The Hilton Foundation, in partnership with the Pritzker Foster Care Initiative, proudly supported this year’s #HackFosterCareLA alongside organizations from the tech and child welfare industries in Los Angeles.
Held on April 28 and 29, 2017 at the offices of Fullscreen Media in the Silicon Beach area of Los Angeles, #HackFosterCareLA was designed to spark engagement between the tech sector, social workers, foster youth, foster parents and child welfare professionals seeking to tackle key problems and “hack” solutions to challenges in the foster care system.
Some of the hacking challenges included helping social workers, youth and foster parents find and connect with existing resources in their area. The following participant created an app with an interactive real-time data map of children, families, neighborhoods and Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services offices:
Another challenge involved developing a solution that would help youth and caregivers connect via a different medium to improve communication. Team Sensay developed “Foster Tribe,” a mobile app that connects foster youth and mentors to form a community:
#HackFosterCareLA demonstrates the power of a cross-sectoral collaboration. These innovative partnerships allow the sector to develop products that address the needs of the foster care community.