CAMARILLO : Bill May Help Fund Child Abuse Center

A proposed crisis center for abused children may be back on track if the Legislature approves funds to cover part of the $2.25 million still needed.

The county has already committed $4.25 million and the private sector has raised $1.5 million for the Casa Pacifica project, estimated to cost $8 million.

To cover part of the additional funds needed, Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) has proposed a bill that would allow the county to compete for any remaining funds from $3 million earmarked for child abuse centers in three other counties.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to review the bill Aug. 6.

The Casa Pacifica project has had trouble raising funds since last year’s budget cuts, including $2 million slashed by Gov. George Deukmejian.

The facility, scheduled to open by the summer of 1992 if fund raising stays on schedule, will be on 22.8 acres near Camarillo State Hospital. It is designed to house up to 85 abused children needing emergency shelter.

Each month in Ventura County, about 60 children between the ages of one day and 18 months need shelter because of physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect or disrupted prior placement, County Supervisor Susan Lacey said.