CalHHS Secretary Kim Johnson and CDSS Deputy Director of Children and Family Services Angie Schwartz Recognized
SACRAMENTO — Casey Family Programs named California Health and Human Services (CalHHS) Agency Secretary Kim Johnson and California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Deputy Director of Children and Family Services Angie Schwartz as recipients of the 2026 Casey Excellence for Children Leadership Award.
The award recognizes their leadership in transforming the California’s child welfare system to better support families and reduce the need for foster care. Working alongside CDSS staff and state, county and community partners, Johnson and Schwartz helped establish a statewide kin-first approach that prioritizes placing foster children with relatives whenever possible, advanced the nation’s first youth-centered foster care rate structure, and shifted practice away from mandated reporting toward community-based family support.
“This recognition reflects the collective efforts of so many dedicated people across CDSS, CalHHS, and our county and community partners,” Johnson said. “We know children do better when families are supported, and we remain deeply committed to building systems that keep families together whenever it is safe to do so.”
Schwartz emphasized the importance of sustaining this work across the child welfare system. “Centering family and kin requires a fundamental shift in how we do our work every day,” she said. “Our commitment is to continue strengthening these practices, so children remain connected to their families, culture, and communities.”
California’s kin-first approach has been shown to improve outcomes for children while preserving critical family connections. Casey Family Programs recently featured this work in a video featuring interviews with Johnson, in her former role as CDSS Director, and Schwartz.
In recent years, California has made many transformative changes and investments to better meet the needs of individual foster youth and improve California’s foster care system. Access an Issue Brief to learn more about efforts to support California foster youth.
###