Transforming Together: Implementation Guide
County Spotlight When the Santa Clara County Office of Education launched Student Wellness Advisory Groups (SWAG), the goal was clear: center youth voice in shaping wellness supports. Rather than designing services for students, county leaders created space for young people to lead. Starting with just six students, SWAG members were trained in civic engagement and supported by adult allies to form their own subcommittees. They advised on wellness center design—literally rearranging spaces into welcoming circles— and organized campaigns like “Hecka- Well Day,” which grew into a countywide wellness week. Over time, SWAG scaled from a small advisory to a movement, with over 100 wellness centers influenced by student input. Structures for continuity, such as including middle schoolers and creating “shadow” roles, helped sustain youth leadership as students graduated. Families were also engaged, building advocacy skills alongside their children. By treating youth as partners—equipping them with resources, leadership opportunities, and a seat at interagency tables—SWAG not only reshaped local services but also modeled how student voice can drive systemic change.
Tool Spotlight: The Examples of Integrated Systems Activities (ESC Toolkit) provides practical illustrations of how counties have operationalized family partnership at each level of the continuum, offering examples to adapt locally. California’s children and youth System of Care approach under AB 2083 adapts this Family Engagement Continuum to institutionalize family and youth participation across governance and planning structures. The California Health and Human Services Agency asks counties to ensure families, peer supporters, tribal representatives, and youth are engaged at all levels—shaping policies, coordinating services, and deciding on outcomes. Even in systems that have struggled to meaningfully include community perspectives in shared governance or ILT structures, other avenues for engagement remain available. These include inviting participation in partner-led or community- informed processes, such as local mental health, alcohol and drug boards; school boards; and other commissions. In addition, many counties have established youth commissions, and in some existing AB 2083 Systems of Care structures, youth participants serve as active members of Executive Advisory Committees or attend ILT meetings. These pathways offer additional opportunities to center the voices of those with lived experience and ensure that family and youth leadership becomes a core feature of an integrated system of care. Importantly, sustained engagement is only possible when all participants understand the purposes and process for how they can contribute.
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