Wendy Garen

On Monday, the tension that has gripped Los Angeles County’s child welfare establishment since the mysterious July death of 4-year-old Noah Cuatro spilled out into public view. At a meeting of the county’s Commission for Children and Families, the chiefs of both the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Office of Child Protection (OCP) grew visibly and audibly frustrated with commissioners’ questions about the Cuatro case.

After a four-month search involving 26 applicants, Los Angeles County and Southern California Grantmakers have named a leader to forge deeper partnerships between the county and philanthropic institutions in a novel bid to improve the child welfare system.

In an unprecedented move, 17 Southern California charitable foundations exerted their influence on the recent reforms sweeping the nation’s largest child welfare system. Southern California Grantmakers, an association of Southland philanthropic institutions, sent a letter on June 5 to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors urging them to approve the recommendations laid out by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Protection.