Special Series

Out of County, California

One in five California foster youth will find themselves taken away from the county where they lived and placed in another county. This three-part series looks at the experiences of some of those youth.

8/18/2015

Out of County, CA: Going the Distance

Daniel Heimpel

Heather, slight and precocious, made her Los Angeles County high school’s track team as a freshman. It was a major feat, something to be proud of in the maelstrom of the 14 year-old’s life. Only months before, the county’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) had removed Heather

8/20/2015

Out of County, CA: Limited Options

Meiling Bedard

After child protective services in California removes a child from his home for abuse or neglect, his care becomes the responsibility of the county that removed him. Every child entering the system is assigned a social worker, who bears the tremendous burden of...

8/26/2015

Out of County, CA: L.A. Kids Head East to Mrs. J’s House

Holden Slattery

Los Angeles County’s aim to place foster children in homes within their own communities is often thwarted by the stark reality that those communities lack sufficient foster beds. Economics make it so that many times the only suitable placement for an L.A. youth...