My Brother's Keeper Alliance

MBK Framework - Systems Change: Root out. Reform. Reimagine

Part of the MBK Communities’ mission is to transform historic systems that perpetuate racial bias and practices. That means not only working towards change and reform and providing direct services to boys and young men of color, but but also disrupting the historic systems that produce inequities.

Systems Analysis

Partners conduct a systems analysis to identify the institutions in need of reform to advance achievement of MBK milestones (i.e. education; criminal justice; banking/financial institutions; major employer in the municipality).

Reform Identification and Evaluation

Partners develop, advance, and advocate for specific cross-sector systemic and institutional reforms that will lead to lasting change for BYMOC.

Complimentary Practices and Policies

Partners employ more than one practice to address systemic, institutional and programmatic disparities for BYMOC.

Resource Flows

Partners identified resources and committed financial support to change systems; local government aligned resources to the action agenda set forth in the Local Action Plan created by the local community.

MBK Los Angeles covers Los Angeles County and partners with city-specific MBK chapters, working closely with the Center for Strategic Public-Private Partnerships (CSPPP), a county organization within the Chief Executive’s Office. Given this larger service territory, MBK LA County has embraced a policy focus over a programmatic approach to ensure a wider reaching and more consistent impact throughout the region. Early on, MBK Los Angeles County conducted a yearlong, database investigation to determine how boys and young men of color were disproportionately impacted by the juvenile justice and foster care systems.

This resulted in the creation and continued funding of the Office of Youth Diversion and Development (YDD) and the Black Boys in Foster Care initiative, an alternative to arrest for over 80 percent of previous arrestable offenses. The Black Boys in Foster Care initiative provides every Black boy in the county’s foster care system with resources to prevent aging out, thus reducing the risk of interaction with the justice system. In addition to continued support and direction from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the YDD, MBK LA County also works with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to deepen the systemic approach of problem solving and engage government officials to develop practices, policies, and resource flows for lasting change.

Steps to Improvement

Conduct a Policy Review – scouring existing local policies, programs and practices in search of ways to introduce, disrupt or expand the efforts to better serve the needs of the community’s boys and young men of color.
Select one system to engage in reform discussion and implementation.
Enter into a memorandum of understanding with key decision makers to engage in system reform.
Create a three-to-five year plan for system change with measurable goals.
Evaluate impact of existing policies.
Work within a systems change framework to develop, advance and advocate for specific cross sector systemic and institutional reforms that will lead to lasting change for boys and young men of color.
Convene partners and had them commit to launch/support one long term program and event for boys and young men of color.
Develop, advance and advocate for up to three systemic or institutional reforms.
Identify up to three systemic and institutional reforms that can be transformed at the state level.
Adopt up to three systemic and institutional reforms from the local agenda.
Implement up to three systemic and institutional reforms from the local agenda.
Measure results of up to three reforms from the local agenda.
Obtain pledges of support from local officials for boys and young men of color centric policies.
Acquire pledges of financial support for evaluating partner institutions.
Acquire pledges of financial support for creating an advocacy agenda.