Hillsides

In Los Angeles County, a unique philanthropic arrangement helped a group of local nonprofits build one of the country’s only specialized curriculum designed to help foster youth gain a solid foothold in the workforce.

Employment outcomes for youth transitioning out of foster care are less than hopeful, but the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is looking to a new pilot program to change that.

In his response to reporter Karen de Sá’s searing expose of the misuse and overuse of psychiatric medication on foster children in general and one case from his own institution in particular, Joseph Costa, CEO of Hillsides, serves up all the usual buzzwords and boilerplate.

During a recent St. Anne’s meeting for pregnant and parenting teenagers in Los Angeles, seven students learned the difference between a resume and a cover letter. It is a particularly important distinction for these young women, all between the ages of 15 and 18, who are trying to juggle parenting and high school with their eventual careers.

The Los Angeles Times reported recently that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has renewed its commitment to addressing the recommendations of the much-anticipated report by a Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Protection.

I was recently floored by the contrast between two images of at-risk youth. One scene appeared in photo form in a recent Los Angeles Times article and featured a frightened young girl being rescued off the streets by workers from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times addressed what some suggest is the over-medication of children in the Los Angeles County foster care system. Certainly this is a significant issue, and indeed, if children are being overmedicated, it must be addressed.

The first sentence in a recent article in the Los Angeles Times about the decline in deaths of children in the care of the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) reads: “Far fewer Los Angeles County children died because adults had neglected or abused them in 2014, leaving elected officials and experts encouraged – and pondering why.”

On December 14, 2014, the CBS TV show 60 Minutes featured a segment “Denied” on how insurance companies deny or significantly limit medically needed treatment services to many who present with mental health issues.