Last week, Governor Jerry Brown gave his annual “State of the State” speech. In it, he said that difficult budget decisions were made last year to cut the state’s budget deficit, but more would be required, and he would also be seeking approval from the voters for tax increases.

Governor Brown spoke at length about the unique character of California and its people. On this point, I could not agree with him more.  While California has suffered more than most states in these troubled economic times, it continues to be a place of opportunity, enterprise and innovation.  However, we must be more diligent in protecting and expanding what makes us distinctive so that we attract the people and businesses which will tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

In the meantime, while I appreciate the Governor’s attempts to balance the state budget, unfortunately the ‘hard decisions’ he referenced in his speech come at a huge cost to counties.  The hits to health and welfare programs impact the most vulnerable in our communities and will further strain the safety net.  He also moved the State out of receivership of its prisons by pushing thousands of inmates to county jails.  These decisions only push the problems down to the local level, where there is no funding to take them on.

I continue to hold out hope that this Governor and the Legislature will defy the disappointing trend of the last several years and come to agreement on a budget that is reasonable and recognizes that their problems should not be solved by just moving them somewhere else.

A few weeks ago, I received a deeply troubling briefing regarding minor girls who are being bought and sold as prostitutes across Los Angeles County.  Some of these girls are as young as 11 and 12.

While we often think of child sex trafficking as a problem in other countries, it’s happening right here in our backyard.  Right now, these young girls are being arrested for prostitution and often being released, as it is a misdemeanor charge.  As such, we think these numbers are representative of a much larger number of girls forced into prostitution who have not yet been arrested, or are not being determined to be sexual victims in screenings when placed in either foster care of the juvenile justice system.

That’s part of the biggest problem on this issue – we don’t know what we don’t know.  This week, I am asking the Probation Department to track and gather more statistics so that we get a real sense of what is happening out there.  Then we can aggressively address prevention tactics, figure out ways to combat the problem and develop aftercare programs.

I would also like to look at the possibility of establishing a special unit in the Probation Department, dedicated to sexually exploited minors and the development of specialized services for the victims of this horrendous crime.

These young girls have often suffered in their own homes and then move to a life on the streets where they are further victimized by local pimps and gangs.  As a grandfather it is horrifying to think of the lives these young girls face.  We must do everything we can to get these girls off the streets and on a path to a better life ahead.