Youth in L.A. County’s Foster Center Recruited for Prostitution: Should be Closed Immediately

Los Angeles County's foster care system should promptly shut down its last-resort facility for older youth with nowhere else to go and make significant new investments in the facility for younger youth, a special committee appointed by the Board of Supervisors has concluded. The committee's report was prompted by a Feb. 28 article in the Los Angeles Times that described an array of problems at the county's Youth Welcome Center, including the recruitment of foster children for prostitution and workers who said the operation was spiraling out of control.

Medical Director of LA Child Welfare Testifies Under Oath That He Does Not Know the Law Regarding Seizure of Children

Dr. Charles Sophy is the Medical Director for Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Los Angeles County DCFS reportedly has the largest amount of children taken away from their families and put into foster homes of any other agency in the United States. When California attorney Shawn McMillan uploaded a video of a deposition of Dr. Charles Sophy, the Medical Director for Los Angeles County DCFS, whom he deposed in a case he is currently litigating to his YouTube account, I took special interest to listen to the video and learn more about this medical director who is responsible for the lives of so many children in LA County. In addition to his role as Medical Director for Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, Dr. Sophy also maintains a private practice as a Hollywood doctor and has appeared in reality TV shows such as "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." In this video deposition, however, it would appear that Dr. Sophy is not well versed in the Constitutional laws regarding when a child can be taken out of their home and away from their parents, and he states that he has never supplied such training to his social workers.

Former LA County Social Worker Reveals Corruption in Child “Protection” Services

Tammi Stefano of the National Safe Child Show interviewed Melinda Murphy regarding the abuses of the LA County Department of Children and Family Services. Melinda Murphy has worked in Child Welfare for over 20 years. She has a master's degree in counseling and educational psychology. She is co-author of the book A Culture of Fear: An Inside Look at Los Angeles County’s Department of Children & Family Services. She worked for DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) in LA County for 10 years in various capacities, including: social worker, supervisor, investigator, and court officer. She was known for handling tough cases that other social workers could not handle, and when she left the agency, she left on good terms. So why did she leave after working there for nearly 10 years? "Because I had a conscience. I wanted to be able to sleep at night. I wanted to be able to look at myself in the mirror. When I went to work for them, I thought I'd be working for the children, I'd be working for the families, building on their strengths. I discovered no, what I am doing is I am working for the Department of Children and Family Services. I am a PR agent. I'm not protecting the children and the families. I am protecting the Department of Children and Family Services. And I couldn't live with that."

California Mother Fights Corrupt System in LA to Get Daughter Back

Not being informed of court hearings. Falsified drug tests. Threats and accusations to intimidate and coerce. Social workers, her state representative and even the attorney assigned to her case ignoring emails, not returning calls. Her daughter ripped from a happy home and placed in a non-English speaking foster home without critical, life-saving medications. A system that seems to have already decided her family’s fate, without even the most cursory attempt at justice. Mayan Hewes describes these events and wonders what happened to her rights, and the rights of her six-year-old daughter Layla, in L.A. County, California.