CHANGES DEMANDED FOR KIDS' SAFETY.

Byline: - Troy Anderson

Los Angeles County on Tuesday ordered a series of steps to improve care given to parents of foster children to help prevent tragedies like the one in December 2000, when a mother threw her two children off a top floor of a downtown courthouse, then leaped to her death.

A confidential audit revealed that the Department of Children and Family Services failed to follow protocol in the case and failed to appeal a court order that returned the children to their mother, which could have contributed to the tragedy, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said.

The audit found that a court referee returned Joan Richards, 5, and Breanna Richards, 7, to their mother, LaShonda Joan Crozier Richards, 27, against the recommendation of the department. The audit also found that a social worker failed to regularly check on the children, even after learning the mother had violated court orders requiring her to get counseling.

Before being returned to their mother, the girls had been in the care of an aunt in the San Fernando Valley.

``This case is an illustration of what happens when a bureaucracy treats children as numbers instead of as children who need love, care and protection,'' Antonovich said.

The motion requires DCFS Director Anita Bock to reinforce policies requiring immediate appeals of court decisions when a child is in imminent danger, face-to-face visitations by social workers and the development of thorough mental health evaluations for parents.

The motion also directs Bock to investigate the actions of the social worker and the supervisor in the Richards case to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted.

An amendment by Supervisor Gloria Molina requires Bock to talk with the Juvenile Court presiding judge about a change in the law that would require him to review and approve orders made by court referees, lawyers who temporarily fill vacant court seats.