DCFS Given Four Awards for Innovative Programs

 

		County of Los Angeles DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES   425 Shatto Place, Los Angeles, California  90020 (213) 351-5602
Board of Supervisors GLORIA MOLINA First District MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS Second District ZEV YAROSLAVSKY Third District DON KNABE Fourth District MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH Fifth District   PATRICIA S. PLOEHN, LCSW Director

 

 

     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

     November 24, 2010

 

 

Contact:  Neil Zanville

                 DCFS Office of Public Affairs

                 (213) 351-5886

 

 

 

DCFS Awarded Four 2010 NACO Achievement Awards for Innovative County Programs

 

(LOS ANGELES, November 24) - The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is the recipient of four 2010 National Association of Counties (NACO) Achievement Awards. The awards recognize innovative programs that exemplify the County's mission to "enrich lives through effective and caring service." On Tuesday, November 23^rd, Supervisor Gloria Molina and Chief Executive Officer William T Fujioka presented the NACO Achievement Awards to DCFS Director Patricia S. Ploehn at a special Board ceremony.

 

DCFS was honored for the following innovative programs:

 

• Tamar Village is a partnership between Shields for Families, a family-centered treatment community agency, DCFS, Sheriff's Department, Public Defender's Office, and Alcohol and Drug Program Administration; the Corporation for Supportive Housing and California State University, Dominguez Hills, which provides comprehensive substance abuse treatment services with priority status for women who are involved with child welfare and are re-entering the community from the criminal justice system.

 

• The Prevention Initiative Demonstration Project was launched on February 26, 2008 as a $5 million, one-year child abuse and neglect prevention project led by DCFS in partnership with 12 community-based organizations selected as leads or co-leads of local networks that were serving each of the County's eight regional Service Planning Areas with a total of 89 agencies taking part in the networks.

 

• Both the South County and Torrance regional offices of DCFS created unique partnerships with the community and opened the County's first Family Visitation Centers in October 2008 to provide a neutral and homelike space for children and parents to interact. 

 

·         In the spring of 2008, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina spearheaded and funded a pilot project to improve educational outcomes for foster and probation youth in collaboration with the DCFS, the Pomona Unified School District, the Montebello Unified School District, the County's Chief Executive Office, Casey Family Programs, and the Los Angeles County Education Coordinating Council.

 

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Cold Weather Advisory: Low Temperatures Expected in Parts of Los Angeles County

For Immediate Release:
November 24, 2010

Cold Weather Advisory:
Low Temperatures Expected in Parts of Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES - The County Health Officer is issuing a Cold Weather
Advisory for the desert, valley and mountain areas due to the National
Weather Service's forecast for low temperatures in the 20s and low 30s
beginning Thursday and lasting through Sunday. Temperatures for the
greater Los Angeles area, including the coastal areas, are expected to
be in the 40s through the 60s.

"Because children and the elderly are especially vulnerable during
such cold snaps, care should be taken to ensure they don't get too
cold when they are outside," said Jonathan E. Fielding, M.D., M.P.H.,
Director of Public Health and Health Officer. "There are places where
people can go to stay warm, such as shelters or other public facilities.
We also want to remind people not to use stoves, barbeques or ovens to
heat their homes due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning."

A Winter Shelter Program is available for seniors and those looking for
a place to stay warm. Locations and transportation information can be
found on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's website at:
http://www.lahsa.org/year_round_shelter.asp, or by calling the LA
County Information line at 2-1-1 from any landline or cell phone. For
the deaf and hearing disabled, please call the TDD line at
1-800-660-4026.

Take precautions to protect yourself from the cold:
● Dress in layers of warm clothing if you plan to be outdoors.
● Protect extremities from the cold by wearing a hat, scarf,
gloves, and socks.
● Offer to help those in your neighborhood with limited access to
heat, such as seniors or those who are ill. Check on them frequently.
● During peak cold times, if you don't have a heater in your
home, visit indoor public facilities such as shopping malls, libraries
or senior centers.
● If you use an outdoor generator, place it as far away from the
home as possible.
● Stoves, barbeques and ovens can produce a deadly gas known as
carbon monoxide when used to heat a home. Never use these appliances in
place of approved heaters such as electric, natural gas, or fireplaces.

● Install a carbon monoxide detector in your home to reduce the
risk of poisoning.

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include shortness of breath,
headaches, muscle and joint pain, and nausea. Exposure to high levels of
carbon monoxide could lead to death within minutes. Those suffering from
carbon monoxide poisoning should be taken outside, into fresh air,
immediately, and should be taken to an emergency room for immediate
medical treatment.

The Department of Public Health is committed to protecting and
improving the health of the nearly 10 million residents of Los Angeles
County. Through a variety of programs, community partnerships and
services, Public Health oversees environmental health, disease control,
and community and family health. Public Health comprises more than 4,000
employees and an annual budget exceeding $750 million. To learn more
about Public Health and the work we do, please visit
http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

# # #

NOVEMBER 30 2010 AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS

AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS

                           Board of Supervisors, County of Los Angeles  

                                                           

Contact:  Judy Hammond, Director of Public Affairs, (213) 974-1363

                 Brian Lew, Assistant Director, (213) 974-1652

Live videofeed, English and Spanish, Telco #948075      Audio–(213) 974-4700 or

                                                                                       (877) 873-8017 ext. 111111# English

                                                                                                            ext. 222222# Spanish

Agenda and supporting documents:  http://bos.co.la.ca.us/Categories/Agenda/AgendaHome.asp

Agenda Highlights: http://ceo.lacounty.gov/press.htm                                                       

 

  Nov. 24, 2010

               

Nov. 30 Agenda Highlights

(Meeting begins at 9:30 a.m.) 

 

Report scheduled on the financial status and planning activities for the Department of Health Services (Item S-1, 11:30 a.m., cont. from 11/16) 

 

Acceptance of $250,000 grant would fund installation of video surveillance equipment at several housing developments in South Los Angeles and East Los Angeles, in effort to deter criminal activity. (Item 1-H)

 

$750,000 proposal would partially fund project to purchase/preserve open space areas bordering San Fernando/Santa Clarita Valleys, as part of Elsmere Canyon acquisition project.  (Item 1-P, 7, 28)

 

Approval sought to sell $33 million in bonds to finance the construction of a conference center at the Pomona Fairplex.  (Item 1-R, 1-F, 67)

 

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas requests $10,000 reward for information leading to arrest and/or conviction of person(s) responsible for the murder of Linda Newson on May 19 in Los Angeles.  (Item 2)

 

Acceptance of $180,000 from LAUSD would fund technical assistance as part of the Steps to Excellence Project (STEP), and the issuance of STEP child care rating results for up to 67 LAUSD child care centers.  (Item 6)

 

$46 million proposal would fund transit-oriented development in Compton, which would include construction of a senior activity center, community center, and parking structure.  (Item 10)

 

Motion calls for reviewing current policy on using a County contractor’s prior performance information in evaluating proposals, and development within 120 days of a fair and consistent scoring methodology that can be used Countywide.    (Item 14)

 

Proposal would declare official the results of statewide General Election held Nov. 2.  (Item 15)

 

Recommendation would allow hiring of 21 employees to provide mental health services in Health Services facilities in effort to eliminate stigma in accessing care and integrate mental health services with health care.  (Item 24)

 

$564,270 proposal would fund boating education program designed to reduce the amount of sewage/waste that enters the County’s coastal waters.  (Item 36)

 

$160,000 settlement, plus assumption of a $153,387 Medi-Cal lien and $7,740 Medicare lien, proposed for Juan Aguirre for medical negligence lawsuit arising from treatment received while hospitalized at the Olive View Medical Center.  (Item 51)

 

Action would approve $500,000 settlement in lawsuit filed by Ara and Georgette Boyajian for damage caused by a sewer back-up.  (Item 52)

 

$499,000 settlement proposed for Francisco Duarte for medical negligence lawsuit arising from treatment received while hospitalized at LAC+USC Medical Center.  (Item 53)

 

Board asked to approve $245,000 settlement in lawsuit filed by woman who said she was sexually assaulted by an on-duty sheriff’s sergeant.  (Item 54)

 

$275,000 settlement proposed for Jennifer Johnson for medical negligence lawsuit arising from treatment received while hospitalized at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.  (Item 55)

 

$950,000 settlement proposed for Felipe Medina in lawsuit arising from injuries sustained in a car accident involving Department of Mental Health employee.  (Item 56)

$3.3 million settlement proposed for Antonia Roman in lawsuit arising from injuries sustained in a car accident involving a County fire truck.  (Item 57)

 

Discussion scheduled on actions taken in past year to improve risk management and reduce lawsuits.  (Items 68, 69 and 70)

 

Report set on current funding structure for County Library system and ways to address chronic shortfalls.  (Item 71)

 

Public hearing to be held on proposed amendments to County Fire Code, including film permit fees.  (Item 72)

 

--lacounty.gov--

 

Patt Morrison for Friday, 11/26/2010 - Day after Thanksgiving - SHOW ON TAPE

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING PROGRAM ON TAPE

Friday, November 26, 2010

1-3 p.m.

 

ENGINEER: PLEASE USE “DO NOT CALL” SPOT

 

 

1:00 – 1:20

Love all: Patt welcomes Billie Jean King to the court

Sure, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor and she founded the Women’s Tennis Association, the Women’s Sports Foundation, Women’s Sports Magazine and co-founded GreenSlam, an environmental initiative for the sports industry and yes, it is true that she serves on the boards of the Women’s Sports Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and we can’t forget that she won 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles tennis titles, including a record 20 titles at Wimbledon. But, you may have to admit that isn’t what you remember her for, is it? In 1973, Billie Jean King played in and won what many consider the most famous tennis match of all time, the infamous game dubbed the “Battle of the Sexes.” Somehow, her defeat of tennis legend Bobby Riggs brought attention and legitimacy to women’s tennis and to female athletes in a way that nothing before it had managed to do. From struggling to get by on $100 dollars a week as a playground instructor to recognized Global Mentor for Gender Equality – we welcome to the court, Billie Jean King.

 

Guests:

Billie Jean King, founder of the Women’s Tennis Association (1973), and the Women’s Sports Foundation (1974); author of Pressure is a Privilege: Lessons I’ve Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes

 

1:20 – 1:40

Working in a man's world (well, what used to be a man's world)

It's 1950 and you're a woman. What do you do all day? Assumedly, you get up early, make lunch for your husband and three little ones, rush them off to work and the school bus respectively, vacuum, do some laundry, make dinner, pick the kids up from school, and then try to get to bed at a decent hour in preparation for tomorrow. Flash forward to 2010 - there are still many homemakers, but women are very much a part of the working world, with jobs ranging from receptionists to CEO's and news anchors. The earnings gap between men and women has shrunk to an all-time low, and 15 Fortune 500 companies are run by women. So what's changed over the last few decades, and is there a big difference between the working man and the working woman?

 

Guests:

Graciela Meibar, Vice President of Global Sales Training and Global Diversity for Mattel, Inc., one of the world’s largest toy companies, with approximately $6 billion in annual sales.

 

Tory Johnson, founder and CEO of Women for Hire, and the workplace contributor on ABC’s Good Morning America.  In her latest book, Fired to Hired: Bouncing Back from Job Loss to Get to Work Right Now she writes about her struggle with a pink slip and her subsequent successes, and offers clear advice on how to get hired now.

 

 

1:40 – 2:00

Dr. Susan Love –  fighting breast cancer

Often referred to as one of the “founding mothers” of the movement to eradicate breast cancer, Dr. Susan Love’s goal is to stop the disease once and for all and she believes that this generation could be the one to do it.  President Bill Clinton appointed Dr. Love to serve on the National Cancer Advisory Board; she also oversees an active research program centered on breast cancer cause and prevention, is a clinical professor of surgery at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and is the author of the book the New York Times called “the bible for women with breast cancer,”  Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book. Now in its fifth edition, the book serves as a guide for women facing a diagnosis of cancer. It seems that if Dr. Love gets her way we won’t need her book anymore – bet she would be just fine with that.   

 

Guest:

Dr. Susan Love (MD, MBA), President and founder of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and Clinical Professor of Surgery at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine

 

 

2:00 – 2:40

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Rancor over “activist judges,” conflict over the balance of power between the judicial and executive branches, serious vacancies in the Federal courts’ system—some major themes have emerged surrounding the status of the United States Supreme Court over the last decade.  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, has seen key parts of those judicial themes evolve.  She talks with Patt about the current climate on the court and her legacy as the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice to be elected to the highest court in the land and as an advocate for equality as a constitutional principle.

 

Guest:

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; former professor of law at Columbia University and Rutgers School of Law—Newark

 

2:40 – 3:00

Coping with Alzheimer's

Barry Petersen has seen a lot during his more than three-decade career as a CBS news correspondent… the aftermath of the Thailand tsunami, the devastation from a cholera epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the genocide in Rwanda. But he didn’t  truly understand anguish until he had to move his wife Jan, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the age of 55, to an assisted living facility, a place she would probably never leave. The disease affects some five million Americans, but beyond that, their loved ones and caregivers must find a way to live with its ravages and support its victims. Petersen tells his story of love, loss, and coping with a disease that forced him to face down his own fears and guilt and choose life over grief.

 

Guest:

Barry Petersen, Senior Correspondent for CBS News and author, Jan's Story: Love Lost to the Long Goodbye of Alzheimer's

 

 

 

Patt Morrison for Thursday, November 25, 2010 - Thanksgiving Day - SHOW ON TAPE

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

THANKSGIVING DAY PROGRAM ON TAPE

Thursday, November 25, 2010

1-3 p.m.

 

ENGINEER: PLEASE USE “DO NOT CALL” SPOT

 

 

1:00 – 2:00

Fostering the most vital safety net:  the problems, and potential fixes, of L.A.’s foster care system

Too many children too easily fall through the cracks of society—unwanted or uncared for by parents who are either unwilling or unable to parent, foster kids are among the most vulnerable members of society and arguably most in need of a solid social safety net.  The safety net has some gaping holes in it, and while controversial deaths of children in L.A. County’s foster care system get publicity, thousands more who find themselves without shelter, an education or job prospects are left to their own devices when they turn 18.  Los Angeles, with the highest number of kids in foster care in the country, had 22,291 children in the foster care system in 2008, which actually shows years of progress reducing the numbers.  Even as the raw numbers of kids in the system comes down, these youths find themselves facing long odds at success: less than 4% of children in the foster care system nationwide graduate from a 4-year college.  This is the first part of a series of segments where Patt talks to children in and out of the foster system and the policy makers who are feverishly working to fix a broken safety net. 

 

Guests:

 

Andrew Bridge, director of Child Welfare Initiative in Los Angeles, former foster youth (age 7 – 18), author of Hopes Boy (memoir about his experience in foster care), former Executive Director of the Alliance for Children’s Rights, former Fulbright Scholar, and graduate of Harvard Law School.

 

David Ambroz, Executive Director of the Los Angeles City College Foundation, member of the California Child Welfare Council and a former foster youth.

 

Leslie Heimov (HIGH- mauve), Executive Director, Children’s Law Center, Certified Child Welfare Law Specialist, appointed to Child Welfare Counsel.

 

Trayvon Walker, foster reform advocate and former foster youth

 

Janis Spire, Chief Executive Officer, The Alliance for Children’s Rights

 

Laura Faer, Directing Attorney, Children’s Rights Project, Public Counsel

 

Daniel Heimpel (HIME-pull), Director, Fostering Media Connections and freelance journalist. He has covered foster care for the LA Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle and Newsweek.

 

George White, foster youth

 

Lola Bell, Zaneta Bell, Shimia Gray, Clarence Wade, Avery Bankston, former foster youths

 

 

2:00 – 3:00

AMERICAN RADIO WORKS DOCUMENTARY:  TESTING TEACHERS

Teachers matter. A lot. Studies show that students with the best teachers learn three times as much as students with the worst teachers. Researchers say the achievement gap between poor children and their higher-income peers could disappear if poor kids got better teachers.  Politicians and education reformers are calling for big changes in how teachers are trained and evaluated – and in the way teachers are hired and fired too.

 

 

 

 

 

Knabe comments on County vote on marijuana dispensaries ban

	Supervisor, Fourth District               822 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration              Los Angeles  90012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE               Contact:          Cheryl Burnett

                  (213) 974-1095

 

 

COUNTY VOTES TO BAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA

DISPENSARIES IN UNICORPORATED AREAS

 

LOS ANGELES, November 24, 2010 – Yesterday, the Board of Supervisors approved a ban on Medical Marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.

“While this Board originally tried to be fair and adopt a very strict medical marijuana dispensary ordinance, we have unfortunately seen an increased number of illegal operations,” said Supervisor Don Knabe.  “This is not what voters thought they were voting for, nor the Board’s intentions when we originally modified our zoning in 2006.  There have been too many incidents of dispensaries being unlawfully opened adjacent to schools and libraries and other locations frequented by children. Many communities are rightfully concerned about the abuses of the system and the resulting increases in crime.  While many people have legitimate health concerns, we should be thoughtful and cautious about the way we handle marijuana and it should be dispensed from a pharmacy, rather than from store-front operations.”

The ban was approved with a 4-1 vote by the Board and is scheduled to be formally adopted on December 7th.  If adopted, the ordinance would go into effect 30 days later.

 

Dec. 2 event: Molina kicks off Third Annual Community Tree Lighting at La Alameda

 

PRESS ADVISORY                                                         CONTACT:  Angie Castro, Molina’s Office

   (213) 703-2823

   Rafael Mijangos, Primestor, Inc.

   (310) 717-7083

 

 

MOLINA KICKS OFF HOLIDAY SEASON AT THIRD ANNUAL
COMMUNITY TREE LIGHTING IN SOUTHEAST L.A.

 

Community Joins Nativity Procession at Tree Lighting Complete with Snow Fall and Holiday Carols

 

 

 

            WALNUT PARK (November 24, 2010) – Among snowfall, mariachis and Holiday carols,
Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina joins local children and families in bringing in the Season at the Third Annual “Community Tree Lighting” and nativity procession.  Local children and families will carry candle lights and light the Tree under snow falling.  Children will be able to take their photos with Santa Claus. 

 

WHAT:            Third Annual Community Holiday Tree Lighting and Nativity Procession.  Nativity Procession begins at Plaza center with children and families singing Holiday carols and carrying candles to light the tree. 

 

WHEN:            Thursday December 2, 2010, 6:30 p.m.

 

WHERE:         La Alameda Regional Shopping Center, 2140 Florence Avenue

Walnut Park, 90255. (Corner of Florence and Alameda. Avenues)

 

WHO:              - Local children and families

- Supervisor Gloria Molina

                        - Primestor Development Inc., CEO Arturo Sneider 

- Deputy Mexican Consul General Juan Carlos Mendoza

- Huntington Park Mayor Mario Gomez

- Florence-Firestone Chamber of Commerce

- Santa Claus

- Mariachi performing traditional holiday songs

- Maria & Jose y Los Peregrinos

- Mariachi Sol de Los Angeles

- Banda de Viento La Tremenda de Michoacan

 

            VISUAL:        Snow falls as local children and families join Molina in lighting tree.

 

-end-