As part of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health's (LACDMH's) Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) initiative, established in 2020, an ARDI training series was developed and launched for a cohort of staff who held leadership or management roles at LACDMH.
The authors evaluated the ARDI training series to identify areas of improvement and assess the training's efficacy in promoting anti-racist, transformational leadership practices among those participating in the training, including understanding changes in how trainees are perceived by those they supervise. They also provide several recommendations that might help improve the ARDI training curriculum and future evaluations of the initiative.
Findings of the evaluation indicate that trainees were highly satisfied with the training, and reported increases in leadership practices that foster diversity, inclusion, and psychological safety among their staff. In contrast, staff reports of their supervisors' leadership practices did not change significantly after the training. The authors recommend that LACDMH continue to expand the ARDI training, and the authors identified specific areas for improvement. Further evaluation is recommended to identify potential effects of the training on the broader LACDMH workforce and climate.