Advanced Search
XInnocents Betrayed: A Times Investigation
County dithered, children died
By the time he was rescued last year, the 5-year-old South Los Angeles boy was so malnourished his kidneys were failing. His hands were so badly burned he could barely open them.
Child welfare officials traced his history, trying to make sense of what had happened.
Abuse begets abuse in a family's brutal legacyA long history of dysfunctional parenting put a 6-year-old boy in the murderous path of a man his siblings called the Maniac. |
Files detail deaths of 14 childrenThe abuse cases came from families that had been under scrutiny by L.A. County child welfare officials. |
Flawed county system lets children die invisiblyMiguel Padilla, mistreated and abandoned, killed himself at 17 |
With time and help, a mom may learn to conquer angerAn L.A. County program returns abused children to their troubled homes, emphasizing parental training over foster care. But there are risks. |
Dae'von Bailey
Lazhanae Harris, 13 and on the run, was stabbed to death in L.A.
She had bounced from one stop to another in the welfare system.
Boy's death shows weaknesses of L.A. County's child welfare system
Nine months before the mother of a 4-year-old decapitated him with a Ginsu knife, the principal of a Highland Park preschool phoned Los Angeles County's child abuse hotline to report that the woman was screaming and shouting outside the building.
Social workers protest perceived role in children's deaths
Fourteen children died last year from abuse or neglect while on social workers' watch. The county workers say huge caseloads are to blame.
