Which Way, L.A.?
LA County's Ongoing Foster Care Crisis
We talk with the Director of one of LA's most troubled agencies: the Department of Children and Family Services. Why is it getting harder to find foster families?
By Warren Olney • • 22m ListenChildren who are sometimes medically or mentally ill—and some infants—are being kept in holding centers so long that the state is threatening fines if there's no improvement by Wednesday. We talk with the Director of one of LA's most troubled agencies: the Department of Children and Family Services. Why is it getting harder to find foster families? Also, freeways and parking lots have replaced agricultural acreage in LA County, but there are still 1200 urban farms -- and almost all the County's 88 cities have different rules and regulations.
On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, the movement called LGBT — Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender -- has campaigned successfully for the rights of homosexuals. But the same activists have left out the rights of Transgender people. Now that Bradley Manning is Chelsea Manning (at right), will that make a difference? Will positive role models begin turning up in popular culture?
Banner image: The death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez, whose parents allegedly caused his death before he was put into foster care, has put the spotlight on the crisis at the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services. Photo: missing you
In this episode
2 storiesLA County's Foster Care Crisis Is Worse than Ever
Today's Los Angeles Times reports on what it calls a " crisis level " shortage of foster homes in Los Angeles County. There are fewer children needing placement, but they're among the hardest to place -- and the number of available homes is on the decline. The state is threatening to impose fines on Wednesday.
Read the story17 minCan Cities Keep Up with LA's Urban Agricultural Boom?
LA County may be the most populous in the nation, but there still are 1200 urban farms . That's according to UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs, which created the website CultivateLosAngeles.org .
Read the story7 min
