PEOPLE MUST MAKE EFFORT TO KEEP OUR KIDS SAFE : OVERSIGHT SHOULD PROTECT FUNDS FROM BEING WASTED.

Byline: Jayne Murphy Shapiro

AS Los Angeles County attempts to prioritize how to spend millions of dollars from Proposition 10 for our children, the voting public must ensure that the money is spent on providing safe havens for our youth.

In November, the voters supported the proposed sin tax on tobacco that among other things raises funds for youth programs. Proposition 10 imposes an additional excise tax on cigarettes of 50 cents per pack raising the total state excise tax to 87 cents per pack.

As an original supporter of this initiative, Kids Safe felt that these funds were badly needed for after-school educational and child safety programs. Unlike other taxes that get lost in Sacramento, 80 percent of the tax money is guaranteed to go directly to the 58 counties in the state. A local commission made up of experts in health care, education and child care are about to decide how to spend the money on programs that meet the priorities of parents in our community.

Now comes the challenge - how to ensure that the money that flows from the tax is spent on worthwhile programs that actually benefit children. A Families and Work Institute study showed that every dollar spent on early childhood programs can save taxpayers up to $7 in remedial education, welfare and juvenile crime.

As we have learned from the Proposition BB bond measure that was designed to physically improve our schools, guarding against wasteful spending by government bureaucrats can be a full-time job. Where there are big pots of money to fix social problems, there are people with some sticky fingers.

In order to ensure that the estimated $88.7 million being funneled to Los Angeles County is spent wisely and effectively, we must support the work of the task forces which are designed to let communities decide how the millions of dollars should be spent.

People on the front lines, from parents to educators at the local level, must have key leadership roles in allocating funds and tracking how they are spent. How many times have you asked yourself, Where did the lottery money go that was supposed to go to the schools?

We must make sure that the funds reach the local level and benefit the children rather than bloated bureaucracies.

The funds from Proposition 10 should address the very safety of our children. Crime is a health issue and mental issue as much as it is a physical issue. We as a society have a stringent obligation to care for our children in every way possible.

The recent California State Board of Education Safe Schools Assessment Report pointedly illustrated that our kids are in peril on school grounds. Incidents of knives being confiscated on school campuses are up 16 percent. Violent crimes on our elementary school grounds are also up. Schools, once safe havens of learning, now are new sources of fear for our kids. Children who are in fear in the classrooms or on the playground after school will not be able to learn properly.

Kids Safe suggests that one of the first spending priorities for the oversight committee ought to be an allocation of funds to LA's BEST. LA's BEST is a model after-school enrichment program that succeeds at keeping kids safe so that we have sanctuaries for our children after school.

We need more after-school programs whose philosophy is to provide our children with a safe, fun and engaging environment after the regular school day ends. Every school in the county needs this program that offers parents a secure and comfortable place for their children to go for after-school enrichment activities.

The nationally recognized LA's BEST program provides a place for young people to be exposed to and learn about arts and culture. The hands-on after-school programs they offer tie wonderfully into efforts to improve the education system and embrace the spirit of the voters when they passed Proposition 10.

Kids Safe was originally founded to protect our children from molesters, gangs and thugs. Now let's see that we can protect our kids from those who would take these funds away from where the monies are most needed.

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Jorge Irribarren/Daily News