LOS ANGELES COUNTY
CITIZENS ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY COMMISSION

ROOM 163 HALL 0F ADMINISTRATION 500 WEST TEMPLE / LOS ANGELES, CALIF0RNIA 90012 / 974-1491

Hon. Board of Supervisors
383 Hall of Administration
500 West Temple
Los Angeles, CA 90012

 

Dear Supervisors:

Agenda Item 66, Ordinance Amending Chapter 3.08 of the Los Angeles County Code Regarding the Commission for Children's Services

We have reviewed proposed Ordinance No. 84-0070, creating and continuing the Commission for Children. This Ordinance is proposed as one step in implementing the CAO's recommendations as adopted by the Board of Supervisors on February 13, 1990, pursuant to our recommendations of March, 1989, regarding the County's role in Family and Children's services.

We believe that the ordinance as presented should more specifically and more effectively provide for the flow of information to the Commission regarding County activity affecting children. Obtaining information is difficult for citizens' advisory commissions operating within the County structure. In recognition of this, the Board provides explicitly for cooperation and information in the ordinances of many commissions and committees, including

  • Citizens' Committee on Real Estate Management
  • The Delinquency and Crime Commission
  • The Commission on Disabilities
  • The Emergency Medical Care Commission
  • The Emergency Preparedness Commission
  • The Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Commission
  • The Commission on Youth
  • The Filming Advisory Committee
  • The Commission for Women

In our various meetings with the CAO to discuss our recommendations, Mr. Dixon pointed out that the County does recognize the need of Commissions for information, and expressed the wish that provisions recognizing it should be implemented in an omnibus ordinance provision of the County Code, thereby establishing a uniform system. Since no uniform system has been proposed, however, we believe that the provisions for the Children's Commission should be what we recommended:

  • the Commission for Children would both request and receive any County departmental information, services, facilities, and any other assistance for the purpose of performing its functions;
  • all County departments delivering services to children and their families would supply to the commission all recommendations regarding children proposed for Board action;
  • each County citizens' advisory commission and multijurisdictional council would notify the Commission for children of any significant matters coming before it which have an impact on Board policy affecting children and their families.

We modeled our recommendation on the Ordinance provisions for the Commissions listed above. They are consistent with the provisions for those commissions.

Considering the crucial importance of County services for children and their families, it is particularly critical to maintain the kind of continuing scrutiny the Commission for Children has performed in the system, regardless of how much an irritant it may rove to be to bureaucratic interests. Citizens' commissions need assurance of a consistent flow of information in order to be properly responsive to the Board of Supervisors.

We have reviewed the letter of the Children's Services Commission and the language proposed by the Commission as adopted at its meeting on August 6, 1990. We concur fully with the Children s Services Commission's recommendations.

Therefore, we RECOMMEND THAT:

1. The Board of Supervisors include in the Ordinance creating and continuing the Commission for Children the attached detailed provisions for the voluntary flow of information from County organizations to the Commission.
2. The Board of Supervisors amend the Ordinance with language as proposed by the Children's Services Commission.

Very truly yours,

Arthur J. Peever,
Chairman

 

Task Force On Children’s Services

Louise Frankel
Alfred J. Freitag
Robert J. Lowe
Lauro J. Neri