Parallel Workshops
Beyond the Walls is a pilot program to ensure that children impacted by incarceration are seen, supported, and connected—both during parental incarceration and in preparation for family reunification. The program was born out of a collaborative partnership between NYC Public Schools (NYC’s department of education) and NYC Department of Correction. The collaboration emphasizes identifying and designing ways to bridge the gaps between NYC’s educational and correctional systems, in order to provide coordinated support to incarcerated caregivers, non-incarcerated caregivers, and students. Research consistently demonstrates that maintaining healthy family connection during incarceration can positively impact child well-being, family stability, and successful reintegration outcomes. Although rooted in New York City, the pilot addresses broader international concerns regarding family separation, institutional fragmentation, and the long-term impact of incarceration on children and communities.
In this workshop, project collaborators from NYC Public Schools and the Mayor’s Office will share how the interagency partnership has driven the pilot’s success so far, exploring four key building blocks: assembling the right cross-agency team; filling data gaps to help accurately identify and address service gaps; building responsive communication structures that center children and parents; and using continuous evaluation as a tool for real-time learning. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for building collaborative partnerships across complex institutional systems while centering children and families impacted by incarceration.
Chloe Chang is a strategist and designer who practices participatory design and popular education, and believes that equity and healing can and should be outcomes of any design process. With a background in communication and community engagement design, they work to translate complex narratives and system needs into strategies that work for and with teams, communities, organizations, and cities.
On the Innovation Team within the Mayor's Office of New York City, Chloe focuses on stakeholder collaboration, public engagement, and communication design — facilitating a deeper exchange of community and institutional knowledge so that public services are more community-driven and responsive to the needs of New Yorkers. Before the Innovation Team, Chloe led the design team at Hester Street, a community planning and development nonprofit working so that the neighborhoods are shaped by the people who live in them.
Kim is a public policy development practitioner with over ten years of experience in community building and organizing, placekeeping, participatory planning and design, as well as affordable housing development. Throughout his career, he has partnered with community organizations, volunteer groups, policymakers, and government agencies to create initiatives aimed at building more just and equitable communities.
As part of the NYC Innovation Team, his work is focused on advancing innovative and equitable solutions founded in research, global best practices, quantitative and qualitative data, and the lived experiences of New Yorkers. Prior to joining the team, he served as the Director of Data and Design at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Engagement, facilitating alignment among agency outreach teams, sharing target best practices, creating vehicles for collaboration, and contributing to an overarching vision for community and civic engagement in New York City.
