The Human Services Committee joined with LA County on March 13, 2019 to host an event highlighting the five year anniversary of the release of the landmark report, The Road to Safety for Our Children. Released in April 2014, the report contained 66 recommendations created by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Protection (BRC), a body empaneled by the Board of Supervisors in June 2013, in the aftermath of the horrific torture and murder of eight-year old Gabriel Fernandez, who was known to multiple County systems.
As part of its review, the Commission conducted 15 public hearings, interviewed more than 300 stakeholders across all program areas related to child safety, examined 28 child fatality cases, and researched promising practices across the country. Commission members and staff had an opportunity to discuss their recollections of the origins of specific recommendations, the ensuing discussions and disagreements, and opine whether the recommendations were implemented according to their original intentions.
Journalist Daniel Heimpel facilitated a discussion with Fesia Davenport, former interim director, and Judge Michael Nash, current director of the Office of Child Protection, which was created as a direct result of one of the recommendations, and directors of the Departments of Children and Family Services, Health Services, and Public Health so they could provide updates on how they are implementing the recommendations. The event also provided stakeholders with an opportunity to ask questions about the report and recommendations.
