By Kristin Brooks, Ed.D.

Across California, Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) are increasingly recognizing that supporting student success requires more than what schools alone can provide. An ecosystem of care (ESOC) represents a collaborative, cross-agency approach designed to improve outcomes for children and families by aligning education, health, and community resources. This work reflects a shared commitment among educators, county agencies, and community partners to address the broader conditions that influence student success. By centering prevention, coordination, and collective impact, an ESOC offers a promising pathway for supporting the whole child in a coordinated effort and alleviating what may be overwhelming for families trying to navigate complicated systems one by one.

Understanding an Ecosystem of Care: A Whole-Child Approach

Who:

Cross-sector partners including LEAs, county agencies, community-based organizations, and family-serving systems.

What:
While rooted in mental health system frameworks, ESOCs have evolved to encompass a broader focus on prevention and early intervention—supporting all children, not just those already engaged in specialized systems.

Why it matters:
Research highlights the measurable benefits of implementing an ecosystem of care approach. Communities engaged in ESOC efforts have seen:

• A 10% increase in school attendance
• A 32% reduction in school expulsions
• A 42% decrease in inpatient hospital admissions
• A 38% reduction in costs associated with juvenile arrests

When agencies work together, they can address root causes of inequities and create more sustainable systems. ESOCs help LEAs move beyond siloed efforts, increasing their capacity to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of students. This alignment strengthens outcomes tied to attendance, engagement, and overall well-being. These results demonstrate that when agencies align resources and strategies, they not only improve student outcomes but also reduce strain on broader public systems. For LEAs, this translates into stronger learning environments and more equitable access to support.

From Vision to Action: The ESOC Toolkit

Who:
Developed with input from over 30 ESOC workgroup members across California, including participants in AB 2083 initiatives, county, community, and state agency partners.

What:
To support agencies in building and sustaining coherence in the system, the ESOC Toolkit provides an interactive, structured, step-by-step approach. It is designed to help ESOCs establish effective workgroups, define shared goals, and identify the specific actions that ESOC members will take to actualize those goals.

Step 1 focuses on creating the conditions that are necessary to build trust between partners and incentivize change.
Step 2 defines steps and provides tools for building ESOC workgroups.
Step 3 helps ESOCs identify shared goals by evaluating existing data and conducting a needs assessment.
Step 4 offers tools for identifying and measuring concrete, attainable goals. Step 5 outlines steps to ensure that each agency owns the responsibility for taking specific actions toward the ESOC’s shared goals.

Every step in the toolkit includes templates, examples, and additional information that ESOCs can use to help organize, understand, and implement recommendations. The resources are found in “Resource Boxes.” Each step also includes “Tip Boxes” with background context, helpful suggestions, or shared wisdom from interviews with ESOC workgroup members. Finally, several of the steps in the toolkit include “Tool Boxes” that link to tools ESOC teams can use to guide them through the processes and activities described in each step. The tools can be downloaded as an interactive Google document and shared, allowing for real-time collaboration between ESOC members.

Why it matters:

The toolkit provides a clear roadmap for LEAs and partners to move from intention to implementation. By offering actionable steps and shared tools, it helps teams build sustainable systems that can evolve based on data and community needs.

An ecosystem of care exemplifies the power of collective action in advancing the whole-child vision in California. By fostering collaboration across agencies and centering prevention, ESOCs help LEAs create more equitable, responsive systems that support student success. As this work continues to grow, we invite you to explore the toolkit, connect with partners, and share your own stories of cross-agency collaboration to strengthen outcomes for children and families.