Sekani is a proud father and grandfather. He is also a Human Rights Advocate, Community Organizer and served as the Los Angeles PPC Family Leader on the Governance Body. He has worked with labor unions, standing for workers and their rights, now advocating for community and speaking for helping organizations.
Pediatrics Supporting Parents Proof Point Community: Los Angeles, CA
The UCLA Medical-Financial Partnership at Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (California)
This Proof Point Community provides a family-centered, parent-driven pediatric care model that invests in whole-child health by addressing financial and social drivers of health and supporting family priorities.
About
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical-Financial Partnership (MFP) at Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Proof Point Community (PPC) is housed at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Through the MFP model, the team helps families with young children navigate a complex healthcare system and pursue goals aligned with parent priorities across multiple areas including financial stability, both mental and physical health, and whole-family well-being. Recognizing that income, housing, employment, and access to benefits strongly shape health outcomes, this model addresses the root causes of chronic stress, poor health, and developmental risk.
In partnership with families, the team co-designed a strengths-based Parent Voice Note (PVN) embedded in the electronic health record to center parent voice and by doing so, enhance the quality of care. Parent Leaders on the LA PPC team also co-designed the Benefits Explorer Tool (BET) to streamline access to public benefits. Grounded in families’ lived experiences and priorities, these innovations shift systems to listen first, reduce barriers, and respond more effectively. Together, they have helped build a trusted, family-centered system of care that promotes family strengths, advances health equity, and supports both children and parents to thrive.
View Los Angeles’s explainer video to learn more.
Innovations
These innovations have strengthened trust, improved follow-through, and made pediatric care more responsive to families’ priorities by building care along with them.
Medical-Financial Partnership
One-to-one, relationship-based social work support centered on parent and family strengths and priorities, embedded in pediatric care that partners with families over time to identify goals, navigate systems, and connect to resources, with a focus on follow-through rather than one-time referrals. This support during critical early windows of the life course supports a strong foundation for lifelong intergenerational health and well-being.
Parent Voice Note (PVN)
The PVN is designed to ensure that parents’ perspectives, priorities, and words are represented within their child’s care plan and electronic health record (EHR). The PVN is completed during intake conversations and includes parent-identified goals, priorities, supports, strengths, and opportunities. Once documented in the EHR, it is visible to the entire care team, helping ensure that every provider understands and honors the parent’s perspective in ongoing care and decision-making.
Benefits Explorer Tool (BET)
The BET is a bilingual web-based platform that provides families with trusted information to increase awareness of and access to public benefits, community programs, and social services. It was co-designed with parents, clinicians, social workers, and the technology partner, One Degree. Families can use the BET to explore benefits such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); utility discounts; Head Start; and other anti-poverty supports. The BET is anonymous, free, and ensures all families can safely access resources that support their health and well-being.
Family Partnership and Co-creation
This team has integrated parent voice into every aspect of their work, centering caregivers as the drivers of their children’s health, and as experts, partners, and leaders in shaping pediatric care.
At this PPC, partnership is sustained through consistent and ongoing collaboration, creating space for families and clinicians to jointly explore what care should look like. Parents and clinicians have co-created intake questions, evaluation language, and a comprehensive tool for accessing benefits. Parents developed accessible outreach materials grounded in lived experience and shaped how programs are introduced so families feel welcomed, rather than overwhelmed.
This approach reflects a deeper level of parent engagement, linking family partnership directly to systems improvement and meaningful change. By centering families, this work strengthens trust, improves care coordination, and supports pediatric care that is responsive, sustainable, and aligned with what families value most.
Sekani Timothy Wayne Harris
Family Leader
“When families and clinicians come together with empathy and purpose, real change is possible.”
Strategies for Making the Case for Family Partnership and Co-creation
Co-creation Definition
Co-creation is authentic partnering with shared leadership to transform what is possible and create a new reality that is equitable for all.
Enabling Family Partnership
One Family Engagement Leader and three Parent Leaders partner with core team members and engage in PPC design and decision-making on a regular basis. This allows their leadership to be more inclusive and equitable.
Honoring Lived Experience
The Family Engagement Leader and Parent Leaders are compensated for required meetings each month at $125 per hour. Additionally, the cost of incentives, meals, and supplies are covered for parent listening sessions.
Making the Case
This team has embedded systems change in their clinical space to center parents through co-designed improvements to the care model, including updates to intake and introduction processes. They have co-created family engagement policy with parent leaders while working to scale efforts through increased awareness and funding.
Sustainability Efforts
View Los Angeles’s case for investment video.
Los Angeles is seeking to implement foundational support for its Medical-Financial Partnership (MFP) model that addresses financial and social determinants of health. They want to scale new sites and expand to build a national initiative.
[W]e’ve shown parents receiving long-term, parent-centered, one-to-one MFP services have improved income, savings, and overall health and mental health.
Resources
This publication demonstrates early findings of improved visit adherence and vaccination receipt from the early MFP Randomized Controlled Trial.
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A visual overview of the pathway through the MFP’s Longitudinal Individualized Parent Support Services.
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These slides provide an overview of the Medical-Financial Partnership (MFP) and the work of its team at the Los Angeles PPC.
Meet the Los Angeles Team
Maria Acevedo, MSW
MFP Site Coordinator
In her MFP role, Maria supports families with their health and wellbeing. A proud Mexicana born in Jalisco, Mexico and raised in Northeast Los Angeles, she developed her passion for community through early work as a lifeguard and youth coach. Throughout her career, she’s worked with folks ranging from 3 to 75 years old. Maria holds a BA in Psychology from CSU Long Beach and an MSW from CSU Northridge. She and her husband Jose Acevedo are parents to their 2-year-old son, Leonardo.
Sekani Timothy Wayne Harris
MFP Family Engagement Leader
Aleen Hernandez
MFP Research & Evaluation Associate
Aleen joined MFP as a Research Assistant during her junior year at UCLA and stepped into her full-time role in October 2025. Aleen earned a BS in Physiological Science from UCLA and supports research operations, outreach, and program evaluation. Aleen is passionate about improving the health and financial wellbeing of the families MFP serves. She values the program’s supportive team culture, where daily huddles and recognition foster connection and shared purpose. Aleen is also preparing for medical school to pursue a career in health equity.
Monique Holguin, LCSW, PhD
MFP Co-Director
In addition to her MFP role, Monique is a Health Services Researcher and Health Sciences Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Her work focuses on advancing innovative, equity-centered care models addressing social and economic determinants of health. She has strong insight into systems designed to support the health of families in economically marginalized, racially minoritized communities. She earned her degrees from UCLA and University of Southern California. Drs. Monique Holguin and Stuart Schroff are parents to their 5-year-old daughter, Mya.
Marikit Mendiola, MSW
MFP Evaluation Coordinator
Marikit is a Project Coordinator in UCLA’s Department of Pediatrics in addition to her MFP role. Her work focuses on person-centered, community-partnered, and integrated care approaches that address social determinants of health. She completed her education at Penn State and UCLA and has experience supporting families, children, veterans, and nonprofits.
Nicole Morales, MPH
MFP Evaluation Coordinator
Nicole (“Nikki”) is a public health professional with over five years of experience at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. A proud product of LA public schools, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UCLA and is dedicated to strengthening trauma-informed community-clinical partnerships. As the eldest daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, she is deeply committed to advancing equity in marginalized communities. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her dog, Bo.
Evelyn Salazar, ACSW
MFP Site Coordinator
In her role, Evelyn is focused on assessing needs, building relationships, and addressing financial health, mental health, and community-based challenges. She holds an MSW from California State University Dominguez Hills and a BA in Psychology and Spanish, with a minor in Education Studies, from Goucher College in Baltimore, MD. Her experience includes supporting survivors of domestic violence and Spanish-speaking immigrant communities. Evelyn centers trauma-informed, client-focused practices while uplifting voices across Los Angeles.
Adam Schickedanz, MD, PhD
MFP Co-Director
Adam is a pediatrician in LA County’s Department of Health Services, a health services researcher, and UCLA faculty member in addition to his MFP role. He completed his medical training at UCSF, served as a Health Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Medicine, and was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at UCLA. He holds a PhD in Health Policy and Management, with research focused on ACEs and intergenerational health. Drs. Adam and Heather Schickedanz are parents to their 12-year-old, Aria, and 4-year-old, Abel.
Contact
To connect with the Medical-Financial Partnership team, please email Drs. Monique Holguin ([email protected]) and Adam Schickedanz ([email protected]).
