LA County Earns Three CSAC Challenge Awards for Innovation and Impact

On Feb. 11, 2026, JCOD was recognized at the 2025 California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Challenge Awards Dinner in Sacramento, earning two statewide honors for programs that are delivering measurable results across Los Angeles County.

JCOD’s Skills+Experience for the Careers of Tomorrow (SECTOR) and JCOD’s Independent Pretrial Services Agency were selected out of nearly 400 submissions from all 58 counties in California in one of the most competitive award cycles in CSAC history. Los Angeles County received three of the twelve awards overall, with JCOD earning two directly and is a supporter of the third.

JCOD SECTOR was recognized for its workforce model connecting justice-impacted individuals to paid work experience, industry-recognized training and long-term career pathways in high-growth sectors. Since its launch, more than 3,500 individuals have enrolled in the program. More than 2,200 participants have been connected to training opportunities and more than 1,700 have completed training. To date, 1,225 participants have secured employment in high-growth industries, earning an average wage of $24 per hour. In addition, 85% of participants remained employed after one year, and 96% had no new convictions within one year of enrollment.

JCOD also received a Challenge Award for JCOD’s Independent Pretrial Services Agency, which provides early-intervention, voluntary, person-centered support to help navigate the pretrial process and stay connected to services. The program offers support before and after arraignment through a centralized support center operating seven days a week, along with court-based navigators at participating courthouses in Airport, Compton and Lancaster.

Since implementation, the program has handled more than 50,000 service calls and provided over 60,000 transportation services to ensure individuals can make it to court. Across the three participating courthouses, the program has maintained a 97% court appearance rate and a 79% arrest-free rate.

In addition, LA County’s third CSAC Challenge Award was presented to the Department of Public Health for its African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Initiative Doula Program (Doula Program), which receives funding through the JCOD Care First Community Investment (CFCI) Year One Care Grant recipient.  The Doula Program was recognized for its innovative, care-centered approach to supporting pregnant and postpartum individuals for people in custody or recently released from Century Regional Detention Facility, the County’s women’s jail, as well as to justice-impacted pregnant women across Los Angeles County.

The CSAC Challenge Awards recognize county programs that bring forward new approaches to public service and deliver results for residents.

Incubation Academy Alumni Gather for “From Idea to Impact”

JCOD brought together nearly 75 community-based organizations for its first JCOD Incubation Academy (IA) Alumni Event of 2026, “From Idea to Impact,” on February 26 at Jesse Owens Community Regional Park. IA alumni reconnected with peers, shared recent accomplishments and took part in interactive workshops designed to strengthen day-to-day nonprofit operations and long-term sustainability.

The program included speakers, lightning talks from fellow graduates and a series of rotating Impact Labs focused on funding readiness, operations and systems, partnerships, and County navigation. The hands-on format gave participants practical strategies, real-time problem-solving support and time to build new connections across the Incubation Academy network.

Incubation Academy Resource Hub

JCOD also recently launched the JCOD Incubation Academy Resource Hub at JCODIncubationAcademy.com. The hub includes tools and templates, a directory of Incubation Academy graduate organizations and a centralized list of funding and contract opportunities, with an alumni portal coming soon.

To date, the JCOD Incubation Academy has supported 11 cohorts amounting to 274 organizations (including the current cohort). JCOD’s 249 Incubation Academy alumni have collectively secured more than $125 million in capacity-building grants, County contracts and Care First Community Investment awards.

The Incubation Academy is now accepting applications for Cohort 12 through March 27th.  🔗 Click to apply here.

Elevating Latino Voices in Long Beach

On February 26, JCOD partnered with Centro CHA to host “Elevating Latino Voices in Long Beach” at the Cesar E. Chavez Park Jenny Oropeza Community Center. The convening brought together approximately 50 community members, including justice-impacted residents, to share lived experience and provide direct feedback on the future of JCOD Developing Opportunities and Offering Reentry Solutions (D.O.O.R.S) in Long Beach.

The JCOD D.O.O.R.S team shared an overview of the program and the purpose of the convening, with a focus on learning what community members from Long Beach wanted to see in services, access and support. Community members spoke candidly about service gaps, barriers to stability and what it takes for a future site to feel accessible, welcoming and trusted.

Thank you to Centro CHA, a CFCI Care Grant recipient, for providing the space, outreach support and dinner for guests and to everyone who showed up and spoke up to help shape what comes next.

JCOD Director Honored at LACAAEA Black History Month Gala

On February 28, JCOD Director Judge Songhai Armstead (Ret.) was recognized as this year’s Black History Month Gala Honoree at the Los Angeles County African American Employees Association’s Annual Black-Tie Gala & Fundraiser, held at the Omni Hotel & Resort in Downtown Los Angeles.

This year’s theme, “Elevate. Educate. Empower.,” set the tone for an evening centered on leadership, courage and community impact across Los Angeles County.

Judge Armstead (Ret.) accepted this year’s honor and reflected on the meaning of Black History Month and the responsibility that comes with leadership.

“When I think about the work we do and the impact we want to have, the word that comes to mind is courage,” Judge Armstead (Ret.) said. “It takes courage to try something new, to step outside the box and to keep going even when you are challenged. Everyone is here for a purpose, and it is through courage, creativity and community that we can make meaningful change.”

The event was emceed by Dominique DiPrima, host and supervising producer of First Things First with Dominique DiPrima on KBLA Talk 580, and included recognition of LACAAEA youth scholarship recipients, a spoken word performance and presentation of the Crystal Eagle Award to Dr. Curley L. Bonds, MD, DFAPA, Chief Medical Officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.

Staff Spotlight

Aloka Narayanan – Justice Division Director

Aloka Narayanan came to JCOD from the Government Performance Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School, where she partnered with cities and counties nationwide to launch bold, data-driven reforms. Her work included helping communities develop alternatives to traditional 911 response, expanding non-law enforcement mental health crisis teams and peer navigation models designed to connect people with care.

Today, as a Justice Division Director, Aloka brings that experience to JCOD’s Care First Community Investment (CFCI) portfolio. She oversees the administration of funding that supports community-based organizations and County departments, while working closely with the CFCI Advisory Committee to ensure transparency, fiscal accountability and alignment around funding priorities.

A proud Angeleno, Aloka was drawn to JCOD by the scale of LA County’s investment in prevention and person-centered care.

“Being from LA County and having had the opportunity to learn and grow beyond the regional bounds, I am determined to give back to my home region and create a better future for all residents,” she shared.

Six months into her role, she says the team’s creativity stands out most.

“I love that JCOD holds creativity so dear—all of my colleagues work hard to solve long-standing challenges, and I am inspired every day by the new approaches folks are trying.”

Outside of work, Aloka enjoys spending time in the kitchen, reading and listening to music. She’s also an avid yoga practitioner and spends as much time as she can hiking the trails of the San Gabriel Mountains.

 

Org Spotlight

Paco’s Leadership Collective

Affectionately known as “Paco,” Pacos Leadership Collective is new to the pantheon of community-based organizations (CBOs) in the reentry space. Paco provides an assortment of services, including:

• Lived Experience Internships: A six-month paid program for women with histories of economic hardship or systems involvement to build professional skills and leadership pathways.
• Beyond the Ballot Workshops: Community organizing sessions that provide resources and action steps on legislation impacting gender equity.
• Doula Certification Supports: Training and professional development for women pursuing careers in maternal health, including CPR and HIPAA compliance.

In addition to those resources, Paco is adding a brand-new service – their Strong Start Program, which is a workforce development and maternal care initiative that trains systems-impacted women to become certified doulas and provides comprehensive maternal care services – free of charge – to women most at risk of pregnancy-related complications.

While Paco may be the new CBO on the block, Founder and Exectuve Director, Kari Croft, is not new to reentry. She founded and led Da Vinci RISE High – a school specifically designed for and with students navigating the justice and foster care systems. It was there that the inspiration for Paco, and its namesake, were formed.

“In 2022, a devastating loss changed everything. The death of a former student exposed the jagged edges of gender-based violence within our social ‘safety nets.’ It became clear that as long as our loved ones are being lost to these systems, none of us are truly free. I began to imagine a world where the women who had been most marginalized and excluded were equipped and empowered to be the leaders of the very systems that had harmed them.  Paco was founded to turn that imagination into reality. By choosing “Paco” – the last name of my student who was taken from us – to represent our work and vision, we ground ourselves in the memory of a life cut short, in the urgency and necessity of this work, and in the promise of a future where systems-impacted women are no longer pushed to the margins but are leading from the center,” Kari shared.

It was around that time Kari first learned about JCOD, which had just launched in November of 2022. When she was preparing to launch Paco in 2024, she researched the opportunities JCOD was offering to CBOs, eventually graduating from JCOD’s Incubation Academy.

“The partnership with JCOD has been catalytic for Paco’s early growth. Last year, Paco graduated from JCOD’s Incubation Academy, which provided foundational support for the organization’s development. I’ve also been able to participate in JCOD’s Executive Coaching program, and the ongoing guidance and support I receive from my coaching team has been invaluable to both my own development and to that of the organization,” Kari added.

To learn more about Paco Leadership Collective, follow them on Instagram @pacoleadership or visit their website here.