The 2020 Breaking Barriers Interagency Symposium took take place exclusively online over four consecutive Thursday mornings. Each of these Thursday sessions focused on one of the four pillars: Shared Leadership, Shared Data, Shared Community, and Shared Finance.

Below are the presentation/resource materials provided for select sessions. Watch all the sessions on the Breaking Barriers YouTube channel.

DAY ONE: Shared Leadership

  • Welcome
    Elizabeth Estes, Breaking Barriers California, Founder
    Giannina Perez, Office of the Governor, Sr Policy Advisor for Early Childhood

  • Building Equity for All - From I to WE
    Carla Bryant, Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation, District Innovation and Leadership Initiative for Early Education; former Chief of Early Childhood Education, SFUSD

  • Race, Equity, Trauma, and the Whole Child/Whole Community Imperative
    Ken Epstein, former Director of the Children Youth and Family System of Care, San Francisco Behavioral Health Services

  • Stories from the Field—Interagency Leadership for Whole Child Whole Community Care
    Elena Cabrera (moderator), Folsom Cordova Unified School District, Categorical Programs and Grants
    Tracy Lacey, Solano County Health & Social Services, Senior Mental Health Services Manager and Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Coordinator
    Nicola Parr, Solano County Office of Education, Senior Director of Student and Program Support
    David Swanson Hollinger, County of Ventura, Human Services Agency, Senior Program Manager, Children and Family Services

  • Deep Dive - Current California Child Welfare Efforts to Further Whole Child Whole Community
    Ken Berrick, Seneca Family of Agencies, Founder and CEO
    Diana Boyer, County Welfare Directors Association of California, Director of Policy for Child Welfare and Older Adult Services
    Karen Larsen, Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency, Director
    Molly Kholos, County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, Policy Analyst

  • Real Stories State and Local Implementation and Success
    Kimberly Salomonson, WestEd, Senior Program Associate, Special Education Policy and Practice
    Hayley Field

DAY TWO: Shared Data

  • Importance of Whole Child Care and One Interconnected System of Supports
    Maureen Burness, SELPAs in Northern California, Former Assistant Superintendent
    Heather Hough, Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), Executive Director

  • Linking Multi-Disciplinary Assessment Information Toward Whole Child Service Coordination & Care
    Kate Cordell, Mental Health Data Alliance, Managing Director

  • Neurobiology - The Critical Importance of Understanding the Whole Child
    Marilu Gorno Tempini, M.D., Ph.D., UCSF Language Neurobiology Laboratory, Director; UCSF Dyslexia Center, Co-Director and Co-Founder

  • Deep Dive Session - Whole Child Assessment and Neurobiology
    Marilu Gorno Tempini, M.D., Ph.D., UCSF Language Neurobiology Laboratory, Director; UCSF Dyslexia Center, Co-Director and Co-Founder
    Kate Mulligan, Chartwell School, Head of School
    Jodi Amaditz, Chartwell School, Director of Lower and Middle School Programs, Co-Director Teacher Training Program
    Billy Swift, Chartwell School, Director of Student Support

  • Cradle to Career Longitudinal Data Effort in California
    Kathy Booth, WestEd, Project Director, Educational Data and Policy
    LeAnn Fong-Batkin, WestEd, Senior Project Manager - California Data System

Day Three: Shared Community

  • Welcome to Shared Community Day
    Steve Hornberger, SDSU Social Policy Institute, Director

  • Strategies for Building and Leading Impactful Collaboratives
    Jeremy Cantor, JSI, Senior Consultant/Project Director
    Erin Shigekawa, JSI, Consultant

  • Stories from the Field - Parents and Community in Action
    Mildred Browne (moderator), Ascendancy Solutions; former SELPA Director, Mt. Diablo Unified School District; California Special Education Task Force Member; State Special Education Advisory Commissioner
    Mayra Alvarez, The Children’s Partnership, President
    Lori Litel, United Parents, Executive Director
    Tanya McCullom, Alameda County Behavioral Health Care, Office of Family Empowerment, Program Specialist
    Jevon Wilkes, California Coalition for Youth, Executive Director

  • Stories from the Field - Youth in Action
    Jevon Wilkes (moderator), California Coalition for Youth, Executive Director
    Levi Deatherage
    Mitchell Dumpson
    Kylene Hashimoto
    Eboni Stallworth

  • Deep Dive Session - Life Learning Academy on a Whole Child Whole Community School
    Teri Delane, Life Learning Academy, Executive Director
    Jamal Fields, Life Learning Academy, Chief Academic Officer
    Craig Miller, Life Learning Academy, Chief Operating Officer

  • Closing - Realizing Equity Through Shared Community
    Will Lightbourne, California Department of Health Care Services, Director

Day Four: Shared Finance

  • Welcome to Shared Finance Day
    Toby Ewing, Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC), Executive Director

  • Toward More Effective and Efficient Services - Cal AIM and Its Impact on the Child and Family
    Jim Kooler, California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), Assistant Deputy Director, Behavioral Health Greg Rose, California Department of Social Services (DSS), Deputy Director, Children & Family Services Division

  • SB75 and Its Impact on MediCal Access
    Jason Willis (moderator), WestEd, Director of Strategy & Performance, Comprehensive School Assistance Program
    Debbie Look, California State Assembly, Committee on Education, Principal Consultant
    Jillian Mongetta, California Department of Health Care Services, Chief, Local Governmental Financing Division
    Stacey Wedin, California Department of Education, Special Education Division, Education Administrator for Statewide Policy and Implementation

  • Listening to Those We Serve Options Toward Transformation
    Dana Blackwell, Casey Family Programs, Senior Director
    Roger De Leon
    Bob Ruble
    Katarina Kabick

  • Deep Dive Session - Practical Guide for Financing Social, Emotional, & Mental Health in Schools
    Alex Briscoe, California Children’s Trust, Principal

  • Closing - Next Steps for 2021 and Beyond
    Dr. Richard Pan, California State Senator (CA-6)
    Maureen Burness, SELPAs in Northern California, Former Assistant Superintendent

Pre-Symposium Webinars

With the support and partnership of the MHSOAC, we presented two 60-minute webinars to concretely inform and expand the learning around school/community mental health.

  • Toward Whole Child, Whole System, and Whole Community: The Role of Shared, Community-based Governance

    This webinar highlighted the unique power and role of community partners in designing and delivering integrated and collaborative care. Placer County Office of Education presented their journey in constructing Multi-Agency Leadership processes involving parents and youth with lived experience. 

  • The Urgent Need to Accelerate Data Interoperability Across Health, Education, and Human Services

    Speaker: Daniel Stein, President, Stewards of Change Institute
    The need to implement systemic change is now. The opportunity to improve integration between health, human services, education and other domains to improve health, safety, well-being, and equity has never been more apparent. This webinar will describe the application of interoperability, data-sharing, and innovative technology to specific domains including health, human services, and education. We will share several initiatives from around California and nationally, along with available resources and methods.