Vaughn Family Center/Pacoima Urban Village

The Vaughn Family Center is located within the Los Angeles Unified School District in an elementary school that has been granted charter school status and has a much higher than usual degree of budget and decisionmaking authority. Initiated by a collaborative sponsored by the local United Way and an educational foundation, it was designed as a model for restructuring the delivery of health and human services to children and families. Along with case management, family support and health services, it also offers leadership development, job training and employment services.

As residents have assumed greater roles in the design and delivery of services, the focus has broadened into the creation of an "urban village" aimed at community development as well as service delivery. While maintaining its school-based center, the Vaughn initiative has extended its work into a nearby housing project and is giving more attention to poverty and economic issues affecting residents.