Antelope Valley Press

County will assess its child protection

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor­s today will consider a proposed motion introduced by board Chair Lindsey Horvath and Supervisor Janice Hahn to reimagine the Office of Child Protection.

The office was created a decade ago, a year after the torture and murder of 8-yearold Gabriel Fernandez at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend.

The Office of Child Protection was created on June 10, 2014, when the board adopted the Los Angeles County Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Protection recommenda­tions, which included the creation of the Office of Child Protection, although it did not have the powers or oversight envisioned by the commission nor any budgetary authority as it was housed within the county’s Executive Office and reported to the board directly.

“Since the creation of the OCP in 2014, the world has drasticall­y changed. In the last several years, the Board committed to advancing a ‘Care First, Jails Last’ vision, focused on direct community investment­s, building up supportive services, and funding alternativ­es to incarcerat­ion,” the motion said. “The Board has prioritize­d racial equity, creating the AntiRacism, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative and adopting a racial equity strategic plan, and has emphasized the importance for reimaging child welfare and safety with these equity principals in mind. The Board has focused on prevention and promotion, adopting several motions focused on expanding programs and services to support residents in their own communitie­s before ever encounteri­ng County systems.”

The child welfare population in the county dropped from more than 30,000 to less than 23,000 as of March, according to the motion.

“The language in the child welfare space has also evolved,” the motion said. “Now is the time to truly recognize and acknowledg­e that our families do not need protection from themselves, but instead, they need holistic supports, better coordinati­on, healing, and justice.”

The supervisor­s’ proposed motion would instruct the executive director of the Office of Child Protection to report back in writing within 180 days with a comprehens­ive review of the original vision and intent for the Office of Child Protection based on the recommenda­tions made by the commission including, but not limited to, how the office fulfilled the recommenda­tions adopted by the board; which recommenda­tions remained unfulfille­d; what barriers to recommenda­tions implementa­tion exist; and which areas need to be strengthen­ed. The report should also include a list of the office’s accomplish­ments.

The proposed motion also calls for the creation of a fiveyear strategic plan and framework that encompasse­s and centers child and family wellbeing, as well as recommenda­tions on expanding the office’s scope and possible restructur­ing to include all children and families within the county that is rooted in Systems of Care for Children and Youth.