CSC was born out of Broward’s commitment to reducing the number of young people arrested and the number of children removed from their families. Strategies to reduce these experiences are best crafted with the knowledge and expertise of both the professionals who run systems and the youth and parents who have experienced them.
The Broward Data Collaborative (BDC) originated from a need to use data and research from multiple child service institutions to work together to improve lives and systems in Broward. Partners of this initiative include the Broward County Public Schools, ChildNet, CSC, Early Learning Coalition, and others.
With the BDC members, CSC created an approach to bring together professionals and youth/families to research what is not working and what could work in child welfare, juvenile justice, and behavioral health systems called Community Participatory Action Research (CPAR) to improve experiences and outcomes.
2023/2024
A stirring interactive art exhibit called Echoes of Empathy was born from CPAR research based on the first-hand experiences of Broward youth and parents who lived through being Baker Acted – an involuntary admission for mental health illness. The exhibit also included research informed by system professionals as co-researchers. The research and art exhibit were funded by the University of Pennsylvania’s Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP). CSC partnered with a local cultural artist, Niki Lopez, founder of What’s Your Elephant, LLC. for a month-long exhibit that engaged hundreds of community members at the Hollywood Arts Park Gallery and online (https://whatsyourelephant.org/echoesofempathy/) .
Youth, parents, and families who participated in the exhibit shared how the experience increased their awareness of how common mental illness is, helped them feel less alone and isolated, and educated them on opportunities for improving the outcomes of individuals experiencing mental health crises. The partnership with What’s Your Elephant demonstrated the value of the arts in communicating research to a wider audience, providing healing spaces/experiences for youth, families and communities, and enhancing opportunities for policy and system change.
2019
CSC was funded by the Florida Institute for Child Welfare to improve child and family outcomes in the child welfare system. The CPAR project included youth transitioning out of the child welfare system, parents who had been through the system, and professionals The research (1) Generated a video to encourage parents to ask for assistance before involving child protection services. (2) Built the capacity of youth and parents to serve on Advisory Boards and provide training to system partners. (3) Co-designed a Youth System Organizing structure. (4) Secured CSC funding for piloting youth/community organizing in the Broward child welfare system.
Below are links to the parent resource video, the experience of youth, parent and professional CPAR co-researchers, and other artifacts from the research.
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2019 CPAR Parent Video
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2019 CPAR Video with Co-Researchers
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2020 CPAR Presentation with Florida Institute for Child Welfare
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Florida Institute for Child Welfare Podcast with Dr. Seantee Campbell and Tiffany Csonka
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Article by Tiffany Csonka: Amplifying Parent Voices in the Child Welfare System is Essential to Family Well-Being
2018
CSC’s inaugural CPAR project with youth and system professionals in the Broward Juvenile Justice, Child Welfare, and Behavioral Health Systems, along with researchers from Nova Southeastern University, aimed to improve these systems. It produced (1) the Law Line Number for parents to ask questions about court dates. (2) An educational video and brochure for youth and caregivers (Second Chance Video and Brochure). (3) A bookmark created by the youth for group home staff. (4) A recommendation to include youth in interviewing and training staff.