EDITORIAL : ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DEATH; L.A. COUNTY WELFARE SYSTEM IS FAILING TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN ITS CHARGE.CHILDREN dying while in county care is reaching almost epidemic proportions, raising profound concerns. The fear is that the county is not taking this seriously or acting quickly enough to investigate the problem of why children in the county welfare system are dying at a record rate. Ironically, a task force created in July by the county Board of Supervisors The examples and perspective in this article or section may represent an unduly geographically limited view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. The Board of Supervisors is the body governing counties in the U.S. to review earlier problems is scheduled to meet again this morning. At its first meeting two weeks ago, the 11-member panel voted unanimously to keep the focus on foster homes. Since Friday, three more children have died. That brings to 17 the number of children who have died since May. At least seven of those 17 children died in their own homes, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. department memorandums to the Board of Supervisors. It doesn't take a child welfare expert to figure out this is intolerable. About 69,000 kids are plucked pluck v. plucked, pluck·ing, plucks v.tr. 1. To remove or detach by grasping and pulling abruptly with the fingers; pick: pluck a flower; pluck feathers from a chicken. from abusive or neglectful ne·glect·ful adj. Characterized by neglect; heedless: neglectful of their responsibilities. See Synonyms at negligent. ne·glect homes and plopped in foster homes for safekeeping Safekeeping The storage of assets or other items of value in a protected area. Notes: Individuals may use self-directed methods of safekeeping or the services of a bank or brokerage firm. . Most of the time, they are better off. But with a $1 billion budget, and such precious charges, there is little room for error. In May, the embattled em·bat·tled adj. 1. Prepared or fortified for battle or engaged in battle: embattled troops; an embattled city. 2. director of the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Department of Children and Family Services, Peter Digre, resigned after eight years on the job. Just last year, a management audit criticized Digre and his top management staff for having a low level of credibility. Auditors found the department frequently was pushed into action by children's deaths and the latest studies on child-welfare practices. It's nice the supervisors found time to create a task force to review this deadly problem. Too bad it took them almost a year from the time the audit report was released. And now that they've been appointed, perhaps the task force could move with a little more urgency and broaden their review of how well the county monitors children who are allowed to remain with their parents. Seventeen children are dead. Isn't that enough to get a little worked up about and create immediate changes? Or is the magic number 20 before the county can find time to protect children? |
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