities.

LABBN’s Data team, Delisa Culver, Monica Charles, and Helen Chan, delivered an impressive presentation on “Presence, Caring, and Strength by the Numbers,” highlighting key successes from the current fiscal year. Their presentation featured enrollment numbers, outreach efforts, completed visits, program impact data, and more.

Kali Thorne Ladd, Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Institute, delivered the Summit’s keynote address, “The Transformative Power of Love.” A nationally recognized advocate for educational equity and early childhood development, Kali previously co-founded and served as executive director of KairosPDX, an organization dedicated to lifting up historically underserved children. Throughout her career, she has held numerous leadership roles focused on advancing equity and improving outcomes for children and families.

Juan Hernandez, Administrative Coordinator at Maternal and Child Health Access, provided a refreshing musical interlude during the Summit. An accomplished concert guitarist, Juan performs music spanning from the Renaissance era to contemporary works. In addition to teaching guitar performance, he has served as a professor of Music Philosophy and Medieval Music History. As a member of the Orange County Guitar Orchestra, he contributed to the release of the albums Toccata and Maestro. His performance offered attendees a welcome opportunity to pause, recharge, and enjoy a moment of artistry and reflection during the day’s program.

The Summit then moved into the parent engagement presentation, “From Babies to Big Kids: Families Reflect on Their Home Visiting Journey.” The session featured a special family who first joined us during our 2020 Summit. Dustin, Jillianne, and their daughter, Zoe, participated in the Welcome Baby program offered by Valley Presbyterian Hospital and El Nido Family Centers. Now almost 7 years old, Zoe shared her perspective alongside her father, who reflected on his family’s experience with Welcome Baby. As a special treat, Dustin and Zoe performed an original song, making the session even more memorable.

The panel also featured Lorena Gutierrez, a home visitor with Pacific Asian Counseling Services (PACS), who previously served families with the Parents as Teachers program at Child Care Resource Center in the San Fernando Valley. Lorena’s former client Luz was featured in the 2019 Summit parent panel. Lorena shared updates on how Luz and her family are doing today, highlighting the long-term relationships and lasting impact of home visiting programs.

Anna Ghukasyan, Senior Policy Research Associate at LABBN, shared achievements from the L.A. County Home Visiting Consortium workgroups and highlights from Home Visiting Day 2026, which was held on April 17 this year. Her presentation, titled “LA County Wins: How the Home Visiting Consortium Is Empowering Staff to Support Families,” showcased collaborative efforts across the county to strengthen the home visiting workforce and enhance support for families.

Summit attendees were also treated to a powerful spoken word performance by Alyesha Wise, Director of Programming for Street Poets, Inc., an organization that serves justice-impacted youth through mentorship and arts programming. An award-winning poet, educator, and speaker, Alyesha brought a moving and inspiring perspective to the Summit. A recipient of a 2025 Los Angeles Preservation Award, she has been featured on platforms and in publications including OWN TV, BET, the Los Angeles Times, Bustle, Afropunk, PBS, and BuzzFeed, among many others.

The Summit concluded with closing remarks from Kathryn Ewing, Senior Public Health Research Associate at LABBN. In her closing message, Kathryn reflected on the day’s discussions and the shared commitment to strengthening families and communities through home visiting.

Staff members also took the opportunity to recognize each other. See the shout-outs they gave to highlight their coworkers’ dedication, hard work, and compassion. Check out the agenda and speaker bios, Data presentation slides, and Policy and Consortium presentation slides.

Browse Summit photos and watch recordings below.

Part 1: Opening remarks from: Patrick Flippin-Weston, Senior Training Coordinator at LABBN; Karla Pleitéz Howell, Executive Director of First 5 LA; Joselyn Gaitan, Program Manager of Home Visiting at the L.A. County Department of Public Health; LABBN Director Sharlene Gozalians; Melissa Sims, Program Director for Work2Live Productions (who introduces the Self-Care video series).

Part 2: LABBN’s data presentation, “Presence, Caring, and Strength by the Numbers,” Self-Care videos 2 and 3.

Part 3: Powerful speech from keynote speaker Kali Thorne Ladd, Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Institute.

Part 4: Self-Care videos 4 and 5; Juan Hernandez, Administrative Coordinator at Maternal and Child Health Access (who provides musical interlude); Self-Care videos 6 and 7; parent engagement presentation, “From Babies to Big Kids: Families Reflect on Their Home Visiting Journey” (with original song performed by Dustin Arth and his daughter Zoe).

Part 5: Self-Care videos 8 and 9; LABBN Senior Policy Research Associate Anna Ghukasyan shares achievements from the L.A. County Home Visiting Consortium workgroups and highlights from Home Visiting Day 2026; spoken word performance by Alyesha Wise, Director of Programming for Street Poets, Inc.; final Self-Care video and voting; closing remarks from LABBN Senior Public Health Research Associate Kathryn Ewing.

Additional self-care video submitted by the Welcome Baby team at MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach.

Additional self-care video submitted by Maureen Ferrell, Welcome Baby Parent Coach Supervisor at Antelope Valley Partners for Health.

This project is funded in part by L.A. Care Health Plan and will benefit low-income and uninsured residents of Los Angeles County.