LOS ANGELES, CA — This Thursday, the Children’s Defense Fund–California will convene youth leaders, policy experts, community advocates, and institutional stakeholders for Child Watch 2026, a high-profile regional gathering designed to explore bold, actionable solutions for children and families across Los Angeles County.
The annual event, taking place at The Honeypot in Downtown Los Angeles, arrives at a critical juncture for Southern California’s social policy landscape. Organizers have structured this year’s program to focus intensively on two of the region’s most pressing challenges: advancing educational equity and fundamentally transforming the systems that impact youth caught in the juvenile justice network.
At the heart of Child Watch 2026 is a solemn and urgent milestone: the one-year anniversary of the release of a landmark report by the Education Justice Coalition LA. Titled Who Has the Power? Chronicling Los Angeles County’s Systemic Failures to Educate Incarcerated Youth, the report laid bare profound institutional shortcomings in how the county educates young people held within correctional and detention facilities. Thursday’s gathering will serve as both an assessment of that report’s findings and a forward-looking dialogue on what progress—or lack thereof—has been achieved over the past twelve months in protecting and uplifting incarcerated youth in Southern California.
Organizers emphasize that the event will not merely be an exercise in reviewing academic policy documents or listening to conventional panel discussions. Instead, Child Watch 2026 is intentionally anchored in the firsthand accounts of those most directly affected by these systemic failures. Attendees will hear directly from young people who possess lived experience within the justice and educational systems, ensuring that policy debates remain grounded in the human realities of children navigating these complex bureaucracies.
In addition to revisiting the Education Justice Coalition LA findings, participants will be introduced to a broader suite of new research and community-driven reports produced by the Children’s Defense Fund–California and its coalition partners. Among these releases is a newly published community report focused on Long Beach, offering granular insights into local resource distribution, educational hurdles, and community-led interventions. By showcasing these resources, the event aims to foster cross-sector collaboration, connecting grassroots organizers, legal advocates, and regional leaders from across Los Angeles County who are dedicated to dismantling structural barriers to equity.
The event features a robust lineup of speakers and panelists drawn from the forefront of California’s child advocacy and legal reform movements. Arnold Chandler, the president and co-founder of Forward Change—an organization widely recognized for its data-driven approach to racial equity and social change—will deliver the keynote address. Chandler’s work focuses on helping communities and institutions dismantle structural inequities, making his perspective central to the day’s discussions on systemic reform.
Following the keynote, an expert panel will delve deeper into the legal, civil rights, and educational dimensions of youth justice. The panel features Kelsey White, a staff attorney at Public Counsel, California’s largest pro bono law firm, which frequently litigates on behalf of vulnerable children in public education and foster care systems. Joining White is Vivian T. Wong, director of the Youth Justice Education Clinic at Loyola Law School, an institution renowned for providing direct legal representation to court-involved youth to secure appropriate educational services. The panel is rounded out by Megan Stanton-Trehan, senior attorney of the Youth Practice Group at Disability Rights California, who brings critical expertise regarding the intersection of disability rights, special education, and the juvenile justice system.
Jaren Sorkow, director of the Children’s Defense Fund–California, underscored the collaborative spirit and core mission driving this year’s conference.
“We hope Child Watch 2026 will show how working together across organizations, institutions, and communities can drive lasting change for children and youth throughout Southern California,” Sorkow said. “By combining youth storytelling, community dialogue, and policy conversations, we are proud to center young voices as we work toward a future where all children in our state can thrive.”
Child Watch 2026 is scheduled for Thursday, September 24, 2026, running from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at The Honeypot, located at 212 W. 12th Street in Los Angeles. The Children’s Defense Fund–California anticipates a broad turnout of educators, policymakers, youth advocates, and community members committed to translating the day’s discussions into tangible policy shifts across the county.
