With support from the Anthony & Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation, UNITE-LA’s Systems and Research and Evaluation teams executed an ambitious project identifying and vetting metrics to track key outcomes for Transition Age Youth (TAY). Ultimately, research will address critical data gaps by consolidating education, workforce and social metrics into a comprehensive dashboard to drive data-informed decision-making and accountability for 16-24-year-old foster youth.

The Los Angeles Digital Equity Action League (LA DEAL) continues to drive progress in Los Angeles County by addressing digital equity challenges. To support this effort, we partnered with LAEDC’s Institute of Applied Economics (IAE) to develop a comprehensive data portal, dashboard and heatmap, accessible via ArcGIS Dashboards. The dashboard provides key metrics for tracking digital equity and broadband adoption across the county. Our goal is to empower municipal leaders to use the data dashboard for broadband policy development and digital divide-focused projects.

The Los Angeles Digital Equity Action League (LA DEAL) consortium is a collaborative, community-driven consortium assessing and addressing existing broadband gaps across the Los Angeles region. With support from the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), LA DEAL helped 10 Los Angeles County municipalities—including South El Monte, Rosemead, Palmdale, Maywood, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Inglewood, Bellflower, Bell and Artesia—secure $200,000 in digital inclusion grants. Funds allowed each community to participate in a “Local Government Best Practices Checklist Learning Community” during fall 2024.

As co-convener and project manager of the Community Schools Steering Committee (CSSC), UNITE-LA continued to advance equity, innovation and continuous improvement throughout 2024. UNITE-LA supported L.A. Unified’s Community Schools Initiative (CSI) in securing $8.55 million in grant funding to strengthen implementation, conducted empathy interviews to leverage data to identify and address evolving needs, and facilitated collaboration across systems and partners by launching the Alliance for Opportunity (AFO). These efforts equipped the CSI with the necessary resources and support to thrive. This work will continue to expand as the CSSC designated the sixth cohort of community schools in December.

UNITE-LA and the L.A. Opportunity Youth Collaborative (OYC) partnered with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) to assess the true cost of delivering quality youth workforce development programs in Los Angeles. Now in its final stages, the analysis explores the financial strains faced by workforce development providers in the L.A. region. Findings revealed approximately 25 percent of workforce contractors' budgets remain unfunded, underscoring the urgent need to improve the financial health of workforce providers in the region. Key recommendations include adjustments to wages, staff caseloads and investments in participant outcomes.

With support from the Michelson 20MM Foundation, UNITE-LA convened workforce development practitioners and leaders across California’s workforce ecosystem to identify gaps and challenges in supporting individuals’ access to family-sustaining careers. The exploration aimed to uncover strategic opportunities for impactful philanthropic and legislative investments. Early findings showed barriers such as funding inadequacies, misalignment between training and labor market demands, participant readiness gaps, and limited collaboration between public and private stakeholders, perpetuating inequities in the workforce for marginalized communities.

In partnership with the City of Los Angeles’ Economic Workforce Development Department (EWDD) and the Los Angeles Opportunity Youth Collaborative (OYC), co-convened by UNITE-LA and the Alliance for Children’s Rights, our team concluded an 18-month long strategic planning process aimed at improving system coordination to mitigate youth disconnection from education and the workforce. The Horizons 32K Strategic Plan: A Roadmap to Empowerment for Los Angeles’ Opportunity Youth was developed with input from system leaders, nonprofits, business leaders and Opportunity Youth (OY). This collective impact plan aims to reduce the number of OY in Los Angeles by 32,000 over four years.

UNITE-LA, with support from the Haas Jr. Foundation, conducted a study to evaluate the implementation of the Learning-Aligned Employment Program (LAEP) in the Los Angeles area, set for release in early 2025. While the program was eliminated from the 2024 budget, this important research will be vital to informing the expansion of work-based learning (WBL) opportunities for college students. The study identifies strategies for expanding WBL opportunities across participating L.A. higher education institutions, synthesizing findings from four months of interviews with local colleges, universities and employers to assess the program’s achievements, challenges and opportunities for growth.

In 2024, UNITE-LA played a key role in shaping and advancing the Governor’s Master Plan for Career Education. As the convener of the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative, UNITE-LA co-hosted the L.A./O.C. Regional Convening with the Governor’s Office and WestEd, where more than 100 leaders identified barriers to career pathways and explored solutions in areas such as access, affordability and work-based learning.

As the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative convener, UNITE-LA made significant strides in 2024 to strengthen education and workforce pathways in health care, engineering and computer science and to reinforce regional collaborative efforts to support student success. From formalizing and launching the Stewardship Group to leading four Communities of Practice and an inaugural Healthcare Regional Advisory, the Collaborative anticipates increased alignment in education and workforce strategies in 2025 with new state funding secured through the Golden State Pathways Program.