We are continuing and expanding our ethical, equitable co-design (or 2E Co-design) in our most comprehensive project to date: a five-year partnership with Rock County Human Services. The most recent work is a movement called Rock Families First, aimed at eliminating racial disparities in the number of youth coming into foster care, reducing the number of children placed out of home, and increasing engagement and satisfaction with parents.
Throughout Alia’s existence, we’ve engaged in community co-design that brings the lived expertise and endless wisdom of those most impacted by the system together with those who hold power—knowing those closest to the problem are closest to the solution. While the process of co-designing new solutions is necessary to keep children safely within their families and communities, there is critical readiness work that must be happen to prevent additional harm to those engaged in the work. The lessons we learned to reduce harm for designers from our early co-design work is now infused in the way we engage impacted parents as well as system staff in the essential preparation work needed before bringing them together.
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