Shelter Sought for Children Who ‘Fall Through the Cracks’

Citing a critical shortage of services for a growing population of runaway and homeless children, a proposal before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today calls for the establishment of a community shelter to care for these youngsters.

The program, proposed by Supervisor Deane Dana, calls for county backing of a privately operated shelter to house about 30 children. The shelter, which would provide housing and counseling, is designed for children who “fall through the cracks” of the juvenile and dependency courts systems, according to Dana deputy Linda Tarnoff.

“These children haven’t committed a crime, so they don’t fall under the probation system,” she said. And most have run away or been forced out of their homes by physically, emotionally or sexually abusive parents before they could be made dependents of the courts, she said.

Adding that these children remain on the streets unprotected, Tarnoff said that they are easy prey for pimps, pornographers or drug dealers, and that, without guidance, many turn to prostitution or other crime. She noted that there are only about eight privately run centers providing services for such youngsters and that a total of only about 18 beds are available at the centers for overnight shelter.

Results of a yearlong study of the problem of runaway and homeless youngsters in the county will also be presented to the board by Leonard Schneiderman, dean of the UCLA School of Social Work, who coordinated the study in collaboration with the county Department of Children’s Services.

The study concludes that existing programs are inadequate, coordination among agencies that serve the youngsters is minimal and planning is lacking.

Among the report’s recommendations is a census to determine the number of runaway youngsters, variously estimated at between 5,000 and 20,000, and the establishment of regional coordinating and screening centers, as well as shelters.