Issues

West Covina Fire Station Receives Safely Surrendered Newborn

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe is happy to announce that a baby boy was safely surrendered on Saturday, April 21, in the City of West Covina. The newborn male was surrendered at West Covina’s Fire Station 1 and was transferred to Queen of the Valley Hospital.

As is standard practice, the baby is in protective custody and will be placed with a family approved for adoption by the Department of Children and Family Services.

It is always a great day when we get word of a successful surrender, said Supervisor Knabe. This little boy has a healthy life ahead of him and he is truly a testament to the success of this program.

This is the ninth Safe Surrender in Los Angeles County in 2007, and the 56th since the program began six years ago. The program was initiated by Supervisor Knabe and approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors in 2001. It allows someone to surrender an infant that is no more than three days old, as long as the infant shows no signs of abuse.

Report Highlights Success of Safe Surrender Program

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe hailed a new investigative report today that highlights the successes of the County’s Safe Surrender Program. The just-released Safely Surrendered and Abandoned Babies Report by the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN) shows that the 72-hour Safe Surrender window has seen continued success, while the number of newborn abandonments in Los Angeles County continues to decline.

The ICAN report shows that during 2001, the first year of the Safe Surrender Program, there was not a single surrender in Los Angeles County. During the same year, 14 newborns were abandoned in the County. The number of annual abandonments has fallen since that first year in 2001, while the number of surrenders continues to grow. Eight newborns have already been surrendered in 2007, while only one abandonment occurred during the same period. All told, 55 newborns have been surrendered since the inception of the program.

Unfortunately, despite the positive numbers outlined in the ICAN report, the success of Safe Surrender is again threatened for the second time in only two years, said Supervisor Knabe. Lawmakers in the California State Assembly are debating a Bill that would do far more harm than good to Safe Surrender. Assembly Bill 81 (AB 81) would change the time to anonymously surrender a newborn from 72 hours to 30 days.

The ICAN report also revealed that of the newborn abandonments studied, not one abandonment occurred between 72 hours and 30 days after the child’s birth. All the abandonments happened within the first 72 hours of life.

This report is the latest evidence that shows 72 hours works, said Supervisor Knabe. The ICAN report reveals that the first hours of life are the most critical for a newborn that may be abandoned. The research shows that there is no evidence that moving the surrender window from 72 hours to 30 days will be of any benefit. We need to keep the focus where it belongs, on the first critical hours of life.

County Budget: Solid

A healthy local economy will allow the County to continue to improve services and build new facilities in 2007-08, particularly for public protection and health care, Chief Administrative Officer David E. Janssen said today in releasing the proposed $21.241 billion budget.

Experiencing a third year of improved financing, the County plans to spend $1.4 billion to improve or build jails, libraries, hospitals, animal shelters, fire and sheriff stations, parks, probation camps, juvenile halls and infrastructure.

It also plans to increase its 100,632 workforce by 1,425 employees to enhance sheriff patrols and anti-gang initiatives, and improve the care provided foster children, juvenile wards, mental health patients, jail inmates, and animals.

While improvements in services are wide-ranging, the majority of the increased funding — more than $370 million — is designated for public protection and health care issues.

Specifically, an additional $157.9 million is targeted for public safety, $128.4 million for justice services, and $82.7 million for health and mental health.

The Sheriff’s Department, under a court order to improve conditions for inmates, is slated to receive $19.3 million and 165.5 positions for its custody system, $245 million to refurbish Sybil Brand Institute for Women and build new women barracks at Pitchess Detention Center, and $16 million to design a major refurbishment at Men’s Central Jail.

Another $10 million is earmarked for custody medical services for the Sheriff’s Department as it assumes responsibility for inmate outpatient medical services currently provided at LAC+USC Medical Center.

$2.6 million is allocated to fully fund staff and operational costs associated with opening of the new Los Angeles Regional Crime Laboratory, scheduled to open in May, and $9.1 million to offset the loss of revenue from the cancellation of the state prisoner housing contract.

The budget recommends providing $17.3 million to add 105 deputies, eight support employees and one-time operation costs to enhance the patrols in the unincorporated areas.

Another $6.4 million is included to hire 47 employees in the Sheriff’s, District Attorney and Probation Departments to combat gang violence.

Under a federal decree to improve conditions for juvenile wards, the Probation Department would receive $20.9 million to redesign camps, restructure camp management and increase administration and support staff, increasing staff by 336 positions. Another $47 million would be set aside for one-time and ongoing critical needs, bringing commitment of new funding to the department since 2005-06 to $75.1 million.

To balance the Health Services Department budget, which is going up $61.1 million in increased operational costs, Janssen recommends providing $80 million from the General Fund, $50 million of which would be designated as an intergovernmental transfer to generate $100 million in additional revenues.

A 269-position decrease in Health Services is primarily due to discontinuing resident physician services at King-Harbor Hospital (249.5) and transferring 16 positions to the Department of Public Health. The majority of the cost of converting King-Drew Medical Center into King-Harbor Hospital is not included in the proposed budget; it will be addressed later in the budget process. The budget also does not include the impact of an improved nursing pay plan.

In preparing the health recommendations, Janssen said he used very optimistic assumptions – including receipt of $143 million in managed care supplemental rate increases during 2006-07 – which will be refined if needed in final changes to the Board before the budget is adopted in June.

The Mental Health Department for the third year is faced with having to cut existing positions while receiving substantial new revenue to add new programs and employees. Janssen recommends eliminating 147.3 positions to save $9.5 million to reduce the department’s structural deficit, while using $68.1 million in new revenues from Proposition 63 to add 220.9 positions to convert the operation from clinical services to community-based, client and family- driven recovery-oriented services. Proposition 63 precludes its revenues from being used for existing programs. The department has indicated the reductions would have minimal impact since the positions are currently vacant and are spread throughout the department instead of being focused on any one program.

Despite adding programs and projects, Janssen said the budget is a conservative one that reflects an ongoing budgetary uncertainty at both the national and state level.

The economic outlook for the County remains positive with slightly slower growth through 2007.

Continued job growth throughout the County coupled with increases in personal income will likely keep the economy from falling into a recession, Janssen said. While the housing bubble has not burst in the County, the housing market continues to contract.

Home prices continue to appreciate, but the slowing resale market presents the biggest risk to the County as it would impact property taxes, the County’s most important source of funding. Property taxes account for approximately 61 percent of the locally-generated revenue.

The budget assumes a conservative 6 percent growth in property tax, 3.5 percent in local sales tax, and 3.3 percent in state realignment vehicle license fees.

It does not include a potential $23.7 million loss of income from the state nor major reductions proposed by President Bush. The County will continue to work with both branches of government to try to minimize any impacts and will deal with any financing issues once the state and federal budgets have been finalized.

Other budget items include:

– $800,000 to the Department of Animal Care and Control to hire 16 employees for its centralized call center to reduce the long wait times and dropped calls.

– $1.4 million to both the Alternate Public Defender and Public Defender Offices to hire eight and 11 employees respectively to handle increased workload.

– $4.5 million to the Mental Health Department to fully implement a pilot project already approved by the Board to add 80 beds for intensive mental health services.

– $22.8 million to the Department of Children and Family Services to hire 329 employees to reduce caseloads and workloads; and $9.4 million for higher level of care for foster children.

– $400,000 to the Regional Planning Department for 10 positions for zoning enforcement, land use application processing, and updating the General Plan and zoning ordinances. The cost of providing services to the disabled and aging through the In-Home Supportive Services program, administered by the Department of Public Social Services, reflects a $39 million increase, due to higher salaries for workers, increased caseloads and increased

enrollment in the health care plan.

For the sixth consecutive year, the caseload for the IHSS program continues to rise while the number of persons receiving General Relief decreases. A 4.5 percent decrease in the GR caseload and anticipated lower-than-budgeted average cost per case is expected to save the County $11.9 million.

The 2007-08 budget marks the end of the County’s reliance on excess pension earnings to pay retirement costs. During the mid and late 1990s, the County relied heavily upon the use of unpredictable surplus retirement system earnings to meet its ongoing financing requirements. After Janssen became CAO in 1996, $30 million -$50 million was set aside each year to wean the County from reliance on these funds.

Janssen will recommend that an estimated $400 million that remains in the pension fund surplus be used to meet a new challenge facing the County, funding retiree health costs. The County currently funds these benefits on a pay-as-you-go basis instead of pre-funding the costs as it does with retirements. New governmental accounting rules require the liability to be identified, and the County is working with the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association on that calculation. Janssen said the study will not be completed until the end of the month but the County knows the liability will be substantial. The 2006-07 budget reflected a recognition that the County needed to start preparing for the issue by putting aside $17 million.

Among the notable capital projects in the budget are:

– $429.4 million for the improvements at Pitchess, Sybil Brand, and Men’s Central Jail; new sheriff station and probation field office in Athens; security improvements at probation juvenile halls and camps; refurbishment and expansion of the coroner’s facility; and new fire stations in the Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys. – $228.1 million for 192 land acquisition and improvement projects at beaches and parks.

– $194 million for general government facilities, including an animal shelter in the east Antelope Valley and an $80 million contribution to the replacement of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.

– $189.7 million for health and mental health facilities, including the final year of the LAC+USC Medical Center Replacement Project, construction of Harbor/UCLA Medical Center surgery/emergency room; Olive View/UCLA Medical Center emergency room/tuberculosis isolation unit and mental health urgent care center. – $119.1 million for new or replacement libraries in Acton/Agua Dulce, La Crescenta, Topanga Canyon, and unincorporated areas near Whittier and Lawndale; and refurbishment of Patriotic Hall.

– $100 million for high priority infrastructural improvements at County fire, flood control and aviation facilities; soil and groundwater investigation and remediation activities, and watershed testing efforts. – $77.5 million for high priority repairs and maintenance needs at County facilities, including probation camps, juvenile halls, and parks.

The budget is $197.7 million higher than the current $21.044 billion budget. Locally generated revenue (mainly property tax) makes up 28 percent of the budget. This $5.9 billion is what is known as net county cost and is what the Board of Supervisors has control over when allocating funding.

The budget allocates 28 percent (up 4 percent) to health and sanitation, 25 percent (up 3 percent) to public assistance, 27 percent (up 5 percent) to public protection, 13 percent (down 5 percent) to general government, 3 percent (up 4 percent) to recreation and culture, and 4 percent (down 32 percent) to other.

Janssen will present the budget to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, April 17 for adoption to allow public hearings to be held. Hearings will begin May 9, with adoption scheduled for June 18.

Statement by Supervisor Knabe on Proposed 2007-2008 Los Angels County Budget

While Los Angeles County continues to benefit from a healthy economy and a strong tax base, I am pleased that the Chief Administrative Officer’s proposed 2007-2008 budget focuses on limited new spending and keeps our budget from growing beyond our means.

This budget proposal shows that the focus of the County’s new spending is right where it should be, on programs and services that directly benefit local residents. Over three-fourths of the proposed new spending is going directly to increases in public safety and quality of life services, including over 100 new Sheriff’s deputies to serve our unincorporated communities.

I am still concerned about the Department Health Services, where the structural deficit is quickly reaching a day of reckoning. The health department is anticipating a shortfall of at least $80 million in this coming fiscal year, which must be addressed before we close the books on the year. The costs to maintain the department are massive and we need to eliminate these shortfalls before the County’s General Fund and available funding for other critical services are impacted.

Finally, I am very glad to see that my calls last year for the refurbishment of the Sybil Brand Institute for Women are being answered in this next budget year. The $245 million proposed for the refurbishment of Sybil Brand and the construction of new female barracks at Pitchess Detention Center is a critical step in ending the Early Release Program for the inmates in our jail system.

Los Angeles County Awarded $162 Million for Programs Addressing Healthcare Crisis

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) is one of 10 counties in the state that will receive a portion of a $540 million pot of federal funds to develop an innovative healthcare program for low income, uninsured adult patients.

Los Angeles County was awarded the largest and maximum allocation of $54 million annually for three years in the competitive bid, referred to as the Coverage Initiative, for a total funding allocation of $162 million for its Healthy Way L.A. program, which will start September 1.

The local initiative will enroll 94,000 uninsured county patients, many with chronic illnesses, in a program that establishes a community based medical home for the patient in the county’s health centers and public/private partner (PPP) clinics. The program will provide access to primary care services and regular treatment for chronic diseases.

Federal funding restrictions in the coverage initiative limit enrollees to adult citizens or documented residents living at the federal poverty level.

The department spent four months planning and writing its proposal, with extensive input from community stakeholders on ways to reform the current health system within a defined patient segment. A cornerstone of Healthy Way L.A. effort is to provide coordinated care by establishing a medical home for the patient in his or her community for preventive services and chronic disease management for conditions like diabetes, asthma, and congestive heart failure.

Tracking Down Child Support Payment Evaders

Seeking to crackdown on hundreds of the County’s most heinous child support payment evaders, Supervisor Don Knabe today introduced a motion designed to create a partnership between the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department (CSSD) and the Office of the District Attorney. The primary goal of this program would be to increase enforcement against parents who are the most delinquent in their child support payments.

CSSD goes to great lengths to pursue collection of child support payments on behalf of families in need, and always seeks to establish cooperative relationships with the parent required to make payments. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of parents currently in the County’s system that go to great lengths to evade their child support obligations, even after arrest warrants have been issued. There are approximately 2,000 parents who fall into this category, and they owe over $2.5 million in child support payments. Currently, CSSD does not have the means by which to proactively serve these warrants. One possible solution to this problem is a partnership with the District Attorney, which would utilize retired District Attorney Investigators to pursue these 2,000 parents.

Far too many families are struggling to pay their bills because this specific group of parents are choosing to evade or ignore their responsibilities, said Supervisor Knabe. Our goal here is to create a program that tracks down these uncooperative parents and forces them to pay their child support obligations.

Newborn Safely Surrendered in Bellflower

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe is pleased to announce the County’s Safe Surrender Program celebrated success again today with the report of another safely surrendered newborn. This most recent report of a surrender occurred in the City of Bellflower at Kaiser Permanente Hospital.

The newborn Hispanic female was surrendered on Monday, March 26 and is reported to be in good health. Although the surrender occurred on Monday, confirmation was just received today. It is normal for surrenders to take several days to be verified under the rules of the program. As is standard practice, the baby girl is in protective custody and will be placed with a family approved for adoption by the Department of Children and Family Services.

This is the seventh Safe Surrender in Los Angeles County in 2007, and the 54th surrender since the program began six years ago. The program was initiated by Supervisor Knabe and approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors in 2001. It allows someone to surrender an infant that is no more than 72 hours old, as long as the infant shows no signs of abuse.

This latest Surrender just goes to show that 72 hours works, said Supervisor Knabe. The Safe Surrender Program continues to be a tremendous success and I am happy to hear this baby girl is healthy.

$25,000 Reward Established for the Murder of a Security Guard in unincorporated Whittier

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved a $25,000 reward today for information in last month’s shooting death of Reyes Armando Garcia, at the request of Supervisor Don Knabe.

Garcia was shot and killed on the night of February 9, while working as a security guard at Oceans Sports Bar located at 14314 Telegraph Road, in the unincorporated area of Whittier. On that night, a group of males was observed drinking beer in the parking lot of the bar. The security staff approached the individuals and informed them that they could not drink in the parking lot and asked them to leave. One of the individuals punched Mr. Garcia, and one of the other suspects pulled out a gun and shot Garcia several times. The suspects sped away in a light colored pickup truck.

"These types of heinous crimes will not go unpunished, said Supervisor Knabe. We need to find the men responsible for the death of Mr. Garcia, and it is my hope that this reward will help lead to new information and ultimately an arrest.

Any person having any information related to this crime is asked to call the Homicide Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at (323) 890-5500.

Los Angeles County Funds 130 Summer Internships at 90 Arts Organizations

Los Angeles County, through its Arts Commission, has given grants totaling $530,000 to 90 performing, literary, media and municipal arts organizations throughout the County to support paid internships for college undergraduates in summer 2007, Supervisor Don Knabe announced today.

Descriptions of and contacts for the 130 internship positions are posted on the Arts Commission’s web site. Go to www.lacountyarts.org, click on Internships, then 2007 Internship Database. Click here for the direct link.

The positions are searchable by region, arts discipline, professional field and keyword. General information on the internship program is also available on the web site.

Organizations in the Fourth Supervisorial District offering arts internships include the following: the City of Manhattan Beach, the City of Torrance, International City Theatre, Long Beach Symphony Association and Public Corporation for the Arts/Arts Council for Long Beach.

Interested undergraduates should apply directly to the organization offering the internship, not the Arts Commission. College undergraduates either resident in or attending school in Los Angeles County are eligible for the internships. Interns are paid $350 per week for ten weeks and take part in educational and arts networking activities.

Through the program, interns gain a deeper understanding of the work involved in nonprofit arts administration and the role of the arts in a community, and develop business skills that can be put to use in their future careers. Internship host organizations help mold and shape potential new workers in the arts field who may go on to arts leadership positions on staffs, boards or as volunteers.

Examples of County internship experiences include the following:

– A production and education intern to work at the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra to assist with the preparation and planning for the 2007-2008 season including concert production, artist relations and education programs.

– An associate producer intern to work at the City of Torrance to join the producer and work on all aspects of production including publicity/marketing, administrative, community relations, sets, props, and related responsibilities. The intern’s primary focus will be on the summer musical (West Side Story).

– An arts learning department Intern to work at the Public Corporation for the Arts (Arts Council for Long Beach) to develop a completed student workbook and teacher’s manual for the department’s public art education program. Additionally, the intern will be exposed to other essential responsibilities of the Arts Learning department by serving as an associate to the department’s director.

Funding Approved for Marina del Rey Dredging Project

With today’s approval by the Board of Supervisors of a $1.6 million contribution, the County of Los Angeles has secured all the necessary funding to begin a major dredging project in Marina del Rey. Navigation into the Marina through the harbor’s north entrance from the Pacific Ocean has become hazardous and extremely restricted over the last several years due to the buildup of sand on the ocean floor near the north jetty. This dredging project will return the north entrance to its design depth of 20 feet and will place the clean sand removed from the area offshore from Dockweiler Beach to aid in beach replenishment.

Dredging of areas in and around the north entrance will be supervised by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as this navigation area is designated as a federal channel. The County offered to the Corps its financial assistance in order to complete the project, which will cost a minimum of $2.4 million. Approximately $1.4 million of the funding is expected to come from the Corps through the Federal budget. The additional $1.6 million financial contribution, approved by the Board of Supervisors today, will cover the remaining financial need and any unforeseen project costs. Any portion of the County’s contribution that is unused at the end of the project will be returned to County coffers.

The clean sand removed from dredging the Marina del Rey north entrance will be transported to an area just offshore from Dockweiler Beach near Imperial Boulevard in water approximately 15 to 30 feet deep. Underwater ocean currents will progressively push this new sand onshore along Dockweiler Beach and other South Bay beaches, replenishing beach sand washed away during winter storms in recent years.

The dredging project is scheduled to begin in December 2006 and be complete by March 15, 2007, well in advance of the peak summer season in the Marina. Work is expected to take place 24-hours a day and six or seven days a week. The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors will work with other agencies to ensure local residents, businesses and boaters are kept informed of the project’s progress and any potential impact on services. Additional buoys will be placed to help mariners avoid impacted areas in the Marina entrance.

This dredging project is going to lead to a number of important benefits for our community, said Supervisor Knabe. It will ensure that emergency response vessels from the Coast Guard, Lifeguards, and Fire and Sheriff’s Departments that are based in the Marina can safely navigate out of the channel to respond to emergencies and rescues along the Pacific Coastline. Also important is the improvement in public safety for navigating in and out of the channel for the 5,000 privately-owned vessels in the Marina. Finally, Dockweiler and our other South Bay beaches will benefit from a much-needed infusion of new sand thanks to the replenishment project.