2 - An Anti-Racist Blueprint for Early Childhood Well-Being and Child Welfare Prevention: Putting it into Action

Alexandra Citrin is a Senior Associate at the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) and has 15 years of experience in child and family public policy and direct practice experience. She currently leads CSSP’s child welfare and prevention policy portfolio, providing overall direction for CSSP’s work. She is an expert in child welfare policy and practice and its effect on communities of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and immigrant families. She currently leads the team providing intensive technical assistance across the country to states developing and implementing prevention activities, including through the Family First Prevention Services Act, and is working in multiple jurisdictions with leadership to transform existing child welfare systems to be anti-racist. Her system-reform work also includes providing technical assistance to states and community-based organizations on utilizing racial equity impact assessments to drive change, state and local child welfare systems through child welfare systems operating under federal consent decree, and the Infant-Toddler Court Team Program. Her policy expertise includes child welfare system and finance reform, prevention, and immigration—with a focus on using frontline practice—knowledge to inform equity-focused policymaking. Prior to joining CSSP, she was a family advocate at the Center for Family Representation, Inc. in New York, where she engaged in direct practice with parents and families involved in the child welfare system. Alexandra was a Child Welfare Scholar at the University of Michigan where she earned a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Social Work and a master's degree in Public Policy from the Ford School.

Arthur Fidel Argomaniz is a proud Chicano born and raised in Los Angeles (Tongva Territory); he is married to his high school sweetheart with whom he has three beautiful children. Arthur has committed his personal and professional life to supporting communities as they navigate and transform systems to better serve them. Arthur’s work at the Center for the Study of Social Policy includes supporting the Parent Leader Network, a national network focused on systems change with race equity as the foundation, and the Infant-Toddler Court Program’s National Advisory Group for Parents’ Voices, as well as facilitating racial equity, diversity and inclusion efforts with First 5 Orange County. Previous additional support includes being part of the Partnership Support Team for First 5 LA’s Best Start initiative in Los Angeles County, a place-based effort focused on improving the lives of families with children ages 0-5 through parent-led community partnerships; evaluating the first 10 years of The California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities initiative; and serving as a member of the child welfare monitoring team for Humboldt County, California. 

Juanita Gallion is the Director of Capacity Building & Leadership Development at the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP). She helps lead the organization’s work to advance racial equity through facilitation, training, capacity building, leadership development, and coaching with a variety of national and local partners and philanthropic organizations. In addition, she supports the learning culture within the organization, and shapes the creation and dissemination of lessons learned across CSSP’s various bodies of work. She previously managed the technical assistance and training for several large-scale community initiatives, including the U.S. Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods program and the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Making Connections initiative to ensure families and communities had the resources they needed to achieve success. Prior to joining CSSP, Juanita was at the National Civic League, where she managed the training, technical assistance, and learning agenda for a national initiative aimed at reducing children’s exposure to violence. Juanita’s additional experience includes working on a variety of racial and social justice issues, including youth and community engagement, worker rights, and national AIDS/HIV advocacy. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a master's degree in Social Service Administration, with concentrations in Community Development and Policy and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Society from American University. She is currently one of the Annie E. Casey Foundations Results Count™ Advanced Practitioners, part of the Cataylst:Ed/Equity in the Center DEI Expert Hub, and a certified MBTI Certified Practitioner.

Nicolette Cook received her master’s in social work from University of Minnesota Duluth. Her career emphasis has been working with high risk children and families. She is currently employed through St. Louis County, MN as the Safe Babies Court Community Coordinator. She has worked within child protection as an ongoing case manager and safety planner for 5 years before her current role. She lives in Ely, MN near the Canadian border with her husband and they have 5 children together ranging in ages from 6-19. We live a busy life filled with sports, activities, and a love for the outdoors.