Tagged With "health care"
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L.A. County to Implement State Plan to Prevent Unintended Pregnancies Among Youth (chronicleofsocialchange.org)
The state plan, “ California’s Plan for the Prevention of Unintended Pregnancies for Youth and Non-Minor Dependents ,” aims to address the fact that by age 21 over 1 in 3 girls in foster care will have given birth, according to a report by the Children’s Data Network. Representatives from all three departments, the child welfare advocacy community and at least one former foster youth will participate in developing the strategy. “What’s important here is to make sure we’re catering to the...
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L.A.'s chronic challenge: What to do with the mentally ill homeless who refuse help? (latimes.com)
Last week, at a strategy session in the offices of Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, the advocates passed around an outline calling for those who “refuse to accept the status quo” to stipulate, among other things, that “treatment is a right,” and that “to withhold treatment is cruel.” They’re aware, though, that they need to tread carefully. Celina Alvarez, executive director of the nonprofit Housing Works, said the group needs to make clear that it has no intention of abusing the rights of...
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L.A. Supervisors Demand Plan to Help “Crossover Kids,” Young People Failed by Two Juvenile Systems [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
We know that, statistically speaking, kids who spend time in Los Angeles County’s foster care system — or any foster care system, for that matter — have worse outcomes when they reach adulthood than youth who’ve never wound up in the child dependency system at all. Over the past few years, new California state laws that are sensitive to this problem, along with community-based programs and dedicated child advocates, have helped to ameliorate those bad stats to some degree. Yet there is...
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LA County Demographics of Homelessness Continuum of Care (lacounty.gov)
A Dynamic and Deepening Crisis That Demands Our Attention By Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas The Board of Supervisors’ most recent initiative set aside $4 million for teams of social workers and health professionals to go out into the streets of Skid Row and connect homeless single adults to housing and supportive services. Los Angeles County has half a million more very low-income households than available apartments so the typical monthly rent has skyrocketed 27 percent since...
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LA County Dept of Mental Health Director on homelessness, schools, jails and more (scpr.org)
Dr. Jonathan Sherin leads the largest Mental Health department in the nation and its challenges are deep and wide-ranging. Mental health challenges related to homelessness in Los Angeles, including the plan to convert a mental health facility in Canoga Park into transitional housing for the homeless and the Mental Health Department’s visits to a homeless encampment in Whittier The closure of “board-and-care” homes The plan to replace the Men’s Central Jail in Downtown with a mental health...
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LA County Health Chief Wants To ‘Catch’ People Dropped From Coverage (californiahealthline.org)
Los Angeles County arguably has more to lose than any other California county if the Affordable Care Act is repealed or dramatically scaled back. With more than 10 million residents, it is the state’s most populous county by far ― a distinction reflected in the number of Angelenos who obtained health coverage under Obamacare. One thing that’s changed is that we’ve learned some things from the ACA. We’ve learned that when you get coverage, it actually improves health status. Second, now we...
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Working at the intersection of violence and land use (preventioninstitute.org)
This past September, the Healthy, Equitable, Active Land Use (HEALU) Network convened a summit in Los Angeles to explore the nexus of land use and community safety, drawing nearly 100 community members, policymakers, and representatives of community-based organizations. Our new report shares key learnings from this summit and invites people working in land use, transportation, food policy, education, housing, and other areas to consider the ways their own work can support safe communities.
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Working with Childhood Trauma: Professional Services Training on June 23rd
Echo Parenting & Education's Professional Services Training will be hosted by The CA Endowment on Thursday, June 23rd, from 9am - 4pm. A first in their series of trainings, the attendees will receive a comprehensive review of the current science and deepened understanding of: * Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) student * Effects of trauma/toxic stress on attachment, the body and brain of a developing child * Survival responses and regulation * Trauma Informed Care * Intergenerational...
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12 Myths of the Science of ACEs
The two biggest myths about ACEs science are: MYTH #1 — That it’s just about the 10 ACEs in the ACE Study — the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study . It’s about sooooo much more than that. MYTH #2 — And that it’s just about ACEs…adverse childhood experiences. These two myths are intertwined. The ACE Study issued the first of its 70+ publications in 1998, and for many people it was the lightning bolt, the grand “aha” moment, the unexpected doorway into a blazing new...
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2nd Community Roundtable on November 10th @ 6:00 pm
Please join us! Attached, please find our Community Trauma / Community Healing Roundtable flyer. Hosted by Hillsides located at 149 Pasadena Avenue, South Pasadena 91030 on Tuesday, November 10th from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm, we look forward to...
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4 myths that make L.A. County's homeless problem worse [LATimes.com]
Some myths about homelessness get repeated so often that they become accepted as true. But with more than 31,000 people sleeping in our parks and on our sidewalks every night here in Los Angeles County, we cannot allow fallacies to drive our homeless policies. “Some people just want to live on the street” is perhaps the most dangerous myth about homelessness. Yes, some people resist moving into short-term shelters because that may require separating family members, losing one's...
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San Francisco Trauma Informed Systems Initiative 2014 Year In Review
The Department made the commitment to train all of its 9,000 staff to become trauma-informed. From the report: The Trauma Informed Systems Initiative Workgroup is led by Dr. Ken Epstein and currently staffed by a full time Coordinator, a team of 4...
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Santa Monica offers cash to seniors to help with rent (calmatters.org)
“We had one household where the participant was eating every other day,” said Lisa Varon, senior analyst with the city of Santa Monica. “We had another household where the participant was trading her parking space for protein powder. We had people who were forgoing medical or dental care that they needed and making really difficult choices. They were all managing to hang on by a just a tiny thread and they were doing it with a lot of dignity the last quarter of their lives.” Aging in...
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Self Care Webinar on 11/16/16 Hosted by Futures Without Violence
Compassion Fatigue & Self-Care for Individuals and Organizations Brought to you by Futures Without Violence’s Supporting Organizational Sustainability Institute (SOS Institute) in partnership with the Office on Violence Against Women. Date: Wednesday, November 16, 2016 Time : 9:30 a.m. PT, 10:30 a.m. MT, 11:30 p.m. CT, 12:30 p.m. ET (1 Hr. 30 Min.) ***Closed caption will be provided. Registration Link:...
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Sesame Street's Traumatic Experiences Website / First 5 CA Care, Cope Connect Resource
Thanks to Alejandra Labrado from First 5 Sacramento for providing the links to these resources! Sesame Street's Traumatic Experiences: https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/traumatic-experiences/ When a child endures a traumatic experience, the whole family feels the impact. But adults hold the power to help lessen its effects. Several factors can change the course of kids’ lives: feeling seen and heard by a caring adult, being patiently taught coping strategies and...
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So you know about ACEs...Turn your AHA! into Action!
Spring is the time for rebirth and new beginnings! As we look around, we can observe nature around us awakening after a long winter sleep. A true sign of resilience. At Origins , we have been lucky enough to create a space for growth and learning for both groups and individuals who work towards creating environments of healing and resilience over the winter months. After completing the first round of The Resilience Champion Certificate of 2018, we have 23 graduates putting their action plans...
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Spirituality in Post-Traumatic Growth
One of the five domains of post-traumatic growth is spirituality. Helping us understand the role of spirituality in recovering from trauma at the Echo Frontiers of Resilience conference is Shaun Tomson . If you think the name and face look familiar then perhaps you know him from his days as a world champion surfer. Shaun needed every single one of the lessons he had learned about facing challenges in the form of towering waves and overcoming wipe-outs when he lost his 15-year-old son to a...
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SPOTLIGHT ON: 2020MOM
Based on what we know about ACEs science, healthy mothers others are our future! I had the pleasure of chatting with Joy Burkhard from 2020Mom this week to learn about the work that she and the amazing team-members are doing all throughout our beautiful state to improve maternal mental health. Founded in 2011 as the California Maternal Mental Health Collaborative, 2020Mom has evolved as a national organization with a mission: closing gaps in maternal mental care through education, advocacy...
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Starting July 7- FREE Nonviolent Parenting Classes
Beginning Tuesday, July 7 Echo Parenting & Education will be offering a free Summer series of Nonviolent Parenting classes at our office nearDodger Stadium. Tuesdays from 4pm - 6pm and Wednesdays from 12pm - 2pm . L.A. Fathers offers support for adolescent parents as well as access to bus tokens, diapers and food bank. Child care is available during class time as well. Please contact our office to pre-register for this free program...
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States Produce a Bumper Crop of ACEs bills in 2017—nearly 40 bills in 18 states
A scan done in March by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) through StateNet of bills introduced in 2017 that specifically include adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the text produced a surprising volume of bills (close of 40) in a large number of states (18). A scan done a year ago produced less than a handful. NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves both state legislators and their staffs. The shear volume of bills in so many states represents a promising...
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Strengthening Community Trust Sypmposium - Family & Youth Support Partner Initiative
The Diversity Development Center invites you to attend the first in a series of Strengthening Community Trust Symposiums to take place at Marina Village Conference Center Building A, 1936 Quivira Way, San Diego, CA 92109 on July 18th and 19th, 2018. FAMILY & YOUTH SUPPORT PARTNER MODEL A Family and Youth Support Partner is an individual, with lived experiences in the respective system(s), who is trained and hired to help other families as a paraprofessional. We believe trust is the...
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Study: Community Trauma from Gun Violence Results in Negative Health and Behavioral Outcomes (Violence Policy Center)
Research on trauma is frequently featured in mainstream news outlets, pointing to its connection to a range of behavioral and health outcomes. While trauma can have multiple interpretations, for the purposes of this report, it is the result of experiencing or witnessing chronic and sustained violence, or specific events that can have lasting effects on individuals. Researchers have identified 13 distinct types of trauma, including community violence. Community violence is an umbrella term...
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Supervisors Want More Diversity Among County Doctors (egpnews.com)
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to diversify the pool of doctors working at county hospitals, trauma centers and health care facilities. Supervisor Hilda Solis proposed coordinating with labor unions to recruit more culturally and linguistically competent physicians to staff the second largest municipal health care system in the nation. By ensuring that our physicians are as diverse as the patients they see, we place a strong emphasis on effective and...
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Supes Vote To Boost Housing Support For LA’s Transition-Age Foster Youth [witnessla.com]
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion aimed at improving housing services for foster youth transitioning to adulthood, a population at particular risk of homelessness. “Youth transitioning out of foster care have often experienced significant trauma throughout their young lives,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis, the motion’s author. “Coupled with supportive services, housing can make the difference between homelessness and long-term success. By addressing some...
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Survey Infographic from TIC Task Force of Greater LA
Team member Devika Shankar has a talented gift of creating surveys and infographics! Please find the Survey Results from the Trauma Informed Care Task Force of Greater Los Angeles. Thank you Devika!
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Teen Dating Violence is Widespread, but Underreported [calhealthreport.org]
After her visit at an adolescent medical clinic in Los Angeles in January, 19-year-old Serena was afraid to go home. Six days before, her boyfriend had beaten her so badly that she had to go to the emergency room. Serena’s name has been changed to protect her safety. “She was so sad and so scared,” said Monica Sifuentes, my colleague and an adolescent medicine pediatrician at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, who treated Serena. With visible sadness, she told me Serena’s story. Serena, who is...
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Please RSVP: July 14, 2015 Los Angeles Trauma Informed Care Task Force Launch Event
Flyer attached. Please RSVP at: https://docs.google.com/forms/...nI64hSfdp_s/viewform You're invited to attend the launch of the Los Angeles Trauma Informed Care Task Force- dedicated to promoting a culture of comprehensive approaches that...
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The Lost Children of Los Angeles County: Foster Care Reform Moves Steadily Through Growing Pains [pasadenanow.com]
From Pasadena Now, March 9, 2020 As upwards of 18,000 children now move through the LA County Foster Care system, it has long meant that those young people may continually bounce from home to home, with an ever-dwindling number of care providers among the County’s 88 cities. But now the State is almost three years into implementing a new system with one simple goal—to move foster children into “forever families,” or long-term homes, more swiftly. The lofty aim requires a massive budget, a...
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The Promise of Post-Traumatic Growth
“Things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.” – Hanya Yanagihar Post-traumatic growth is the recognition that however horrific our experiences, we as human beings have incredible ability to adapt, survive and integrate, to grow stronger… and then turn around and use that experience to help others. This has caused Echo to change the way we teach about...
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The Ubering of Foster Care has Begun [ChronicleofSocialChange.org]
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/ubering-foster-care/21670 Earlier this month , I wrote a story about how Los Angeles County was considering using ridesharing services like Uber to improve “family visitation.” The problem in L.A. and across the country is that it is hard to transport children and their parents to court-ordered visits. My back-of-the-envelope math suggested that if every L.A. foster child were to be afforded one hour of visits a week – way less than court...
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Thousands participate in LA Homewalk to help end homelessness (dailynews.com)
Almost 12,000 people participated in Saturday’s 10th annual HomeWalk, setting a record, raising more than $1 million to help end homelessness, organizers said. Elise Buik, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Eric Dickerson spoke before the 5- kilometer walk/run held at Grand Park for the first time. It was previously held in Exposition Park. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation matched every $5,000 a person or team raised with another...
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TIC Task Force of Greater LA messaging infographic
Created by TIC Task Force of Greater LA Co-Chair Devika Shankar, the beautiful messaging infographic reflects the grassroots team committed to creating a culture of safe communities and fostering community healing.
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Trauma-Informed Awareness Day in California (ACR 235) May 22nd, 2018
California is one step closer to becoming a trauma-informed state. ACR 235 authored by Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula of Fresno designates May 22nd, 2018 as Trauma-Informed Awareness Day to highlight the impact of trauma and the importance of prevention and community resilience through trauma-informed care. Please find attached ACR 235. Congratulations to the County of Los Angeles Trauma and Resiliency-Informed Systems Change Initiative! (context below) WHEREAS, Trauma-informed care has...
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Trauma Informed Care Training - Young & Healthy
Trauma Informed Care is an organizational structure and treatment framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma. Trauma Informed Care also emphasizes physical, psychological and emotional safety for both consumers and providers, and helps survivors rebuild a sense of control and empowerment. Join us for part one of a three part training series on Trauma Informed Care. At this first training "Creating a Trauma Informed Workplace" we...
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Trauma Informed Schools: Part 2, Creating Trauma Informed Classrooms
In October a video showing a senior deputy yank a student from her seat and flip her desk at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina went viral on the Internet. This incident gained wide national attention and demonstrates the need for...
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Trauma-Informed Uber (chronicalofsocialchange.org)
As Los Angeles County mulls the idea of using ride-sharing services to escort foster youth to visitations with biological parents, some child-welfare experts wonder how such a service would be able to grapple with children with significant experiences of trauma and loss. Children in the county’s foster-care system remain spread out across the vast geographical expanse of Los Angeles County. Trips to court, meetings with social workers or visitations with parents or other family members can...
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Trauma Screenings Advisory Group (AB 340) Hosts First Meeting
On Friday, April 20, 2018, the AB 340 Workgroup, otherwise known as the Trauma Screenings Advisory Group, met for the first time to discuss the legislative charge to update, amend, or develop, if appropriate, tools and protocols for screening children for trauma as defined, within the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit in Medi-Cal. Both Children Now and Center for Youth Wellness were appointed members of the Trauma Screenings Advisory Workgroup, and we...
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USC School of Social Work Hosts Paper Tigers Screening
Dulce Acosta, ACEs Connection Community Liaison, and Devika Shankar, Co-Chair of TIC Task Force of Greater Los Angeles Over two hundred individuals gathered last week at the University of Southern California's screening of the award-winning document film, Paper Tigers . Hosted by the USC School of Social Work, the screening was sponsored by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), USC Alumni, USC Career Development Department, and the Trauma Informed Care Task Force of Greater Los...
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Welcome to the TIC Education Workgroup
Welcome to the TIC Education Workgroup! For those that were unable to attend our recent community round table, the Greater LA Task Force is mobilizing through the formation of specific workgroups. These groups will inform the Task...
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What Children’s Brains Tell Us About Trauma: Invest Early
This article, written by Wendy Smith, addresses the challenges created by trauma, and why it's important to address these issues as early as possible. While the article focuses more on the role of social workers, parents, and foster care systems, this same information applies to anyone who works with children, regardless of where we have the opportunity to provide support. ~ Leisa Irwin, ACEs in Education group manager. What Children’s Brains Tell Us About Trauma: Invest Early, by Wendy...
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What’s Behind California’s Sudden Urge to Help the Homeless? It’s the Rich! (citywatchla.org)
CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--How did homelessness suddenly become such a hot issue across California? There are many reasons, and few of them have anything to do with people who are homeless. Those reasons—economic anxiety, budget surpluses, tax schemes, housing prices, prison reform, health care expansion, urban wealth, and political opportunism have combined to create today’s “homeless moment” in California. In Los Angeles, which has the nation’s second largest homeless population according to...
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Who Helps Our Helpers? "Portraits of Professional Caregivers" Documents in Film Their Passion and Pain.
Director and producer Vic Compher’s documentary film, Portraits of Professional Caregivers: Their Passion. Their Pain , takes a deeper look at the causes of and treatments for what’s called secondary traumatic stress, a condition commonly...
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Why Do LA’s Foster Care Facilities Keep Calling The Cops On Traumatized Kids? (witnessla.com)
On March 21, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed an important motion that instructed the Director of the Office of Child Protection, Michael Nash, former presiding judge of Los Angeles County’s Juvenile Court, to find out why so many of LA County’s foster children were crossing into the county’s delinquency system, what could be done to prevent that crossing, and how these so-called crossover kids could be helped if and when and if they found themselves in the clutches of both...
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Why trauma-informed care is needed in Los Angeles County: Guest commentary [DailyNews.com]
When Jake was a child, his parents would scream at him every day. They told him everything he did was wrong and he was worthless. One day when Jake was 4, his father threw him against the wall three times. It was not until his mother found Jake talking to himself at age 12 that she saw he — and her family — needed help. When Jake entered therapy, he was hearing voices in his head and had a severe stutter. He never felt safe and found it hard to trust others. Today, Jake, a 58-year-old Los...
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With an epidemic of mental illness on the streets, counties struggle to spend huge cash reserves (latimes.com)
When California voters passed a tax on high-income residents in 2004, backers said it would make good on the state’s “failed promise” to help counties pay for the treatment of the mentally ill. After nearly 15 years, Proposition 63 — the Mental Health Services Act — has steered billions of dollars to the counties across the state. But huge sums remain unspent at a time when mental illness has become an epidemic among the homeless population. As of June 2017, $1.6 billion was being held in...
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LA County Supes Seek Better Care And Outcomes For Pregnant And Post-Partum Incarcerated Women And Girls And Their Babies (witnessla.com)
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to identify ways to better support pregnant women and girls in the county’s jails and juvenile lockups. The motion, authored by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, directs the Department of Health Services and the sheriff’s department, in coordination with other relevant county departments to report back to the board in 90 days with data on the number of pregnant women and girls in sheriff’s department or probation custody,...
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LA County Supes Vote To Keep Pregnant Teens Out Of Lockup
Written by Taylor Walker In February 2018, the LA County Board of Supervisors voted to look at ways to better support pregnant women and girls in the county’s jails and juvenile lockups. Acknowledging that incarcerated pregnant girls and women often live in poor conditions before giving birth and being separated from their babies, the February motion , authored by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, directed the Department of Health Services to report back to the board in 90 days with...
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LA County to provide more support to relatives caring for foster children (svgtribune.com)
Image: fostercarekidsneedlovetoo.files.wordpress.com About 9,000 foster children in Los Angeles County — or 52 percent of all county foster youth — live with relatives, DCFS Director Philip Browning told the Board of Supervisors. A 2015 survey of relative caregivers, many of whom care for more than one child, found that 51 percent of those responding were 51-70 years old. About half of the foster children are grandsons or granddaughters. That means that many of the caregivers are...
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LA County women are getting healthier, study finds, but poverty and homelessness rise [DailyNews.com]
More of Los Angeles County’s women now have medical insurance, are employed, don’t smoke and are less likely to die of breast cancer or heart disease, according to a report released Wednesday. But an increased number also live in poverty, are homeless and have difficulty accessing health care. The concluding message behind the data compiled in a triennial report by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is that while many gains have been made for women in the last several years,...
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LA officials call for overhaul of system that cares for severely mentally ill (scpr.org)
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted to pursue an overhaul of the Office of the Public Guardian by looking for ways to bring down caseloads, improve the quality of services, and ensure those who qualify for public guardianship are getting adequate care. The move comes as the county embarks on a massive effort to address homelessness and cut the number of people ending up in jail because of untreated mental illness. At the moment, the office serves as a conservator for 2,700...