On August 13, hundreds of children entered the Koreatown Youth + FamilySource Center (KYCC) to pick out backpacks and school supplies in the culmination of month-long Back-to-School Resource Fair events from the FamilySource Center System.
The City of Los Angeles Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD) manages the FamilySource System, a network of 19 nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing year-round support to students and their families by offering tutoring assistance, educational enrichment programs, and comprehensive case management services for families.
With over 500,000 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students returning to school this month, the CIFD is proud to partner with LAUSD to offer FamilySource Centers as community hubs to provide resources to address food insecurity, access to mental and physical health services, emergency assistance, and much more. This partnership creates a stronger support system to help families thrive and allow students to have a successful school year.
“When we invest in children and students we can inspire community achievement and reverse generational poverty,” said CIFD General Manager Abigail R. Marquez. “Our FamilySource system offers comprehensive programs for students and their families.”
FSCs provide low-income families with a diverse range of services, including tutoring, academic enrichment, case management, skill development opportunities, after-school programs, and food and other resource distributions. Recognizing the vital role of parents and guardians in a child's education, FSCs also offer a Parent Promise program that provides educational resources to support parents in guiding their children’s academic journeys.
At KYCC, this year’s school journey began with children excitedly choosing from an assortment of colorful backpacks before stocking up on essentials like notebooks, pens, pencils, folders, and other school supplies. For parents, this event eased the financial stress of preparing for a new school year.
“There are times when we are low on funds and we may run across a situation where we can’t pay our rent or bills,” said Brad Broadnax, who attended with his daughter. “These resources have helped me out a lot.”
Estela Hernandez, another parent, shared (translated from Spanish): “It’s very important when we have large families and not enough money to buy everything. It’s great that they are here with open arms to support us with so many good resources.”
During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, CIFD’s FamilySource Centers served more than 53,000 individual Angelenos, offering additional services such as food distributions, wellness and financial workshops, and resources to increase income, establish financial security, and build academic success.
In addition to the FamilySource System, the Community Investment for Families Department also supports children and families through its Opportunity L.A. program, which has established more than 100,000 savings accounts for every first-grade student in participating LAUSD elementary schools. CIFD also operates a Child Care Policy and Equity unit to help ensure access to stable and reliable child care for Angeleno families.